Maiz y Cacao — Restaurant in Melbourne

It was a hot summer day in Melb yesterday (4 Dec 2023) and went up to 30dc! My husband and I decided to go out for dinner, and enjoy some of the beautiful sunny weather (relatively rare). Mexican was our pick and Maiz Y Cacao was one of the best rated (although few reviews) in the city area!

Maiz Y Cacao was a short walk from Flinders Station across the Yarra River, maybe 10 minutes or so. It was quite funny that when we arrived it was the same exact location as Saporito, where we went almost half a year ago. Turns out that Maiz took over the location after Saporito left!

The place was relatively quiet for a Monday night, and probably because the outdoor seats didn't have much view. The menu was filled with interesting dishes that are typically found in the Mexican restaurants in Australia! Check out the menu!

As usual, we both were overly enthusiastic and ordered too many dishes (lol, YOLO): Guacamole del tianguis ($13) - lovely Guac mix, the chips were good but wasn't freshly fried, so it is less oily

Gorditas x 2 ($11 each) - My hubby and I each got one - the pastry was nice and crispy and there lots of pork, lettuce, onion. I do wish it would have been a bit more fried

Sope Oaxaqueno ($15 for two pieces) first time every trying sope! Very interesting - you add these intensely flavored mushrooms (black pile on the right side) and delicious habenero sauce (not spicy) to the sope pocket. There's delicious melted cheese, cactus, bean, sour cream and salsa!

Cochinita pibil tacos ($18 for two pieces) delicious tender pork cooked in banana leaf. Get the salsa (tomatillo green and habenero red) to go with the taco!

Papas Bravas ($14) - very beautifully plated dish - Yucca was very crispy and fried potatoes were delicious too!

Agua Horchata - finally we get the authentic style of horchata i really miss. Rice "water" with cinnamon.

Food is amazing!!! Just as good as you will get in the US, and the servers Cas, Gabriel, and Chef Miguel were so friendly and value authentic Mexican cooking! I love that it is authentic and tasty like comfort food, yet true love is involved plating the dishes to make it look like fine dining!

There's tons of tables suitable for both small or large groups. Seems like it is still a hidden gem, so it is a good time to bring groups of friends to try it out! My hubby and I will be back with more...

Our experience couldn't really have been better. Firstly, asked the staff in our booking to spruce our table up a bit as it was an 8 year anniversary and I couldn't get to the restaurant ahead of time. The staff really put in alot of effort to our table with small touches and our own corner.

The service was very attentive but not excessive, they were extremely friendly. We are big foodies and sometimes have eyes bigger than belly, the staff helped us narrow down options by explaining more about the menu which I really valued.

The food.... Oh my days the food, arguably the best Mexican we have ever had. The dishes we tried were:

Pambazo - 9/10, would recommend. Something a bit different, not what we expected to arrive but was a very flavourful dish.

Elote de la calle - 11/10, if you don't get this, you are silly. We did not know corn could taste this good. It has a unique texture, flavour, and don't get ne wrong is a bit messy to eat but that's the fun. You have to try this, do not share, get one each.

Pescado - 10/10, again this is fantastic, a massive piece of flavour packed crispy fish with very well matched flavours. We were worried they would be small but they weren't, great flavours and textures.

Sope Oaxaqueño - 7/10, A unique dish worth trying, comes with Mexican truffles but these aren't a comparison between Winter or summer truffle if that's what you are after. This was seemingly authentic Mexican food and really tasty but a little dryer than the previous dishes for me.

Papas bravas - 6/10, I personally would leave this dish and get a different taco instead. The smoked ink sauce was very tasty but could have used more. The wedges are quite thick, if you're into large wedges you would like this alot but they were a bit dry for me. As I say, rather another taco for a few extra $.

Also provided additional sauces like a spicy habernero which was great.

All in all an amazing experience and will definitely be back for more.

Disclaimer, my photos do not do the food justice, just go and see it for...

ORDERED: 🌽 Elote: 2xWhite char-grilled corn, smoked mayo, cotija chese, tajin, lemon ($12.00) 🐟🐙 Ceviche Acapulco: Prawns, octopus, mussels, coriander, onion, tomatoes, olive, tomato sauce, smoked garlic, Mexican oregano, cucumber, avocado & tajin dressing ($17.00) 🌮 Pescado Tacos: Market fish, fennel tumeric batter, orange dressing, cabbage, slaw, chipotle mayo, lemon ($17.00) 🌮 Al Pastor Tacos: pork, achiote, guajillo, roasted pineapple, coriander, onion, lemon ($18.00) 🥔 Papas Bravas: Homemade fried potatoes, yuca, smoked ink mayo, brava sauce, Giannopoulo's oregano, tajin ($16.00)

It was $40.00pp. No card surcharge too!

REVIEW: 💖 1. My favourite was the Ceviche Acapulco. A medley of seafood, it was light, clean and a little bit acidic. It was served on a flat taco-esque carriage, giving the ceviche a sturdy base to go into my mouth. I'd say it's the best ceviche I've ever had! 💛 2. Next were the tacos. I appreciated the fattiness within the Al Pastor tacos along with the perfect pairing of the roasted pineapple. Pecado tacos were amazing. Battered so well and in such a LARGE piece that gave me the opportunity to slice a bit to save for later 😅. You could also taste the distinctive corn flavour through the tacos!! 🧡 3. The elotes that everyone is raving about. It's amazingly soft. Almost like no teeth is required!! Amazing texture and such an interesting corn. ➖ 4. Weakest dish, by default, was the Papas Bravas. It wasn't as amazing as the other dishes, but it would be good to share between friends. Honestly, we over ordered and we could've gone without the Papas Bravas between two.

I booked online and thankfully I did, because it quickly filled up from walk ins. The staff are efficient and drop the food off at your table when it's ready. The interior has an interesting mix of different coloured artificial lighting as well as different styles (faux marble table with light coloured wooden chairs? Velvet dark brown backed chairs?) lending itself to a casual vibe.

The food at Maiz Y Caco is delicious....