MAÍZ Mexican Cantina — Restaurant in Ypsilanti

6/26/22: 7:14 pm Yay...the bar is open again. Gave one more star.Granted the old bar was much more comfortable. But still....the bar is open!😅 the salsa and chips have both improved.. chips light and crispy...salsa smoky and tasty.

First bartender....never gave name and never approached after first contact Though was nice and gave me what I ordered. Second bartender/waiter i guess, Devin, was a tad abrupt but a great bartender and waiter. Took my order after I flagged him down, and did so congenitally and correctly. Go Devin.

Avacado taco..fabulous! Glad this is a keeper.

Tinga taco...dry..just ok bordering on eh...not so fabulous.

Fish taco....just ok.

Overall, better experience than the last few times . I may be back .

8/11/17: 11:45 am Seems to be sliding downhill. Was 5 stars.

Bartender more focused, and aggressively so, on her bar prep than taking care of customer. Got salsa with a piece of plastic in it, i saved it, going to have it looked at. Just for fun...

Pozole: good smoke, albeit lean, mostly broth.

The tostada sampler: I love the avocado taco, this tostada, not so much. Too much acid and the avocado was "meh". The carnitas, neither bad nor great, again, "meh". The tingas provided a great blend of spice and flavor and was juicy. Would order that again.

I will rescind my recommendation to friends and family. Again, has gone downhill fast.

Pre 8/11/17: Love the food! I can wait until they open the patio. Margaritas are wonderful.

May 2019: Now down from 5, down from 4, down to 2...don't waste your money! Food continues to slide downhill. They moved the iconic bar, redid it in snazzy modern....booo! The food that was absolutely fabulous when they first opened continues to decline in quality. The jalepeno appetizer used to be crispy baked yumminess...now a soggy disappointment, ditto for the avacado tacos. Made me sad really. Was awesome in the beginning when it first opened...now...well, I will not be back. Why must quality continually decline in the name of profit? Boo! Hope a new restaurant takes over. Make Ypsi proud vs...

I’m sure this is a nice place to eat but sadly we didn’t get the chance to experience it because there was no where to park. BEWARE and forewarned about the limited parking situation before you decide to venture there.

1. There is very limited parking on the street. It’s a very small town and the 3-4 restaurants are all clumped in the same small street of a 2 block radius.
2. The restaurant has NO parking facility or lot of their own.
3. The parking behind all the buildings except the pizza parlor (free parking but no spots left on a Tuesday at 7pm) are signage in every spot for apartment tenants and you’ll be towed)
4. This leaves the paid parking on the common street and the “Firehouse Lot”. BEWARE- We found a spot in the lot, went on to the app to pay, put our credit card and instantaneously received a text message from our bank that a charge of $38.95 was potentially fraud and was this actually our purchase?! We were only going there for 2 hours! Basically the skinny of this story is that the company that owns the lot thinks you’re going to be using their app around town and wants to HOLD and KEEP $38.95! If you don’t use it, they still keep it!
5. The hostess told me I could come back another night. Wrong answer! Don’t assume the guest is from around here and that they are going to go thru all that aggravation just to go thru it all again on another night!!! The wait for dining was 1 hour so I thought I’ll order a carry out and take it back to the hotel. Carryout on a Tuesday at 7pm I was told was 35 mins. and I needed to go to the bar to order it. Huh?

I would expect this situation in large cities I’ve been to but this was ridiculous. So after 45 mins of going up, down, around, in back, free and paid parking lots, we called it quits to dining at Maiz. It’s not worth all the hassle or the stress!

If anything call them first and make a reservation and don’t park in the paid parking if you’re just in town for...

Four years ago, the review below rang true. We’ve gotten to MAIZ a few times each year, and it’s always been great. Since that time four years ago, I’ve developed several allergies and have really restricted dietary needs. I started ordering the plain cheese quesadilla when we’d go to MAIZ, which would be creamy and crispy all at the same time, one of my favorite places to get a quesadilla. We stopped by tonight for dinner, and MAIZ was packed. We chose to wait the hour it took for a table. I ordered the usual plain cheese quesadilla. Something felt off. Tucked inside was shrimp - maybe not a big deal for most but it is when you’re allergic to it. I set it to the side of the table and told my husband to go ahead and eat. As stated, the place was busy. It was going to be a bit before the waitress was back. Before the waitress did get back, someone came by and grabbed the plate without saying a word, snatched it up and turned away as quickly as he had shown up. The waitress came not long after and said it had been a mix up. I do understand mix ups but mentioned it could have been worse if I had gotten to eating the shrimp. A new quesadilla arrived and was sat down without a word again. I picked up a wedge and the cheese slithered out, a greasy, clumpy bit of cheese that was not at all like I’ve had before. The tortilla was slimey, the cheese was a large knot, and it just sort of filled out a less than ideal dining experience. We might go back and try again, just to ensure that this was a one off, but we will not be back when the place is packed and people swipe plates without even acknowledging a mix up. The less than ideal meal that followed confirmed the disappointment.

One of the best Mexican restaurants we've been to. Quality, fresh ingredients, fantastic service, great environment. Highly...