Maya

It’s a shame this place closed down! I used to go here a lot since work was nearby. I loved their chicken tortilla soup, tacos, and guacamole’s… The ambience was always nice, and their food was always delicious. Im sad they’re not around anymore!

Ah, poor Maya, we hardly knew ye! I remember Maya when it first opened, on a St Patrick’s Day evening in 1997 or 1998 — it was the most upscale, delicious Mexican food in the Bay Area. They offered delicious Mexico City Mexican food — not farm laborer snacks to go (aka burritos) and tortas locas.
Everything was prepared with white linen napkin and table cloth care, heavy silverware and chunky dishes, tableside prepped gucacamole and house made chips.
Over the course of ten years, they changed a few things on the menu, especially to accommodate the lunch crowd and the last time I went there was about 3 years ago and it was barely recognizable as the same place I had eaten with beans & rice, tacos and just «normal’ Americanized Mexican fare.
It’s sad that SF wore down what started off as a gem of a restaurant — I hope that something equally elegant ends up in that space esp given the demise of Hawthorne Lane years ago (which was the most upscale, delicious event restaurant in the area) and proliferation of awful cafeteria style joints (there’s a reason that Eden Plaza Deli is called «the smelly deli» but folks who work in the building).

Well that is a shame, I really liked Maya ,
It was a nice place for a quiet sit down lunch, and had really nice take out from the bar, not sure why they had to close other then maybe the construction going on ‚
You are gone, but thnx for the memories :)

This place is closed, but Opentable let me book a reservation here tonight.
Hey Unilocal — since this place is a ½ mile, from HQ, how about we update the listing?

It’s CLOSED. In my opinion, this was a wannabe upscale Mexican place.
Yes, i know about the happy hour and pork belly tacos. But all I remember about dining here, is the guacamole. Every single table had to have that little tower with chips in the bottom. The rest of the food is a blur, no dish stands out in my mind. I never tried the takeout section next to the bar.
Anyone looking for a better upscale Mexican place — try Colibri, near Union Square. They have guacamole prepared tableside, and superior handmade tortillas.
This area doesn’t have much foot traffic. But this spot could be a goldmine for the right restaurant. FiDi office workers are always looking for a place big enough to handle a large group lunch.

After an early happy hour @ Palomino, we decided to go to Maya for another happy hour. Woohoo!
When we first arrived, we were greeted by two Mexican ladies which turned out to be not from Maya but a separate party for those who are from Jack Daniels. Then we were showed to the back. Boohoo!
We found out that there are a separate dining area for happy hours and that is where we made our way to. We ordered the guava margaritas and the pineapple mojito. They were the bomb! What made it even more so delicious is their happy hour price of just $ 5. Now how do you go wrong with that!
Along with our cocktails, we were given fresh made tortillas with the spicy salsa that is to die for. I would have to say that this place makes one of the best tortilla salsa dip I have ever eaten. Wow!
I will definitely come back here for more. They have such a wide selections of cocktails and appetizers in their happy hour menu. That in itself is just plain irrestible and a must go place for happy hour.

Been here once for a private party and twice for happy hour. It’s a great place to go before a giants game because the margaritas are strong and tasty and there’s no waiting! Plus you can get some tasty cheap tacos to fill you up so you don’t spend mad money on stadium food.
Love the chips and the bean dip that come gratis. Plus friendly service!

Just went here today to get lunch with a friend! I can’t believe I’ve never seen the place before, considering it’s right in the north courtyard of my office. Guess I need to get out more often…
Anyways, some pros:
— very affordable: my burrito only cost me $ 6
— good portions: I was super full after lunch!
— quick service
— definitely come here for LUNCH because I’ve heard that dinner gets really pricey
— minor detail, but the cheese was melted SO WELL into the burrito and really made it taste better
Some areas I felt could have been improved:
— I ordered a pork and pineapple burrito (YUM right?) but I felt like they could have had more pineapple
— I asked for my salsa medium spicy. However, (either because I eat spicy food too often or because I overestimated) the medium spicy was not spicy at all! For people who can handle spicy, just get the hot salsa.
Something that really affected the taste of my burrito was that there were no vegetables at all… just the pork, rice, beans, cheese, and pineapple. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a wonderful burrito in all its glory, but part of me still wishes I had the lettuce or guac that other places might give.
The chips were REALLY good too. Are they homemade? In any case, I wish I could give this place 3.5 stars, but I guess I would have to round up to 4.

We came here with a party of 8. Started with the red sangria, which tasted like sweetened juice. I shared the ceviche sampler with the boyfriend and the tilapia tacos.
The ceviche is the worst that I’ve ever had. It was a few pieces of fish swimming in a bowl of horribly over-​done marinade. I couldn’t taste the fish at all. The tacos were good, but there was barely any fish in the taco. The crêpe dessert that we ordered were pretty terrible too — overtly sweet and the crepes had a horrible texture. I tried a bite of my roommate’s bread pudding, that was good though.
Our waiter had a pretty bad attitude, considering the place was only half full, we had to send several people on a mission to get some chips and salsa. The décor of the place is nice but it’s way overpriced for bad food. I wouldn’t come here again.

Been here twice. First time I rates it average (3); this time it was just bad (2).
The food here relies heavily on the fat content (fried, avocados, etc.) and is much lacking in flavor. Absent is the superb use of tomatoes, chilis, and other great spices that gives Latin food it’s flair.
Reason to come here: the drinks and the decent looking crowd here. If you look around and it’s a bad scene, do yourself a favor and hop to 21^st Amendment down the street where you will better happy hour food.

Cinco de Mayo celebration starts here @ Maya… When I arrived with my crew, geezs the place was packed! I was a quite irritated because it was literally cheek to cheek inside, luckily my friends were hawking down tables. All I kept thinking about was their pork belly tacos for 2.00! happy hour special. lol As soon as we all grabbed a drink they had told us we are not serving happy hour today due to the occasion FACK!!! ANNOYED… not even drinks. WTF? WE took the liberty of ordering calamari, pork belly tacos, shrimp tacos, and carnitas. While waiting I recommend their Pineapple mojito, yummmmm sure did quench my thirst!
On to the bites: Pork belly– was finger licking good! enough said, but a tad bit greasy.* Shrimp– A-​ok just spicy *Carintas-​ummm can’t say much fell flat with me, * Calamari– average, their chips & salsa was sure good tho! coming straight from the oven, warm and crispy. Salsa-​HOT! ehhe
If your thinking Maya’s is authentic, naww kind of reminded me of La Piñata. I could of rated this place 4stars if the service was more attentive to their patrons.

It may not be fair for me to rate this solely on the margaritas, chips, salsa, and strawberry caipirinha. On Cinco de Mayo, no less. Because, well, it ain’t like it was the Mission, teeming with revelry, tacos, tamales, burritos, and open container drinking in the closed-​off streets, you know?
Maya shouldn’t really be held to that standard, to be fair. But, the chips and hot (really yum) salsa were free. The pitcher of margaritas, not free, and also not that great. My strawberry caipirinha… well, the «bartender» had to ask someone else behind the bar of the ingredients and how it was made. Um, wow? It’s on the menu — 6^th one down — has the ingredients listed.
But one star all on its own goes to the freshly shaven Cocker named Mookie who gave me «paw» two times. She was highly entertaining.

I’d been to Maya for happy hour and really had a great time, but it was nice experience it in a bit more of a relaxed setting for lunch. It was elegant and quiet and I left very satisfied.
I had their Salad/​3 Taco Lunch Special:
Ensalada Maya — a nice, light salad of mixed greens, fresh pear, caramelized walnuts and blue cheese… while not exactly a traditional Latin American tasting salad, it did have a chile flavored vinaigrette, which did some add some exoticness to the dish and made it interesting.
Pork Belly Tacos — wow, pretty incredible… tender, savory and well-​seasoned rich pork with pickled red onions and a nice chile salsa, these were absolutely perfect. These were three small tacos that punched with a ton of incredible flavors… I was extremely impressed and thought these were some of the best tacos I’ve ever had.
All in all, I would definitely recommend this spot (especially for those amazing pork belly tacos)…it’s a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for. Beware, when the server asks you if you want Chips and Salsa, it’s not free — it’s $ 8.50, which they probably won’t mention to you.

Maya is a hot spot for Happy Hour beer and tacos. The facilities are nice, clean, and more importantly their bar tacos are solid. Maya could easily be an upscale bar in Guadalajara. Now only If they would cut out the Marketing junk about $ 2 Tacos that try to make this place sound like a deal because in reality when you read the fine print you have to buy a $ 4 order. This is just sneaky marketing bull. I mean seriously does anyone sell Half Pints for $ 2.50 with a min. purchase of two half pints. OR Free beer when you rent a mug. NO! Tell us what it is, 2 small tacos for $ 4 so you are looking at least $ 8 in tacos to get any sort of gastric gratification.
Anyways check my list from Awesome to Bleh:
Pork Belly tacos!!! I know I know it sounds disgusting cellulite inducing grease bucket but seriously it tastes awesome NOT Greasy. The pork is actually crunchy and the chipotle salsa is Muy Rico!
Thick tortilla chips are served warm with a salsa that is 3 kinds of chile and Pica Pica.
Carne Asada tacos, Just OK. The meat is good quality but who in the hell thought it was okay to put black beans in my taco? Who does that?
Fish Tacos, FAIL Try Again. The snapper tasted very frozen fishy and the salad dressing on top just wasn’t doing it for me.

If you are looking for a fun, lively, social dinner in SoMa with something less common than Italian, Maya is your place. I came on a Friday night and while the restaurant portion was relatively empty (one other big party), the bar area was packed.
The food is very good, albeit a bit pricey for Mexican. We started with the guacamole 3-​type sampler which was great, though no one liked the chiles toreados guacamole — just get the chipotle, it’s the best. My friend had a mix of four tacos (don’t remember which) and they were spectacular! I’d get the tacos when I go back — really great. I got 3 types of ceviches myself and really didn’t like them at all, and didn’t even finish two of them. I love ceviche, but I’d say to avoid this.
The server was a bit unfriendly, and note that it is very loud because the bar area is adjacent the tables.
I’d give it 3.5 stars if I could, but between 3 and 4, I say 4 as I’ll definitely go back with a group.

I have two friends who…
1) eat, sleep, and breathe (and drink) tequila, and
2) adamantly express their disapproval for Palomino’s happy hour (i dont really know why)
so to appease these two, we’ve gone to maya to satisfy their margarita/​non-​Palomino happy hour fix, and i must say that i ALWAYS get my money’s worth…
–the tacos aren’t cost-​effective (tiny and $ 2 each and you have to buy 2 of the same type at a time)
–the margaritas aren’t cheap ($ 5) and are correspondingly tiny
–the service seems to get irritated when you drag your feet ordering/​ask for chips/​dip too many times
but…
–the draft beers are cheap for SF ($ 3 for your choice of pacifico, negro modelo, anchor steam, or modelo especial)
–its never that crowded (can easily grab a table for 10)
–the FREE chips are ALWAYS freshly made, hot, and delicious, served with a delicious FREE black bean dip
my roommate and i can easily burn through 5+ basket of chips and bowls of dip… so if you wanna indulge yourself in a bounty of free chips and partake in a beer or two, MAYA’s a good choice

Maya serves up pricey, upscale Mexican fare in SOMA.
Catering to the business crowd, the décor is fairly formal – a step above traditional Mexican places. The dining room is spacious with plenty of room between tables, but then again business moguls don’t want their merger /​arbitrage plans overheard by the next table.
Served warm, the chips are made fresh. Not too spicy and a little watery, the salsa is only so-​so. Even the spiciest was till a bit bland. Where Maya really shines is the guacamole. Made to order (either mild, medium, or spicy), it perfectly melds avocados, salsa, lime, garlic, and salt.
Sopa de tortillas (tortilla soup, $ 7) was rich and thick with sizable chunks of chicken and avocado. Served with plantain slices on a bed of arroz (rice), the mole poblano ($ 14) was restrained rather than bold in flavor.
The sangria is fantastic, but in such an upscale establishment one would expect fresh lime juice rather than preprocessed mix in the margaritas. Service is friendly, prompt, and attentive: pacing of dishes was spot on, and the server brought drink refills without being asked.
Maya tries to shake off its staid atmosphere at happy hour with complimentary chips and salsa, $ 2 tacos, $ 3 drafts, and $ 5 cocktails. But the bar food is a bit greasy and the margaritas still lack fresh lime.
The City is replete with choices, and rather than be content with expensive, medium quality Mexican at Maya, diners would be better served (and better fed) at more fun (and more reasonably priced) places like Nopalito.

Really cool spot for Happy Hour. $ 2 Tacos, $ 3 draft, and $ 5 cocktails.
I tried the pescado (best), pork belly (good), carnitas (a tad dry), and carne asada (too chewy) tacos.
Their michelada was pretty good too, recommended paired with Negra Modelo. Essentially it’s beer with lime and a salted rim. It’s served with the spicy tomato sauce on the side by request.
I like Colibri’s michelada the best though, although there I had it with Pacifico.

Holiday party, 25 people, Maya! For about $ 30 pp you can’t go wrong. We had a private room on the side with two rows of long tables. The margaritas were flowing strong, and I downed about 2.5 of them before calling it quits.
My meal started with the fried calamari. Perfectly fried, awesome texture, and the little salad that it sat on complimented the flavors perfectly. It could gave easily fed two or three but I ate the whole thing. Then I had the chicken mole. The mole was delicious, and the chicken came pre-​sliced which is a plus for me. I’ve been to places when the breast is still attached to the leg and when you throw some mole sauce into the mix, you’ve got a potential for a huge mess. The dish came with about 4 large breast pieces; I ate about two since I overdid it with the calamari. For dessert, It was my first time have chocolate tres leches. Although I like the original more, this was delicious and super moist like it’s suppose to be. The vanilla ice cream on top was an added bonus.
The restaurant was pretty busy and I could tell there were several other work gatherings going on in the main dining area. I say go with the private room since you’ve got it all to yourself. The staff was attentive and kept the drinks flowing.
I’ve also attached some pics! :)

My oh my, I haven’t been to Maya in ages, probably not since around the turn of the millennium when there was a certain buzz about it. Upscale Mexican was still relatively novel back then, but Colibri and Tres Agaves have since taken over the cool factor leaving Maya in a vacuum of obscurity. At least to me, but what do I know? I just remember a big bar scene that overshadowed the adjacent restaurant. Things haven’t changed that much on that front, especially after Game 2 of the World Series. It was a zoo — but Jamie W. and I wanted to grab a bite nearby, and for some reason, my memory came back to Maya.
It’s little changed in nearly ten years except they have embraced the economic downturn by offering an $ 18 special where you can get soup or salad, half an entrée or a full order of tacos, and a cup of sorbet. That struck us as a pretty good deal, so we both went for it. For the starter, Jamie ordered the Sopa de Tortilla, which was a chile ancho-​guajillo broth with a queso fresco swirled into it (see photo). Looked pretty but tasted lukewarm. I had the Maya Cesar, which is their version of a Caesar salad with hearts of romaine, chile ancho, grilled red onions, and manchego cheese, all drizzled with an avocado-​chile serrano dressing (see photo). Few know that the original Caesar salad was born in Tijuana, so Maya’s version is actually consistent with the way it was originally concocted.
The quality of the entrees fluctuated even more. Jamie ordered the Salmon Enchilada which was served in a red mole with a black bean purée, cotija cheese, crema fresca, and pickled red onions (see photo). Tasty if a tad overcooked. Mine was marginally disappointing since I had great anticipation over their Pork Belly Tacos (see photo). There were four of them, and all quite small. It looked to me more like finger food at a cocktail party. The taste of the 12-​hour marinade was there, but the texture was off, and I actually didn’t care much for the pickled habaneros and red onions. The chile mulato-​ancho salsa lent a nice sharpness though.
The meal ended with a refreshing Mango Sorbet served in martini glasses with ladyfingers inserted on top (see photo). All in all, it was certainly a decent meal for $ 18, but it just left me thinking I wish the execution was more memorable. There was a certain level of audacity that was lacking, and it does make me realize why the foodie crowd doesn’t talk much about the place anymore even though it has a primo SoMa location. Service, I have to admit, was on the mechanical side, strictly by-​the-​numbers with little effort toward personal engagement. Regardless, the $ 18 deal is hard to pass up by any standard.
FOOD — 3 stars… interesting combinations, kinda lackluster executions
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… dark and open on the restaurant side, loud and obnoxious on the bar side
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… seemed bored
TOTAL — 3 stars… the $ 18 deal is worth trying, for sure