Maizajo is more than a restaurant. It's really two restaurants and a molino/tortillería. Upstairs…read moreis a sit down restaurant and downstairs is a standing taco bar/taquería. On my trip to Mexico City last week, I was able to try out both the restaurant and the taco bar.
Maizajo has a great story. They started as a molino/tortillería around 2016, selling heirloom masa tortillas and exposing people to Mexico's culinary history with heirloom corn. In the winter of 2023, their current business (restaurant/taquería/tortillería) opened and they're continuing to blow people's minds and show us what can be done with Mexican heirloom corn.
I went to dinner upstairs in the restaurant with my mom and brother first. We had a reservation (which I highly recommend). They walk you upstairs, stopping at the top of the stairs for a tortilla right off the comal (they offer you salsa and salt to top the tortilla). The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous - cool, open, modern, and yet traditional, too. The service was also great throughout.
The restaurant offers a tasting menu or a la carte dining. My mom is vegan, and the staff are very well versed in which dishes are vegan or can be veganized. To start, they brought our table tortillas tostadas and salsas, dips, and salt, which was a delicious start. My mom had their tamal de hongos (three-corn tamal, seasonal mushrooms, and achiote red sauce) and their panucho with mushrooms in place of the turkey. My brother and I shared the "Vuelva a la Vida" (rock shrimp, Bendito Mar oyster, tomato broth, and eucalytpus oil); seafood tlayuda (Oaxaca cheese, beans, fish fat, octopus longaniza, cured fish, pickled fava beans, and dress watercress); antojitos trilogy (memela with mole, bean gordita with longaniza), and beef tongue quesdailla); and manea (shortcrust mesa tamal, moro crab, amaxito chile sauce). I enjoyed all but two of the dishes we tried. Both vegan dishes were very good. And I really liked the marea. I loved the antojitos trilogy (that bean gordita is something that will be in my head for a long time). However, I wasn't a huge fan of the Vuelva de la Vida (a little underseasoned perhaps?) or the fish tlayuda (for the first time in my life, I think I found a dish too fishy?! maybe it was the cured fish? or the fish fat? But it just didn't work for me). However, most of the food was very good. And the service was great, including the somelier, who helped me pick from their excellent list of wines (I had a couple of glasses of an Albariño they were offering). And the vibes are immaculate. Despite not being in a love with a couple of the dishes, it was still a very good meal overall.
A few days later, I returned with a friend to try the taquería. When we arrived around 1:30pm on a Saturday, there was a bit of a line (maybe 10-20 people in front of us). We put our name down and waited. The line moves pretty fast, so don't let a little line scare you. Since it's a standing only (no seats) taco bar, your meal here is fast, and the line moves quickly. When we got a section at the bar, we ordered a few tacos each. (They have more than just their traditional tacos - volcanes, costras, gorditas, flautas, quesadillas, etc.) My friend tried each of the three specials of the day, while I went with one special (birria) and two from the regular menu (campechano - ribeye con longaniza, and papa con queso). They were all good, but the campechano was simple and one of my favorite bites from my week or so in Mexico City. The vibes are different here than in the restaurant - faster, more casual - but it's still very cool with very good service. I really enjoyed my tacos and my Coronita.
If you're visiting Mexico City for the first time, definitely consider Maizajo for a meal on your trip. It's cool and delicious, and they're doing important work to protect ancestral and sustainable agriculture in Mexico. With a fine(r)-dining option, a taco bar, and a little shop where you can buy tortillas, salsas, and more, you really can't go wrong with a visit to Maizajo.
