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Coming here on the week day was a great idea. You might have to seat yourself because sometimes the wattress or bartender might be a bit busy. It was a nice hot day when we strolled into this neat little place at the end of summer. Coming into a cool air conditioning restaurant with chairs and tables reminiscing of Mexico upper society.
We had the nachos without meat. But I think it would outrageous with chicken. The nacho are a bit expensive but with that in mind come with a good appetite. The nachos come with tomatoes and cheese. It's heavenly . Although they did over crisp the chips.
The taco salad was good too. Although I wanted more meat in the mixture.
This is the kind of food that begins addictions. Well done! Love the service, and love the atmosphere. I don't know how you could improve on this place.
Fantastic!
Visiting Sonoma on a very hot Saturday afternoon, we decided to check out Maya after perusing the menu posted outside. The bright, open, airy decor was casual and fun, and it was obviously a popular spot as it was fairly busy.
Unknowingly, we had decided to order from the dinner menu posted outside, which wasn't yet available as the restaurant was still serving lunch. When our server saw our disappointment at being denied a chipotle chili mushroom sauce over skirt steak, he told us he would be happy to have the chef rustle up two orders just for us. Wow! Now *that* is Great Service!
And we were not disappointed, the meal was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. While my dining partner stuck with a soda, I splurged on a top-shelf Maya Margarita... to DIE FOR! Not a large, flashy margarita, but probably one of the best I have *ever* had...and I *love* my margaritas.
Thanks to the staff for a wonderful dining experience. We both highly recommend this establishment!
There's nothing wrong with this place, just nothing great... People always speak of the Tequila selection being great, but it didn't make up for the middle of the road food. There's better places to spend your money and time. Take a pass on this one.
I have been to Maya 4 times over 5 years. Each time I say "its okay, I have had better". Well, after eating there tonight I realized that ,"okay" has got to get a lot better for their prices. The food, while sounding great on the menu, never delivers. It is lackluster at best, and not good at worst.
Up the street is La Casa which serves Americanized Mexican food that is worlds better, and cheaper, than Maya.
What a disappointment. I ordered the chili colorado, a dish that is supposed to be rich red in color and fall off the bone tender. It was dry, tasteless and definitely not fresh Mex. The guacamole was bland, and the refried beans were white and unappetizing to look at and tasteless. Beautiful decor and good service, but don't go for the food.
Maya is great. They have happy hour from 6 to 7 where you can get margaritas for cheap nachos for $5. I like to sit at the bar, it's fun and the bartenders are cool and friendly. The staff are quick and the food is great. It's not too pricey
Excellent food, excellent cocktails (love the tequila mojitos) Really nice atmosphere with great service. Nice warm, thick, and crunchy tortilla chips with some great dipping salsas. The food is very reasonably priced. I often get the 3 taco plate or the Cochinita pork. I highly recommend giving it a try. You will enjoy some excellent food and more than likely want to return for another meal.
The are many excellent tequilas to sample at Maya. I'm sure that I had too many margaritas and tequila samples - if that's possible. The people who work here at Maya are like on big happy family. Our bartender, Enrique, greeted us with a smile then proceeded to entertain us with some of their great tequilas, including my favorite Don Julio 1942. I'll have to come back soon so that I can comment on the food, soon!
Baby artichokes, your basic artichoke that was so-so, cochinita pibil - yucatan style pork, roasted in banana leaves- supposdly their house specialty was nothing short of bland and dry. A huge disappointment when you ask your server for their recommendation and it sucked. Sorry, no better way to describe it. Prawn enchilada - another highly recommended dish was served cold. The best part of the meal was the chips and salsa. I had heard good things about this place - and it's Michelin recommended too but it was a complete disappointment.
On our way out of Sonoma, Leah and I were starving and wanted to walk around the square. Since it was after 2pm on a weekday, our lunch was on the late side and our options were limited. Since we both like Mexican food (and met in Arizona) we figured this would be a good place to stop.
The waitress was nice enough-but slow. Leah ordered a margarita and I think I annoyed the waitress with not ordering one as well(alcohol=higher tab). The taste of the margarita I took was decent (not great). The best part was the guacamole which was very tasty but the chips were stale-ish. Leah had the carnitas plate which was pretty mediocre(bland) and I had a taco trio that were small-like street taco sized. The pork in mine was better than the carnitas Leah had, the carne asada was good and I didn't eat the chicken taco because the flavoring of the chicken was sweet and not in a good way. Our meals came with rice and beans. The refried beans were very light in color and lacked any flavor. Apparently, they use a white bean, not pinto. We were never asked if we would like black beans which I saw on another patrons plate and I did not see them on the menu as an option.
It wasn't the worst meal either of us has ever had, but it wasn't great either. It really borders around a 2.5 and the next time I go to Sonoma, I would skip this place for sure.
hmmmn Mexican food on the plaza....this is the best! but there are only 2 so the bar is not high. Food ..eh....but the maragritas and chips at the bar at happy hour is a good thing...food? Mexican? drive out on to the sonoma highway and eat at one of the taco trucks...seriously!!boyes hot springs is the way to go... hey is it me or is the bartender on something?
First off, you aren't going to get taco truck prices from this place.
I will tell you this, everything that we ordered was awesome. My sea bass was perfectly cooked. My wife's pork was awesome with the sauce. The waitress was very good with her recommendations and wasn't holding back on the chips or salsa. We arrived a little bit before happy hour and got the $5 margaritas with the taquito appetizers rolling.
All around great looking place with house made deserts to top it off. Just make sure you're comfortable spending the money for what you get.
Awesome!
WOW. The pork is off the charts amazing. LOVE this place. And so refreshing that it's not the typical Mexican restaurant.
The chips are fresh and warm and thin and salty and tasty and excellent! Both the green and red salsa are zesty and delicious. The three previously mentioned edibles flow freely and generously and set the tone for drinking a lot of cheap beer and cheap margaritas.
The happy hour appetizer menu isn't shabby either. They have black been flautas which are really good and the tacos here are seriously mouth watering. I prefer the chicken, boyfriend prefers the beef. If you order the nachos, keep in mind they're big enough to share. They're piled high with cheese and meat and other goodies.
I haven't ventured out too much on the lunch/dinner menu. There's a chicken mole thing they do sometimes which keeps me coming back here hoping I'll see it again. The ceviche is very good, also.
If you're coming for happy hour, be sure to get here early. It's big in the restaurant, but not so much in the bar. I know they have started having live music here recently too. It's a great place to meet up with friends and can be a great value if you come at the right time.
Definitely a great spot to go if you're looking for you're looking for something with a latin flare that isn't mexican cuisine!
Everything was perfect from the margaritas, food, service and ambiance. Very casual with great decor and music. Each dish was flawless, but beware, the stuffed jalepenos are spicy. We like spicy and they were too hot for us. Other than that Maya is one of our new favorite restaurants. It felt like being back in the Yucatan. I can't wait to go back.
Pros:
- tasty food that is an upgrade from the usual bar food because it makes Mexican food a little sweet, and I liked it
- strong margaritas, good buzz
- good service
Cons:
- pricing - it was expensive, and it was lunch time - get a lunch special?
- not authentic, and so it goes down
Who knew there was a world of Tuesday night diners out there?
I was crabby. Fresh from a nap crabby and almost bailed on my dinner plans, after all - I was in a grump and it WAS Tuesday. But, I gave in and we went out.
Maya's was the destination, and I was after one thing. The fish tacos. I have seen these on every spanich/mexican food menu and never, ever have ordered them. Tonight was the night.
A basket of tortilla chips and 2 kinds of salsa later, there they were. 3 small tacos in soft white corn tortillas. Fresh fresh. Tomatoes, cilantro, onions, fish. Simple and tasty. Side of black beans and spanish rice, salad of red cabbage and more fresh tomatoes and you got one full and one happy Girl.
The poc chuc looked awesome too. The smoked flavor is predominant, little overwhelming - but good. Served with mango salsa and more cabbage salad with your black beans and rice, this is a super filling and flavorful dish.
They have a large, full bar and this place gets loud at night. Fun place to be. The bartender came up with most of the drinks and he's always there. The agave nectar margarita isn't bad either - and I ain't no margarita fan.
Stop in - whether it's a Tuesday or not, the people are friendly, efficient and the food is good. Also, you're in downtown Sonoma. Pretty damn cute place, if you ask me.
chips and salsa were ok but food was bland. rice was a bit harder than expected, al pastor tacos needed some spice and salt.
Yes there is good Mexican food in Sonoma - here's a great place for fresh ceviche starter and a half smoked chicken dinner. Tall glass of Tecate with a lime. Ask for the "off menu" haberno salsa - it is COMPLETELY HOT. So be careful.
I stopped in with the BF for a late lunch on the 4th of July in hopes of avoiding the huge crowds at the Cheese Factory and Mary's. In Sonoma, I prefer to get my Mexican food from the Taco Shop so I was pretty unfamiliar with Maya before this.
The restaurant had great décor inside; I fall hard for upscale Mexican joints and all their terra cotta, earthy colored wonderfulness. Our server was pleasant, just attentive enough, and super quick - though maybe because it was 2:30 and nobody else wanted lunch at that time. The BF and I decided it was too late in the day and that the prices were too high for a full meal, so we ordered a couple of beers and two appetizers - the steak nachos and the chile relleno. I have to say, the nachos were fine - nothing outstanding or awful about them. The chile relleno however, holy cow, freaking amazing. At Maya, their chile is stuffed with cornbread and what appeared to be copious amounts of jack cheese, it looks baked rather than fried, and is smothered with a spicy marinara like sauce with a sprinkling of coarsely chopped cilantro. In general, I don't really like chile rellenos, but if everyone served them like Maya, I would convert
Fantastic dish- shrimp enchiladas w/ white tarragon sauce.
Ok, it does sound a bit weird, and I would have never ordered it, but thankfully my friend did and it was great!! We shared meals after the first bite =)
If you are in the area, def. plan to stop here for dinner. It is located in the main square.
I really enjoy going here. The restaurant is right on Sonoma Square right in the middle of all of the other restaurants and bars which makes it really easy to bar hop.
The food is always great and the beer is cold. What makes this place stand out in my mind is the great selection of tequilas they have. Id say they have 20 or so to pick from. If you like great mexican, a killer vibe and amazing tequila this place is worth checking out!
I ate here once but once was enough for me. As soon as I walked in, I knew I'd like it. The ambiance is very relaxing, it's a cute little restaurant, nice staff, excellent food and margaritas to die for!
Kinda expensive...
But where else can you get a quail salad AND a cadillac margarita with such EXEMPLARY service?
Nowhere! (But if you do know, PM me the Yelp linky.)
The flan is also firm, creamy, and custardy too...like creme brulee that hadn't been blow-torched yet. Me likey.
When we first walked into Maya, I thought it was the sister restaurant for the Maya in the city. They have a huge collection of tequila and the decor is very similar. When the waiter brought us the chips and salsa, I asked and he told me that they are not affiliated. BTW, the green salsa was excellent.
The food was very fresh and flavorful. As others have said, it's a bit in the pricey side, but I thought it was worth every penny. If I was in the area, I would come back in a heart beat.
If you like classic Tex-Mex this is not your place. But for a different style of dining and amazing drinks, Maya is worth a try. The margaritas are great, the service is non-obtrusive, and the food is very fresh and tasty. The bar gets pretty amped up, but with all the tequilas flowing, you can quickly understand why.
Cute place! - Located on the Historic Town Square of Sonoma. Ambiance-wise; you sort of feel like you're in Mexico... They have a really cute bar area, and a sliding screened-in front window that opens up to the street for people-watching, and allows for a nice breeze to come through on hot days. The big, clunky, wooden chairs are great (they are sculpted out, to accommodate your buns-of-steel; or buns-of-aluminum, in my case). We sat in the main dining area - near the front window, but there is additional seating outside, on the side of the building.
We started with the Guacamole appetizer - VERY fresh, with pico de gallo over the top. Warm, delicious chips are served up with varying house-made salsas. Excellent margaritas! We had the Maya Margarita, and my FAVORITE, the Pomegranate Margarita.
For our entrees, we shared the House Salad with Grilled Tiger Prawns (baby lettuces, jicama & mango / chipotle & papaya vinaigrette - really refreshing), and we wanted the Carnitas - but they were sold out!?! So, we opted for the Chili Verde which was excellent - the fresh corn tortillas were good, too. Everything had a real homemade taste & texture to it.
I would love to go back & try the ceviches, chili rellenos, carnitas, fried baby artichokes, agua frescas, & the STUFFED JALAPES... Mmmm...
Our server was very professional & helpful. Pretty pricey for lunch. Overall, I like this place - I don't LOVE it... I do think they can improve on flavors, some. Note: Their menu states: "Most of our menu items are NOT spicy... we're happy to turn the heat up or down for you." So, speak up!
Here's what's good:
*It's on the south-east corner of the touristy Sonoma Plaza.
*This restaurant is authentic. It's locally owned, it ain't corporate.
*It's a Mexican restaurant operated by Mexican-Americans.
*The tequila booze menu is seriously amazing. The mixed drinks are delicious.
*You can drink booze at the small bar area which is family friendly. It's well-lighted, clean and cheerful.
*All service people are sincere, helpful, and eager for you to be happy.
*The food is made from good ingredients. It's prepared well. Food plating is pretty. The plates are brightly decorated.
*Lunch for 2 with a couple of booze-y drinks will cost $45.
The food here ain't high-class cuisine. It's filling and tastes good. If you order wisely you won't even suffer carbohydrate overload.
I live here in Sonoma. I like it. You'll like it, too.
There are so many places to eat on the Plaza..... We thought it was finally time to try Maya. I had the nachos, BF had the fish, after he asked if it was fresh and what time it had arrived ( he obviously hasn't worked in a restaurant before...) The food was ok but the service is lacking. Thought the server was on a smoke break at the end of our meal. We just wanted to pay and leave but couldn't find ANYONE to help us. They should be thanking us that we aren't the dine and dash kind. Will continue to walk around Sonoma and eat elsewhere.
My boyfriend and I were in the mood for mexican food and Maya had some good reviews. We knew that we weren't going to get the kind of mexican food we knew of but we still wanted to try Maya. The margaritas are great, top shelf classic margarita over the rocks and it definitely kicked my ass! The chips and salsa were good, the chips were light and crispy and the salsa was tasty, although not too spicy. I ordered the chicken enchiladas which were okay. The sauce was a little too sweet and and the enchilada itself was a little bland. My boyfriend ordered the Poc Chuc, marinated pork, and his entire plate had no flavor and the pork was over cooked. We were a little disappointed. It wasn't awful but we've had better.
High-brow taco wagon...read authentic!!!
Like others, its a little spendy but I'd trade a tank of gas for their green tomatillo salsa and chips, fish tacos, ceviche (to die for) and two pomegranate margaritas (again, to die for). I left a happy camper. My better half was still talking about going back the following day just for the ceviche and pomegranate margaritas as a snack right after lunch. Enough said, stop reading and go!
What's yours is Mayan and what's mine is ...uh, never mind.
Not to be confused with the upscale Mexican place of the same name in SF - this one provides middling fare for the Guaymas crowd who went overboard on the free tastings on their Sonoma winery tour. It's a bit better than Chevy's, less packaged but by no means a must-stop culinary destination.
Truth be told, we only stopped here because Della Santina's down the block just closed, and they weren't buying my story about my terminal illness and how this was the last meal I wanted before escaping to Cuba for free medical care. You can tell this darkly lit place accommodates partying drunkards because the furniture is really heavy, even the chairs are a chore to move.
Luckily, Jamie W. and I arrived around at about 10PM, so most of the revelers were sharing tequila shots at the bar, including our waitress. But to her credit, she came by promptly and courteously. I ordered the $17.95 Hangar Steak which was a hefty portion over a mound of sauteed vegetables and fingerling potatoes and covered with some a buttery chipotle sauce. The meat was a tad rare, but overall it wasn't bad, just nothing that memorable.
Jamie W. had the $15 Baby Back Ribs which came with Swiss chard and French fries. Again, it was a heaping amount of meat but unfortunately not falling-off-the-bone tender. The sauce just seemed to be ladled on rather than infused. The chard was a bit undercooked since it was chewy, but the fries were right...even better in the sauce on my dish. Did I mention the chips were a bit stale that time of night?
You can't knock the free refills on their cold beverages, and the waitress was genuine and helpful. Their prime corner spot off Sonoma's city plaza surely means they are not lacking for customers. I just wish the menu was executed with a bit more panache to justify its location.
FOOD - 3 stars...middling fare...nothing to cancel your French Laundry reservation for
AMBIANCE - 3 stars...kinda Chevy's, kinda Guaymas, kinda not memorable
SERVICE - 4 stars...friendly and pretty fast
TOTAL - 3 stars...not dyin' for Maya...but a few glasses of free Zin beforehand may make you more forgiving
This place is over rated for sure! I've been to both the SF and Sonoma locations and have been disappointed at both. The food and portions are very small yet the price is over the top. I get that they are trying to be high falutin Mexican cuisine or whatever but its not really working. I hate places that use the multi colored chips and the salsa is blah. The carnitas plate had decent flavor but it was appetizer size. If you must go here go with the frame of mind that this is not typical mexican food and probably stick to the margaritas so at least you get a buzz or something.
Temple of Tequila. 100% Blue Agave only.
Babers and I were escorted to this more refined Mexican restaurant featuring Mayan / Yucatan, regional cuisine for a very sweet Valentine's date. It's Guaymas (in Tiburon) goes Telluride ski lodge. The Maya specialties are exceptional and the seafood dishes are supposed to be their strengths. Very healthy but was expecting more flavor. Chili spice used to accent rather than fire up.
Great live music from various bay area musicians.
If you choose to scale the Temple of Tequila, be prepared to get a cab ride home. The local authoritiesout are a bit Roscoe P. Coletrain like.
Finally, a great Mexican restaurant in the Wine Country. Besides trying to find parking on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, everything at Maya was great. A list of special Margaritas greets you like a warm tropical breeze in a far away oasis. Being a traditionalist, I opted for the House Margarita on the rocks with salt. Well, I must admit it was one of the best Margaritas I have ever had! Moving on . . . . the guacamole was perfectly prepared and had a nice 'kick' to it, the chips were fresh and lightly salted, my wife's shrimp enchiladas were excellent and my fish tacos were great too. Overall, we had a great time and it almost killed me not to order a second margarita.
After visiting a few wineries for some tastings, my wife and I headed into Sonoma for some dinner. We parked and this was the first place we saw. The inviting, and somewhat gourmet sounding menu enticed us to come in. The restaurant has nice ambiance and decor.
Maya starts you off with fresh tortilla chips complimented by two delicious fire roasted salsas, one red and the other green. We started with an excellent traditional lime margarita and fresh brewed iced tea. We shared a caesar salad and chile relleno appetizer. The moderately spicy, roasted poblano chile was the key flavor (as it should be), with the cheese and a mildly sweet red sauce playing a balancing role. The caesar salad was light and refreshing with crunchy romain lettuce, delicious olive oil, shaved hard cheese and freshly made croutons. We had the tamale special for the main dish, which consisted of two small tamales, one with cheese topped with a red sauce and the other with roasted vegetables topped with a green sauce. Everything we tried was completely amazing, down to the white beans and rice.
Also, save some room for some dessert. Our friendly and helpful waitress helped me decide on the ibarra chocolate creme brulee, a first for me. We weren't disappointed with the smooth chocolate decadence.
This meal as described above turned out to be an excellent value at $45 (before tip). I will definitely go there again, and highly recommend it.
My My My...
This is one of those rare places where authentic food meets good ambience. For someone who likes their food spicy, this is heaven.
I tried the fried Jalapenos and Prawns Diablo. The fried Jalapeos was a pleasant surprise, the hotness; because of the cream cheese; hits you after a while, it is amazing. I could have done with more rice and less fried plantain in my Prawns Diablo but both these dishes were just out of the world (yummm).
Spicy Hot Sauce! Seriously, they make there own hot sauce here - it comes out in a little dish and looks like salsa, but one little nip of it will send your mouth ablaze! I love spice so I think that is a great thing.
Outside of that the service was great and the food was very colorful, well prepared, and tasty. The bathrooms were very clean, the space extremely accommodating, and I will absolutely go back.
The service was good. They accomodated us (group of six) on a Saturday night with no reservation. The food was OK. My cheese enchiladas were very flavorful and delish. My husband was not happy with his tacos as the sauce was too sweet.
Chips and salsa which is the best thing about Mexican restaurants were sadly not so good Half the chips were stale so it was hard to enjoy.
Sonoma, CA
Category: Mexican
Sonoma, CA
Category: Mexican
Sonoma, CA
Category: Mexican
Sonoma, CA
Category: Nightlife
Napa, CA
Category: Mexican
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