Maiz Molino — Restaurant in Seattle

TL;DR: So THAT'S what corn is supposed to taste like! Don't miss: the Whitexican cocktail; duck mole; anything that has the grits (like the Chile au jus Costilla). In a word: balanced complexity. Okay, that's two words.

Modern corn has been bred to be a fast-growing sugar bomb. In contrast, the heirloom corn that Maiz uses is something else entirely. The corn tortillas make for a complexly flavored base that complements every dish. I think it might be impossible to go wrong with anything on the menu. Every dish we had is a party of flavors and textures, with everything we ate and drank being an absolute win.

The duck mole chalupa is a magic flavor and texture explosion. My partner does not like mole and mowed down a chalupa almost singlehandedly. The mole is a balance of flavors, rather than the sweet chocolate chile confection that many places serve. The Chile au jus Costilla is a perfectly executed beef rib braise served on the most amazing bed of grits. Just the rumor of these grits would prompt the south to rise again out of envy.

We spent over two hours here exploring the flavors. Our only regret is that we couldn't eat even more. The margs are an excellent palate cleanser between bites. Come prepared to drink two. The Whitexican is a cocktail like none I've ever experienced, savory, sweet, lightly smoky, with fresh cacao nibs adding a delightfully bitter crunch to each sip. Kenji speaks the truth: the horchata really is the best going in the PacNW.

Despite being short-staffed, service was fast, accurate, pleasant, and attentive. Our waiter had excellent suggestions, pairings, and backstory on any dish in which we expressed interest. We are sooooo looking forward to going back; there's a few dishes we...

Incredibly disappointed in our experience. We had a 10 am reservation. We arrived and ordered drinks. Drinks took 20 minutes for a coffee and michalada. Food did not arrive for an hour.

There were two other tables and no one got their food until nearly 11 am.

At 10:30 the server walked out of the restaurant and returned with a plastic bag and walked over to a table and told them now we can make your fruit plate because now we have fruit!

Seriously? Is there any food?

We could see that the kitchen was full of staff working. But absolutely no food was coming out.

When our food eventually came out at 10:55 am the server put it down then asked how we were doing. We said food looks good but it’s been a very long wait. We said it has been nearly an hour. He just said: ok enjoy!

Like no acknowledgement at all of the very long wait.

Later when we paid he asked again how everything was. We said again that food was fine but it was a very long wait. An hour was very long time to wait.

He just smiled and ignored what I said. Like seriously at least acknowledge the situation. It’s frustrating when food takes a long time but at least say something about it. Like how about sorry?

We asked if the kitchen was still preparing for the day and if that was why it took so long. The server very reluctantly nodded.

Like why is this place open at 10 am? The kitchen was clearly not ready for customers. Maybe have staff come in an hour early or just don’t open until 11 am because that when all the food started coming out.

I’m leaving this review to give feedback to the owners/managers since the server is clearly incapable of addressing the issue even when customers try...

I got what was labeled as El Huarache from here - which was a masa base spread with beans, flank steak, lettuce, and onions I haven’t had this before in a Mexican restaurant - in fact - I don’t remember seeing this on a menu before

I do have to say it’s not my favorite menu item, however I thought the masa base on the bottom was quite bland. It had no real texture beyond being a mush that wasn’t really that pleasant to eat. While I understand that’s how the dish is, for me I didn’t really enjoy eating that part

The other parts of the dish were better, though. The steak was cooked relatively well - although I wish they’d use a fattier cut rather than what appeared to be flank steak. I did appreciate the combination of vegetables and sour cream that were included. The salsa was pretty good as well and had a nice spice

I have a feeling my dislike of this food has more to do with the specific dish I ordered than the restaurant itself. I do see myself coming here again - and I might order the tlacoyos, gorditas, or chilaquiles to see if I can get a better judge on the quality itself. However, at least for now, I can’t say this place was impressive

For the price of around $18, it is at least a lot of food, which is nice

Overall, a dish lacking in flavor but I’ll look to try other ones next...