Maya Grill is a table-service restaurant in Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort. The restaurant opened on the same day as the resort, all the way back in 1997. Serving Mexican food, the restaurant has Mayan motifs throughout. Maya Grill does take part in the Disney Dining Plan at a table-service credit and also offers an annual pass discount. In this post, we’ll review the restaurant’s atmosphere, cuisine and value.

Disney World hotel restaurants, specifically the older ones, can fall into a trap of feeling like, well, hotel restaurants. A spade is a spade and there’s nothing inherently wrong with a hotel restaurant. But for a theme park resort that tries to go an extra mile to feel transportive, most guests don’t want to be reminded that they’re steps away from a lobby.

Part of the problem stems from the burden of expectations. Disney World has some absolutely beautiful restaurants inside of their hotels. California Grill, Topolino Terrace and, the Coronado’s own, Toledo offer sweeping rooftop views of WDW. Jiko and Flying Fish do thematic design with class. Even Whispering Canyon Cafe or Sebastian’s Bistro have characteristics that set them apart. That makes the likes of Kona Cafe or Ale & Compass, both of which have some fantastic attributes, feel very ordinary from an atmospheric perspective.

This concern may have steered us away from Maya Grill for more than a decade. To be honest, the restaurant was always kind of an afterthought for us even though we’ve stayed at Coronado Springs Resort numerous times. Average reviews and our own perceived idea of the restaurant’s atmosphere kept us away.

Maya Grill has changed a little bit, mainly due to the Coronado changing. The restaurant is no longer by the lobby, in fact it’s a decent walk from there. Sitting alongside the convention center and counter-service restaurant does add some foot traffic during busy weeks. But, for the most part, Maya Grill has to stand on its own accord. We were happy to find out that the restaurant does just that.

A benefit of the long hallway that leads to Maya Grill is that the restaurant is pretty quiet. There’s not a lot of outside noise coming in and the dining area isn’t overstuffed with tables. I was pleasantly surprised to find a live musician playing Spanish guitar inside. This was a nice touch to add personality to the area.

I wouldn’t call Maya Grill’s theme remarkable. There are some Mayan and Mexican inspired decorations around the room as well as a few murals and paintings. Large windows let in natural light and keep the restaurant from being too sleepy. You’re not necessarily transported while dining here but there’s nice balance of reminding guests of the theme without being over the top.

If there’s a pitfall Maya Grill runs into it’s more feeling like a chain restaurant than a hotel lobby restaurant. But the touches like a live musician, excellent service and some nice views of the resort keep it from slipping too far down that slope. I wouldn’t book Maya Grill for the atmosphere but it doesn’t detract from the experience either.

Moving to the food, here’s a look at the menu. The restaurant is typically only open for dinner. There’s a wide range of entree prices, starting around $20 and going up over $40. If you order the right things, Maya Grill ends up being a strong value on the Disney Dining Plan with a peak price of roughly $72 (the DDP is $97.79/day and includes a counter-service meal and snack on top of this).

Part of that strong value does include ordering a margarita, which I’ll never pass up. I don’t talk about drinks much on this site, as tastes vary. Personally, I thought this was a good margarita but not spectacular.

I had the Ossobuco Al Pastor which consists of tender braised pork ossobuco al pastor style served over roasted corn nixtamasa, topped with Pastor sauce and pineapple salsa. The meat fell off the bone and was delicious. The Pastor sauce gave it a rich flavor offset nicely by the pineapple salsa. I was unfamiliar with roasted corn nixtamasa but the texture reminded me of grits. This had a heavy corn flavor and is made with masa. I thought this entree was fantastic. At $42, this is one of the more expensive options on the menu and is the way to go if on the Disney Dining Plan.

Melissa ordered the Steak Fajitas. Along with the meat, these include sauteed peppers and onions, Mexican rice, refried beans, cotija cheese, shredded cheddar jack cheese, pico de gallo, and sour cream. We both thought the meat was cooked well, tender and flavorful. The street corn served alongside was another highlight. That corn isn’t mentioned in the menu description so I’m not sure if it’s still included. At $35, this isn’t the most original offering at Maya Grill but they were quality fajitas.

As a side note, we both really liked the rice and beans here. Both had more flavor than we expected.

For dessert I ordered this beautiful Cuatro Leches Bizcocho De Maiz. I’ve never met a leches cake that I didn’t enjoy and this was no exception. A home-made sweet corn cake soaked with four different milks, topped with meringue were the ingredients here. The meringue was toasted marshmallow like and the cake was delicious and not soggy inside of the milks. At $14, this was a unique and tasty take on a classic Mexican dessert.

Both the waiter and manager recommended the Fried Churros & Ice Cream to us. They look fantastic but we were less impressed by these. The manager did confirm that these are made by the same chefs who make them in Epcot’s Mexico Pavilion, so if you like those then this is a safe bet. If you’re not sure about those, this is still a safe bet as fried dough, cinnamon sugar, chocolate and ice cream always tastes good. But this dessert didn’t measure up to the other items we ordered.

We came away impressed by Maya Grill. The menu had a nice variety and there were unique items compared to the typical Mexican restaurant chain. If you’re staying at the Coronado, or nearby, I’d strongly consider this restaurant. While it doesn’t measure up to Toledo, it is a good option and decent value for those looking for Mexican food.

Overall Rating – 8.5/10

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