Maggie’s Kitchen

I love this place. It’s no frills, but the food makes you not care. The barbacoa (beef cheek) platillo is fantastic — so tender and flavorful, and the beans are super creamy and delicious. The corn tortillas are fresh made, and you get that extra corn flavor because of it. The staff are very friendly and helpful. Best Mexican food in GR.

I was hoping to find an extensive selection of Mexican bread and Chocolate Abuelita to quiet my cravings but I didn’t find any… Maybe Maggie’s will teach the locals a thing or two about Mexican bread and hot chocolate.
Michigan has one of the best Mexican food dishes I’ve ever tasted in the states. Maggie’s offers quick and yummy Mexican food in the area.

Maggie’s is pretty middle-​of-​road Mexican food for me. They straddle the fine line of authentic Mexican and watered down Midwestern-​catered Mexican fare, which is definitely a good business model for any ‘ethnic-​restaurant’ in West Michigan, but I feel like you could easily end up ordering something pretty bland if you don’t request some modifications, which they are super good about.
What I love most about Maggie’s is the ambience – kitschy (in the best way), colorful, and charming. You can definitely tell the owners take a lot of pride in this restaurant and in Mexican culture, history, and cuisine. Although I am not especially religious or nationlistic, I take a lot of comfort in all the veladoras (saint candles), Guadalupe virgin images, images of historical Mexican revolutionaries (Hidalgo, Zapata, Juárez, Chávez, etc.) and pseudo-​Aztec imagery. It reminds of my grandparent’s and my older Mexican relatives’ homes, so a lot of positive nostalgic association I guess. Maggie and your abuelita will probably get along and have similar tastes lol.
I’ve only eaten there a few times, and ordered pretty standard onion & cilantro tacos (without meat) with beans, Spanish rice, and then I had them add white Mexican cheese and avocado slices. The rice and beans were flavorful. The vegetarian tacos on their menu have the tomato & lettuce shred with the orange & white cheese shred which is more the gringo-​style taco, which is a good example of how you have to special order Mexican-​style items here. The hot sauce selection was sufficient. And not to be hot sauce snob, but I’m glad their tables have the pretty standard El Yucateco-​brand habanero sauces, which are always better than the weak vinegary crap everyone seems to go crazy over (Cholula, Tabasco, uhhh Frank’s… please don’t hate me, but I’m just not a fan). Their table hot sauce game is mediocre, but it’s a better selection than most Mexican places in town, so there’s that.
Pretty standard vegetarian options, fun ambience, friendly & helpful service, and decent food. It’s a gem in the sort of run-​down Bridge Street neighborhood. And with Harmony Hall right across the street now, it’s kind of nice to see a little bit of life and growth in the area. I’m not blown away, but there’s still good stuff at Maggie’s, especially for the great prices.

Oh Maggies! Why did you let me down so!!? Seriously one of the worst tacos I’ve had in GR. So boring, plain, unmemorable… We got the guacamole and it was incredibly boring and needed salt desperately. I did see her cooking back there though and was bummed I was so unimpressed… I don’t know if i’d go back. Maybe the meat is better, but my meat eating companion did not seem impressed either. Just a complete miss for me.

Upon entering you get the authentic vibe which is pretty dope. The staff greeted us friendly as could be. The overall atmosphere was pretty neat with the wall décor and art. The overall price was pretty dope. Once we received our order we were immediately given a choice of salsas to accompany the tortilla chips. The pollo tortas that I ordered came out on a toasted bun, buttered, and the cheese melted on which was pretty dope. The chicken was seasoned to perfection, also dope. All in all the experience was hella dope. Food rating was definitely somewhere between pretty dope and hella dope. 10 out of 10 would eat here again.

Kind of a mixed bag here. Very nice staff and large menu. I found the ground beef dry burrito to be dripping with grease in a major way. Perhaps the greasiest burrito I’ve ever had. I think it shouldn’t be called a «dry» burrito since it is just gushing grease. If you were stupid enough to eat their dry burrito while driving, you’d look like you played chicken with a mechanic holding a grease gun. The bottles of hot sauce on the table were a combination of being empty and sticky to the touch, which is a bit gross.
I also thought ten minutes to get my dry burrito and a taco to be excessive when they were only 25% full. El Sombrero is right down the road and has a far superior dry burrito for less money. El Cunado is a total dive, but I also like their food better.
With El Granjero (my favorite Mexican restaurant in GR) right down the street, plus El Sombrero and El Cunado all within a mile of each other on Bridge Street, I’m not so sure I’ll ever come here again when it’s not as good and it’s no cheaper.
I feel like I’m going on a limb being a harsh critic of a Grand Rapids Mexican food icon, but I’m telling the truth as I see it, damn the politics. I dare anyone to eat their «dry» burrito while driving with a $ 50 shirt on. You’ll be coated in grease after the first bite.

Had the Maggie Platter and it was incredible– added pico de gallo and some chips n salsa and we had a feast. Highly recommend

Stopped in at lunch today and realized I wasn’t the only one excited to visit this neighborhood gem. Located on the corner of Stocking and Bridge, you can’t miss the big «Maggies» sign, across from what will be the new Harmony Brewing location (on the west side of GR).
This mom and pop type restaurant is spacious and bright with Mexican influences everywhere. Had I decided to eat in the restaurant instead of getting to-​go, there would have been plenty of tables.
I jumped in line and ordered a dry chicken burrito with a side of pineapple soda. Given that I came at the peak of the lunch rush, my wait was about 15 minutes, which really isn’t so bad especially since the food is so tasty. My burrito was about medium size and the chicken was moist and tender with a hint of seasoning. Maggie’s is a great option for standard Mexican-​American fare as well as some spicier and more adventurous plates for those who like authentic tastes. Can’t wait to stop back in!

One of the top 3 Mexican restaurants in G.R.
Top quality good food without all the grease and fat you can sometimes find. Certainly authentic.

I think the lack of quality ingredients at Maggie’s continues to keep them from being what I would consider a quality authentic mexican restaurant. We’re fortunate to have as many great real deal mexican restaurants in GR this unfortunately is not one of them. The staff are friendly, the area is ok during the day.
* I think a lot of these reviews aren’t legit…

Very authentic and extremely affordable. Solid portions too. Most importantly, very delicious. Had the Huevos con chorizo y papas plate (eggs, chorizo and potato) that also came with rice, beans and fresh, tasty corn tortillas. Also grabbed a bite of the wet burrito and this is what a wet burrito should always taste like. Fresh ingredients and a job well done mixing it all together. The service was excellent too. Nice people who appreciated the patrons.

Not impressed with this place. I had the huevos con chorizo and potatoes plate and I’ve had better. I do like the décor and some of the historic posters and religious pieces.

Wonderful food! Full of all the right flavors! Pork tacos, corn tortillas, loads of cilantro… to die for!

BEST Mexican food since moving from California. It’s authentic and flavorful. I moved here almost two years ago (to the U.P.) and have missed authentic Mexican food. It’s nearly impossible to find anything that compares to what we had in Southern California. We were in GR for an appointment and asked if there were any good Mexican places and this was recommended to us as the «best Mexican in GR». She was absolutely right! It’s the best Mexican I’ve had since moving to Michigan. We will definitely visit again anytime we are in the area.

The food is ok, but really expensive. Everything is ala cart. It is served on styrofoam plates with plastic silverware. The music was not mexican, just some local radio station. They didn’t even have homemade salsa. I don’t know if this place recently changed hands or what; but I was very disappointed. If they want to stay in business, they better lower their prices and make them dinners with rice & beans I will never go back!

Maggie’s Kitchen may be nothing fancy, but that tells you they concentrate their efforts on making delicious and authentic food for a great price. Take time to read through the descriptions of the menu items. Many of my friends only ordered things they knew of or could see a picture of. Go out on a limb — tostadas are difficult and messy to eat anyway! I ordered the Torta de Chorizo. I’ll be back for more of their chorizo!

Best authentic Mexican food in Grand Rapids. Avoid it if you prefer plain ground beef with a big pile of cheese, because that’s not exactly what Maggie’s has.
Perfect lunch = a chorizo torta. Not much more to even say. An authentic torta? Sign me up, case closed. Get over the «sketchy» area and your confusion about the establishment (it’s not Americanized, oh no!) and order yourself some tasty treats.

Delicious authentic Mexican food.
We have to eat at Maggie’s Kitchen whenever we’re in town.

To say that Maggie’s Kitchen is the only and most authentic Mexican food in West Michigan is completely false. El Granjero is much better.
Don’t get me wrong I’m a huge fan, but have visited much less since I discovered El Granjero right down the street. Maggie’s has great food, but the hours are terrible. It is more of a lunch/​breakfast place. They’re closed on Monday’s, the prices are pretty high for the portions as well. The best deal is the torta. El Granjero is open 7 days a week, has a bigger more extensive menu, better hours, cheaper prices, and bigger portions.
I loved Maggies when I first found it, but because El Granjero is just as authentic and a much better deal in every aspect, it’s hard to justify going to Maggie’s. If your in the mood for great Mexican, you can’t go wrong with either, but El Granjero is better in every way.

BEST MEXICAN FOOD IN GR!
Authentic and simple, they even carry Mexican coke.
My favorite is the beef cheek taco w/​pico, I crave it often.
Maggie will probably take your order.
Give it a try!