The second location for Maize is in the old train station, a small dining area and bar. I went for lunch and most tables were full. Table service is spot on with food coming out quick and piping hot. Even though it is a small area, still much more room than the original (which has a great hole in the wall feel all its own). They certainly made this a bit more comfortable. Mostly the same menu with a few larger special entrees. Though you got to go with the tortas, as these are great. Huge and filling with fresh baked bread. On par with most places I go to in Houston, which is known for some mean tortas. Salsas are really good and spicy as well. Thats it, pretty simple but very filling. Another awesome spot in this small downtown. read more

Ok, so I've eaten a lot of a Mexican food and this place delivered more than all of my favorites. The food was very Fresh, the servers helpful, and everything was prepared so fast. We waited so little, we were enjoying our food in no time and how pleasant, clean and intimate. They had a bar, but I didn't have any alcoholic drinks. read more

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Lots of fun to eat at. Great food, nice staff, cicadas and live band both entertaining in the courtyard, and gorgeous old train station bar inside. Great for Mexican food and train aficionados both, and nice relaxed atmosphere for family or date read more

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I'm from Houston, TX so I know what Mexican food should taste like & this is not it. I went to this restaurant with 3 other friends and we all agreed that this place is beyond average! The food was nowhere near as seasoned as it should've been if it was seasoned at all. Even the guacamole was lacking seasoning which surprised me because that's the easiest thing to make. The only thing that actually tasted good was the margarita which luckily since I was a little tipsy it made the food taste a little better. read more

Good basic Mexican fare. Tortillas are hot and fresh. Food spiced nicely. My favorite Mexican restaurant in Champaign.

This review is coming from a Mexican woman. ‍ NO FLAVOR AT ALL!! My husband and I were hoping to have some delicious Mexican food and we were extremely disappointed. I got the flautas and the chicken was disgusting. The chicken smelled like wet dog and had ZERO flavoring, the beans that came with it tasted old. My husband got the torta ahogada and said there was no flavor there either. We also got the chips and salsa. Salsa was nasty and the chips had no salt whatsoever. I have no idea why this place has 5stars. We spent $40 on nasty food. We will never go here again. read more

We ordered a variety of dishes. My daughter had the tortilla chips and a tiny amount of salsa, 1 slice of the cheese quesadilla, and a small amt of the Spanish rice and refried beans. The food tasted great to all of us while we were eating. However, as soon as we came home, my daughter vomited 4 times within a 4-hour timespan. We are unsure which of the items above led to this, but it was a pretty immediate reaction, saying the cheese quesadilla "felt like a brick in my stomach. The rest of our party also had some of the rice and beans along with our different dishes and are fine. My guess is that it was either the overload of pre-dinner tortilla chips or the cheese quesadilla. read more

I've been here twice and have mixed feelings. Homemade corn tortillas are good. But they use mozzarella cheese in the quesadilla? Guaq is really good, Chips are so so. Good beans. read more

I'd give the kitchen 5 stars, our food was out quickly & delicious!!! The ambience was 4 stars. Love the building but there is a huge open wall. Adding some artwork, or even artwork from local artist to sell on those walls would be beautiful. The service, I'm sad to say 2 stars. It wasn't super busy, there were open tables. No one was there to seat us when first walking in. Once seated it was 10 minutes before anyone came to take our drink order, because it took so long we order food then too. Our drinks came out only moments before our food. We weren't given silverware and had to track someone down for it. No one ever checked on us after our food came out nor were we asked if we wanted another drink before being given the bill. Overall, I'd highly recommend maize for the food but think they could work on retraining the stuff to have a better flow. read more

The best guacamole in town. Sometimes the chips are hit or miss, as I've had them cold and oil-soaked and fresh and crisp. Both the sauces that come with the chips are spicy but have nuance in flavor. The service is very good and the food is excellent. I'm so happy this place expanded into such a large space at the old train station, making it more accessible to those not on campus. The menu has a lot to choose from; I can definitely recommend the tacos. The margarita isn't what you typically get, but maybe that's because it's more authentic and doesn't use American sweet and sour mix. They also have a nice beer selection. read more

This place is yummy! Don't expect your average Mexican restaurant experience. This is much more authentic. It did not disappoint. read more

Maize at the Station - Mexican Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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I don't like to write negative reviews but I did not like maize at all. I grew up in South Texas and think I know Mexican food well. I got the tlacoyo and honestly the only flavor profile was salt. I couldn't eat everything and ended up throwing away my leftovers (which is something I never do because I try to minimize food waste). The chips were oily and the salsas were gross. read more

I like this place a lot. The taco mexica is definitely my favorite, and I haven't had tacos with the grilled cheese like that anywhere else. I've sat both inside and outside, and service has always been great. One of the times was graduation weekend and the wait was almost 45 min, otherwise there hasn't been any wait. read more

The asada tacos were excellent. Visited 2 days in a row. I have a few more days in town, I'm sure will visit again before I leave. The service was great. read more

Was in town visiting a friend, we got a few tacos to go and they were AMAZING. The Mexican taco has a corn tortilla that they sear cheese onto, it's everything my cheese (and taco) loving heart could dream for. I didn't go into the place, so I can speak on nothing more than the deliciousness of those tacos. But I'd suffer gladly through miserable staff and a crappy venue for those bad daddies again! read more

Maize at the Station - Mexican Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Yummy margaritas, great pastor tacos. Daughter and I sat at the bar to have a snack and a drink. The bartender was very friendly and informative as to the menu options. Chips were too thick for my taste but were sturdy and appears they would not break when scooping guac. Cool place, I love the location. read more

Looked very promising with a great location and menu. Service was terrible. We had to ask the bartender to be seated (party if 5). Then our food came before our margaritas. Several tables were dirty, you could tell they were understaffed. Food was creative but average at best. read more

Finally! The much-anticipated new location is open. Although there's nothing wrong with the original location, it's oftentimes pretty packed and can be tricky to find seating. That is definitely not an issue with the new location though. The new location is nestled in downtown Champaign just off the main drag. It has ample seating and a full bar, something the old location did not have. Their watermelon margarita seems to be one of their staples already and was delicious. They also have (at least when I went) a mexican style beer on draft that Triptych made for them and it was incredibly well done. The food menu seems to be the same as the old location, which I'm perfectly okay with. You still get your standard chips and salsa and it's just as good as the original location's. Everything we had was amazing, the food was so, so good. They do an outstanding job with everything that they do. I can't say enough good things about Maize, both new and old locations, but this new one brings some much needed elements with the increase in seating and full bar. I can't recommend this place enough. read more

The food was good but not enough fish on my taco and the salsa was not the same as green st. The waitress was horrible, she was slow and didn't check on us. We had to hunt her down to get more salsa. The food was not as big as the green st location. We will not be coming back to this location, we will stick with green st. The watermelon margarita was good but not big enough. read more

My out of town visitor loves Mexican food, so I took her to lunch at Maize. It's been almost a year since I was last here. I'm sad to report that the taste and quality of the food has hit the bottom tier. Both the the pastor and carne asada tasted like they might have been from a can in the cat food aisle-nothing like it was on my previous visits here. The guacamole was the highlight of our lunch. I was embarrassed that I brought my guest here to what used to be the best Mexican food in town. read more

Nope. Chips were so hard I thought I might break a tooth. Both salsas were bland, although one was nicely spicy. I ordered a veggie tostada (no cheese, no sour cream). I liked how it was made with rice and beans. The rice was actually quite good, but the beans lacked character. I added onions and guac to the tostada and I think that was the key to deciding to eat the whole thing. Unless you really screw the pooch, it's hard to f-*! up guac. Here's my main sticking point: $8 margarita that's barely big enough to hold a shot of booze, and does not do the job for a buzz. Maybe our server was having a bad personal day. That happens to all of us. She certainly did not seem enthused to be where she was. And here's something that's just weird - this doesn't affect my review, I just have to mention it because I found it so odd. When we walked in there were maybe 3 other tables occupied in the whole joint, but the host decided to sit us right next to the only couple in the middle of the room. It was like being pressured into an unwanted blind date. Weird. I understand why some folks might like this place: it's got a great location, you can get a quick snack if you're not into a meal, and the food is indeed good enough to eat if you're there. Bottom line: I see a modern mexi-merican fusion that's trying really hard to be hip but in the meantime they're missing the point with their flavors and drink prices. read more

I ordered for delivery using their website, which is via Chow Now. They got a portion of the order wrong. I called once the order was delivered, and at first no one would answer the phone. After numerous attempts, finally someone answered. The guy could not have cared less that they got my order wrong. He was unapologetic and did not offer a solution. He simply said "I'll see what I can do", which turned out to be absolutely nothing. Horrible service and average tasting Mexican food. I would not recommend them. read more

Fajitas & enchiladas were fantastic and our server Raul was great!! Hard to find good Mexican food in the Midwest but they killed it

This was our first visit -- and our last. We were seated next to a seven-person party that was receiving a great deal of attention from the server. Our server brought tasty chips and salsa and departed with our request for water and an appetizer, the latter of which was quite good. Another fifteen minutes passed before a different server took our dinner order. After ordering, we asked for more chips, and our water needed replenishing. The party beside us was visited frequently for drink refills, clearing plates, and other service-oriented attention. We would not have received more chips and water had I not beckoned to the second server and asked again about them. Our entrees were good, but the service was inadequate, at best. read more

I think this is the best Mexican restaurant in Champaign-urbana. Their food is more authentic, and it's better than most of the other restaurants in town. Their prices are reasonable for the dishes, my only co plaint would be that the prices for their catering is not cheap in comparison to the portion sizes. Other than that, this is the best Mexican restaurant in town. read more

WARNING: prices have been raised to a ridiculous amount. $17 for 3 basic traditional tacos. Nothing special about them at all, and honestly they were a pretty dry. I've never seen such prices before in my life, certainly not in Champaign. And for all that they only give you one small basket of chips to start Go to Huaraches if you want the best tacos in town, only $8. read more

Having lived in Tucson, Arizona, I have eaten a lot of great Mexican food. I have never been thrilled with any of the local mexican restaurants here in Champaign. That is no longer the case. Maize is so good! I tried several times to go to the campus location but it was always too busy. Now that they have a larger location, it is much better, at least until the students get back to town. Their food tastes incredibly fresh The homemade soft corn tortillas are excellent. I love the brown salsa that comes with the chips. I have only had two menu items - the veggie tacos and the steak fajitas. They are so good it is hard to try anything else, but I will make that my goal. This is my go-to restaurant right now. Great food at a very reasonable price. read more

Hands down best tacos I've ever had! Mexica style were great. Seriously best tacos ever.

The food was okay but overpriced. The coffee was served lukewarm. It was freezing weather and we wanted a hot drink, and the coffee was anything but hot. We had to ask for sugar for coffee and straws for the cola because the waiter forgot. The worst was when the waiter cleared our plates before we were done. What was that about? We order overpriced food and not given a chance to finish what we ordered? I wasn't even asked if I'm done and there was ample food on the plate. The place wasn't full, and people who were there earlier were still eating. We were quietly eating not being noisy or anything. Worst service ever! read more

Authentic Mexican cuisine with an upscale vibe. Presentation and portions were perfect. The tortillas are homemade and flavors were magnificent. The avocado margarita was an absolute delight and complimented the food perfectly. Sorry, I forgot to snap some pics. I'm from south Texas, this place is legit! read more

My wife and I have been wanting to come in since we move up here in November and I can't believe it took us so long to try it! Phenomenal! We had the Queso Fundido with Chorizo (incredibly full of spice without the traditional heat but really lacking no flavor, truly wonderful chorizo) to start, I had the Mega Tlacayo and my wife had the nachos with ribeye steak. Everything was superb. The tlacayo tasted like some of the best home cooked meals in Santa Fe I've ever had. Also, the carafe of margaritas is more than enough for 2 people, tasty, and well priced! The service was wonderful as well, we were aware of the very small amount of staff and they had so many customers to help. They all did an incredible job, Dylan (spelling?) was our server and was so kind and was working his hardest to serve an entire room...with a fantastic and welcoming attitude. Hands down we will make this a regular spot! read more

-Food is 5 star (the pastor tacos were amazing!) -Service was a 2 star (wasn't even rush hour and extremely slow; many wrong orders within our party; forgot to bring things) -Drinks were a 1 star (not tasty, limited choice, and REALLY expensive for what you got). Overall, go for the food but expect to wait! read more

Had a great experience at Maize. This place was highly recommended and I was not disappointed! The queso fondido was amazing. We chose to have it served with zucchini blossoms and it came with a stack of hot corn tortillas. Our table ordered gorditas, the chicharron was the best tasting in my opinion! We also had a steak torta and zucchini blossom taco. I was happy to see an assortment of cane sugar sodas including mex. Coke, Fanta, and squirt. I am also gluten free, and found the menu options were plentiful! Loved every second of my experience here! read more

Th best tacos in town. Their location downtown is much better than their prior campus town location as they can seat many more and you don't feel rushed. My son and I had three tacos each. Mine veggie: rice beans avocado lettuce and tomato on fresh flour tortillas. My sons were carne asada (steak) americanos with lettuce tomatoes and cheese. He LOVED the steak in them. He also loves their fresh fried flour tortillla chips and salsas. One hot one not. The hot salsa is thick, Smokey, and great on my veggie tacos. The milder one is lighter, more juicy tomato based. Also good on the tacos. Service is fast, friendly, and helpful. read more

Went after looking at reviews on Yelp. Fast service and the food was amazingly good. Chips and salsa were far superior than any other Mexican restaurant I've ever been to. We ate on the patio and it was a great atmosphere. read more

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Awesome half price margaritas on Tuesday! Wonderful carne asada burrito for lunch. Cheryl is the greatest ever!

They finally migrated over and opened an actual diner to serve their famous authentic Mexican dishes. Food is the same as the original location, in other words, out of this world. I personally prefer their sopes or huaraches, but their tortas are also incredible. The decor and service is definitely still a work in progress but their food more than makes up for it. Having it located downtown is just an extra treat. read more

The staff is the worst I've come across and although most of the food has good recipes, it's infected by the cleaning done in the kitchen

Tried this place based on other yelpers. We had the fajitas which were reminiscent of some of our trips to Mexico.. Sat on the patio. Great atmosphere.. read more

The service and food is so great here! They are incredibly happy and polite every time I call for take out or eat in. The Mega Tlacoyo is sooooo delicious! The blue corn with the carne asada and amazing salsas is to die for! I have a hard time ordering any of there other amazing food because it is so good! read more