| PassPorter.com Feature Article Original article at: http://www.passporter.com/articles/maya-grill-review.html The Maya Grill at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort: A Walt Disney World Dining Reviewby Angela Jenkins, PassPorter Guest ContributorLast modified 08-07-2014 My friend and I recently stayed at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort for a convention. We wanted a nice place to dine and relax after a long day of meetings, so I chose the Maya Grill and made an ADR for dinner. I had a little anxiety about it due to some of the less than stellar reviews I had read. Any review, especially anything about Disney dining, I take with a grain of salt - I think people tend to write reviews if they think something is excellent or if something is terrible. I love "Tex-Mex" style cuisine and I wanted to see for myself and hopefully get to try something new. The Maya Grill is located in El Centro, the main building and lobby of Coronado Springs, past Pepper Market food court. We showed up for our 7:00 pm ADR on time and we were seated within a few minutes. Since we were seated so quickly, I didn't have a chance to really look around, but from what I saw, it felt light and airy, and the theme felt like "upscale Mayan," kind of masculine and modern, but very nice. Our server was named Boris and he was very pleasant and efficient. He was from Peru and had an accent from that region, but we didn't have any problems understanding him. We didn't know right away what we wanted, so he let us relax and look at the menu without rushing us. For appetizers we decided on chips and salsa with guacamole. For drinks, I got the Margarita Flight and my friend got a Blue Moon beer. I've been trying different kinds of "flights" around the Disney World resort during my visits as it gives me a chance to sample several different drinks at the same time. The margaritas were fantastic! My flight included shot glasses of jalapeño, pineapple, horchata, classic, and mango blueberry basil margaritas, all for $18. I liked them all, but my two favorites were the jalapeño (rimmed in a dark pink "hibiscus Himalayan salt") and the horchata. The jalapeño flavors were so intense and good - chile and lime, agave nectar and cucumber... It practically jumped up and slapped me. But in a good way! The horchata was a great complement: sweet and cinnamony, like eggnog or chai, but light, not heavy. I had to look up what horchata is; a Spanish or Latin American drink made of almond or rice milk. If I had to order a whole margarita, I'd get the horchata. It would be very nice to sip on and went very well with my meal. The chips were thick, but crispy, lightly salted and perfect for dipping. The salsa was fine, but I was really impressed with the three ice cream-sized scoops of fresh guacamole Boris brought us! It had few thin slices of pickled red onion that just set it all off. Oh yeah, dinner... My friend ordered the chicken enchilada Suizas, which she said were good. I didn't try any, because I was falling deeply in love with my pork belly enchiladas. I've never had pork belly, and this tasted like a tender pork roast, but made out of smoked bacon. Oh my! The corn tortillas were nice and had really good flavor. The sides that came with it were the standard Spanish rice, which was ok, refried black beans, good, but not really memorable, and a small scoop of corn soufflé which was the best of the sides - I wish I could of just had a bowl of that instead of the rice and beans. The chicken enchilada Suizas also came with rice and beans, and the corn soufflé. We had no room to try any of the desserts, but we were totally satisfied, having had a very filling appetizer. My plate was $19.95 for a decent, but not huge-sized portion. Our bill without tip came to $75.73, which included our drinks, appetizers, and two entrees. It was a good meal, but I don't think it was a good value, simply because I have an idea of how much the items would cost if I bought them separately. However, if I was on the dining plan, I wouldn't have minded paying that much. It was a nice splurge though, because I loved my margaritas, my pork belly, and my guacamole, and Boris was friendly and efficient. The restaurant itself felt "grown up" but not stuffy, with nice relaxing background music. I would consider eating at the Maya Grill again if I was staying at Coronado Springs, especially if I was on the Disney Dining Plan. About the Author: Angela Jenkins is a homeschooling mom of two 'tweens. She is known as "Goofyboysmama" on the PassPorter boards and she's looking forward to trying more new things at Disney World. This article originally appeared in the PassPorter newsletter -- subscribe to our popular newsletter today for free at http://www.passporter.com/news.htm Updated 08-07-2014 Check for a more updated version at http://www.passporter.com/articles/maya-grill-review.html |