Maize Cocina & Cocktails — Restaurant in Westfield

This was a fantastic gem to discover in Westfield! Maize hits all corners of the quadrant, excellent food, imaginative drinks, beautiful ambiance, and wonderful staff. I came for their brand new brunch menu and was given great customer service and recommendations from our server Griz.

We started off with some of the breakfast cocktails, the cold brew coffee-esque Carajillo, the smokey Round Trip, and the refreshing and light Maize Spritz. For an appetizer we shared Bloody Maria Shrimp Ceviche which definitely gave Bloody Mary notes and was served with saltine crackers. We also shared the house Guacamole that was served with freshly made tortilla chips. This was some of the creamiest guacamole I've ever had, yet you still had the satisfying chunks in it to give it some texture. For brunch we had a feast. The Breakfast Taco was a simple yet flavorful meal enhanced by Griz' recommendation to add a side of their sour orange chile de arbol salsa. The breakfast burrito was packed and definitely a crowd favorite. The Steak and Eggs were good as well, but funny enough the papas and enchilada beans were actually my favorite part of the plate. The steak that was the star of the plate was pretty simple and I wished had a bit more flavor on its own. I was pleasantly surprised by the Mixed Pepper, Plantain, Pineapple & Kale Hash. It was a sweet and savory dish that I'll definitely pick next time I come back. But I think the star of the show was the Pollo & Pan De Elote Waffe, a Mexican take on southern chicken and waffles. The chicken had a lightly smoky slightly sweet glaze to it and was very lightly battered while the corn waffle was on the savory side with a slightly savory flavor. That combined with the syrup gave a much less sweet version of a classical sugary dish.

I can't wait to come back for their lunch and dinner menu to try more of their creative and...

Saw lots of good reviews, looked at the pricey menu and their website saying it was a “reimagined” historic train station and thought it would be the perfect high end spot to impress a potential client who is also a history buff. Huge mistake.The outside looked like they “reimagined” it as a diner complete with surround windows and metal siding! The inside wasn’t much better with casual wood plank tables, hard uncomfortable wood chairs, and a mix of modern type fixtures and furniture that didn’t go together. After seeing it in person, I didn’t even mention it was “historic” to the client. It was noisy and we had to talk loudly to hear each other. This is definitely not a high end restaurant to impress someone or to celebrate a special occasion.

The food was average and very small portions. We had kale salads and I had chicken mole, sauce was average and chicken poorer quality. My potential client had steak and fries and barely ate half so I assumed it wasn’t good (was afraid to ask). None of this would be so bad if they weren’t charging fine dining prices for this diner-type food and experience. Maize’s menu is by far the most the expensive in Westfield.It’s even more expensive because the portions are so small you have to order a bunch of sides or al la carte items to have a full meal which brings the price of the food to over $50/person NOT including drinks, tax and tip! With all the better dining options in the Westfield area and no reviews mentioning how insanely overpriced it is, I wonder if real people who have gone to Maize are writing the good reviews. Seems like a lot of the good reviews for Maize were written by “local guides” who give 5 star reviews to every restaurant they’ve reviewed and get points for the number of restaurants they review....

I was underwhelmed by the food as I was expecting bold flavors since it’s Mexican inspired food.

For the appetizer, we ordered the Tuna Aguachile and twice we were warned that it was super spicy. Spoiler alert. It was not spicy…it tasted like bland pepper water which made me adjust my expectations for the entrees considering the location and demographic they serve.

For the entrees, we ordered the Pulled Pork & Maque Choux and Steak & Fries. Both entrees were missing the salt like the Aquachile. The Maque Choux was supposed to be creamy but it was undercooked and super watery. The dish itself was watery and lacking flavor. No flavor for the pulled pork.

The steak & fries were okay. The steak was cut too large for how thick it was. It was difficult to chew and had to use a butter knife to reduce the size of it. The sauces that came with the dish wasn’t good as well. Again lacking salt. Same with the Brussels Sprouts undercooked and lacking salt.

The drinks were decent and a bit strong. Definitely order the Carajillo.

The environment was nice and bustling.

The staff were nice and decent. They comped us for the Aguachile because they sensed that we didn’t like it and checked in on us.

Our server was okay, but he took away the drink menu before our food arrived and wasn’t engaging or attentive. Felt a lack of connection.

Ultimately, I wouldn’t recommend this place to person to a Mexican food enthusiast because the flavors weren’t simply there. Need more salt and spice. However, it could be that way considering the location and demographic that they service.

If you’re looking for a nice spot to drink and chat, this would be the...