Taqueria Maya

Wow, best tacos and enchiladas ever. I have been to Mexico several time, this is the real deal. So glad they are close by, top shelf. Head chef is fantastic he really cares about what he creates and delivers consistency. He wears a baseball cap backwards, thank him for your meal on your way out. He takes his work seriously and it shows. This place is a real treat.

I’ve been coming here since before they expanded, back when the migrant workers could still cash their checks here during lunch. It’s changed quite a bit to attract the surrounding suburban community, but the food is still my favorite around. Enjoy that they added some «Caribbean» food to the menu (Puerto Rican dishes) and they still serve goat on weekends. Lost some of it’s authentic feel, but the food still satisfies.

Wow, the salsa was awesome and actually had a good kick to it. Very rare around here to get any salsa that doesn’t just taste like tomato and onion. I went at lunch time and had a $ 6 lunch special of two chicken tamales with beans and rice. It was very good, the masa used in the tamales was just right and not dried out and they weren’t drenched in sauce like at some other places either. Good stuff.

My co-​workers and I just had this for the first time today. We were pleasantly pleased. There are a lot of places out there that claim to be «authentic” — Taqueria Maya has a right to claim this. We all got different menu items and loved every bite. We ordered a small side of chips and salsa to go along with our perfect portion lunch specials. The salsa came in a glass jar– this was just a small added bonus– and it had just the perfect amount of heat to it. We will be back.

I was a Taqueria Maya/​Maya Mexican Resturant frequent customer since it first opened. Their authentic tacos were the best in the city and their burritos were freaking huge! My best friend and I would eat here all the time, it reminded us of the taco shops in Chicago. I swore to all my friends and family that they had to try it and wouldn’t find anything better in the city.
I’m am saddened to say I am no longer a customer. The quality has gone down hill, and judging from the other recent reviews I am not the only one to notice. As I write this there is a 50% off deal on a famous website, but even that is not enough to get me to go back.
New ownership has poured a lot of money into this place; expanding and adding a cantina, new décor, and a full time manager. When I noticed these «improvements» I thought they could only make things better, but I was wrong. New ownership has run this place to the ground.
My problems started this year, possibly late last year. The first of my problems started when during a visit they had mistaken my choice of meat, giving me chorizo instead of carne asada on one of my tacos. No big deal, I sent it back. When it came back I immediately noticed that instead of making me a new taco, they scrapped the chorizo off of the flour tortilla and put carne asada on top of the huge grease pile leftover from the chorizo. Keep in mind these guys know my face, I’ve been here dozens of times. I was surprised that they would treat a regular this way, but I didn’t complain — it’s not my style. I finished my food even though my tacos were dry and not very flavorful. Since it wasn’t lunch or dinner time I didn’t think much of it and figured the cook was having a very off day.
My next 4 – 5 visits were worse. I made sure to come when the meats would be fresh and the kitchen wouldn’t be slammed (aka slightly before/​after lunch and dinner times). I continued to order tacos yet I received pure dry tasteless garbage and nothing that I had become used to over the years. I ventured into other meats thinking they had just changed suppliers for their carne and carnitas, but I couldn’t find anything that tasted fresh and flavorful. I got bad stomach cramps during one of my visits, but I was in denial about this place going downhill. Regardless, I’ve given up and will no longer spend my money here.
I’ve yet to find an official replacement for authentic tacos nearby. I recently tried Mazunte in Oakley — so far so good. Their tacos are unique and flavorful, it would probably put Taqueria Maya/​Maya Mexican Resturant out of business even in it’s prime. I just wish it was closer

Changed owners some months ago. The food has deteriorated considerably since then. There is far less meat on the tortas, the corn tacos are more dry, the prices are higher, and the environs are, well, slicker (i.e., new tables, a bar, English TV stations playing on larger big screen TV’s — none of these changes are positive in my mind). In the half dozen times I’ve visited since the ownership change, I have over time seen fewer and fewer Mexican/​Hispanic customers for what that is worth. The last time we were there, which will be the last time we will be there, several of the dishes we ordered are traditionally served with lime but w got lemons! New owner tells me limes are too expensive — 75 cents each. Coincidentally the next day I went to the Mexican supermarket out on Northland Blvd. and they sold limes 10 for a dollar! No kidding. (By the way the prepared food at the supermarket — tacos, tamales, tortas are the real deal like Maya once was, and there is a nice Mexican restaurant in that strip mall too called something like La Familia that I understand is also what Maya was.) All in all it seems that the new owner is moving more in the new Mexican or Tex-​Mex direction and a less-​Hispanic crowd. That is, of course, OK it that is what you are looking for. Otherwise there has been a proliferation of more authentic places in the area.

Went there for dinner tonight, ordered a mixed chicken and beef fajitas. The dish came with corn tortillas, rice, beans, lettuce, and avocado. For 12 dollars, the portion was okay, it’s enough to share between two people, assuming you don’t eat too much (definitely more than enough for one person).
Taste:
The dish tasted okay, it was properly cooked with the right amount of grease, but it was little blend; there wasn’t much flavor to it. Our friend ordered their daily special which was a burrito for Tuesday, seems to be a little blend as well…
Overall, this place seems okay, portions are consistent with other mexican restaurants, just a little blend in flavor. My favorite two mexican restaurants in Cincinnati are Taqueria Mercado in fairfield and Taqueria Mi Ranchito in springdale.

I was super excited to finally try this Taqueria. But unfortunately it left a little to desire.
Went in during lunch and order the #6 lunch special…1 taco al pastor and 1 small quesadilla.
While we waited for the actual food, the server brought chips and salsa (this was the highlight of the meal). When finally food came it was a good size portion, but unfortunately it was lacking big time in flavor. Not sure what the hype is about, but this girl is most likely not coming back.

As a native Texan, I was pleased to find a taqueria with traditional choices (al pastor, barbacoa, lengua) at a good price. This place also has delicious salsas made in restaurant.

Came here on a Thursday night. Quiet place, good for family, and the food was just perfect. I ordered beef fajitas and it was so good! Very fresh and delicious! Worth it!

Yummy! The food here was amazing! It’s a little on the spicy side though. It had fantastic flavor and the service was outstanding! I will definitely go back to this place!!!

This used to be THE BEST Mexican restaurant. New ownership has destroyed what was once a unique experience. The first time we went after new ownership we could tell the salsa was different in a watered down, filler added sort of way and that the carnitas were clearly prepared in a substandard, dry as a tumbleweed sort of way. Why mess with perfection?
Today we sat for over an hour without having a chance to place an order. We got the attention of the server 3 desperate/​separate times only to have her shrug her shoulders twice and on the third time offer up a gesture that suggested ‘it is what it is’. A guy next to our booth mirrored these sentiments bc he told us he waited 45mins for 1 plate! He agreed that this place has gone down the gutter since new ownership.
Long story short: you’ve lost our business.

I’ve been eating tacos since I was a little kid in San Jose, California, and my mum learned to make them from one of the Hispanic ladies in the neighbourhood.
Cincinnati/​Mason is far from either coast or Mexico. Yet, this restaurant keeps showing up on my Unilocal feed. Since my car dealer moved to the auto mall, I’ve been checking out various stores in the area. Today, I wanted tacos and so it made sense to re-​acquaint myself with the area and find another restaurant.
I wasn’t really sure about the place. The hours were listed as opening at 10 but the hours on the front of the store said that it opened at 11. Someone greeted me at the door, and welcomed me into the restaurant.
She sat me down with salsa and a menu, and asked me what I’d like to drink. Then, she said that they had Coke products, which didn’t match the menu. I ordered a Jarritos, Limon flavour, a Mexican soda/​pop/​soft drink. As I got my drink, another woman brought some yellow corn tortilla chips, which were warm, but not freshly fried.
There were so many items on the menu, causing the type to be rather small, and I was struggling to find everything. I told her that I was looking for steak tacos, and she showed me a combination plate with rice and beans.
She told me that the tacos came with cilantro and onions, and she asked if that was okay, which it was. This is very different than how we made tacos at home. We used ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, plus sauce. Of course, we fried our corn tortillas just before we ate.
So, after a few minutes, she brought the plate with two tacos, yellow rice, and refried beans with a little bit of cheese, along with three sauces, and no explanation. I love green sauce, so I didn’t need to know what sauces were in the yellow and red containers, but I would assume mild and spicy, respectively.
The white corn tortillas were freshly fried, and you can feel a bit of oil still there. The second set of tortillas (like double-​bagging at the grocery store) ripped toward the end of the second taco, but that’s probably because it was stuffed. The steak seemed to be steak – not stew meat as you’ll get other places. The cilantro and onions were full of flavour, as expected. Only the yellow rice didn’t have much taste to it, and there weren’t any peppers in it. Of course, if they’re using Saffron to season the rice, the price of the spice is high, so they probably don’t use a lot.
It was quite good, but not as good as the places I’ve been in California or Florida, but maybe the next time I’ll add the 55 cents to have the lettuce and tomatoes to make it more like home.
Update 2014.03.12: I was surprised to find the owner/​manager of this place in Trotwood, Ohio (outside Dayton) at another Mexican restaurant. He said that this one had new owners.
Update 2014.04.28: I was at Kings VW to have some maintenance on my car and stopped here for lunch. Again, I got two tacos, rice, and beans. I got a very quick explanation of the sauces that I don’t remember at all. I tried them individually and I liked the salsa they gave me for the chips better. The chips still taste as though they came from a huge bag from a factory somewhere.
Since I got the tacos with tomatoes and lettuce this time, they had a more balanced taste but the meat was really cheap and more like the parts you cut away than meat. If they’d used hamburger, it would have been better. So, one star off because it’s just okay, and you can find better places if you go looking for them.

Good food! We seated ourselves and a waitress brought the menus and took our drink order. The guacamole was fresh and delicious! Hubby found the big burrito moist but a little bland for his taste. Our children liked the meat and tortillas that came on their tacos. Also, my supreme fajitas were very good with a few shrimp sprinkled in. We will be back!

One star is off because I didn’t actually set foot in the restaurant, so I can’t rate the décor.
I chose to order our company’s catered lunch from here last week, and WOAH DELICIOUS.
The food was super fresh and hot when it was picked up. We ordered food for what they said would be enough for 40 people, and barely ate ½ of it. We tried the chicken, beef, cheek, chorizo and pork tacos. The corn tortillas were the best I’ve had outside of Mexico, and everything was so so tasty.
Everyone was asking where we got the food, and I heard several people say they want to go there themselves. We’ll definitely be ordering from them again, and if you’re out at the automall, DEFINITELY stop by.

I had heard great things from friends and read all the rave reviews about Taqueria Maya on Unilocal so I was pretty eager to try it out. But, from the bad vibe to the bad food, Taqueria Maya was about as disappointing as it gets.
I took my poor, unsuspecting husband here on a Thursday night and the place was deserted. After entering, we stood there for a moment, not sure what to do. The «hostess» looked at us, we looked at her. She looked at us, we looked at her. Finally, I asked, «do we seat ourselves?» She nodded and we sat down at the nearest table. She brought over menus and chips and salsa. The chips were okay. I liked the salsa, my husband didn’t. We ordered the guacamole, which was the highlight of the meal.
We ordered our mains and they came out really quickly which I found sort of strange and really off-​putting. I initially ordered the enchiladas de mole, two cheese, one ground beef. The mole sauce was really sweet, but with no discernible flavor and the ground beef in the enchilada was still pink. My husband had ordered two tacos and a burrito. The ground beef in his taco was also pink. We don’t mess around with pink ground beef so we returned the dishes (after having to approach the hostess/​server since she was too busy reading a magazine to check on her one and only table). She explained that they boil the ground beef (?) so that’s why it’s pink.
Hm.
Honestly, at this point, I just wanted to cut our losses and leave but I thought, I’ll order two carne asada tacos since it seems like a relatively worry-​free dish. Nope. The meat was really salty (really, REALLY salty) and gristly. The chicken in my husbands dish was really dry. It was all pretty awful.
Also, my husband described the men’s room as «dark and dirty» which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in any eating establishment.
AND we were over-​charged for the whole debacle. They don’t hand you a bill, you walk to the register to pay. I thought the amount seemed wrong but the hostess/​server very clearly explained our tab to the guy at the register. He just took it upon himself to over-​charge us which I later deduced during the ride home.
Taqueria Maya almost makes me want to forget about tacos.

Very authentic tasting Mexican restaurant in a Mason stripmall. Completely unexpected!
My dad and his wife love this restaurant and I can see why — the food is so good! Menus are written in Spanish and Spanish TV is playing in the store.
I ordered crispy tacos and was pleasantly surprised to find that the tacos had just been fried — rather than a store bought or pre-​prepared shell, it was made just minutes earlier.
Simple, unassuming and delicious. If I lived in CIncinnati, I’d be back to Taqueria Maya frequently!

This is probably the best taqueria in this area. Being from Oklahoma and traveling to New Mexico, California, Arizona and Texas alot i have a certain snobby side when it comes to my Mexican food. Although I am a Tex-​Mex fan at heart, i still love me some street tacos and homemade tamales!
Beth and I tried this place out after a day of shopping in yellow springs. We were started off with the standard chips and salsa. Chips were pipping hot and the salsa did not lack on flavor or spice. Beth ordered the enchiladas with green chili, ranchero, and mole. I ordered a carne asada taco and a tamale.
My Carne Asada was a little over done, but the lime juice helped that out nicely. the cilantro and onion was very fresh, the corn tortilla could of been heated up or steamed before serving. My tamale is what made my meal. If you’ve ever gone to a Mexican restaurant with me you know that my first question is do you make your tamales by hand on site. It annoy’s me that a place can call themselves a mexican restaurant and NOT make there own tortillas, tamales, and sauces. I’m sorry but if you use store bought products, your just a glorified Taco Bell… deal with it.
They provided 3 flavors of salsa for my taco, the hot was my favorite but mild by my standards… it only required one kleenix. Beth’s enchiladas were ok, my favorite was the mole and the green chili, but i like my green chili sauce better. The ranchero was burnt, tasted like it was on the stove WAY to long.
This place has some high hopes for me. If they start not overcooking some of the products it would be a 5 star place for me. Also no margarita’s but they had beer, coke (not made with real sugar), and the tea tasted like it had cinnamon in it :(
However they make there own tortillas, tamales, salsa. This is a gotta try again on a busy night!

Reading some of the earlier reviews. It has Mayan decorations inside, hence the name «Maya.» Um, its a taqueria not a restaurant so no tequila because there is no bar. It’s a family run authentic taqueria. The emphasis is on great food, not aesthetics.
Best taqueria in town. Seriously. Far outweighs Valle Verde, and is better than Taqueria Mercado and El Mexicana in Newport. They have an extensive menu including Pollo con Mole and Menudo. They also deliver with a minimum order.
Prices are excellent.

I first heard about Taqueria via Groupon and came in for lunch.
First of all the food is amazing and at a great price for the amount they give you. Taquiria is superior to El Rancho and other Mexican restaurants in the Mason area.
The only downside is it is somewhat difficult to find (next to Lenscrafters) and the inside doesn’t hold many people.
this is def my new favorite Mexican restaurant around mason.