We have been going to Maya since we moved to the area 6 months ago. Several times we have brought family and friends. They have a very good happy hour and the food is always good and well priced! The chicken wings are as good as anywhere in town, the fajitas are very tasty and well prepared and they know how to make a margarita! The service has always been very good and we eat there once a week. It's nice to have a well priced restaurant with good quality food, good drinks and nice help! read more

My boyfriend and I LOVE coming here for their happy hour! Their margaritas are awesome and not to mention their chips and salsa. My boyfriend is a HUGE fan of their flautas and for dessert, the flan! I love their wings and the guac is delicious. Prices are very reasonable and they have an outside seating area. Big tvs inside as well!! read more

I came here for lunch and it was terrific! Probably the best fish tacos I've ever had. I'll be back. read more

Have I really not reviewed this place before? I've only been eating here for about 15 years (and I'm not full yet! ha ha...) My go-to is the steak salad, and I kid you not, it's been consistently good every time I order it. And Carlos remembers me from the old days ;) What I love about this salad: Warm, tender, seasoned skirt steak strips adorn a fresh salad of mixed lettuces (red leaf, etc.), jicama and cucumber. Comes with a zingy balsamic vinaigrette. A good value for around $10. Very satisfying. Comes with chips and 2 salsas (roasted red pepper, and fresh salsa verde - my favorite anywhere, any day). p.s. Watch out for the margs the size of your head. They'll sneak up on you. read more

What a gem of a place. Driven by here for years and it didn't look like a nice place for dinner. We ended up trying it last night as we were in the mood for Mexican food and it was close by. So glad we did as the food was very good. It gets 3 stars for being family friendly and nice inside. A fourth star for very friendly service. The fifth star will take some explaining. My wife is a celiac and therefore cannot have any wheat/gluten. Maya P is the ONLY Mexican restaurant we have been to that does not use soy sauce (which has gluten) in its marinade. In my opinion this deserves an extra star. The food was all good, I had the mole which was good. We tried the guacamole and that was also good. My wife had the combo plate and everything was good. We will definitely come back here. read more

Me and my wife had been here a few times and it's time for me to check in and write a review. The food is always decent and the portions are fairly large (enough to have leftovers) and the service is great (Carlos is the best!) They have recently redone their menu and it looks good and they have added new items! The tables and floors were clean and the silverware was also clean. I enjoy that you can have a good meal and watch the game. They also give you chips and salsas while you wait for your meal. While the chips were a little on the stale side the green and red salsas were good. We will still stop by to have lunch or dinner from time to time. read more

Maya Palenque - Freddy's Chicken Domingo! - Mexican Near Me - Novato, California

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Well it says open on Yelp and its 11:30am and doors are locked.... I guess Yelp or the restaurant needs to update something.

The food can be ok if your drunk or super hungry. Not authentic from my perspective. Very horrible service, communication, and a lack of respect and unprofessionalism. I have literally watched the bar tenders and manager deliberately ignore people and the telephone. Answer rudely. And react very unprofessional with english speakers. Its been two years. We tip great. And still receive shitty service and mediocre food. Dont waste your time or money. read more

I like to eat here for lunch and order a la carte. I prefer lunch time here and avoid the evening crowd. I really enjoy the chile relleno and street taco with carne asada meat. I am not a hamburger meat gal. Great HDTVs for your viewing. Waiters are sweet. read more

Maya Palenque - Mexican Near Me - Novato, California

Great place. We had vegan burritos, guacamole side, fried plantains, and salads. Delicious food, friendly team, and relaxed atmosphere!

This is the fourth Mexican restaurant I've tried in Novato, and it's the best. We ordered fish tacos(moist, flavorful )taco salad(plenty of chicken& extras)& 3 combo plate(burrito, taco,tostada)-all good portions & delicious! my order was ready to go when I arrived on time. read more

This is where my husband and I order from when we need to have a quick dinner and don't want to sit down at a restaurant. They have great burritos to go and are always are quick and easy. We always get the same thing when getting food to go two chicken burritos and we are never disappointed. We have had a couple different meals when we went in and sat down to eat and they weren't the best but still good. Not the best quality chips we have had but definitely enjoy the salsa that comes with it! read more

This place is pretty solid. I think for authentic mexican las guitarras is a bit better, however if you want some mexican fusion food, i would only recommend this place. They use alot of interesting combonations of sweet and spicy ingredients to flair up a dish, as well as some of the best margaritas ever! Try the Cancun Chicken, or tropical pork. They also have a delicious mole sauce. Overall this is a favorite of mine for when i am in the area. And if your a margarita lover, i suggest giving maya a shot. read more

On one brisk mid-July Northern California day, amongst the rolling hills and tangerine sunset, we came across a joint right off the highway. A joint that goes by the name of Maya Palenque. At first, we were simply on a mission to find frozen margaritas after a long day of work. What we didn't realize was that this joint in particular was home to the MEAT SAMPLER. We'll get to that in a minute. We walked in and were welcomed by a pleasant atmosphere. High ceilings, lots of light, and an abundance of smiling faces. We sat down at the bar and were greeted by our wonderful bartender, Carlos. He took our margarita orders and gave us menus. While we weren't originally considering food, we took them anyway for a quick browse. As we waited for the 'ritas and skimmed the menu, we noticed right on the top of the menu, the MEAT SAMPLER. My girlfriend and I, both fans of grilled meat, quickly agreed that this item was for us. We put the order in with Carlos posthaste. After one more delicious margarita each, the MEAT PLATTER arrived. Now trust me on this folks...I've walked through Hell's Kitchen on a Saturday night during pride week and I've never in my life seen as much meat in one place as I did in this very restaurant, on this very sampler platter. It was a blessing straight from the meat god himself. There was grilled chicken, spicy pork, and skirt steak along with a cheese-stuffed pepper, guacamole, two salads, rice, beans, and tortillas. All three of the meats were a hard B+ or higher. The kind of grades that if your parents had 3 kids, they'd consider themselves wildly successful if the kids' grades were on par with each of these meats. Not quote Harvard meats, but they definitely would've gotten into Williams on a scholarship if they had some decent extracurriculars. My girlfriend tapped out after one chicken breast, some steak, and a piece of pork (she doesn't usually even eat pork), leaving me to fend for myself against this formidable mountain of meat. While I did struggle to overcome this meat monster, eventually, I came to see the bottom of the plate. It was both relieving and horrifying at the same time. My stomach felt like it was about to pop but I had done it. The MEAT PLATTER was conquered and it was SO delicious. If you're in the area, 10000% stop in here and get the MEAT PLATTER. You won't regret it. Also, Carlos' frozen margs are bomb. Don't sleep on them. 10/10 food comas. Will be back. read more

This may be a great place to eat, drink and be merry, but they are the WORST neighbors. Extremely LOUD salsa music can be heard radiating from their premises across the freeway and into my home starting at 11:45pm every Saturday, and lasting until 1am the same night. I have tried calling their # to talk to management. They do not answer. I have gotten in my car in my pajamas and driven to the place and tried to talk to management, and given the run-around. This was the same night I called Novato P.D. I got there 1st. NPD were not so great in how they dealt with the situation, and it seems that there is not much they can do but request them to be better. "Be Best"???? I was told things would be different, but after awhile they went back to their old ways. I guess Kike the DJ just has to have a crescendo of earsplitting noise to end the big Saturday evening fiesta, but it's so hot in there thye have to keep the doors open, or the sound cranked ALLLLLLL the way up. My only other recourse than writing on Yelp, would be to constantly report them to the police over time and then eventually take them to Court!!!!! What a PAIN!!! Couldn't they just turn the frickin' music down???? read more

Had dinner with a friend at Maya, Novato, in January, 2018. Neither meal was good. Carnitas was below average and so was the quesadilla. The shredded lettuce that accompanied the meals just looked old. I do not like to post negative reviews but this was just plain bad. Please do better! read more

Haven't been here in years. But the food was good for a quickie (pun intended) joint like this. PS, I got lectured by my husband for my previous yelp on this place so I had to clean it up. read more

This has been a regular lunch spot for me for years. Its decor is nice, but it's not the fanciest Mexican place in town. By the third time you come in the staff will recognize you and they're really nice. The Mexican food is authentic and tasty, not overly Americanized. read more

We ordered chili rellenos and mom had a chicken enchilada also. The chili rellenos were flat and nothing special, the beans and rice lackluster, and she did not like the steamed chicken in the enchilada. But, it has a nice garden area to sit in with roses and plenty of space. Also the beer list is standard. read more

Maya Palenque - Standard plates of melded together food. See how flat the chili rellenos are? - Mexican Near Me - Novato, California

Beware the gi-normous portions! My BBQ chicken burrito (which wasn't bad, actually) was huge and came with fries and a salad. I'm not a fan of supersize meals. Just serve me half and charge less. It was a bit subdued when I was there for lunch, but I can see how it can be a festive joint in the evenings when folks start on the margaritas. read more

This place gets four stars not necessarily because of the food, though there are a few good items on the menu. Instead, Maya Palenque gets 4 stars because 1) The wait staff is super friendly and attentive and 2) They have a huge deck that is next to a little creek. True, it's adjacent to the freeway, but if you throw in your headphones and face the creek you feel like you're eating chips and salsa in the wilderness somewhere. Also, they just added a really good happy hour: Margaritas for $4! read more

Mexi food by Korean American........ you just gotta love it. good portion and friendly service. You gotta love Maya read more

Their food has gone downhill since we last have been here after the change in menus after the death of the former owner with the advertisement of a new chef. The fish tacos were once a real healthy treat with a good deal of quality fish, but now they are soaked in a greasy and watery sauce covering the small amount of fish in each taco. Our out of town guest missed the quality of the taco salad that he usually received before the new chef. The service from the bar tender who had responsibility of both serving the bar as well as the restaurant was no different than before, during shift change in the early afternoon before a dedicated waiter was on duty, this restaurant was once a nice casual Mexican restaurant to bring out of friends from one of the best American restaurants North of San Diego, but no longer, IMHO We will not be competing back for a long time. We are sorry to hear the loss of the previous owner. I hope that Maya will get their act back together since they used to once have the best Mexican food North of San Diego where I grew up. Good luck to them. read more

Terrible food! We did find a piece of plastic in the jalapeño poppers and the food was not that good . Could see ants on the table . When told about the plastic in the food , they did not even say sorry , thankfully we were not charged for that . Very bad experience. read more

Maya Palenque, what can I say. I'll tell you what I can say. Probably the best chili relleno and tamale I have ever had. The tamale had a tasty massa surrounding a generous portion of pulled pork mixed with a mildly spiced sauce and garnished with enough red sauce to keep the tamale moist. The chili relleno had the stem and seeds removed so you could eat the whole chili. The coating was puffy and tender with the texture of angle food cake with a cheese filling that was tasty but not spicy hot. Now get to the good part. We ordered the flan. Holy Toledo the best flan I have ever had. It was fluffy light and creamy as a cloud. We met the flan maker, she was so happy we enjoyed her dish. The wait staff is so friendly and accommodating. Go there you won't regret it. read more

Best thing about Maya Palenque? They are open late. Sun-Wed until midnight and Thurs-Sat until 2am. Um, not that I would ever go here at 2am, because it's sorta creepy in the bar area. This restaurant is a crazy split personality: it is a fun-family-type atmosphere in the rear restaurant area and boozy-dive-bar-type atmosphere in the front bar area. I like the food, which is hearty, good, and doesn't make me sick. The green salad served with some of the items is quite tasty. I like the menu, which is large and sometimes funny. I like the choice of inside or outside seating, because I am a control freak. I like the waitstaff, who may or may not be terribly attentive, but who are completely eager to please. And, I like the full bar, which is probably self-explanatory. Oh yeah, prices can be high or low depending on how hungry you are and how much you are paying attention. I had a nice burrito a couple months ago, a la carte, for $3 bucks. Cool bar food. (A la carte tacos & enchiladas & burritos $3 each). read more

Food, not so good. If you're going to get anything get nachos or quesadillas (it's pretty hard to screw those up). Beer prices are good, and the margaritas are large, strong and priced decently. In response to a previous review, I am one of the many softball players that comes here before the game, or after (or both) to drink with coworkers, just because we have more fun than you at the diviest bar in Novato, doesn't mean you gotta get all butt hurt about it! read more

I gotta give it up to this place...it's actually pretty solid and pretty authentic. Large portions and large selection to choose from. Not my first choice by any means, but it gets the job done. Outside eating area is a plus. Inside ambiance a bit too dive bar feeling for dinner. Oh yeah I saw Too Short there once, years ago for a Cinco de Mayo celebration - wierd...From Oak-Town to Marin... read more

The food was good (and the burrito was HUGE), the wait staff was nice and kept our drinks topped off, and the place was clean. Couldn't ask for much more after a long day at the racetrack! I had the "big meaty burrito" (someone's name was associated with it, but I can't recall the name...), and it was awesome! Carne Asada and Shrimp, plus the normal burrito fixins. The burrito comes a-la-carte, but that's fine with me. Our group was tempted to order starters, but I talked them out of it because I remembered the portions being large. Out of the 3 of us, only 1 finished the entire burrito, and that's because he hadn't eaten at all that day. -1 star simply because it's a bit on the spendy side of Mexican. I'm used to $5 burritos, although these are bigger and the restaurant is cleaner. read more

I lived in Novato all my life and I'd never step foot in this restaurant until recently. After visiting a friend, I decided to stop by for a drink and finally step foot inside the Maya Palenque. The restaurant has a very traditional Mexican aesthetic to it and not a corporate Chevy's feel to it. For a Friday night, the restaurant was not very busy, with most of the action happening at the bar. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to try their food, my review is strictly of their drinks and service. I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea and seemed pretty straight forward. The vibe of the restaurant was very laid back with a few people watching the game and having some brews. After the Long Island, I tried one of their chilled Don Julio silver shots from their Don Julio tequila machine. The bill came up to a standard $14 or $15 before tip. Service was good and the guys behind the bar were friendly. The staff managed to respectfully decline service to a patron that had consumed one too many drinks. On my next trip to Maya Palenque; I'll be sure to try the food and update my review. read more

After a hike along the coast, a few of us stopped here for dinner, around 6:30. The place was about half-full. The menu offered a little reading entertainment, with several quotations regarding food, including the preparation and eating of same. The two people seated next to me had a burrito. They said it was your basic burrito; nothing to write home about. One hiker had the tortillo soup and said it was quite tasty. The two flautas I ordered were completely - and I mean COMPLETELY - covered with lettuce, etc. I had to engage in a little spelunking with my fork to discover where they were located. According to the history of the restaurant on the back of the menu, it's been there since the mid-80's. Different owners; same recipes. I think it remains open due to the location, not necessarily the food. read more

Best enchilada I've ever had. Tasty af salsa, nice warm bar & friendly customer service. Wouldn't eat at any other Mexican restaurant in Novato!! Well done read more

I guess you could say it's authentic, that must be wortha star right? This place has all the ambiance of a back alley in Tijuana. This is pretty much a crappy little dive bar that serves food. I completely agree with the other reviews that the staff is less than attentive and the food is bad. read more

Maya Palenque is decent enough for a long time local place. I like the funky patio area (definitely built with non-contractor labor). Decent place to grab a drink and catch the games. I like the bar mix, as it has easy going people: gringos and latinos getting along. But, the food is like Fernando's. Lost in the middle somewhere. The food is decent, but there are many better Mexican places to eat in town. Higher end: El Encanto is better, more authentic Mexican food (see my review). Prices are simliar at both places. Taqueria end: any of these are better for simpler Mexican food Taqueria Del Pueblo on Grant Taqueria Palmar on Grant (so damn good, and so damn inexpensive)! my secret place that I don't let the guerros know about. Maya Palenque gets the star over Fernando's for its longer history in town, and better bar. To eat better food and drink better drinks, go to El Encanto. read more

Having grown up in the area I had been a long time frequent customer at Maya and although no longer living in the area I make an attempt to visit there for food and drink whenever I am in town. I have had an enjoyable experience most of the time I have gone there over a span of many years, however, my experience this past Friday was beyond a disappointment. Myself and close friend went to Maya late afternoon Friday for drinks and bite to eat and seated ourselves at the bar. After about 30 minutes in the bar as we were finishing our food and first drink the bartender/owner approaches my friend and tells her she needs to leave because she has her dog with her and pets aren't allowed in the restaurant. My friend let's him know very politely and clearly that her dog is a registered Psychiatric Service Dog and he is permitted to be with her in a public establishment, including a restaurant/bar. The owner, Carlos, tells her she needs to provide official documentation to prove that her dog is a registered Psychiatric Service Dog to which she responded by giving him the animal's registered ID number that is on one of the dog's collar tags. Carlos fires back that an ID number is not enough and she must provide documentation to prove the dog is allowed in the establishment. My friend calmly let him know that by law she doesn't need to provide official documentation and by law her dog is permitted to be in there. Carlos tried to back up his point by stating some incorrect facts about service animals and even presented a sheet of paper with some information unrelated to Psychiatric Service Animals. In fact he pointed a reference to a paragraph that was stating information about miniature horses. He wouldn't listen at all to what she was stating which in fact was California law regarding Psychiatric Service Dogs. She mentioned the fact that the law is clear that he can not require documentation of any kind and he is only allowed by law to ask two specific questions regarding the animal and must allow the animal to be in the facility with her. We ended up just leaving because he had no intention of listening, was becoming increasingly aggressive in his speech towards her and we just wanted to avoid it turning into a big incident. The laws in California surrounding Psychiatric Service Dogs are established to protect people like my friend who suffer from severe mental conditions that can trigger some serious traumatic emotional reactions within themselves. The specific laws about what can and can't be asked about a Psychiatric Service Dog are designed so that public confrontations do not trigger the conditions in someone who suffers from a condition such as what my friend does. The confrontation did in fact trigger an emotional episode within her that had very serious side-effects that took nearly 36 hours to alleviate and get her back to a safe metal state. We have today officially filed complaints against Maya Palenque, with, so far, two agencies and I am also letting her use my established personal legal resources to see what additional options she may have to ensure that this matter doesn't just go away without consequence. It's disappointing because I have been a customer here for so many years and I have interacted with Carlos countless times. I've never thought of him as being a very intelligent person, however, I have always respected him for being a hard worker and someone who seemed honest. After this incident and realizing just how unintelligent he really is based on his statements and how apparent it was that he has zero ability to comprehend a simple description of very clear and simple laws; that how could I trust that he is able to comprehend and properly follow other important laws regarding health and safety in and around his business. I am very skeptical that health and safety laws are being executed properly there and I encourage others to consider this when deciding whether or not to visit this establishment. read more

My family and I have been going to Maya to watch the NE Patriots game. Their food is sublime. They chicken wings are ubsurp. The salary, including the "warps" are wonderful; they use very fresh and high quality food in all their dishes. The cooked meals we have, when going out to dinner are terrific! The owners, Joe and Carlos, are some of the nicest people you can find. They're very available. read more

Doesn't live up to the hype... I had heard good things about this place but was really unimpressed. They couldn't make me a nonalcoholic margarita, which was disappointing to start. Oh well. Diet Coke will have to due... The chips and salsa? Not spicy... At all... Hand made tamales sounded like a winner in my book but when they came I was once again let down. Bland. Boring. I will not come back here. read more

Service was excellent that is why I'm giving it any stars. The crab enchilada was bland. Beans and rice were ok, but tasted room temperature. Also had chicken mole. Never had a breast with my mole as normally it's a leg or thigh which adds juiciness due to the bone in. Everyone in there was white. I can see how they rank this place high. Many don't know how real Mexican food tastes like. The group next to us were discussing ICE and all the babies the U.S. would have to take care of because of the illegals would be deported . What a conversation to have in a Latino restaurant. I was surprised that the placed looked like a cafeteria setting rather than a cozy place. read more

I have been here once before and everything was great. I went in tonight with a friend and our service was really odd. The woman who served us was obviously in a bad mood, and we felt like a bother just being there. We got our food a bit after ordering and wanted more chips, and we make eye contact with several staff members. I am turned around with my hand politely up, and no one comes over to us. We eventually decide we will finish our meal, even though at this point we were just eating sour cream, guacamole and pico de Gallo. My friend got up and gave her card to the same woman who served us. It was so weird. Deliberately ignored. We both are servers so we felt like it was really strange to ignore someone trying to get attention. Our server seriously came over twice. She sat us originally, came once to take our order and another time to bring a water. We are nice people. I will not be coming back, service is really inattentive and rude read more

Service was good, but I didn't like the food. It was cold and didn't have a pleasing taste. Not what I was expecting.