Food was great! Service was horrible I've never had bad service like this in my whole life my nephew has a speech disorder and he was being rude because of his disability didn't get any refills either till 20 minutes later when we got our food paid 350$ for our food cooks good job but service was horrible left no tip horrible horrible !!!!! Do better read more

Wonderful place to eat! On my 1st trip ever to California I wanted to go to Santa Monica Pier. My daughter, who took me on this SPECIAL trip, let me choose where to eat! Great choice for food, atmosphere, & service! Loved it & we both just fell in love with MOSES! What a kind, sweet, & funny guy. Just don't find good guys everywhere but he made us laugh & truly enjoy our meal. Even asked for a pic with him, a wonderful memory to take home to Texas! THANK YOU MOSES! read more

Very good food and I was looking at the ocean while I was eating. Very enjoyable.like the cake read more

Maria Sol - Cake - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

The food was ok and tasted subpar. Service was absolutely horrible. Waiter disappeared after taking our food order which left us with empty glasses and extremely thirsty. We tried asking a different waiter for refils 3 separate times but was ignored. To end it off our waiter ran the wrong check on my card at first instead of running our check on it. Can't even say the free chips and salsa were the best part since you have to pay for it. Definitely would not recommend coming here, I have a better experience at Taco Bell read more

Came for the margaritas and left v-e-r-y happy. Perfect location to see the dolphins jumping, birds flying, boaters boatin', fisherman pulling up their fresh catches and wishfully looking for a mermaid to wave up. It was a vibrant setting which I wish there were more of. read more

If visiting the Santa Monica Pier, you can't miss this spot. It's at the head of the pier and features both indoor and outdoor seating. Pick wisely based on the weather. The tacos were fresh and I appreciate that they weren't fried. Check it out if you ever pay the Pier a visit. read more

Maria Sol - Grilled Fish Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Amazing place awesome atmosphere delicious food. Not sure what else I can say sometimes less says sooooo much more. When you order your drinks my advice to you would be to order the large serving of guacamole The table next to us ordered it and holy shitttt did It look amazingly delicious. 8 oz of guacamole antojitos. We ordered it as our dessert to complement the perfect meal Bon appétit read more

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I recommend you Maria Sol if you like to dine with a beautiful ocean view. But beware, because the host/hostess still wants to give you a table behind a wall, or some kind of obstruction, so you won't get the best view! Our experience wasn't so good last Monday (9/16/2024) when we arrived for lunch. After being seated at our table (obstructed view) the waiter came over, took our order. Very soon, the food arrived. They forgot the clam chowder. I asked if they just bring me a cup instead of the bowl since I already have the entree ... Waiter brought the cup of Clam chowder, and immediately after the first spoonful, I put my soup away from me. The clam chowder was barely look warm enough ... I can't eat anything that is not in proper temperature, especially soup! Of course the waiter took it away and removed it from the bill. Regardless, I was pretty annoyed by it, because I was really wanted to eat a good bowl of clam chowder. I totally lost my appetite after that! The Baja Fish Tacos (2) with refried beans and rice, very tasty. I think they have the best fish tacos on Santa Monica Pier! My friend said that her meal was also very good. She ordered the Salmón Tropical. read more

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Looking to have lunch decided to try this restaurant at the end of the pier. It was good we got the fajitas tres amigos was delicious kids chicken strips were simple with fries. No refills on drinks. We had to call our server over multiple times he was not very welcoming. It was busy or maybe they were short staffed but for my first time it was not a pleasant experience. The ambiance was nice we sat outside in the patio so you can hear the music people playing. read more

Maria Sol - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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On reason I'm giving 2 starts is because the server was nice. This place charges you because of the location. This is Mexican American style, lacking flavor. read more

The main thing this place has is a great ambiance since it is right on the Santa Monica Pier. We sat on the patio and the weather was gorgeous, but they have heat lamps for when it is cold out. They were pretty busy since we went on a Friday night and we were sat immediately and had prompt service. The food is okay, and slightly overpriced which it to be expected when dining in Santa Monica, but the location made up for it. read more

Maria Sol - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Delicious food, friendly service, and a beautiful ocean view -- perfect dining experience!

We had our family and friends gathering in the room upstairs. It was great with the buffet and view of the pier. Daniella, event coordinator, and the managers were great and helpful. We also booked our Pacific park tickets through them for a good price for our guests. I am thankful to have found a beautiful and fun venue for our gathering. The space is smaller and intimate as what we were looking for. The buffet set up can be a bit cramp for appetizer and desserts depending on how many items you have. Our guests enjoyed the food and margaritas. read more

We found this spot while exploring the Santa Monica Pier. We were hoping to get a table with a nice view but they were all outside. We decided to sit inside by a window because it was a bit chilly. We were served complimentary chips and salsa that tasted delicious. We decided to order the Seafood Enchiladas Combo, the Viva Mexico Wet Burrito, and a Tropical Mojito. To our surprise the food arrived superrrr fast! Literally within 5-7 minutes, awesome! I really love their creative design of the Viva Mexico Wet Burrito. It is decorated as a Mexican flag with two combination of verde and rojo sauces and a combination of two meats -carnitas and pollo (pork and chicken.) I enjoyed my Seafood combo Enchiladas. A really cool part about this dish is that it features one shrimp enchilada and one with crab meat, all drizzled with an orange seafood blended sauce. The seafood taste of the sauce really complimented both enchiladas of the dish. My favorite enchilada was the shrimp it was so delicious! The shrimp was seasoned and cooked to perfection. My bf loved his Viva Mexico wet burrito it was sooo HUGE and filled with lots of meat and covered in lots of sauce. My Tropical Mojito tasted great as well, however I was surprised at how small it was for the price. Normally I see mojitos come in slender tall glasses but this one came in a rocks glass. I was originally going to rate this spot a solid 4 because the food is honestly pretty good! We enjoyed all of our food items, they were cooked well and delicious! We did feel the drink was a little expensive ($15.95) for the very small one we received but no big deal right? However there was an issue with my rice as well which I will mention below. Unfortunately we DID have some problems here. My first issue was while eating the rice I kept biting into a solid HARD piece of rice multiple times.. the rice itself tasted great but they had left multiple (5-7 pieces) of rice completely uncooked and it was very unpleasant to bite into the extremely HARD pieces of rice. Also my crab enchilada had 2-3 pieces of tiny shells mixed in with the meat so that was also unpleasant and it definitely needs to be improved in the future. Another problem we had is this place has unnecessary HIDDEN FEES. We noticed our waiter had placed an unnecessary charge on our bill of $6 for two tiny sauces that we barely even touched. Ummm WTHECK?? lol. Sauces are literally free everywhere and he never mentioned it would be a charge while he was offering "Do you guys need me to bring you any sauces?" He should have clarified "Just to let you know they are $3 each" for A TINY little ramekin of sauce! lol. Because then we would NOT have ordered it. lol. Honestly we were shocked. We barely even touched the sauces.. and it's totally NOT worth it. What an OUTRAGEOUS overcharge for sure. lol. Anyway we originally thought it was an accident/mistake so we asked the waiter and he was like "Yes we charge $3 for every sauce" like UM wtheck bro YOU offered us sauces without mentioning they had prices! lol. If the chips and salsa is free why is a TINY bit of sauce $3? Outrageous overcharge for sure. It's not the $6 btw, it's the principle of how outrageous it is to OFFER us tiny sauces without saying there's an additional HIDDEN CHARGE especially when we barely touched the sauces. NOT COOL bro. Third problem we had was while receiving our change the waiter short changed us by .60 cents. Again is this a big deal? No. But it's the PRINCIPAL that he had already OVERCHARGED us for TINY itty bitty sauces then he proceeded to keep a portion of our change for himself. We found it very distasteful and it definitely ruined our experience here because we felt ripped off multiple times at this place. After both unnecessary charges we tipped accordingly. Sorry not sorry but those fake charges definitely came out of the tip for sure. ***** BTW We did NOT even ask for the sauces, we were OFFERED by the waiter.**** INFORM people before offering them the outrageous OVERPRICED sauces. NOT COOL. TIPS: *DONT GET SAUCES, they have hidden charges of $3 EACH for a TINY itty bitty sauce. Literally ridiculous. *Double check your bill, if you pay in cash it is likely they will shortchange you and keep all of your cents from your change. *If you have sensitive teeth be careful when eating the rice. It is delicious but there might be multiple pieces of uncooked very HARD and unpleasant pieces of rice. Also if you get anything with crab be careful because there might be pieces of shell inside. Overall we will not be returning and I do not recommend this place. read more

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My friends and I were visiting the Santa Monica pier and wanted to stop by for some drinks, we ran into this place. Their outdoor seating is not the best, it's a bit cramped. The waiters were average, they did what they needed to but nothing out of the ordinary. The drinks tasted a bit watered down except the mojitos. The mojitos were probably the best thing and super strong! We didn't eat anything besides the complimentary chips and salsa which was also okay. Not sure if I would return to this place unless it was for the mojito. read more

Maria Sol - Mango and strawberry Margaritas, mojito, tropical mojito, pina colada - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

The bartender was rude even though it was my son's birthday. He did not have a good attitude nor was he friendly or polite. It's very unsettling knowing this restaurant is supposed to be the dream spot on the end of the Santa Monica pier. read more

Beach & ocean views sets the perfect backdrop for a tasty meal on the Santa Monica Pier. We ventured in looking to grab a bite to eat prior to heading to LAX and were quickly greeted by friendly staff. They were gracious enough to rearrange tables on the outside patio area to accommodate our group of five. Our waiter was great, as well as the food. Guacamole it served up fresh and feeds several. The 50/50 nachos are very large and includes chicken and steak. Meat potion included not the largest, but wonderful flavor. A little on the pricy side, but worth it for the views! read more

Maria Sol - 50/50 nachos - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

This place was delicious *insert drooling face emoji* I'm a tough critic when it comes to Mexican food considering my mom is a native and I grew up with heartwarming home cooked meals. Knowing this realize this review comes from the heart. Even more so I brought my parents for Father's Day and they were both impressed with their dishes. I always judge a Mexican restaurant by how they master the rice and beans and this place gets five stars. The refried beans could have faired better with more lard but they still were delicious. The rice was perfectly fried the grains burst with tomato flavor. I got the camarones al mojo de ajo (garlic shrimp) and they were salty and garlicky- the best. I've had this dish elsewhere and the sauce takes like pure melted butter but here it had minced garlic so it was a pleasant surprise. I got seven shrimp which was typical but they were jumbo shrimp. It comes with rice and beans and your choice of flour or corn tortillas. My sister got the seafood enchiladas which comes with one shrimp enchilada and and one crab enchilada. The crab enchilada was a deconstructed crab cake with corn and jalapeño which gave it more texture and flavor. She couldn't stop raving about the creamy lobster bisque sauce. The fish tacos were missing salt and flavor. I'll give it to them that they were grilled but they could have at least added some sort of sauce. This was the only disappointing dish of them all. Lastly how could I forget about the lobster. You don't get to choose the actual lobster from the tank but you do get to choose whether you want small, medium or large. The small is about a pound and a half which is very small so my mom and BIL got the medium and large respectively. The medium covered the plate while the large didn't fit on the plate!!! The large had to have been about ten pounds (the meat itself was five pounds). They charge about $55 per pound which is understandable for Santa Monica pier pricing ($160 for the medium and $270 for the large). An average lobster price in general is about $30 a pound for reference. Very worth it though as it was seasoned with garlic butter and paprika. It was nice to see my family get down and dirt with the enormous lobsters lol. The margaritas were also good. They weren't too sweet or too sour. Their house tequila is Montezuma which is pretty decent. They pair well with the seafood. I am not sure why the bad reviews talk about the long wait for the food when that means they made it fresh and with care or about the price when it's Santa Monica... Highly recommend this restaurant if you're down for a sit down and less of a fast food feel from The Albright. read more

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Great location! We sat outside with a view of the beach. That was by far the best part of this restaurant. The food was pretty good, nothing out of this world but good. The frozen drinks hit the spot! The staff was friendly but did take a while to bring us our check. Overall a good spot to stop & eat if you're at the pier. read more

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Came for dinner on a Monday. Not crowded at all, no wait time. Amicable staff, quick service. You defintely are paying for the view, not so much the food. Fish was very dry but the sauce and season were good, as well as the side serving of the esquites/corn. Drinks were okay, nkthinf special. Fairly limited menu for food and drinks but overall good experience. Ambiance is great for those who like to eat by the Sea. read more

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This spot is located at the end of Santa Monica pier. It's spacious, has a huge bar. And they have a huge selection of spirits, especially tequila. I did not eat here, but I did stop in for a drink. The service was fantastic and the ambience was pretty damn cool. I liked it. K read more

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I was honestly surprised by the food quality of this place. Their tuna toastadas were delicious! You would think that for being on santa monica pier, food quality would not be as good. Service was also really fast, i also expected this place to be super packed - but it wasnt, which was super nice read more

Maria Sol - tuna tostadas - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Visited this place on a lovely Sunday and thought it would take forever to get a table. Luckily for us we got seated right away. We were greeted with chips and salsa. The waiter at first was unfriendly and seemed rushed, but warmed up after awhile and started to be pleasant. I ordered the mucho mega El Classico margarita. This thing is huge and reasonably priced. Very tasty too. I also ordered the Viva Mexico burrito. The food was mediocre nothing amazing, but still warm and good. Portion sizes are big and seem right for the price. The views are great if you get seated at the right table. We got seated outside in the back of the restaurant which is still a good spot to see the ocean. The tables are very close together so there is not much privacy. Bathrooms were semi clean, not the best. Overall it's good enough to back. read more

Maria Sol - Mucho Mega El Classico Margarita Viva Mexico Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

This place is right at the end of the Santa Monica pier and I would highly recommend eating outside on the patio. It's such a nice view of the ocean and you can people watch!!! The margaritas here are VERY good, fresh, flavorful, you can tell it's good fruit. The food was also good enough to come back, but nothing over the moon. The fish tacos needed a little seasoning, but the chile relleno was SO GOOD! read more

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While visiting the Santa Monica Pier we found ourselves at Maria Sol. It was a pleasant experience without the touristy crowds. The service was great. The portions were huge and the taste amazing. If you re visiting the Santa Monica Pier and want to enjoy a sit down lunch with great views check out amar read more

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We were skeptical about trying this place due to the bad ratings but we were very pleased with everything. Our food was very good, service was excellent, the view was great. We highly recommend this place. read more

Fish tacos were horrible no flavor, I asked for more salsa and I was told it was an extra charge $3.00

I'll start by saying we did not try the food at Maria Sol! We ordered only drinks, and the experience with service and drinks was great! One of the big advantages of this restaurant is its location right on the Santa Monica Pier. The views aren't the best - as it's located at the end of the pier so all you can see is water and pier. We enjoyed our time here for what we needed, and friendly service is the main reason for 5 stars! read more

Maria Sol - Outdoor area and view from inside - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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This restaurant is good but what you're really paying for is the location right on the pier. From the outside you can view the ocean. It's a nice ambiance. The service is good too - our waitor recommended the skinny margarita over an ice blended marg, which was a good call. The simplest ingredients can make a great cocktail if made well! I ordered the shrimp cocktail, which I thought would be bigger for the price. (Spoon in the pic for reference). The food was good but nothing special. I'd come back here only if I wanted a sit-down meal on the pier. I would not come out of my way to come here. read more

Maria Sol - Coctel Del Mar - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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While on the pier, me and my family were getting hungry so we decided to try Maria Sol. My boyfriend had been before and said the food is really good. Our girls had the burritos, I had the Salmon and he had the Seafood Enchiladas. We both enjoyed our dishes tremendously. The girls burritos were massive. Our server was very patient and kind as we decided on what to eat. Us adults had their margaritas and michaleda's which had us feeling really relaxed by the end of the meal. read more

There's no doubt this place gets business because of the location. If you want to eat at the end of the pier, this is the spot for you - you'll just have to deal with the fact the food and service are simply not very good. The location is obviously great if you're planning to be on the pier, and the views from *some* of the tables are super nice, too. That's undoubtedly what draws customers in the door for what I imagine is their first and final visit. Although the staff is fairly attentive, they managed to get both my and my wife's orders wrong. We just accepted it since we are unwilling to waste food and we're fairly non-confrontational, but it's also important to note that since we decided to dine there early to be around before/during sunset, the place was almost empty so it's not like there was any excuse for confusion. After receiving our (wrong) food, it was overwhelmingly mediocre and made us both wonder why we didn't just grab $2.50 street tacos for a significantly higher-quality Mexican dinner at a tiny fraction of the price. Since it also happened to have been my wife's birthday, I wandered off before we ate and asked the staff to bring out their flan desert with a candle after our meal which they said they were happy to do. Unfortunately, they forgot (again, with only maybe 4 full tables of patrons) so I had to awkwardly ask again at the table when we were asked about getting the check. They did oblige, but it did make the moment a bit more awkward than anything. The worst of it was yet to come when the flan turned out to be disgusting. It was rubbery as anything we've ever tasted and the base was hard and completely inedible. Maybe it would've been fine weeks ago when it was made, but it certainly wasn't worth the $11, or really anything, since neither one of us could stomach it, which is really saying something since we were OK with eating the wrong orders to begin with due to our lack of wanting to waste food. TLDR: the location is good, everything else isn't. read more

We were seated quickly. Food was good and the calamari was amazing. The ambiance was cool. Would definitely recommend.

Love the view and the food was pretty good! I had the fajitas trio, and enjoyed the interesting variety and depth of flavor of vegetables along with the rectangle of queso fresco. But I can't say my mind was blown. I think if I return I'll try the wet carne asada burrito and the tortilla soup. Thing is, the view at the end of the pier really sells it! Sit on the front patio for the best beach views and people watching. I've been in LA for YEARS and I'm glad I finally had the time to try this place. read more

Maria Sol - Fajitas Tres Amigos - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

The restaurant seemed like a great place to visit on the pier in Santa Monica, but service was horrible. A lady named Lisa was so rude and unprofessional supposedly a manager. I get it, we brought a drink from the pier but all she had to say is sorry you unfortunately can't bring that in from the outside and tell us we have to throw it away, but she came in and snatched it and yelled at us in front of everyone and embarrassed us. So not ok. I will definitely never come here again. She needs to get some manager etiquette. read more

It's not a bad spot, but definitely not the best mexican food. The best part about this spot would have to be the view. The fact that it's at the very end of the pier and you can grab a table outside in the patio with umbrellas and windows surrounding you while you sip your drink and stare out at the water is definitely why you would have a need to check this place out. The drinks that we got were not very heavy with the alcohol, almost like they put no alcohol in it. I got the tequila sunrise and my wife got the house margarita. This is actually our second time here at Maria Sol. Our very first time was back in 2021, we came out here to Santa Monica and found this gem. Our very first experience was actually better than this trip. Not that it was a bad trip, it just wasn't what you hope for. The server was EXCELLENT, i gotta give that to him. They even brought out an other flan and sang a wonderful happy birthday song to our friend since it was his birthday. Everything with the service was amazing, UNTIL, the very end of our dining experience. Our server then gave a little speech to us about happiness and peace with god and yadda yadda. He then tries to sell us a book that he wrote with bible verses and holy songs in it. Didn't give a price, asked for a donation and it's ours. It's not that i would bash somebodies religion, i'm just not big on it and definitely not at the end of our meal after we had already paid and left a Very generous tip. Other than that little hiccup, it's always a good spot to go to every couple of years when we had back to the pier! read more

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Good waiter :) :) :) yayayyayayyayyays quality water Phenomenal food :) :) :) :) :) :) :) read more

Maria Sol - Tacos Al Carbon - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Yesterday, my wife, my sister and I threw a surprise 90th birthday party for our mom in the event room upstairs at Maria Sol. Our choice of the restaurant was based largely on the location being perfect. Today I can tell you that everything else about the party was perfect as well. From the initial planning to the conclusion of the night, Maria Sol's event manager Lisa and our server Ignacio, shepherded us is through a huge success (and special thanks to restaurant manager Julio for guiding mom into the trap). Nothing was overlooked, from offering ice water to new arrivals, to the delicious buffet, to the final Champaign toast. When you book a catered affair, the dream is to not have to supervise the party, but to attend it. And that's just what we were able to do! We never stressed or had to solve an issue; we were just three more guests (okay, we did have to observe our schedule a little bit, but still...). If you're reading restaurant reviews because you're trying to find a venue for a relatively informal event (it is on a pier, after all), you should start your search at Maria Sol. read more

I absolutely love it here-- great food, excellent drinks, lovely view. The service is perfect. What is not to like? read more

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Came here after Christmas with my family that was in town. Drinks was on point! Food was great and the chocolate cake that they gave my niece for her birthday was so decadent! The only thing was, I asked for a to go box and instead, they threw my enchiladas away and gave me a slice of chocolate cake that they charged me for! It was so busy in there and we didn't feel like waiting for the waiter to come back, so for that, I gave them 3 stars instead of 4. I don't understand how he got "a slice of cake to go" instead of "to go box" (the waiter was very pleasant, he just misunderstood me). The restaurant is all the way at the end of the pier and we parked at the parking garage by Nordstrom. I think 90 mins is free, so in total we paid $2 for about 3 hrs hanging out at the pier. read more

Maria Sol - The Boardwalk Enchiladas & Tamarind Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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We only had drinks & guacamole and chips but I will say this was a beautiful place to enjoy drinks overlooking the pacific ocean! there are TVs to enjoy the sports games and a small bar. We sat at the bar and enjoyed friendly and prompt service from the bartender. My husband loved his local beer - they had lots of choices. I had a mimosa because it was early afternoon and it was the perfect mix of champagne and Orange juice. the guacamole was freshly made with the right amount of spices. the CHIPS were the star of the show - wow. they came out hot and were crunchy. I didn't ask for sure but I would bet they were home made. We ate so many that the bartender came over without asking and got us a new serving of chips to finish our guac with. Highly recommend stopping here for a bite to eat and drinks! for being at the end of a fishing pier, this place is super clean! the bathrooms were spotless! read more

Maria Sol - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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