taqueria maya

great food but distant atmosphere. i stumbled upon thisplaceone day when i was in the mood for some mexican food and i was pleasantly surprised. the food is absolutely terrific! i've gotten the steak and chicken burrito's on many occasion's and they were fantastic. the food is cheaply priced with huge portion sizes twice the size of chipotle or the other mexican food chains 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 the food continue's to stand way ahead of the other mexican food chains in the city.

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 there food was 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 the food is 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 delicious food and 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 mexicanplacefor 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 aplacefor 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 mexican food tastes like, because those guys do it well.

very goodplace/ advice to new owner. for years thisplacehas been as mexican as tequila it is, the best street mexican food in 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! thisplaceis mexican street food and 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 latin food just 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. the food is fresh, authentic, and absolutely delicious. the staff is friendly and obviously take pride in their restaraunt as theplaceis always clean and put together. if you want real deal mexican this is the onlyplaceto go.

wow.. why thisplaceisn't swamped is beyond me. best guacamole i have ever had out--the equal of any excellent homemade guacamole. fresh corn tortillas. tasty pollo con mole, fajitas, carne asada... all super fresh. not much on atmosphere but they were perfectly nice otherwise. this is going to be a regularplacefor us.

authentic mexican. thisplaceis 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 theplacedoesn'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.
the food was 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 the food not being outstanding and the feel of it being a little awkward. it was okay, but i wouldn't recommend it.

best mexican food in 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. the food comes our hot and just how you want it. seriously my favoriteplaceto eat for authentic mexican food.

ate there again today. had the torta cubana and some of my wife's chicken quesadilla. acapulco, cazadores, el picante and all the rest.....you got nothin on this place.


-----12 aug, 2011-----

holy crapballs thisplaceis good! first, they have the best guacamole i have had in my entire life. then i had the tongue taco and the tripe taco. i thought i had died and gone to mexican heaven. this isn't a cookie cutter mexican restaurant. this is authentic mexican food. i will be back again and again. sweet jesus i think i'm in love!

hit the spot. on the lookout for aplaceto eat on sunday and after reading a review about taqueria maya, i suggested it to my boyfriend. so glad we decided to make the stop. everything was so fresh and so good. i ordered a burrito and when it came out, i almost fell over it was so big. my boyfriend ordered their fajitas and declared that they were the best he had ever had. the guacamole looked like they had just whipped it up when we ordered it, it was that fresh. it was slightly chunky and you could see the ingredients. it was a bit spicy for me but still quite tasty. like someone else said, the traffic on fields ertel is worth the hassle. just thinking about it, i am craving it again.

taqueria maya is an authentic mexican restaurant at 9996 kings auto mall dr., tucked away in a mostly deserted strip mall next to a lenscrafters. theplaceis owned, at least partially, by the same folks who brought us taqueri

this is what authentic is about!. thisplaceis great. occasionally i get a craving for some real mexican and this is my remedy! i love their tortas. not a fan of the traffic on fields ertel but it is worth the hassle. make sure that if they do not give them to you, ask for their homemade sauces and try each one.

**** 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 mexican food restaurants).

it is just absolutely fabulous!! = the food is 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 mexicanplacei found" = three days in a row, it must be heroin or something.

pps- try it - you'll like it.