Maia Restaurant

Our group of four had an excellent dinner at Maia Restaurant. Our food and drinks were delicious, across the board. I particularly enjoyed the watermelon gazpacho – what a refreshing treat! We sat on the back patio, which felt very tranquil, but I also enjoyed the interior rooms with their interesting art. Two thumbs up. I’d definitely recommend this spot.

Staff is incredibly warm and friendly here! It is a super clean, welcoming environment to enjoy a Mexican meal one block from the beach. Good AC too!
I ordered one of the fish dishes with garlic sauce and it was freaking awesome! Definitely recommend the «al ajillo» style fish.
The menu is simple so prepare to order any of the dishes and be impressed!

Everything the others said and more. I had duck breast stuffed with fois gras and passion fruit. Best meal of the week. All the elements of fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere. The chef will check on you as will most of the staff. Don’t miss.

Maia was a standout eating experience in a sea of great restaurants in Puerto Vallarta. I was tipped off to Chef Hugo’s talent by a food writer who runs the local art school. My friend and I visited the restaurant during the day to check it out before choosing a spot for a Thanksgiving dinner. Chef Hugo happened to be available to talk and walked us through the restaurant, full of the art of his friends /​local super talented artists, and talked about the way he was working turkey into the next day’s menu. His take on turkey? Putting it inside of duck with pâté and other goodies. We brought our group there and had an incredible dinner with great service, wonderful drinks (they have some typical Mexican specialties that were new to us – definitely ask for recommendations), and fantastic ambience. This guy is the real deal! Don’t miss it – before long I’m sure he’ll be famous and charging double what he currently charges.

Dinner was excellent. Highly recommend! You get great service for a bargain price. Fresh fruit drinks bruschetta, entrees, and dessert all presentation was beautiful.

This restaurant had the best food of any we tasted in Puerto Vallarta! We went there twice in two days. Two of us are vegetarian and two of us are not, and we were all impressed and satisfied by the heavenly creations here. The food was creative as well as flavorful. The restaurant had more vegetarian options than most in PV, and they were all delicious. In addition, the atmosphere was casually elegant without being pretentious, and the service was friendly and efficient. Very highly recommended!

Absolutely Delicious! Beautiful Place!
Chef Hugo is the best, we were able to meet and greet with him!
We had the honor of being invited by our cousin, in appreciation to making it out to Puerto Vallarta for her daughters baptism. Dinner and drinks were great! I highly recommend you make time for dinner there, when in Puerto Vallarta!

Some of the best vegetarian food we had while in PV. I knew finding veggie food might be hard while on vacation, so we tried several different places from corner buffets to fancier places. Maia was excellent. Upon arrival, we thought the tiny downstairs bar and sidewalk seating was all there was, so we squeezed into some stools at the rail. After seeing folks walk up a tiny staircase, we realized there is a whole seating area upstairs too! we moved up there, and found a gorgeous open air dining room where we could see a sliver of beach and sunset while we ate. Would recommend it to foodies and veg-​heads visiting PV!

THE BEST in old town PV, or in all of PV in my opinion. We absolutely LOVE this place. We had our entire wedding party come the day before the wedding and we let Chef Hugo take the reins and do his thing! We have never ordered off the menu and always let him do what he wants and we are NEVER EVER disappointed. Visit this spot and thank me later!!! ;)

Had a great meal tonight at Maia’s. Chef Jugo has created a great menu. Chef Jugo came out to our table and explained the menu and items available. I had the octopus, shrimp & mushroom burger. It was great.

Super veg friendly creations. They tasted fresh and awesome. Would highly recommend this place.

Passion fruit prawns. Tonight’s chefs choice, the chef only uses local ingredients. Everything I have tried is delicious, cypress salad, the bruschetta, we had fois gras, along with the capers and peppers. I highly recommend coming here. Each menu item is a Mexican fusion, amazing flavors and not the Mexican food on every corner.

We went with a group of 10 on the suggestion of a local friend. The chef Hugo is incredible and very friendly. Local foods and flavours. The fresh cheese and food is lovely. Great flavor choices. A new gem in Vallarta!

Staying at Villa Mercedes, we were familiar with the smells of good cooking coming from this restaurant that shares a central courtyard with the hotel. We were convinced to go there for dinner by the chef’s uncle, who was standing outside and invited us in.
The concept is an SF Bay Area foodie’s dream. A chef from one of the top restaurants in Mexico — Café des Artistes — quits his job and goes on a personal quest. His dream becomes a reality in the form of Maia, a farm-​to-​table, organic restaurant named after his daughter (who was there too, helping create the family atmosphere of the place). The dishes are inventive re-​imaginings of traditional Mexican dishes. Beef taquito balls (rolled in tortilla flour), smoked marlin enchiladas, stuffed chicken breast with mole sauce, on a bed of mashed corn. Even the cocktails are house-​infused syrups served in earthen jarritos. For dessert we shared a version of capirotada (a bread & tortilla pudding traditionally served on Viernes Santo, as explained to us by the chef’s wife) with a smoking «candle» canela stick. The kitchen is generous — both with the portions and with a few extra amuses bouches like meringues with coffee syrup and mini prune tequila milk shakes.
In keeping with the ecological theme, much of the serving ware, tables, etc. are repurposed (the glasses, for instance, are recycled wine bottles cut in half, while the bar ledge outside the restaurant was formerly a wooden door.
The restaurant is also decked out in artwork by an artist friend of the chef. The server gladly took us back into the kitchen to see the mural he had painted there as well. If possible, take the time to chat with the servers and the chef himself to find out more about the restaurant. It was truly a memorable experience — the perfect capstone to our first visit to Puerto Vallarta.

Went there one of our first nights in town this trip. It’s very conveniently located in the space that I originally recall being the Kit Kat just up from Los Muertos beach and it’s been a series of flops ever since. This one could go either way I think.
The thing that stands out most clearly in my memory is a series of «odd» things that I found vaguely disturbing. Not awful just left me scratching my head. First, they have an outdoor sidewalk area but insist on keeping the doors closed with the A.C. running full blast. I was just too damn cold. Second, the wait staff was very awkward and overly formal for a pretty casual little spot. Watching the waiter try to open the aluminum foil papillote that the fish came in with a knife and fork was hilarious. The menu is written on huge chalkboards that the waiters attempt to maneuver around the room with mixed success. They have a lovely outdoor pool area for dining that they aren’t using — not smart.
So, I had the fish en papillote. It was Mahi Mahi of which I am truly sick and will be happy not to see again anytime soon. It was pretty bland and tasteless as I’ve come to expect. Overall, service was sincere but needs polish. I really felt sorry for the girl who was trying to fill our water glasses from this enormous earthenware Mayan jug. Prices seemed a little on the high end.
The consensus was that it was kind of restaurant in search of an identity and that we weren’t inclined to return with so many better options close at hand.