Ay Maria! — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

Today my Mom and I ate at Ay Maria! The new spot here in Corpus Christi. The colorful atmosphere is a lot different from the "run of the mill" type residents are used to at other restaurants, usually dimly lit or no "personality" at all. We were greeted warmly by the upbeat servers and instructed to sit wherever we'd like. Upon sitting, we had menus presented right away and daily specials were explained immediately, following a drink order. I had water and my Mom had coffee. We browsed thru the menu and I chose to have Tarasca style enchiladas #12, and my Mom the day's special of Chicharrone's with red salsa, eggs, rice and beans, which was $1 less than advertised in the menu. Food took about a 8-10 mins to reach our table, it was served in decorative style plates, and mugs (coffee) that matched. I opted for "charro style" over the refried beans for my plate. Food was excellent, my Mom's Chicharrone's were cold, either due to cold salsa ladled over hot Chicharrone's or maybe prepared first and sat in the window before it got to our table. She still ate them, but didn't finish them. She wasn't mad and didn't ask for a remake or complain. My plate was on point, the Tarasca sauce over my enchiladas (which had I believe Oaxaca cheese melted on top of the Enchi's, before the addition of the sauce was ladled, also the "cheese pull" was very satisfying when I cut a piece to taste) consisted of a heavy or light whipping cream, flavored with spices, maybe chicken stock aswell and possibly cojita cheese, mixed in were thinly sliced sauteed mushrooms, red onions and poblano peppers.(Veggies were perfect, the onions and poblano peppers still had a crunch to them) I asked for shredded chicken to be inside of my Enchi's. Chicken was seasoned and had bits of cooked jalapeno mixed in, but could've been a lil more seasoned for my taste, but still satisfying 😋(3 to an order, but were rolled up fat😁) rice was cooked well with not an overly tomato taste, just enough for color and flavor. Charro beans were on point, just slightly disappointed they were served in about a 3oz. portion. but the mini jarro they were in matched the coffee mugg and plates. I understand why good product is served sometimes in small portions, I wasn't mad at all. Overall, I will be coming here again to try different menu items and encourage ALL of Corpus Christi to come by and give this restaurant a chance. It varies differently from the other spots and offers a unique atmosphere. Things they can do better on is making sure food is consistently hot before they reach the table and check plates and coffee mugs for any chips or cracks before serving food or coffee(my plate had a big chip on the edge a few millimeters from the Enchi's) Oh, not to forget that the Male's restroom was clean, smelled good and visually appealing, the flour tortillas my Mom had with her plate were super soft, not overly chewy and just a bit of "spalda" on them, just like my 'wela used to make🥲 also, I believe they give out complimentary sweet bread (postras) to each table.( I had the triangle shaped one with pineapple inside😋😋) 5 stars all around even with the small inconsistencies mentioned here. Don't sleep on Ay Maria! Corpus Christi, take a break from the long standing "Mexican" establishments that are played out and always have the same, boring and sometimes flavorless food; your taste buds and stomachs will definitely be...

This was our first visit here. We arrived at about 1:30. There was plenty of seating. We got waited on quickly. The tables and the atmosphere is very pretty and the chairs are really comfortable. We got waited on quickly and only waited about 10 minutes till our food came out. I ordered the combination plate number 16, which had a Tostada, taco and enchilada on it. The beans we’re really good, the rice was good, the cheese enchilada was really good. The tostada was crispy and good, but even though I got to the taco second, one side of the taco had been completely soaked through and was too soggy to really pick up, but I was able to eat it and the flavor was good. Chips and salsa come to the table and the chips are nice and crispy and the salsa has a medium heat to it and it’s probably one of the best salsas I’ve had in a Mexican restaurant in this town. I asked for additional hot sauce and I was brought a green sauce and a red sauce. The green sauce was avocado based and had a real nice flavor to it, but had zero heat. The red sauce had a really great flavor to it, but it had a very mild heat. Not at all what I had expected. I asked for something hotter. They brought me pink sauce, which was habanero and mayonnaise based. The waitress told me to be careful with it. I tried it on a chip and I would rate that at a medium heat. Even though it was a good sauce. I would’ve preferred a hot sauce that wasn’t mayo based and one with more heat. Out of all four the salsa that came with the chips was the hottest and the best of the four. The waitresses were very attentive and eager to answer questions. The place was clean and somebody was constantly cleaning tables, sweeping the floor and staying on top of the dining room cleanliness. There are some other things on the menu. We are looking forward to try so we will...

Been meaning to try this place for weeks. Finally got the chance to try it today with my husband. We had dinner. The restaurant itself is very cheerful and colorful. We walked in and there was a lady by the register which is right by the front door when you walk in. Never looked up. Never greeted us. We stayed standing there about 3 to 5 minutes. No sign that said wait to be seated or seat yourselves. It took a waitress who walked from the back of the restaurant to acknowledge us and told us to sit where we would like. We didn't wait long once we sat at a table to be waited on. Got complimentary chips and salsa. Ordered our plates. Husband got a fajita platter with a taco of mollejas. I can't remember what my plate was called but it had a crispy taco, chalupa, one enchilada, rice, beans, and guacamole. I subbed the crispy taco for a fajita taco. Ordered fresh squeezed lemonade to drink. The food is outstanding. We're originally from the Valley and in the 14 years we have lived in Corpus we had yet to find a good Mexican restaurant. People from the Valley who now live in Corpus will understand. Those raised in Corpus will not (sorry guys but Mexican food here is whack). Finally a restaurant that serves food that tastes like Mexican food from the Valley!!! The restaurant immediately filled for dinner. Totally understand why. The waiter was extremely busy given the full restaurant that it took a while to get a refill on our drinks or to ask how to take care of our bill. Just so you know, you walk to the register to pay. They don't bring you a total. Aside from the lack of good customer service, the food totally made it up for it. Will definitely be back to try other items on their menu!...