Mayan Manjar Yucateco Restaurant

I do not normally take the time to write a Unilocal review, but I had to leave a word for this gem. I’ll be honest – I wouldn’t have taken the chance to eat here if it hadn’t been featured in 5280 Magazine’s «cheap eats.» But I’m glad I did, because this is the best Yucatan food in all of Denver. I ate at Tamayo downtown last week and for all its over-​priced hype, it didn’t come close to this hole-in-the-wall’s authentic, flavorful cuisine. And I spent $ 40 at Tamayo and $ 10 here. (I realize Tamayo is more traditionally Mexican so it’s not a perfect comparison).
I loved the sopes and the horchata. You have got to go with the pork, it’s amazing. Friends got the enchiladas and the tamales, and my husband got one of the meat plates. Everyone was blown away.
You don’t come here for the ambiance, this is a small, family-​owned joint where the kids bring you your bill and the walls are white-​washed. But if you want unbelievable food for a few bucks, this is the place.

This place is hole-​in-​the-​wall food perfection! We had two surprise plates snd the biggest surprise for me was that I couldn’t begin to pick what I liked best. The food was fresh and just different enough to be really interesting. The owner was lovely as were here children. Oh, and the cucumber lemonade was heaven!

After reading several recommendations, I tried this restaurant for the first time about two weeks ago. It was fantastic!
Sadly, I drove up to try it again last Friday night, and there was a sign on the door stating simply «closed/​cerrado.» There was no further note. I hope it was just a short term closing, but I’m not certain.
If you are planning to go here, you may want to call in advance to see if they are actualy open for business.

Cute little family run spot with authentic food from the Yucatan! Most of the menu you will not find the typical Tex-​mex. Horchata was yummy! Will def go back

We will definitely be back! We felt like we were eating really good, homey food in someone’s house. The tacos are yummy, the smothered burritos are huge, and the sopas are delicious. The prices are very reasonable. We’ll be back to try the rest of the menu. The only minor quibble is that I wish the parking lot was better lined and lighted. We went at night and it was difficult to determine where to park. But the parking lot won’t deter us from going back. Yum!!!

A true gem of a place.
One thing Denver (unfortunately) has is an overabundance of Mexican restaurants. There is so much sameness and mediocrity.
No so at Mayan Manjar. Dishes are original and executed well. Lots of love goes into preparation. You can tell they have pride in their food. The bean dip brought out with chips was unctuous.
I couldn’t pick a dish from the menu and they gladly concocted a combination of all the things I wanted to try.
It was all delicious. All of it. The star was the cochinita pibil. Marinated and slowly simmered overnight. deep, layered flavors. Tender without being mushy.
Outstanding.
Definitely. Go.

Ahhh Mayan Manjar Yucateco Restaurant. Prior to Sunday September 14^th 2014, I made a reservation personally to this tiny establishment. When its Sunday itself, since I came in early @ 11:15hrs ish, our tables and chairs are already set up for our arrival! Thank you Mayan Manjar Yucateco Restaurant Staffs.
All my friends like it, some saying the Sopes and the Tamales are the HIGHLIGHTS for them. NOT forgetting the different Tacos options that Mayan provide in their simple Menu. All in all its a Successful Lunch Event with my friends thru Meetup.
This time around I ordered the 2 Salpicon and 1 Asada Tacos. My Tacos comes with a Dipping Sauce/​Salsa which is different from my previous visit. NOTE to SELF: I should ask the server, the name of the sauce/​salsa and Remember it! My Lunch that afternoon was just $ 6.45 with tax! SCORE! The Salpicon tasted different in a good way in which I cannot described. Perhaps its just another cooking method of how their «marinate» the Beef. I was stuffed, but definitely I want to return to try the Chicken Tamales OR the Desserts on what they can offer. Once again, the service was efficient and they are indeed welcoming. Love to support LOCAL Mom and Pop establishment like this. Thank you Mayan Manjar Yucateco Restaurant!
Mayan Manjar Yucateco Restaurant
5209 W. Mississippi Ave,
Lakewood, CO 80 226
Tel: (303)-936−5562
@184/2014

We had passed by Mayan Manjar Yucateco a few months ago but never got around to checking it out until now. Since we’ve been to Merida and the surrounding Yucatan few times and thouroughly love the native cuisine we thought it’s about time we try the food here at Mayan Manjar Yucateco. I’m so happy we did. It was muy delicioso!!! I had the Cochinita Pibil Enchiladas. Yum! We will be back many times for sure. Now I need to Facebook all my friends about this quaint little restaurant that’s just west of the intersection of Mississippi and Sheridan Blvd. in southwest Denver.

We came here with our international food group today. The waitress right from the start was such a sweetheart! She was so kind and explained the food as many dishes were new to us. I loved trying a new region of authentic Yucatan Mexican food.
Instead of the usual chips and salsa, the chips come with a black bean dip. This dip was so good. I kept piling it on to my chips.
The hubs and I both ordered the same thing which was the sopes combination. It is a thick corn tortilla shaped into a small shallow bowl, filled with refried beans, meat and topped with cabbage and chopped tomato. The tortilla itself was chewy and didn’t have a ton of flavor. By the time I hit the third one which was the chicken, I scraped the toppings off to eat them alone. Turns out I didn’t care for the chicken. The traditional pork and adobo were incredible though. Very tender and packed with flavor.
Next we tried the chicken tamales. They were my favorite part of the meal. The masa was softer than the typical tamale, served on a banana leaf and topped with a very mild tomato sauce. Not at all typical of the corn husk variety.
Overall we really enjoyed the service and the food.

I had the pleasure of enjoying food from this restaurant when they catered an event. Everything was amazing! The beans, rice, tamales, enchiladas had so much authentic flavor. I’ve never had Mayan food, but was beyond pleasantly surprised at how good this was!

If you really want to try delicious authentic Yucatecan food, you won’t be disappointed. You must try the tamales!!! They are the best I have tried in US. Highly recommended.

Having been raised on Yucatecan cuisine, I was super bummed when I couldn’t find it in Denver. Many restaurants serve «Cochinita Pibil» but they fall short to my grandmother’s home cooked meals… until now.
Mayan Manjar Yucateco is as authentic as it gets. With every bite I took, I was whisked back to summers in Mérida, enjoying late night dinners on Paseo Montejo with friends and cousins. We started with a basket of freshly fried chips and «frijol colado» which is black bean soup to dip (just like at grandmas house). The cochinita was flavored perfectly and as juicy and tender as I remembered it, the tamalito was moist and flavorful served up on a banana leaf with tomato sauce splashed on top. Together, the table also ordered poc chuc, panuchos, and tacos with relleno negro which were all just like Abuelita’s home cooking.
The only thing I was a bit disappointed in was that they didnt have the meatballs for the relleno negro nor did they have my favorite papadzules. However, one of the owners informed me that they are introducing more specialty dishes on Sundays and that Papadzules were a regular Sunday offering — score!
Do your tastebuds a solid and visit this place for authentic Yucatán Mexican cuisine that will not disappoint!

This is a pretty fantastic little family-​owned place. If you are tired of the typical Mexican food we get in Denver, give this little gem a try. It’s not big, probably not really well-​known, not in the mist of all the «ethnic restaurants» in Denver south, but you will be pleasantly surprised how fresh, fast, and delicious the food is. The free basket of tortilla chips were served with bean «salsa» instead of the regular tomato salsa. The chips were a little bit salty but delicious. Then I ordered an aqua de horchata. I am so glad they make the drink from rice instead of horchata powder like in many Mexican places. My bf ordered an aqua de pepino, a refreshing cucumber drink. For entrée, I got 3 salbutes with chicken with relleno negro. My bf got 3 sopes Yocateco with. The salbute is a puffed deep fried tortilla that’s topped with cabbage, meat, tomato, and avocado. The chicken came with a black sauce that’s quick delicious. The sope is also a deep fried tortilla (I am not quick sure what’s the different between a salbute and a sope). The beef is topped with cabbage, tomato, cheese. The meat is very tender and seasoned well. Like Mark T. said in his previous review their homemade habanero sauce that comes with almost every entrée is very very hot. They have some less hot salsa that’s made with guajillo, just ask them to replace the salsa. We will definitely come back again!

Have you tried the food of the Yucatán? It’s yummy. (Yes, I said it). And the folks at Mayan Manjar Yucateco Restaurant (in the old Maria Empanada space) will be more than happy to give you a taste of this southeastern Mexican state!
Why not get things started with a tangy cucumber limeade and some codzitos (Yucatecan-​style rolled tacos with pork or chicken)? Alternatively, perhaps an order of salbutes or panuchos may be more to your liking. Yes, these both feature meat, tomato, lettuce, avocado and pink pickled onions on a homemade corn tortilla… the main difference is that panuchos always have a layer of refried black beans inside, while salbutes do not. (Also, a panucho has a puffier tortilla than a salbute). As delicious as all this sounds, don’t stuff your face too much, because the best is yet to come!
Cochinita pibil is a hallmark of Yucatecan cuisine, consisting of pork marinated with annatto seeds and sour orange juice, then roasted in a Pib (earth oven) until the juicy, succulent meat practically falls apart. Then again, the dish known as relleno negro (chicken stewed in a sauce made of blackened árbol chiles and a cornucopia of spices) is no slouch either. Beef fans will just love the tender chopped steak dish alternatively known as dzik or salpicón de res. And the best part? Depending on what type of meat dish you order, you can get it as a taco, tostada, torta, sope… well, you get the picture. If you’re feeling especially hungry you can even try the ancient Mayan favorite, Poc-​Chuc — large slabs of pounded grilled pork served with rice, beans, chiltomate (roasted tomato sauce), avocado and more of those pickled onions. Mmmmm-​mmmmmmm!
I guess what I’m trying to say is — no matter what you pick, you’re sure to have a hot time at Mayan Manjar Yucateco Restaurant (especially if you overindulge in their homemade habanero sauce — they aren’t kidding around with that stuff!)