Riviera Maya

Autentico Mayan cuisine! Fabulous guacamole and green sauce! Tortilla soup was a very pleasant surprise. The Oaxacan mole‘ is divine, and their classic Lime Margarita is killer! Very helpful servers (Cheers! with the 43), too. I will be coming back here as often as I can (from Kenosha)!

Tried this place after hearing about their margaritas. They wound up being good but the food was very sub par and overpriced. Head across the highway for real deal mexican food or if you want the upscale feel head down to Jalapeño Loco by the airport. You will be far less disappointed than eating here.

You don’t walk out feeling gross. Seriously need I say more?! Always nice staff. Good food, great Mexican atmosphere.

I’ve been meaning to come here for years, and now I’m sad that I haven’t already been coming here for years.
We started with the 6 mole sampler to try out all the different flavors. Every one was more delicious than the next. After much deliberation, we chose the Ouxaca mole and the papayas sauce as our favorites. The house ancho salsa was delicious too, but the other two were more unique.
The tortilla soup is amazing. Distinct tomato flavors blend with citrus and garlic. And the quest fresco and tortilla strips mixed in really kick it up.
We ordered shredded beef enchiladas with the Ouxaca mole. It was without doubt the best mole I have ever had. Just the right sweetness to counter the bitterness of the cocoa, and an unprecedented depth of flavors. Loved it!
We also ordered the chicken toquitos and the plantain patiyitos. The plantains were great, suffers with cream cheese and topped with tomatoes and avacados. The toquitos were the only thing I didn’t care for. They were good, but not much better than store bought toquitos in my book.
Our server Felix was attentive without being intrusive. And he staged all the food we ordered perfectly so we always had a couple of dishes to choose from, but nothing got cold and everything was fresh hot and crispy from the kitchen. Excellent service!
The décor is bright and festive with bold murals and artwork on the walls.
The restaurant is divided into 2 halves. The right half has several large tables great for groups of 10 or more.
All in all we were pleasantly surprised and impressed with a much higher end dining experience than we were expecting. We will be back with friends!

Disappointing Experience.
We came here with friends a couple of weeks ago because they recommended it. We didn’t feel the same way, and at this visit, neither did they.
There were a few high points: The frozen margarita was good and the tortilla soup was flavorful. Other local Mexican restaurants score slightly higher, but if the rest of the meal had lived up to this standard we’d rate them much higher.
Unlike other restaurants, they do not include tortilla chips and salsa with the meals. We thought about ordering them, but decided to opt for the overpriced, bland guacamole instead.
When we asked about the daily specials, or waiter told us that they didn’t have them, that they were from the weekend and they hadn’t changed the board yet. This was on a Wednesday evening!
They specialize in moles, so we expected anything with mole to be spectacular. It was just the opposite. They were out of some of them, and the ones they had in stock were mediocre. It’s not that there was anything inherently wrong with the sauces themselves, but they don’t actually cook the meats or vegetables in the sauce. They spread the sauce on the plate and then dump whatever the main dish is on top of that. In my case that was the Pastel de Berenjena, which is listed as baked eggplant, peppers, carrots and zucchini. It turned out to be a few thin slices of raw vegetables plunked on top of a bit of mole. Everything was cold and the eggplant was barely cooked. It was basically an unappetizing mess.
Our waiter disappeared after setting our food in front of us and it took us 15 minutes to locate him to pay our bill. We had to ask the other staff to find him.
Needless to say, we won’t be returning. Next time we’re in the area we’ll opt for Guanajuato across the street. They have better food, better services, better margaritas and better prices.

The chorizo burrito was literally a tortilla filled with NOTHING BUT CHORIZO. It seemed like a dream come true, but it was just too much. They included a petite side of lettuce and tomatoes, but not nearly enough to mitigate the chorizo. The tamarind margarita was yummy though, as was the tortilla soup and salsa, and the guacamole was delicious — it’s chunky, which I like. Service was good and the décor is FABULOUS. I’d go again but order something else.

Descriptive phrase: classy Mexican sit-​down.
On the near south side of Milwaukee it’s easy to find a new Mexican restaurant every block or so, but Riviera Maya, at the entrance to Bay View, sets itself apart by being a smidge classier and a tad higher-​end while still serving up Mexican favorites.
Their $ 7 Classic Margarita will knock you on your backside, but dang it’s delicious. I recommend the Mole Sampler ($ 8), which is a unique experience for both those who’re new and old to moles in general. You’ll get plenty of chips to try all 6 you’re served. Plenty for 4 people to share.
My Chile Relleno (stuffed pepper, $ 11) was delicious: very large poblano pepper (sweet and tangy, not spicy) filled to the brim with chorizo, smothered with sour cream and cheese and swimming in a bath of spicier red sauce. Great choice.
I was pleasantly surprised that each meal also came with a cup of their tortilla soup. Piping hot and creamy-​goodness, I could’ve had a bowl for a meal.
All of the dishes were familiar but made with better ingredients and presented in a manner a step above your local taco shop. Even so, the dishes came out extremely fast. Riviera Maya is a perfect stop for a nice night out for Mexican.

Best Mexican food in Milwaukee! Great, staff to go with great food! Every dish I’ve had is full of flavor and good portion sizes.

Rivera is an attractive local Mexican restaurant. It was not crowded at lunch and the server was good. The food seems to be high quality.
Riviera is know for its salsas and moles. We tried the sampler with six types of sauces with tortillas. Each sauce was distinctly different and flavorful. The price, at $ 8, is high for the volume served. We also tried the tortilla soup, which was also good. Honestly, it tasted like diluted V8 tomato juice with some pepper, or thinned out bloody-​mary mix. The serving size was good. From what I could see from food on other customers’ tables, the serving sizes in generally are generous. The lunch menu has meals at about $ 8. The menu has tapas.
In sum, this is a good restaurant but on the high side for Mexican food.

Hole Mole!
Riviera is known for their moles and they definitely disappoint. My girlfriend and I went with the Mole de Oaxaca as well as the Pipián Verde enchiladas. The two couldn’t be much more different from a flavor perspective but both were excellent. The Oaxacan mole to be your standard mole you would get at other restaurant. Dark and rich, with chocolate undertones, it’s definitely better than most I tried. For me, the real standout was the verde sauce. Pumpkin seed base with green peppers, onion, and cilantro. The sauce was complex and bright and paired well with the shredded chicken filling. Living in Madison but in Milwaukee often, this has quickly become one of my go to places when I am in town.

So I visited here the first time about 6 months ago and the experience made me want to punch every person I know that lives in Bayview right in the throat.
How is it no one has told me we have an incredible, almost upscale, Mexican restaurant of this caliber in MKE?
I have returned numerous time and had nothing but great experiences
I have never ventured any further than the specials card and typically choose one of the pork or fish dishes that are paired with whatever the seasonal moles happens to be. If you can hold off on ordering your entrée, the mole sampler appetizer is an excellent start to give you beat on the different choices.
Do yourself a favor and grab your favorite lady and hit this joint for a great fresh and interesting meal.

Loved this place! I was born and raised in Wisconsin, but live in California now (still a packer fan, of course!). Had lunch with my Unilocal friend, Rick R and my Sis in law. Rick picked the place, and we had the greatest brunch! We started with complimentary tortilla soup (muy bueno!). I’m recently divorced, so I had the Huevos Divorciados (divorced eggs! Haha), Rick had the Chilaquiles and Sis had pancakes. I had a Classic Lime Margarita (Sis was driving) and Rick had a Tamarindo Margarita. My margarita was sooo good, in fact one of the best Margaritas I eva had! The food was very tasty and favorful and Hector was our very wonderful server.

It’s been awhile since I have stopped for dinner here, so stopped with a friend. We went in for a little late dinner, say 8:30. First up: pitcher of margaritas. I have to say that their basic lime margarita, on the rocks, is delicious. Not too sweet or sour, but perfectly balanced.
Also ordered the flight of moles, perfect way to try them all! Their Encacahuatado mole with peanut, tomato, onion and chipotle was my favorite and I intend on ordering next visit.
For dinner it was tostadas, one shrimp and one steak. I can say they were good, nothing to dream about, but good for tostadas.
The one drawback was that because we arrived for a slightly late dinner, they were waiting for us to leave at 9:30. A pitcher of margaritas takes a bit to drink between two, so while the staff was obviously waiting for us to leave, we decided to just leave the rest and go.
I won’t race to go back, but if suggested I would go.

I’m a really big fan of Riviera Maya. The service is always good and polite. I order things not exactly how it is on the menu and it comes out correctly. And it’s delicious too.
The only reason for the 4 stars. The plain margarita. I love a good one, this one just doesn’t do it for me. Too sweet. It does have a lot of booze though!

The food, the waitstaff and the atmosphere is all wonderful here. My only negative is that they usually don’t serve you free chips and salsa. I’ve never had a bad entrée here so I’d highly recommend it. Those I’ve been with have agreed. You need to try their mole sampler, however, only two of the five are gluten free, ask first!

I hate to boast but I do make an amazing tortilla soup, but I have to say that Riveriera Maya does a fantastic soup as well. Personally I prefer a tomato based tortilla soup and theirs does deliver. The only addition to make it better would be a little fresh avocado in the soup with the queso and tortilla strips. Who can resist free soup with your entrée?
Everybody tosses around the term «authentic Mexican». Do they mean «authentic in the US» or something you would actually find in Mexico? Riviera Maya does great regional Mexican food which can be hard to find in Milwaukee.
You will pay more for the food here but it is worth it for the quality. Don’t order a ton of food because with the soup and rice you will definitely be full. Check out the tapas menu where you can order smaller portions.
Brunch is surprisingly good here. Months ago I ordered the omelette and it was probably one of the best I have ever had. The menu is limited but it is worth the shot.
Margaritas are okay… a little sugary for my liking. Go with another cocktail and you won’t be disappointed. Also, don’t expect free chips and salsa because you have to pay for them. The salsas are decent so if you need a snack before dinner order a side.

I was pretty excited about their former brunch menu. It was one page, had a handful of great offerings and certainly never disappointed.
So I was blissful recently when I returned for brunch and found their incredibly expanded and phenomenally delicious NEW seven page brunch menu. This certainly warrants and updated, and expanded, review:
You will certainly know you are in Bayview when you enter this restaurant. The vibe and the décor are both very laid back and welcoming, just like the community.
Lunch and dinner are served every day, but the real treat is weekend brunch. Served from 11am — 2pm on weekends this menu is more than worth getting out of bed for.
The new menu is divided into Tortillas Espanolas (Spanish Omelette, $ 9 – 11), Antojitos (Morning Delights, $ 9 – 12) such as the classic Huevos Rancheros, Huevos Divorciados, Chilaquiles and Chilaquiles con mole, Burritos ($ 9 – 9.50, Tortas (Breakfast Sandwiches, $ 9 – 11) and Desayunos Dulces (Sweet Breakfasts, $ 9 – 11).
They also served the one of the best Bloody Marias (tequila instead of vodka) in town. For $ 8 you will get more that a normal pour of mid-​range tequila combined with a great house mix for a top notch drink. The tequila taste will come through ever-​so-​slightly and give a warm liquid gold flavor. A hint of horseradish and a dash of celery salt will complete this well crafted beverage. Garnish varies. It’s not elaborate and it need not be, the drink does all the talking here.
All entrees from the brunch menu are served with a complimentary cup of the House Signature Tortilla Soup. And this is one of the best versions in restaurants today. Traditional Mexican spices are very well balanced and provide a depth of flavor that’s outstanding. The regular menu has the option to add rice and chicken to this soup to make a fabulous entrée, which happens to be one of my favorite snow day options.
There are so many great entrée choices on the menu it took a bit to decide. But one of my favorite dishes is Chilaquiles, and I opted for the additional shredded chicken ($ 11). The dish was prepared classically with fried corn tortilla strips, stewed in green salsa and topped with two scrambled eggs and sour cream and served with a side of refried black beans. The chicken was mixed in a bit with the eggs. And each bite was more divine that the last. The house made fresh salsa verde brought all the flavors together well and none of them overshadowed the other. The shredded chicken was also very fresh, tender and well seasoned. This dish simply could not have been more perfect.
Service at Riviera Maya has always been outstanding and this visit was no exception.
So the next time you’re looking to do brunch a bit outside the box and reward your taste buds with truly authentic Hispanic flavors, this is certainly the place for you!

To me, Mexican is Mexican. I love it, and find it very hard to screw up, but it’s also pretty hard to wow me. The four stars of this review are for very standard Mexican fare, but there were so many options! There were great options for our vegetarian friends too and that was so nice to see.
Also, service was excellent– kind, warm and fast.
I really enjoyed it and would definitely return.

Riviera Maya was my first introduction to a «good» restaurant in the city. Since then I’ve been back a couple times.
My overall impression is that Riviera Maya is a great place to take your significant other if you want to have a fun date night, but don’t want to spend a fortune.
I know what you’re thinking: «Mexican for date night? Get out of here.» Just hear me out.
Riviera Maya doesn’t do Mexican as you’re thinking about it. Riviera Maya does Mexican food with an upscale twist.
The moles are a perfect example. The flavors are excellent, and the presentation is as good as you could ask for with a mole. The variety of mole sauces you can get is broad too. There’s not that many – only four to six if I remember right, but they cover a lot of ground with their selection.
If you come in during off-​hours, they might even give you a sample of the mole sauces with your chips. They did for us without our even asking the first time we came in.
If you’re not in the mood for that, the tacos, flautas, etc are very good. I recommend the Xel-ha’s combination as a filling, because it’s like nothing I have ever had.
The servers have, in my experience, always been very kind and happy to answer all of our questions.
My only negatives are small ones: (1) the way the menu is laid out can be a bit confusing the first time you’re there, but it’s not that big of a deal because the servers can answer any questions you have and once you’ve had a second to look it over it all makes sense, and (2), the last time I was in there, they had removed several things from the menu but not yet updated the menu to reflect those that. It’s a minor problem to be sure, but an entirely avoidable one that is a dining pet-​peeve of mine.

I wish someone would have told me the tortas are HUGE!
I went here for the first time and had the De Alambre torta. Steak, bacon, pineapple, assorted peppers and cheese all stuffed inside a warm buttery roll make up this torta rica. Or what felt like two full tortas.
The tortas come with a cup of tortilla soup, which I really enjoyed but it could have used just a little more of a kick to it.
Also, great horchata with some cinnamon sprinkled on top.