taqueria maya

greatfoodbut distant atmosphere. i stumbled upon this place one day when i was in the mood for some mexicanfoodand i was pleasantly surprised. thefoodis absolutely terrific! i've gotten the steak and chicken burrito's on many occasion's and they were fantastic. thefoodis cheaply priced with huge portion sizes twice the size of chipotle or the other mexicanfoodchains in the area.

the only con is the standoff'ish attitude from the employee's towards the non hispanic patrons. someone else said it best when they said that you get a feeling of your invading their space or a feel of they don't really like you but they'll take your money. it doesn't really bother me as long as thefoodcontinue's to stand way ahead of the other mexicanfoodchains in the city.

we made the trek across the river north to taqueria maya. fortunately we had a light traffic day up around king's automall. all we can say is wow, finally not the standard americanized mexican food. service was fast & friendly, thefoodwas excellent. barbacoa, carne asada and tongue tacos, yum, yum, yummy!!! taqueria maya is a keeper.

**update...update...update**

back again, round two, and guess what? it was just as good as the first time. added in a shrimp burrito, cheesey, tastey.....uhhhhh....yum!!!

goodfoodand guacamole. good authentic mexican and a few different salsas if you like it hot. i like the burritos, wrapped and charred on the grill. i had a margarita and it was good also.

it was just ok, i didn't hate it, but i didn't love it either.. service was good, the atmosphere was nice, kinda felt like eating in someone's home more specifically at a basement party that had huge tvs, bar and free foosball table which i liked, but therefoodwas just ok. we liked the salsa, my husband and i had the same dish, a pork taco and enchilada that was delicious but our chicken tamale was terrible. my mom had 2 beef tacos and a chicken taco, and she didn't care for her meal either. we love taking home leftovers and the biggest way you can tell if a customer liked thefoodis if they eat everything off there plate and/or take home the leftovers in my mother's case she left most of hers tacos on the plate knowing it wasn't worth taking home. chicken was sooooooo dry and chewy and the chicken in the tamale was dry and the tamale itself wasn't flavorful or moist. and the reason we got the chicken anything was because the waitress said she liked the chicken tacos and other chicken dishes. in my opinion, chicken is the easiest meat to fix, but if you don't season it well and know how to keep it from drying out then it can mess up the whole dish. i won't even start on the beans and rice because that should just compliment the meal, and let's just say that dish could use some work too. i am a connoisseur of deliciousfoodand 2 specific items when it comes to authentic mexican menus that should be done well for me to give it 2 thumbs up... chile relleno and tamales. those are deal breakers for me to recommend an authentic mexican place for someone to go to, and because i didn't like the way one of them tasted i'm afraid to try the other. also, in general, for me to recommend a place for someone to go to i need to love my whole meal not just part of it. so far, in cincy, there are only 2 restaurants that do those menu items well, taquiera mercado (in fairfield)and mazunte taquiera mexicana (in madisonville/oakley). my advice to the owners/cooks would be to go try those restaurants and get some inspiration and another idea of what good authentic mexicanfoodtastes like, because those guys do it well.

great tacos inexpensive. hidden gem!. we almost ate somewhere else (penn station) because we couldn't find the dang place. luckily my friend spotted it a couple doors down from penn station!. the staff was attentive and ourfoodwas delivered quickly once we ordered. i got carne asada hard tacos and the spicey pork (whatever it's called). be warned the hard taco shells are traditional not the yellow kind americans are used to like tortilla chips. it was very good. my only gripe was that i ordered rice and beans and the rice was just plain white rice not mexican rice. maybe i ordered incorrectly, maybe that's just the way they serve it. plan on eating here again before i head back home from this biz trip.

very good place / advice to new owner. for years this place has been as mexican as tequila it is, the best street mexicanfoodin cinci, no competition there!.. my advice to the new management and owner is try to stick with the basics, the original, do not try to change the menu adding 'other latin food" just becouse! this place is mexican streetfoodand is the best, do not try to sell 'boricua food" (puerto rican) there becouse is not the targuet and you are going to lose the focous, and most important, the fenomenal cooks that make this happens should be always mexican, pls do not try to replace something that is so good with some mediocre latinfoodjust becouse the new owner/s are from somewhere else.

the guacamole for years has been made from scratch, fresh and unique, pls do not put that nasty pre-made guacamole!!!!


-----16 may, 2011-----

authentic mexican street food. love this place! small, fresh food, nice people runing the place, awesome food, we've been in mexico a few times and this is the closest street flavor you can get.
the tamales, quesadillas & fish are highly recomended.

i absolutely love this place. it never disappoints when we go in for munch or dinner. thefoodis fresh, authentic, and absolutely delicious. the staff is friendly and obviously take pride in their restaraunt as the place is always clean and put together. if you want real deal mexican this is the only place to go.

real deal. best mexicanfoodand salsas. the service is good too.

mexicanfoodfrom scratch. small diner like restaurant with to go counter located directly before the kings automall complex, across from kings toyota new vehicle and next door to "play it again sports". ordered the three taco combo for $8.99 (suerda, al pastor, carnitas). included rice and beans. the difference between this mexican restaurant and other local "mexican" restaurants based on my one meal is the fact that everything is made from scratch and is mostly authentic. the suerda taco was awesome. it's grilled steak and onions chopped coursely, gently placed between two good quality corn tortillas and topped with chopped fresh onion and cilantro. the al pastor taco was just okay and not as flavorful and the carnitas taco was very good.

this restaurant also offers pozole (a hominy and meat stew), ceviche (a lime marinated seafood dish served over a hard flat corn tortilla and topped with avocado slices, cilantro and onions), and other not so locally known specialities that are commonplace in mexico, including beef tongue and tripe tacos.

on weekends, mexicanfoodenthusiasts can enjoy menudo (a tripe based stew), goat soup and other specialities that are very good if done right. i haven't tried them, however, at this restaurant.

one of the best things about this restaurant was the fact that everything i ate seemed to be made from scratch. the rice included strips of red bell pepper and onion and the refried beans were made from dried beans and mashed by hand, not byfoodprocessor. the texture and taste difference between this restaurant and other run-of-the-mill "mexican" restaurants was noticeable.

my meal included both a red and green hot salsa which were both made from scratch and very good and authentic.

overall, i really like this restaurant from a authenticity, taste and value perspective.

some of the best mexicanfoodi've ever had, some of the worst service i've ever had. enough said.

authentic mexican. this place is definitely authentic, almost stereotypically so. i believe a chinese carryout used to be here, and the empty menu boards are still up on the wall. it looks like they are somewhat in the process of remodeling, or perhaps they are done but the place doesn't quite look complete.
i'll have to agree with londomallari's assessment of the social aspect of this place. it is exceptionally awkward in here, as the only patrons besides my girlfriend and i were people speaking in spanish rather boisterously. the check cashing window in the back is sort of a strange thing to have in a restaurant.
thefoodwas alright. it tasted fresh and looked good. it definitely wasn't the standard, formulaic tex-mex that is served in most mexican restaurants around here. the tacos were decent. the guacamole was made on the spot and was indeed pretty good.
it's really cheap food, so i can't complain there. i doubt i'll go back due to thefoodnot being outstanding and the feel of it being a little awkward. it was okay, but i wouldn't recommend it.

best mexicanfoodin the city. i used to live in southern california and was able to cross the border for real mexican food. this seriously rivals it. delicious, inexpensive and casual. the waitresses are very nice and give great service. thefoodcomes our hot and just how you want it. seriously my favorite place to eat for authentic mexican food.

very good. thefoodwas wonderful - very authentic mexican. they had by far the best house-made guacamole in cinci area

**** best in cincy ****. i went there on a recommendation for the 1st time last night. i was told authentic! i was born in el paso, texas and grew up with a live in maid who was from mexico and who cooked the "real deal" for us all the time. i also went to universities in tucson, az and austin, tx (known for southwestern great mexicanfoodrestaurants).

it is just absolutely fabulous!! = thefoodis scumptious right down to the sauces and guacamole. the atmosphere and layout is great and service perfect for me, and all i did was walk in and order a whole bunch of takeout to try it out for 1st time.

suffice it to say either these guys make it the same way i got it when i was a kid in el paso and therefore it feels like heroin to my taste and smell sensors or they had the best night of their season last night.

so i recommend pretty darn highly that you go in there and visit with alex and the the rest of a great, pleasant, professional, fun and very efficient staff!
i am leaving right now to go back and try the rest of the menu ... or at least as much as i can manage.

great job taqueria maya of mason, oh!

tom

ps - my daughters asked me what i wanted for father's day tomorrow. "dinner at this really great new mexican place i found" = three days in a row, it must be heroin or something.

pps- try it - you'll like it.