Maria’s Kitchen

Delicious & fresh Mexican dishes right in the heart of Shelter Island. Take out or eat-​in (in the rustic backyard) of this excellent little place. All of the food here tastes homemade, fresh, and light, compared to your typical Mexican joint. Nothing fancy, but the staff is very friendly, service is prompt, and you can dine (very) casually out back if you wish.
The fish tacos and beef/​chorizo tacos were both excellent, as was the guac. Prices are fair considering you’re on an island within spitting distance of $ag Harbor. A respite from some of the over-​hyped, over-​priced food in this area.

Fantastic place! Tacos were very good with fresh ingredients, friendly staff and excellent freshly squeezed juices. This is probably my favorite place on Shelter Island and would definitely recommend it.

Simple little place for delicious food.

Coming from queens my wife and I were a bit skeptical when we saw authentic Mexican. I ordered a burrito and she got the fish taco and Mexican corn. Both were absolutely delicious! The portions are huge so you can probably share and the prices were very reasonable. Excellent experience I would highly recommend!

Maria’s has a great repertoire for such a small spot. Also, the prices are fair compared to similar Hamptons deli joints. Highly recommend grabbing some Maria’s and posting up on the Shelter Island craft brewery porch with some cold ones.

My boyfriend and I stopped here to get some food while we tried out the shelter island brewery next door. We didn’t expect much, just some basic tacos, but we were very pleasantly surprised! Maria’s tacos are delicious! I ordered the Baja fish taco and the goat taco. The Baja fish was much more substantial, with avocado, spicy sauce, tomato, and red cabbage. The taco was in fact so loaded, that I needed to eat some of the filling with a fork before picking it up. That’s not a complaint though, I loved it! The goat taco was more basic (cheaper though) with just cilantro and chopped onion. The goat meat itself was deliciously tender.
My boyfriend got the fish burrito which was enormous. He enjoyed. His only complaint was the rice to fish ratio.
We were both really happy with our meals. The servers were friendly, and a little eccentric. Service is very slow.
There is some indoor seating, just a couple tables and chairs. My boyfriend and I took our meals «to go», and bright then out to the picnic benches outside of the brewery. Shelter island’s natural beauty made for a charming ambiance.
Very happy with this unassuming Mexican shop! Highly recommended for anyone looking for a colorful meal.

Had lunch at Maria’s last weekend. I had two fish tacos my wife had a fish and a shrimp and my big 12 year old ate three (count em three) steak tacos. He loved the steak and they looked good but I had no time to be sampling. My fish tacos where amazing! The fish was crispy and fresh inside. The flavors where unique. I have never had a better fish taco.
So what can I complain about. The outside seating area out back is not much to look at but it was fine. My wife and I got smoothies and neither of us loved them. Mine was mango and not bad. I think she got piña colada and did not like it. And the highly touted home made green hot sauce has no kick — such a bummer.
But here are the work arounds! They have a great selection of unique drinks including clear mountain dew which I have to try next week. Also in the front is a much nicer garden with tables belonging to the brewery next door. Boom life hack… skip the smoothies and the drab back garden and grab a beer out front to wash down your tacos!
The work around for the hot sauce? Bring Tabasco!

We come to Maria’s multiple times every time we vacation on Shelter Island. Not only is Maria so lovely and personable, her food is the real deal. Potions are generous and the ingredients fresh. When I’ve been on the fence about what to order, Maria will put together a plate of my favorites. Standouts are the Baja Fish Taco, chilaquiles, tortas and homemade salsa verde.

Fresh tasty food and friendly service. There’s a little garden to sit and eat if you want. Highly recommended.

Maria’s food is delicious and always freshly made. It does tend to be better in the summer, when she can locally source all of the fruits and vegetables for the salsas and other condiments. I highly recommend her Baja Fish Tacos. Note, this is more of a take-​out place. There are only about 3 – 4 seats inside and maybe 10 outside, and the outside patio is lacking in charm, so don’t expect anything fancy. That said, this is a great place to pick up a cheap lunch or dinner to eat on a local beach.

Maria’s is so overlooked that I often forget it’s there. Then I re-​discover it and wonder why we’re not ordering here every night. The food is fresh and tasty and ready in a hurry. I haven’t tried everything on the menu but I can definitely recommend the tacos.

If you love Mexican food, and I mean REAL AUTHENTIC Mexican food, stop reading now and go visit Maria. This ain’t no Tex-​Mex Bull Sh*t meets Hamptons euro trash, this is an explosion of flavor wrapped in a humble tortilla.
Wow, what a hidden gem!
This place is inconspicuous. It’s not screaming with Spanish pride and I would have easily drive by it if a local hadn’t recommended it. Heck, I actually DID drive by it when I first got to the island without even know it existed! But the food here is KILLER! I mean, who would expect to get such a gastronomic pleasure packaged in a burrito on Shelter Island?
It was one of the best burritos I’ve had, it completely blows Chipotle out of the water, and it’s on the same level as MG2K in Patchogue, but less sketchy. (if you know what I’m talking about, you know)
They also have the «bowl» option if you want to keep the burrito gluten-​free.
The burritos are huge, the quesadillas are amazing, the Torta was toasted and looked so good! The Salsa Verde had so much flavor, and the red spicy salsa was packing a nice mild/​mid heat bursting with flavor.
I am amazed at how I’m the first to review this place. If you Unilocalers go check this out, I’m sure you’ll follow suit in a slew of 5 star reviews. Seriously folks, if you give this place anything less than 5 stars because your summer road trip to the Yucatan through Guadalajara had better carne, I’m going to come snatch that burrito right out of your entitled little hands!
Seriously, stop reading and GO. THERE. NOW.
Additional Info you really don’t need but I’ll give anyway…
Guac is sold by weight. The kitchen also offers a selection of fresh juices (like, the kind that people who are on a detox would drink kale/​spinach/​celery type stuff) and fruit smoothies (mango, pineapple, strawberry, etc) and also a selection of latin household staples. You can also get turkey clubs, salads, and cheeseburgers if you want to keep it gringo.