Meso Maya Comida y Copas — Restaurant in Fort Worth

We came to Meso Maya a few weeks ago for brunch after hearing about their awesome service. Must say, our waitress was certainly friendly and knowledgeable, but the food was a bit much.

Here's why...

Maybe I'm that kind of guy who looks at food in a different light. I'm not out for "volume," but rather, quality, freshness, and flavors of the food overall. I like the subtle flavors of foods that help to distinguish each bite (like each musician in a symphony), rather than one group that drowns out the other with overwhelming power or punch. To put it another way, Meso Maya certainly has a nice variety of food, but their sauces are almost exhausting to the palate, and makes it difficult to truly distinguish the actual flavors and contents of the dish.

Alex was our waitress, and was absolutely enthusiastic about educating us on what Meso Maya (M.M.) was all about. She quickly made some personal suggestions, discussed the labor-intensive work that went into some of their Mole sauces, and the fact that M.M. made their "own corn tortillas." So, for starters, we opted for a large Guacamole.

Within a few minutes, we were served a nice heaping bowl of photo-perfect guacamole. Adorned with some finely julienned radish (new in my book), it was fresh and well balanced with bits of tomato, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. Chips and their salsa were also served alongside our guac. However, we love guacamole with hot corn tortillas, so we asked the lady (who served our guacamole) if we could have some corn tortillas. She looked a bit puzzled, said something about a "small order," and returned within a few minutes with piping hot hand-made corn tortillas. They were a nice accompaniment for the guacamole, but had a softer-than-usual feel to them. They almost felt like flour tortillas in consistency, and lacked a more hearty and decipherable taste of standard corn tortillas, Still, they were quite good, and went well with our appetizer.

For her, an order of the "Budin Azteca Camaron(es)." An oblong stack of tortillas in casserole-style with layers of cheese throughout, topped with nicely cooked shrimp, and resting in a pool of tomatillo sauce. For me, I opted for the "Enchiladas Del Mar," that were stuffed with nicely cooked cooked shrimp, crab meat, and cheeses, also resting in a pool of tomatillo sauce. Both had a nice presentation overall, but the sauce (amount) was a bit much. Simply put, it was overbearing and saturating.

I love tomatillo sauce, and make it at home every so often. It is supposed to have a bit of a "sour" taste (acidic), but should never be too overpowering (at least not to me). Unfortunately, M.M.'s version of this sauce was simply that -- overpowering and overwhelming, so much so, that it was difficult to discern the individual ingredients of the Budin or Enchiladas, especially with the subtle flavors of crab meat and shrimp - both of which were lost somewhere within. I managed to scrape away most of the sauce from my enchiladas and finish them. Her Budin was a bit too rich from the sauce and cheeses, but the managed to harvest the shrimp off the top (which tasted quite good on their own).

At the end, we asked to samples of some of the various sauces, and our waitress was quick to accommodate us. We both really enjoyed the pipian rojo sauce (pumpkin), and the Oaxacan mole, but the rest were a bit too rich and overpowering. They were the kind of sauces that would be nice to lightly dress over an entree, but not to ladle-on. Perhaps it's in the making of the sauces? I was told that one of the moles had approximately "52 different ingredients." Now, I'm no expert on mole, have only made it a handful of times, but I'd say that the average number of ingredients is 12-15 depending on the type. At 52, I think someone is probably overdoing it a bit, and it tastes like it.

Oh, and those corn tortillas for our guacamole? We were charged $3.00 for 4 tortillas. Not cool.

May or may not be back. Will definitely rethink our...

A contemporary restaurant with Oaxaca and Puebla inspired twists on traditional Mexican food and drinks. Self described as offerings influenced and reflective of the cooking styles found in areas of Mexico such as the Yucatán, Vera Cruz and Chiapas - this is not your typical Tex-Mex joint.

Our order: My husband ordered the $15.00 Bourbon Margarita and had high hopes… until it inexplicably arrived in a small glass cup - not a standard Margarita presentation. The drink itself was also a disappointment as the Bourbon and Tequila stayed separated and we’re not cohesively blended or working together. Before our meal arrived, my husband decided to play it safe and ordered a traditional Margarita on the rocks… only to be disappointed again with the presentation and separation of liquids. I’ve never been to a restaurant where a top shelf $15.00 Margarita arrived in a standard glass drink cup… the same glass they served my water in. It also served to further enhanced the visual separation of liquids clearly visible half way down the glass - a sign that the drink was not properly mixed before being poured. This was a running theme for the entire meal - missed opportunities in presentation, plating, flavor and massive temperature deficits.

We were not fans of the the fire roasted salsa or the over cooked tortilla strips they served as chips. Our meals looked a bit more promising as far as plating, but also fell flat with temperature deficits and overall poor flavor. The Flank Steak was grilled but lacked the typical grill marks or texture that usually comes with grilled meat. The pickled onions were lackluster with no acidity and the white rice had clumps of over cooked crunchy portions. The wilted salad greens were an afterthought and the roasted jalapeño was basically served black.

The Plantains we’re described as being fried by our server, yet arrived in large clunky cut pieces that were a very mushy texture - not like a chip. The cold crèma drizzled atop sucked the warmth from the Plantains and was a strange and conflicting component to the dish that made its temperature lukewarm and flavor off putting . The Sweet Corn Tamal (a Tamale) was also plated with the cold crema drizzle that sucked the heat from the tamale and made the entire dish lukewarm. Serving the Tamal with sprinkled cheese and a SIDE of cold Crema would’ve been so much smarter while also maintaining the temperature and quality of the tamale. Tamales aren’t designed to be served lukewarm, which is why their steamed and served hot. When allowed to cool, the Masa gets gummy and unpalatable. When you’re serving something off white (tamale) with white crema and white cheese, maybe consider a few green parsley sprinkles atop to break up the monotony and whiteness. The lack of contrast and color was off putting. It just looked and tasted like someone threw it all on a plate without pride or presentation. There were just too many things like presentation, plating, lack of spices, no salt or pepper on tabletops and obvious temperature deficits that made this entire meal unenjoyable.

To be noted: The atmosphere here was lovely, but the service was extremely slow! The basic delivery of chips and salsa took over 15 minutes to arrive at our table AFTER we were seated… and there was only about 10 people in the entire place. Our bill was just over $80.00 and we walked away feeling unsatisfied. The food was overpriced, the service was spotty and the basics, like Salt and Pepper, were nowhere to be found.

I have plain water glasses at home. When I’m enjoying a night out, I expect a “top shelf” $15.00 Margarita to arrive in a Margarita glass. It would also be nice if there was a regular salsa that customers could choose who don’t prefer the roasted salsa. There are too many wonderful places in Fort Worth to enjoy Mexican food to recommend this place to others. We will...

Where do I begin, party of 19 for my niece’s birthday, Meso Maya on Hulen, reservation for 7pm, most of us arrived by 6:40 but they refused to sit us at 7pm until everyone arrived, my sister was delayed in traffic coming from Richardson so the manager, who was called by the servers to deal with the request, very rudely and with a totally unacceptable unwelcoming attitude said he would only sit the ones there, but clearly established he would NOT set up a place for my sister and her husband at the table. Mind you the restaurant had zero business, that should have been the first sign to run. We had to share menus because they set out about 10 menus for 19 people. When my sis and her husband arrived, we had to pull up a table and chairs and go hunt for utensils ourselves. It took them a while to come take our drink order, one server for 19 people, the others standing around watching. Lemons were left out of the order. When we asked her for them, she ignored us and walked away. They brought chips and salsa out, salsa was quite gross, might I add. This place is Mexican-wanna-be food, not one bit authentic. Eventually our order was taken by a server who was not the least friendly, no need to offer customer service when you have a guaranteed tip. if I had to guess, I’d say she was either related to the short guy (manager) who gave us attitude when we came in or it’s just a standard practice to display a less than kind attitude with paying customers at Meso Mayas. Zero flexibility with substitutions by the way. Waited over an hour for our food. Did I say the place was empty? There were items that were either wrong or missing from our order, in addition the only beans they have contain pork, so if you eat no pork, you’re SOL. Quesadilla order comes with more cheese than tortilla washed in a “more-onion-than-avocado guac” and what they call pico, but there must have been a shortage of tomatoes in that kitchen…no sour cream, so “Yes, we charge for a side of crema if you want one” We asked if they could sing for my niece’s birthday because, well, I guess we expected them to make up for the lack of everything else, but it was too much to ask “No, we don’t sing for birthdays” Food was greasy, overpriced, on top of that you’re charged 20% on your food AND your taxes which ends up being about 22% gratuity for the lousiest service we have ever received. The cherry on top was when they made my niece pay for the entire bill, as they do not split checks and because she’s the one that made the reservation. My sister offered to pay and they told her “next time” as if we would be stupid enough to set foot in that sorry excuse of a restaurant. I don’t know how that place is still in business because they don’t have the slightest idea of what customer service is. We will not only not go back, but we will find a way to discourage anyone we know from going through such an unpleasant experience...