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Recommended Reviews - La Chaya Maya
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This is the place to go if you want to try authentic Yucatecan food as it is very different from your usual mexican cuisine. When walking into the establishment, the decor was very colonial and vibrant. The staff were dressed in older style attire you might see back in the early 80s-90s which was such a refreshing sight to see. We ordered the Los 4 Yuca that consisted of their most authentic yucatecan flavors, the cochinita (slow cooked pork) taco, and their Estilo Maya panucho all delicious and unique. Come here if you want authenticity.
As I sit here , contemplating all of our recent adventures. Memories of Chaya Maya are still fresh and vivid. If you love flavor, sazon a little bit of oompfh in your food , go ahead and just pass this place on by because you will be sorely disappointed. One thing I will say is that the service is IMPECCABLE!! The staff is friendly , the hostess, the waiter and servers, and the women making the tortillas are so sweet!! The reviews for Chaya Maya are highly rated, and several of them are from Elite, which makes me wonder what type of flavor pallet they have, is it nonexistent? The reviews also mention this being a place where locals frequent...they do not. Our tour guides were kind enough to point out this fact after we experienced it ourself and likened it to "taco bell". Which I would have preferred over this. Service 10/5 stars. Amazing!! Food 1 star. I would not eat here , bring a friend, come back, nothing. Even if someone offered me free Chaya Maya for a year, unlimited, for all my friends and family. I would hard pass. We started off with complimentary bean dip and pumpkin puree dip with habanero salsa and chips. Chips are definitely not homemade. The salsa was Habanero but was not spicy. Chaya Maya, don't play me! I am mexican and know flavor. We ordered Sopa de Lima and chaya de Pina (pineapple) The soup was not even hot. It was luke warm. The turkey in it was incredibly dry and had bones. The flavor was ok. We ordered a guac for the table. The guac was fine but would be much better if they handmade the chips. We also ordered the 4 Yucatán which serves 2 and comes with the 4 most popular Yucatan dishes and handmade tortillas , along with pickled onions. 2 of the dishes were turkey. I liked the black beans and shredded turkey the most. The other turkey dish was in some sort of red sauce but it was a bit grainy and gritty. The cochinia pibil, the one I was so eager to try, known for being created here in the Yucatan, was also very bland. All you could taste was a strong pork profile and that's it. The 2nd pork dish was in a white bean sauce and that was ok. My chaya de pina drink was incredible. Light. Refreshing. Perfect for these hot Merida Days. Unfortunately, I won't frequent a restaurant just for amazing service and a great Agua Fresca. One thing to mention is that it all came out super fast. Like took my menu, 2 minutes later arrive with our food fast. They must cook it in huge batches and have it ready to serve which is disappointing since this is a restaurant. We went on a group tour to Chichen Itza, which included a buffet at the Cenote and that place was 100x better. The salsa is hot! The food has salt and seasoning. My wife was surprised considering there were so many people from around the world that the buffet of all things was not toned down. Save your monies , book a trip, see a wonder of the world and get a better meal at the buffet.
La Chaya Maya was a very good traditional Yucatán traditional food experience. Food was great and we shared lots of the traditional Yucatán dishes. Will be posting all the food pics enjoy! Service was great and the ambiance there were lots of locals and tourists and local tourists alike. They were prompt with the food and ambiance was great with traditional music in the background.
I heard this place is really popular among locals and tourists but TBH there are two locations and there are plenty of seats. Reservations are not required, but available. Chaya piña drink is delicious and refreshing! I like the decor here but the food is just alright for me. I think Im not a fan of cochinita pibil, or other Mayan tacos. They do not have a lot of flavor. I would rather have these in soup instead of entrees.
What an experience!!! We did come for Frijol con puerco on monday...but nada All gone... so my recommendation get here before 3:00 which seems odd because it's strong dinner dish. But La Cochinita pibil, Poc chuk, Salbutes, Panuchos and the star was Papazul was delicious Eric server was excellent The air condition room felt great...
La Chaya Maya is really amazing. It's a place where both locals and tourists equally like to try the local cuisine. In my short trip to Merida I went to this place three times each time trying a different dish. Obviously I chose the dishes that I don't normally find in the US. Some of the must try dishes here are the cochinita pibil, pan de cazón, crema de Chaya and their freshly made Chaya drinks. It has a relaxed atmosphere with traditional interior. Tip is not included. If you pay by card, they bring a card reader and expect to select the tip %age on it. 15% seems normal.
A neighbor suggested La Chaya Maya so often we went. The restaurant was really nice and the decor was beautiful. We tried several dishes, but the hit for me was the Chaya drink. You can get it with lime or lemonade.. The service was excellent and they were very attentive.. We will be going back on our next visit to Centro.
This is the best Yucatecan food that we had on our trip to Mérida. One good sign was that there are two women making fresh tortillas inside the dining room. Another good sign was that almost all of the guests were local. We ordered one of the specialties of the house - Los 4 Yucas for two: Cochinita Pibil, Pavo en Relleno Negro, Pipian de Pávo, and Queso Relleno. The service is excellent and the ambiance is relaxing. Highly recommended!
The food was solid. I like that it came with the fresh tortillas and habanero salsa- I LOVE habanero salsa. It was not really cool inside but tolerable. I love the sopa de Lima. Tried the vaporcita and it was like a flat tamale, not fluffy like the tamales I'm used to. Taco good. Panucho good. I'd eat here again.
This was on my list of restaurants to try ,although I didn't intend to try this day . I walked in to a beautiful establishment. Nicely cleaned, air conditioned and lots of locals . I sanitized my hands and was sat at a table. My server Juan Pablo was amazing . He welcome me as a first timer and helped me with recommendations, I truly appreciated the help. I ordered a panucho de cochinita and various tacos , the local chaya bebida con limon y un margarita on the rocks . So much flavor ! Tacos weren't too greasy. The chips and pico were fresh , be careful the salsa is spicy . The bean and other complimentary dip were amazing too . I enjoyed my meal here very much and I will return
Great atmosphere and great experience at this restaurant as a tourist. They handmade the tortillas and there is a lady that sits in the front making tortilla ready for fotos. The agua de chaya drinks are their specialty drinks with chaya which has a sloght herby taste. I like the limon and my friends like the pina drink. Both were very refreshing after a long day. We ordered sopa de lima and the famous sampler plate that has 4 different taco flavors. Sopa de lima tasted like homemade soup and a great appetizer. The sampler comes with the homemade tortilla. My favorite flavor was the pork one and the creamy white one. The orange nutty flavor was my 2nd favorite and my least favorite was the pavo (turkey) with black chili sauce which tasted herby and salty. The waiters were friendly and service was good. Location is in the middle of the city and easy to find. Great first meal in the city.
If it's your first time in Merida, I highly recommend this place (it has two locations downtown; either one is good). The service is excellent, the staff very friendly, and the food delicious! (I'm still thinking about it). For lunch, I had Papatzul, agua de chaya con lima, and carajillo maya. I also asked if I could try the tortillas they make by hand, and they brought me two, and then I asked for habanero salsa: DELICIOUS! best combination
Food was great! Service and ambiance were also outstanding. The homemade tortillas were also a really great compliment to the meal. Arrived for late brunch and easily found a table although it was during a weekday. Definitely recommend. read more
5 months ago
This is the place to go if you want to try authentic Yucatecan food as it is very different from your usual mexican cuisine. When walking into the establishment, the decor was very colonial and vibrant. The staff were dressed in older style attire you might see back in the early 80s-90s which was such a refreshing sight to see. We ordered the Los 4 Yuca that consisted of their most authentic yucatecan flavors, the cochinita (slow cooked pork) taco, and their Estilo Maya panucho all delicious and unique. Come here if you want authenticity. read more
As I sit here , contemplating all of our recent adventures. Memories of Chaya Maya are still fresh and vivid. If you love flavor, sazon a little bit of oompfh in your food , go ahead and just pass this place on by because you will be sorely disappointed. One thing I will say is that the service is IMPECCABLE!! The staff is friendly , the hostess, the waiter and servers, and the women making the tortillas are so sweet!! The reviews for Chaya Maya are highly rated, and several of them are from Elite, which makes me wonder what type of flavor pallet they have, is it nonexistent? The reviews also mention this being a place where locals frequent...they do not. Our tour guides were kind enough to point out this fact after we experienced it ourself and likened it to "taco bell". Which I would have preferred over this. Service 10/5 stars. Amazing!! Food 1 star. I would not eat here , bring a friend, come back, nothing. Even if someone offered me free Chaya Maya for a year, unlimited, for all my friends and family. I would hard pass. We started off with complimentary bean dip and pumpkin puree dip with habanero salsa and chips. Chips are definitely not homemade. The salsa was Habanero but was not spicy. Chaya Maya, don't play me! I am mexican and know flavor. We ordered Sopa de Lima and chaya de Pina (pineapple) The soup was not even hot. It was luke warm. The turkey in it was incredibly dry and had bones. The flavor was ok. We ordered a guac for the table. The guac was fine but would be much better if they handmade the chips. We also ordered the 4 Yucatán which serves 2 and comes with the 4 most popular Yucatan dishes and handmade tortillas , along with pickled onions. 2 of the dishes were turkey. I liked the black beans and shredded turkey the most. The other turkey dish was in some sort of red sauce but it was a bit grainy and gritty. The cochinia pibil, the one I was so eager to try, known for being created here in the Yucatan, was also very bland. All you could taste was a strong pork profile and that's it. The 2nd pork dish was in a white bean sauce and that was ok. My chaya de pina drink was incredible. Light. Refreshing. Perfect for these hot Merida Days. Unfortunately, I won't frequent a restaurant just for amazing service and a great Agua Fresca. One thing to mention is that it all came out super fast. Like took my menu, 2 minutes later arrive with our food fast. They must cook it in huge batches and have it ready to serve which is disappointing since this is a restaurant. We went on a group tour to Chichen Itza, which included a buffet at the Cenote and that place was 100x better. The salsa is hot! The food has salt and seasoning. My wife was surprised considering there were so many people from around the world that the buffet of all things was not toned down. Save your monies , book a trip, see a wonder of the world and get a better meal at the buffet. read more
9 months ago
La Chaya Maya was a very good traditional Yucatán traditional food experience. Food was great and we shared lots of the traditional Yucatán dishes. Will be posting all the food pics enjoy! Service was great and the ambiance there were lots of locals and tourists and local tourists alike. They were prompt with the food and ambiance was great with traditional music in the background. read more
1 year ago
I heard this place is really popular among locals and tourists but TBH there are two locations and there are plenty of seats. Reservations are not required, but available. Chaya piña drink is delicious and refreshing! I like the decor here but the food is just alright for me. I think Im not a fan of cochinita pibil, or other Mayan tacos. They do not have a lot of flavor. I would rather have these in soup instead of entrees. read more
What an experience!!! We did come for Frijol con puerco on monday...but nada All gone... so my recommendation get here before 3:00 which seems odd because it's strong dinner dish. But La Cochinita pibil, Poc chuk, Salbutes, Panuchos and the star was Papazul was delicious Eric server was excellent The air condition room felt great... read more
1 year ago
La Chaya Maya is really amazing. It's a place where both locals and tourists equally like to try the local cuisine. In my short trip to Merida I went to this place three times each time trying a different dish. Obviously I chose the dishes that I don't normally find in the US. Some of the must try dishes here are the cochinita pibil, pan de cazón, crema de Chaya and their freshly made Chaya drinks. It has a relaxed atmosphere with traditional interior. Tip is not included. If you pay by card, they bring a card reader and expect to select the tip %age on it. 15% seems normal. read more
8 months ago
A neighbor suggested La Chaya Maya so often we went. The restaurant was really nice and the decor was beautiful. We tried several dishes, but the hit for me was the Chaya drink. You can get it with lime or lemonade.. The service was excellent and they were very attentive.. We will be going back on our next visit to Centro. read more
This is the best Yucatecan food that we had on our trip to Mérida. One good sign was that there are two women making fresh tortillas inside the dining room. Another good sign was that almost all of the guests were local. We ordered one of the specialties of the house - Los 4 Yucas for two: Cochinita Pibil, Pavo en Relleno Negro, Pipian de Pávo, and Queso Relleno. The service is excellent and the ambiance is relaxing. Highly recommended! read more
The food was solid. I like that it came with the fresh tortillas and habanero salsa- I LOVE habanero salsa. It was not really cool inside but tolerable. I love the sopa de Lima. Tried the vaporcita and it was like a flat tamale, not fluffy like the tamales I'm used to. Taco good. Panucho good. I'd eat here again. read more
5 months ago
2 years ago
This was on my list of restaurants to try ,although I didn't intend to try this day . I walked in to a beautiful establishment. Nicely cleaned, air conditioned and lots of locals . I sanitized my hands and was sat at a table. My server Juan Pablo was amazing . He welcome me as a first timer and helped me with recommendations, I truly appreciated the help. I ordered a panucho de cochinita and various tacos , the local chaya bebida con limon y un margarita on the rocks . So much flavor ! Tacos weren't too greasy. The chips and pico were fresh , be careful the salsa is spicy . The bean and other complimentary dip were amazing too . I enjoyed my meal here very much and I will return read more
Great atmosphere and great experience at this restaurant as a tourist. They handmade the tortillas and there is a lady that sits in the front making tortilla ready for fotos. The agua de chaya drinks are their specialty drinks with chaya which has a sloght herby taste. I like the limon and my friends like the pina drink. Both were very refreshing after a long day. We ordered sopa de lima and the famous sampler plate that has 4 different taco flavors. Sopa de lima tasted like homemade soup and a great appetizer. The sampler comes with the homemade tortilla. My favorite flavor was the pork one and the creamy white one. The orange nutty flavor was my 2nd favorite and my least favorite was the pavo (turkey) with black chili sauce which tasted herby and salty. The waiters were friendly and service was good. Location is in the middle of the city and easy to find. Great first meal in the city. read more
9 months ago
If it's your first time in Merida, I highly recommend this place (it has two locations downtown; either one is good). The service is excellent, the staff very friendly, and the food delicious! (I'm still thinking about it). For lunch, I had Papatzul, agua de chaya con lima, and carajillo maya. I also asked if I could try the tortillas they make by hand, and they brought me two, and then I asked for habanero salsa: DELICIOUS! best combination read more
10 months ago
Outstanding! Great prices. Great ambiance and service. Authentic Mayan dishes. Highly recommend this restaurant in El Centro of Merida Mexico! read more
9 months ago
1 year ago
5 months ago
3 years ago
Miguel was our server, and he was great. Miguel told us details about the food and the tradition behind each dish. He was very informative and patient. The food was on another level!- We had cochinita pibil, cazon, pipian and relleno negro (all this things were new for us, except the cochinita). I highly recommend La Chaya Maya if you visit Merida for the first time. Try everything! read more
1 year ago
2 years ago
Nice restaurant, great service, food was ok, not quite what I remember it to be. Went with the family and they loved it! read more
1 year ago
1 year ago
Every City has its iconic restaurant, some like NYC, Paris, LA, Mexico City, etc. offer many. For Mérida, that restaurant is arguably La Chaya. Named for the traditional, leafy, spinach-like tree that is cultivated and loved in the Yucatan, La Chaya is quintessential Yucatan cuisine in a casual, traditional setting. Tortillas are brought out in a hollowed out gourd and beer is served ice cold. Try the cochinita pibil, poc chuck and pretty much anything on the menu. If you want fajitas or fish tacos, don't bother reaching for your passport. Your local Mexican restaurant back home will foot the bill... but if you're yearning for a little adventure, no health department "grade" on the window and some real Mexican eats... This is the spot. read more
4 years ago
We took a trip from Progreso to the city of Merida. This place was recommended by family. It's a traditional Yucatan food. We had the Yuca bowls, so we tasted turkey in 2 different sauces, cochinita pibil and stuffed cheese. There's enough food for 2. It came with hand made tortillas that are being prepared in the atrium. To finalized the meal we had Mayan coffee (espresso with honey ice cream and an anise liquor) similar to an Affogatto or Irish coffee, very good. Service was great! read more
2 years ago
2 years ago
6 years ago
We went to the 2 locations. Brought there by a Mexican acquaintance. Both time we were happy. The restaurant offers Yucatán food, it's honest and tasty cuisine, reasonable price with quick service. We really enjoyed going there as it changed from the regular Mexican cuisine. Try the Chaya juice! When you enter the restaurant, look around and you might see people preparing corn tortillas just right in front of you! The two location have the same tastiest food but the oldest one is much better and authentic looking. read more
3 years ago
Selection of authentic crispy tacos on homemade tortillas and marinated pork. Best food we have had in MEXICO read more
1 year ago
This is s small chain of restaurants in Merida. We tried this location for breakfast and a couple days later another location for dinner. Everything was excellent. The wait staff, the quick service, the food, the ladies making tortillas. I do not recall what my sister ordered. I ordered the huevos Motuleños. Each breakfast came with coffee, juice, fruit, and they also brought fresh tortillas. I highly recommend trying this place. I would love to go again! read more
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