Maria’s Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Melissa

We went to this restaurant for a family dinner hoping to enjoy a nice meal together. We ordered three dishes: a cheese enchilada, a vegetarian entree, and a chicken dish for my cousin. When the food arrived at our table, we were shocked and disgusted to see that all three dishes—including the cheese enchilada, which should have been completely meatless—had beef mixed into them. This wasn’t a small trace or a tiny mistake; there were clear pieces of beef in dishes that were supposed to be vegetarian.

We immediately called over our server and asked to speak with the manager because something was seriously wrong. When the manager came to our table, he told us they cook everything on the same grill without cleaning it between orders. Even worse, he openly admitted that if they’re busy, they don’t bother cleaning the grill at all. He actually said, “We don’t clean our grill if we’re busy and don’t care about the customer,” which was shocking and honestly unbelievable to hear directly from someone in charge.

This experience showed a complete lack of care and respect for customers who are vegetarian, vegan, or have religious or cultural reasons for avoiding certain meats. It’s not just disrespectful—it’s also dangerous. Cross-contamination like this can cause severe or even life-threatening reactions for people with food allergies. Anyone who thinks they’re ordering a vegetarian meal could unknowingly end up eating beef, which could lead to serious health problems or go against their dietary restrictions and personal beliefs.

What’s even more concerning is that when we questioned how they could be allowed to operate like this, the manager told us they had passed health inspections. I honestly don’t know how that’s possible if they admit to not cleaning or sanitizing their grill between cooking beef, chicken, and vegetarian food. It’s extremely unsettling to think other customers could be eating food contaminated with ingredients they didn’t order or can’t safely consume.

Restaurants have a responsibility to keep customers safe and respect their choices, whether they’re made for health, religious, or ethical reasons. This restaurant clearly doesn’t take that responsibility seriously. Based on what we experienced and what the manager openly admitted, I don’t see how anyone with dietary restrictions, food allergies, or even basic expectations of clean cooking practices could feel comfortable eating here.

I absolutely do not recommend this restaurant to anyone—especially vegetarians, vegans, people with food allergies, or anyone who simply wants to know and trust what they’re eating. Our experience showed they don’t take even the most basic precautions to keep different foods separate or safe, and they clearly don’t value the health or well-being of their customers. I hope this review helps others make an informed decision and that it pushes the restaurant to completely rethink and improve how they prepare food before someone gets...

I’m so sorry people actually think this is good eating. It’s like the have been sheltered their whole life and never ventured out to expand their tastebuds. They really should give an option for 0 stars. I can’t for the life of me understand why people rave over this place. I promise I nearly ordered most of the menu bc I’m a foodie and wanted to get the full experience. The only thing I can think is because the food is so cheap for an abundance of food but personally I wouldn’t go here even if I was starving. It’s definitely not authentic Mexican food. If you are into bland food this is definitely for you. I would seriously rather drive an extra 5 min and go to salsas or blue cantina than this place but to each his own. If you were brought up with no flavor In your food or not knowing good fresh food this might be familiar and comforting to you. But if you’re trying to feed your family and get their tummies full off a few bucks this might be it. I wouldn’t feed this to my dogs. I actually ordered over $100 worth of food for myself and my husband when moving to this town and had it delivered. We most definitely threw it all out and had to find...

My husband and I decided to get the kids out of the house for dinner. My niece was visiting us from Louisiana and really wanted mexican food. We passed by Maria's by accident a few days before to pick up a piece of furniture and it was packed! Curious, I decided to check the reviews of this little place. I was excited to see so many excellent reviews and thought this must be a little gem tucked away! I'm sad to report that it was not the case for us. The hostess actually waited on us after seating us....we got our own highchair and she knew nothing of the menu... what tequila is in the margarita ?? What sauce is this ?? Nothing.... the salsa was decent. . The queso was terrible... we added salt and pepper to our meals and they were okay. (Mind you, I never season mexican food as it usually holds much flavor to begin with) I actually added some table sugar to my margarita eventually because I had given up hope 😂😂 my daughter loves mexican food and didn't even eat her meal... needless to say, the service and food was mediocre at best. Just being honest 😔 p.s. the prices were appropriate to...