Macayo's Mexican Food — Restaurant in Tempe

After my last disappointment, it's been years since I have visited the favorite restaurant of my youth. This time, it was no different. The decor was nice and the bathrooms modern and clean. We waited for 10 minutes to get seated. Several empty tables and no other patrons waiting with us. Many employees walked past us at the unattended check in counter. Not even one "someone will be with you shortly." Just as we were discussing leaving, we were seated without an apology or explanation of the wait. Table was dirty. I had to flick a grain of rice off the table and there was what looked like dried nacho cheese stuck in places. Drinks were brought promptly. First basket of chips were bottom of the barrel and tasted rancid. Tasted of old frying grease. No plates or silverware. We didn't complain but asked for more chips. The second basket was much better. Love their hot sauce. We ordered appetizers and those were delivered on a timely basis. However, still no plates or silverware. We just ate them by finger. After placing the order, we waited for 30 minutes for the first 3 plates. When she delivered the plates, she told my wife that they were out of the soup that she had ordered. Irritated, my wife declined to order anything else. STILL NO SILVERWARE. After 20 minutes, we 'bothered' a server to please get us some silverware. 10 minutes later, our waitress brought the silverware. After 30 minutes of waiting, our 3 plates were cold. We went ahead and started eating the 3 plates without complaint. When we were almost done with ours, the other 2 plates were delivered! I am not kidding. We had to ask for refills and the waitress complained that they had a party of 20 that was delaying the orders. We were there for OVER 2 HOURS. Macayo's could learn from their predecessors how to operate a successful Mexican food restaurant or continue to waste away into obscurity....

I had the pleasure of visiting the new Macayo’s on Rural Road, and it was a fantastic experience from start to finish. Located within walking distance of the ASU campus, the restaurant is in a vibrant area with tons of energy and activity – making it a perfect place for a night out. The decor is bright, festive, and full of character, adding to the lively atmosphere.

One of the highlights is the unique bike near the entrance, where you can actually pedal to mix your own margaritas. It’s a fun touch that really adds to the overall vibe of the place. They were also handing out cute margarita cups, which was a nice, unexpected bonus.

We sat on the dog-friendly patio, which gave us a great view of all the action happening around the area. Service was impeccable—our server, Rodrigo, was attentive, friendly, and really made us feel welcome throughout the meal.

As for the food, everything we tried was delicious. We started with a cheese crisp and spinach con queso dip, both of which were tasty and served quickly. For my main, I had the cheese enchilada plate with rice, and my husband had the Chicken Poblano. Both dishes were generous in size and full of flavor—the poblano sauce on the chicken was especially well thought out and really elevated the dish.

To finish the meal, I opted for an espresso martini, which was creamy, delicious, and had just a touch of heat that I couldn’t quite identify but thoroughly enjoyed.

The only small suggestion I’d make is to add heaters or provide pashminas/blankets for cooler nights on the patio.

Overall, a wonderful experience! The combination of great food, friendly service, and a fun atmosphere makes Macayo’s a place we’ll definitely be returning to soon. Highly recommend it for anyone looking for a great spot near ASU or...

From the moment we walked in, I knew it was going to be a rough experience. No one was at host stand and when we looked around, there were at least 10 tables that were not cleaned off. The restaurant was not busy. After a minute, 2 employees approached the host stand and were in conversation with each other, so it was another minute before they greeted us. They led with, “give us a few min, we don’t have any tables available” when there were still plenty even though many were not cleaned off. We were seated, then moved to a booth after one was cleaned.

Madison was our waitress and she did not seem to want to be at work. Her attitude was poor and personality very dry with no sense of urgency and lacked general customer service skills.

2 of 3 of us had good lunch with no issues, however, 1 received cold carne asada tacos and when informing Madison her response was flatly, “so you want another one” and left the plate of cold food on the table. We never got any refills or checked in on but had to flag her down to address the cold dinner.

Madison brought the replacement food in a to-go bag and dropped the bill off without speaking to us at all.

It’s one thing to walk into an environment that either has poor management or understaffed. It’s another thing to have poor service and that was a theme from host to wait staff. We tried to go to the Macayo’s location near Rio Salado but learned it closed a few years ago. It was always excellent there and Bell Rd is great too. We will never return to this location and do not...