Maria's Mexican Kitchen — Restaurant in Woodcrest

This is not the same restaurant that I've been to in the past. I had a very poor experience in my recent visit to this restaurant.

First off I would like to say that the servers at this restaurant were very attentive and very pleasant to deal with and in no way does my views of this restaurant lay with them.

I visited this location maybe about 4 years ago on a Saturday night and it was busy and we had to wait for a seat and we managed to get a seat after an hour we ate the food. There was lively music and good food. However, that was then, This is now. This restaurant at one time was named one of the best Mexican restaurants in Riverside, California.

We ordered the chips and salsa and the salsa was very mild and lacked flavor. The guacamole was pre-made but it did taste rather good so I have no complaints there. We had a side salad and the salad was very lifeless. It looked like the ends of a salad that had seen better days. The salad was not very fresh + the best way I could describe it was pretty wimpy. This is the type of salad that you might see on the side of a plate but not as a side salad or something that would be used as a main salad.

I ordered the Carne Asada plate with rice and black beans. The plate came out fairly quickly which was probably about the only good part of the meal. I have cooked Carne myself and I have to say I am not a fan of this razor thin Crane Asada. I do like mine a little more thicker so there is some actual flavor to it. If I were to say that this Carne Asada steak was even half an inch thick, that would be probably lie. It was the thinnest Carne asada steak I have ever seen in my life. This is not something that any restaurant should be proud to serve to its customers. It was dry, lacked flavor and felt like it was 3-day-old leftover steak. I'm not saying that it is leftovers. I'm just saying the preparation of it was very poor.

The rice was dry and reheated and overcooked, Spanish rice tasted like Rice-A-Roni and certainly not something that was even good.Bkack beans were fine and the tortillas were good.

My wife's meal was not very good either but it may have just been a poor choice on her part.

The restaurant looks very tired inside, however I don't mind that it updated as long as the food is good. I can personally say that for a restaurant that was rated one of the best in Riverside at one time. It's a former shell of itself. There is certainly nothing to think, but the restaurant was one of the best. The menu needs refreshing and the quality of the ingredients need rethinking.. if people are going to spend their hard-earned money to come to your restaurant up, you expect good quality food and unfortunately that is not what we received. I'm not looking for a refund. I'm maybe looking to hopefully inspire them that they need to reevaluate their menu and the quality of their food. You can't offer substandard food and hope that you're going to fill a restaurant or be successful. It was a Saturday night and there was barely nobody there and honestly when I walked out I understood why I and wondered how much longer they could continue to do this.

I can't say that I would want to return and that I had a bad one-off experience. You can tell if it was just a bad meal I would have sent it back and asked for a new plate but it was obvious by the entire dinner that this was the level of food that they thought was acceptable for their customers. Hopefully in the future things will change but they're five star and four-star recommendations are a thing of the past in my mind and I won't be returning until I see that the restaurant...

Found this restaurant when looking for someplace near the funeral my family had just attended. Except for me, everyone is Mexican. Took a chance on Maria's and it turned out to be the best Mexican food we have ever had from a restaurant. I've eaten Mexican food in Calif.(northern and southern), Nev., Ore., Wash., and Colorado, but this was better than we could have hoped for. Not only was the food excellent our waitress Selia (or Celia, not sure which) made the meal very special. Our group of 6 contained enough rowdies and jokesters to try the patience of anyone and she took it all and gave right back with a sweet smile. By the time the meal was over we felt like old friends, if not a new family member. And amazingly, when we got up to leave, we all got a hug. It has been so long since we have had such great service, and don't forget the fantastic food. We ordered a variety of dishes and no one was disappointed. If you are in the area, even if you are only a little bit hungry, Maria's is the place. Would'nt change it if I could, when I'm thinking Mexican restaurant, this is what I'm thinking. Thank you, thank you, thank you. There is...

I just moved to Woodcrest and decided to try Maria's. I wasn't disappointed at all. I ordered the shrimp cocktail for dinner, and while it seemed a bit light on the shrimp, the flavor was outstanding and I ate every last bit of it. Their chips and salsa were great to snack on before dinner arrived. The chips were light and fresh with the perfect amount of salt. My friend ordered the chili verde plate and it was delicious as well. They didnt skimp on the cheese, making it delightfully gooey with each bite. I am looking forward to going back and trying other items on the menu. Good food. Good price. No waiting on a Saturday evening. Service was quick and our waitress was very attentive. It wasn't too loud or overly crowded. Nice atmosphere. Give it a try. You won't be...