Food xxx
Service xxx
Atmosphere xxx
Value xxxxIn the decade I’ve lived in Santa Fe, the rustic adobe on Water Street has housed its fair share of restaurants, from Chez Pancho to
the Corn Dance Café and Willie’s on Water.
So many businesses have passed through there that the place seemed ill-fated. But Los Mayas appears to have broken the spell. This sweet little spot serves up some tasty Mexican and northern New Mexican fare — enchilada-wrapped bananas with mole, carne adovada and camarones cooked with garlic or tomato.
We showed up early one weekday evening and found the place practically empty. But within minutes, a steady flow of diners trickled in until the place was hopping.
The alcove and two dining rooms are cozy, with wood floors, soft adobe walls and fresh flowers on every table. We both ordered a refreshing agave wine ($3.50), which came in mugs with electric-blue sugar-encrusted rims. We munched on crispy homemade chips and a spicy salsa as we perused the menu, considering tortilla soup, taco salad, shrimp cocktail, nachos, ceviche and guacamole prepared tableside.
We decided to open with Enchiladas Banana ($5.90) and chorizo quesadillas ($4.70). My pair of enchiladas was draped in a velvety mole, stuffed with ripe, sautéed bananas and sprinkled with melted cheese. The combination was lovely and sweet enough to serve as dessert.
The quesadilla was filled with spicy Mexican sausage and asadero cheese, though a bit more cheese would have been welcome. The flour tortillas were very floury — a zesty dipping sauce would have helped.
The evening’s choice of entrées included various riffs on grilled shrimp, served on a wooden plank or with a side of skirt steak, as well as grilled, smoked pork chops, chicken mole, grilled steaks, Enchiladas Banana and charbroiled marinated chicken breasts.
For entrées we had the Santo Domingo ($13.25), a skirt steak with three grilled jumbo shrimp cooked on a flat grill with garlic, and the Camarones a la Diabla ($13.95), shrimp sautéed in a smooth chipotle cream sauce.
The steak was delicious — trim, tender, juicy and cooked to perfection. The jumbo shrimp were also good, flavored with garlic and butter and bursting with juices. The accompanying rice and black beans paired well, though the rice was actually quinoa, and its light and nutty flavor enhanced the dish. The beans were cooked al dente and served in a thick, black sauce.
The Camarones a la Diabla were surprising.
As I bit into my first shrimp, I could have sworn
I detected a note of peanut butter. Upon asking, I discovered my taste buds weren’t on a slow boat to China, and yes, indeed, there was peanut butter in the chipotle cream sauce, an old Mayan ingredient. The flavor was odd and surprising, but it worked. The quinoa piled high on my plate soaked up the sauce and then burst with flavor when crunched in the mouth.
For dessert, we decided to split a piece of tres leches cake. The cake was good but not great.
We asked and found out that it’s not made at the restaurant, and our server had no idea where it came from.
As we were leaving, the evening’s musicians were setting up to perform in the main dining room, and it looked like quite a party was going to take place. We felt full and happy and decided we’d have to return with our appetites on another night to hear the music and enjoy the hearty food.
Our dinner, with two appetizers, two entrées, two glasses of wine, one dessert and two coffees, came to $65.11.
ttt
409 W. Water St., 986-9930
Dinner 5-10 p.m. daily
Wine & beer
Handicapped-accessible
AMEX • V • MC
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