Maya Tequila Bar & Grill

First time we went in a group of four. Waited half an hour after making a booking weeks ahead. Clearly no concept of what ‘booking’ means. Food was plentiful but very average. Second time we took friends and seated pretty much immediately. Again food below average this time. Third time I had bought a voucher for all you can eat tacos for two and waited ten minutes before anyone came to our table. Food was absolutely horrible this time, cold, soggy and tasteless. Going downhill fast. How this place is still open is beyond me. Won’t ever recommend it to anyone.

Went here because we had the $ 9 scoopon all you can eat taco deal. Not very impressed, we tried all the tacos and the only one we really liked were the fish tacos! The others were very cold, soggy and bland. Service was very slow we had to ask for our drinks twice and waited for our last serve of tacos for about 30 mins we ended up giving up and left. Thank goodness we had the voucher otherwise I would not pay full price for the tacos, maybe the other food on the menu might of been better but otherwise we were pretty disappointed :(

Suffice it to say that after reading all the bad reviews (not just on Unilocal but across a range of different mediums!) I was more than a little nervous about heading down to Maya to make use of my AYCE voucher. I mean, it’s always a little hit and miss with those things, but sometimes more hit than miss. Nonetheless we were seated, the menu and voucher limitations explained, and left alone to peruse the cornucopia of Mexican delights before the waitress returned with our Sangria. Not the best Sangria I’ve had by a long shot, but who’s complaining at $ 20 pp inclusive?
Then we sat back, and waited, wondering how long we’d be kept waiting, as other diners had. But that wasn’t the case at all. Our first two appetisers (crispy prawns and special of the day pork skewers) arrived promptly (within around 15 minutes) and both were quite delicious! The waitress came back to take our mains order before the rest of the small plates arrived, so there was a bit of a wait here, but it really wasn’t too bad. And everything was pretty good, although I did notice a tendency for nachos to come out a little on the burnt side (ours were better than the tables next to us). I was initially critical of my friend for ordering the fries but actually the spicy seasoning on them was delicious.
The pulled pork quesadilla was not the most flavoursome I’ve ever had, but the beef was pretty good, and again, I’m not exactly complaining for the price we paid and the amount we’d had to eat by this stage! Service was friendly and reasonably attentive, although we did have to go to a bit of an effort to flag the waitresses down as the evening wore on. We both had the flan de leche for dessert, and were surprised to find this variant had a coulis of bitter rasberries rather than the usual caramel sauce. Unexpected, but still quite tasty!
Overall, the night was a success, and we were both happy. Not the best mexican we’d ever had, but not the worst, and fantastic value with the AYCE coupon. I’m not sure that I’d pay full price for it, but I’d be happy to come back again and order a few extra dishes/​drinks so that their sales lead pays off for them.

Visited Maya tonight with some friends.
We payed 70 dollars for six of us via groupon for all you can eat tacos and a free margarita each. What a deal!
One person didn’t show so it was our mission to make up for his lost bargain.
17 tacos later and I am incredibly ashamed of myself.
Our waitress was very helpful and willing to get us as many tacos to us as quickly as possible. However everyone else had no idea what was going on.
Most tacos were average. The fish tacos are amazing. Highly recommend those. Margarita was pretty standard, and over salted. To be honest I wouldn’t want to have paid full price for anything we ate.
If you get a groupon deal. Go for it. If not, I wouldn’t bother.

Just no. I’m not sure where to start with how highly disappointing this place was. I got a groupon for all you can eat tacos & margaritas, people will say different things about groupons but the way I see it, if the place impresses me, I will go back for more, I will tell my friends about it & I will Unilocal about it. So it is defs worth treating your groupon holders the same way you treat everyone.
Made a booking, was seated at the bar while they got our table ready & our margaritas were made for us. Not a bad margarita but nothing to write home about, nice & fresh so that gets this place it’s single star. Once seated took quite some time to place an order, then we waited quite some time to order another cocktail, at one point one of the wait staff said I’ll be back shortly, never returned, oh well plenty more wait staff right? Yes plently of them, none wanted my money. Food started coming out, ordered a cocktail & all was getting better in the world.
The tacos were horrible in my opinion, nothing fresh about them, very flour like tortillas, ingredients just slapped on there & not much flavour. Very very soggy also. The one stand out was their fish tacos, it was sensational but I do love a good fish taco!
My ultimate painpoint was when I went to pay for my extra drinks, I was attempted to be charged $ 72, so forgetting I had a groupon all together, it then turned into a slight argument before the lady accepted that yes I had only had two cocktails. This for me was a pretty embarrassing experience & I was not overly comfortable arguing with someone over money. Not to mention I was on a date with a newish boy & well I felt like this was going all sorts of wrong for me haha. To make matters worse for me, there was another wait staff standing there with a big smirk on his face the whole time & then as we left he wished us a great wknd but in an overly sarcastic manner whilse laughing.
The place looks fantastic, it look great & I walked in with high hopes & the intention to eat all the tacos but alas I was left very very disappointed & will not be returning, due to the poor poor service.

It’s hard to tell what was worse; the two hour wait to be seated, the hour long wait for food once we got a table, the fact they forgot an item and got another item wrong, or the utterly nonchalant and cavalier attitude with which they addressed our queries. No wait, it was the fact that we overheard as we were seated that they had run out of chicken, beef and pork. A fact they were not really keen on admitting. Oh they also charged us for the food they forgot to bring and were utterly oblivious there might be an issue.
It was a laughable experience.

Wow… so disappointing, I mean how disappointing can a Mexican restaurant really be? Well this one unfortunately is up there.
The location is great and the venue has sooo much potential however the execution from Service through to the most important feature being the Food is well below average.
I generally like to elaborate on details however in this case I think it’s best to keep it short. Don’t let me completely discourage you from giving this place a go, it could be a very different experience for you than it was for me.
Sorry Maya TB&G!

Food was average for Mexican in Melbourne, and service was terrible. Took 45 mins to get 2 beers. Not happy considering we had booked for a party of 8.

The snapper ceviche is amazing… And the pina coladas are for the health conscious– using coconut water, rather than cream.

Maya was a ‘meh’ mexican experience. With stuff competition from new places like Fonda and Mamasita, Maya have some stepping up to do!
I ordered corn on the cob, gambas prawns and some fish tacos. Unfortunately they didn’t have fish tacos available, so a special prawn taco was made up for me instead. (Good customer service, pity about the food).
Corn on the cob was good. Compared to corn on the cob at other Mexican places in Melbs, it was just okay.
Wasn’t a fan of the Gambas prawns — they were incredibly spicy, and I didn’t feel like the prawns were all that fresh. A little gritty.
Wasn’t a fan of the prawn taco. Again, quite gritty and just not enough flavour compared to Tacos I’ve tasted at Fonda and Mamasita. The general opinion of our table was a little meh. We tried Duck, Beef and Chicken tacos. and the general consensus was that it was *just* okay.
We ordered some churros for desert with chocolate sauce. The churros were burnt, had almost no flavour (wheres the icing sugar??), and the chocolate sauce was so runny and barely tasted like chocolate at all!
The atmosphere was great, and I think it has the potential to be great — but the food quality just wasn’t there. I felt like they were overcompensating with the chilli to make up for the lack of flavour and quality.
I did have a passionfruit margarita which was yummy! Perhaps I’d come back for drinks, but I wouldn’t eat here again.
Good luck! Hope the food improves :)

Maya is a nice place in South Yarra. Pretty simple menu which is more mexican fusion then pure mexican, but quite delicious nonetheless.
I had the Gambas al verde which was butterfly prawns with with garlic, chili, sesame seeds, on top of a salsa verde sauce. Delicious. Succulent prawns, and definitely interesting flavours.
I also had the shredded pork tacos with shaved apple. Very interesting flavours. Lovely chipotle sauce on it, and pretty reasonably priced at around 12 for 2 tacos of reasonable size.
The tequila menu is pretty extensive, and they also have a plethora of tequila based cocktails (but all pretty pricey at 18+)
Pretty solid place for a night out

Unlike other reviewers, we did not go down the Margarita route. All the alcoholic cocktails (note: they have some tasty non-​alco combos) were rather pricey, close to $ 20. The wine and beer selection was fine and fair price, not a broad selection but enough to accompany your meal.
Our meal was excellent by the way, though we did have to urge the (very friendly) wait-​staff to accelerate our meals otherwise we would have missed our movie. One hour should be enough time for tapas and mains to be orderd, arrive and be eaten without panic/​rush, right?
Despite minor gripes we will go again.

Came in for a beer & appetizer. We ordered 2 Dos Equis which hit the spot but the calamari we sent back. too much liquid smoke. Tasted like gasoline. It’s too bad as the calamari itself was really tender could have been great with just a bit of oil garlic and cumin. When something tastes so fake or even poisonous, I just can’t do
It. Leaving it with a low score until I go back, if I do. The nachos looked pretty tasty but I’m from California, how can you justify charging $ 23 for nachos?

I’ve been to Maya a couple of times and each time has been fantastic. The wait staff were friendly and the cocktails are amazing! The mojito’s where defiantly a popular choice (order the raspberry & cinema) along with the espresso Martinis’ which were made to perfection!
In fact, the whole cocktail list was probably the highlight of every meal at Maya To compliment the dinner menu they have designed a cocktail and margarita list that will pretty much please all, like the refreshing Panda Margarita with Kaffir lime infused Reposado and peach liqueur, fresh lime and lemon juice with a hint of Agave nectar.
The restaurant appears tiny when you enter but if you follow it through to the back you will be lead to a intimate warm and inviting Mexican inspired courtyard with what almost seems like your own private bar.

This modern Mexican bar and grill may not be hugely authentic, but it does deliver in about as many ways as they have Margarita recipes on their cocktail menu. The selection of tequila’s is not quite as decadent as one might wish, but the different varieties of Margaritas certainly is. With usual classics as well as the some very well thought out recipe’s such as the ‘Panda’ made with Kaffir lime infused Herradura Blanco, Crème de Peche and freshly squeezed lime and lemon
juice, rimmed black volcanic rock salt… mmm absolutely delish.
The food is also very very tasty. It is quite experimental, in a good way, although perhaps doesn’t have the usual intense mix of hot and sour flavours that Mexican food is famous for. The menu is also very well balanced, designed for friends to share and general good times.
Oh and did I mention the massively attentive staff who almost managed to catch a fork dropped from my clumsy hand, and had a replacement on the table before I could say «Jack Rabbit» — just for example.

South Yarra’s Maya Tequila Bar & Grill is a bit of a Latin American home run. Brilliant Mexican grub and tequila five million ways. Maya, you speak my language…
Nestled within the swanky confines of Toorak Road in South Yarra, Maya Tequila Bar & Grill offers a menu of modern Mexican food alongside a seemingly boundless list of — mostly tequila based — cocktails.
Decorated in a way that can only be described as a non-​Mexican take on the Mexican aesthetic, replete with posters from Salma Hayek films and strings of jewel coloured lanterns outside, Maya’s food is awesome, its service verging on too good and its cocktails? So good I’m still suffering.
Arriving pretty full already, I shared a plate of chicken ribs in a chipotle cream sauce and a serving of Maya’s delicious duck quesadillas. Presentation could be stepped up a notch but apart from that the food was great.
Even better? Maya’s cocktails. Pricey at around $ 18 each but very lovely all the same. I started with one of Maya’s Panda margaritas, a fragrant cocktail of tequila, peach schnapps and kaffir lime and, in lieu of dessert, opted for a tequila espresso martini which was sweet, spicy and very moreish.
My suggestion? Hit Maya during happy hour to make the most of its incredible cocktail menu and sample a few of its delicious Mexican dishes. Olé!