Maz Mezcal — Restaurant in New York

2.0 star rating 4/27/2021

Winter Beer lives very close to this restaurant and raves about it. So, we decided to meet here for lunch. When we arrived we asked about the outdoor seating if we could take a seat. The staff looked confused so we just took a table outside.

When we were seated I asked for a napkin because I wanted to wipe my hands. This was met with confused looks. They dropped the menu on the table and 15 minutes later they arrived with silverware. Again, I asked for a napkin to wipe my hands and didn't get it until almost 30 minutes later. Before we even got a chance to look at the menu, they kept coming by to take our order.

Winter Beer got a margarita ($11.50) and I asked if the soda was fountain or canned. They said they would check and let me know. They said they had both and I asked for a can of Coke ($3). We placed our order and that was basically the last we saw of them until we flagged them down.

After we ordered maybe 10-15 minutes later, they gave us a bowl of chips and a platter of three sauces. I thought the salsa was delicious. We ordered a plate of nachos to share. Usually, when I order nachos ($9.25), I get huge stack of chips and meat. Basically big enough for a meal. I was disappointed that we got 8 chips with meat and sauce. This was barely enough food and a huge disappointment to me. I don't think I ever seen nachos that looked like this.

WB ordered the Enchiladas Verde ($21.95) and they enjoyed it. I got the Arroz Camaron ($27.95) and thought it was okay. I found two pieces of shrimp that was under cooked and had a bit of gray on them. The rice was very salty and tasted like someone just poured a ton of Goya seasoning (Abodo?) on it. The rice with the side of beans tasted a bit better.

While consuming our entree, we had asked for another refill on our beverages. I made it very clear I wanted another canned soda. My friend got their beverage within 10 minutes. I had to constantly remind them for my soda. I had to stop eating and was waiting for my beverage because of how salty the rice was. Almost 30 minutes later they bought my soda and of course, it was a fountain soda that had no flavor and was flat.

We ordered Tres Leches ($9.50) and Sopaipillas ($10.50) for dessert. I like tres leches cake but this one was disappointing. The cake itself was very dense and hard. The frosting was very overpowering and it felt like this was boxed cake mix with milk poured on it. I had traditional tres leches at quite a few Mexican parties and they were 10,000x better than this. The Sopaipillas were no better. They barely had any taste to them. They were topped with cheap tasting honey (I am looking at you those cloying sweet teddy bear shaped honey jars that are like dirt cheap and taste like it) that was just overpowering.

This place was severely lacking with the customer service and the food. The prices do not match the quality and portion size. I will probably never visit again even if I didn't pay for it. I feel like if you never had authentic Mexican food you might enjoy this otherwise, this place will be a...

I like Maz Mezcal but have to go three stars due to the nature of the staff working there. When my friend and I arrived, we asked if we could sit at two tables that were away from the sidewalk. The hostess, who I felt took me to be a bother, said one was reserved and the other one was for three people. We ended up sitting by the sidewalk which was fine, but I noticed not 5 minutes later, the hostess sat a party of two at the three person table, and during our entire meal, no one sat at the reserved table.

Additionally, we had to wait about 15 minutes before anyone came to take our order, and although not unpleasant, our waiter really had no personality and was really only about taking our orders and bringing our food. Nothing more and nothing less.

Food wise, the chips and salsa were plentiful and good as there were 3 different salsa types, and if we had wanted additional chips and salsa, the restaurant charges a $5.00 cost. Entrees range in price between about $22.00 - $40.00 and I had the chicken fajitas. The beans, rice, chicken, peppers, and onions were all great and they also served the plate with peas, guac, and a few other things. I pretty much cleared my plate as it was as I said before, very good. I also had the De La Casa Margarita ($12.00) and it was very good and made with Sauza Silver.

Overall, with so many Mexican restaurants in the UES, I do think I will be going to other places as I really can't remember the last time that an entire restaurant staff was so stiff and lacking personality, however, this doesn't mean I will never go back...

Somewhere between the complex authenticity of a true Mexican restaurant and the simple savory pleasures of a Tex-Mex restaurant sits Mazmezcal, occupying a hybrid space that takes elements of both. Your not going to find a lot of ground meat dishes here but conversely you also wont find tamales. Overall they probably skew just a tad closer to authentic with ingredients like nopalito, and huitlacoche but still far enough from authentic that I can see why other reviewers wouldn't call them true Mexican. Great salsa and chips, which are complimentary and come out warm and tricolor as well as three dipping sauces. The mole is also heavy on the cinnamon and spices, to some that's great others might not like that as much. The food is good but not good enough for the slightly higher price premium, still I'd go again. Part of that is curiosity over how they would prepare other dishes and another part is the ambiance which just feels comforting. Filled with prints and paintings that reference Mexican muralists and an aesthetic that overall tastefully takes all the elements of typical Mexican decor and uses them just right. The bar is small on the side, not a draw in and of itself but they do make great margaritas and drinks. Then hostess was quite nice, not that she did anything of note, she just seemed nice. If they were a bit cheaper I think I might have gone 5 stars, but definitely...