Maria's Mexican Restaurant

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  My husband grew up in the same neighborhood as this family, and they used to sell tacos on the corner every once and a while to neighborhood folks. They were a hit then, and they're a hit now.
  
  These tacos are awesome, the shells are super rad. I could eat them alone by themselves, with just some lettuce and sour cream. YUM.
  
  Each time I've been we've been seated almost immediately, we have a VERY low wait time for our orders being received and once they're in you wait about 10 minutes or less (probably less) for your food to come out.  Its hot, and ready and yummy- These folks are always slammed and manage to bring our food out pronto. Thank you!!
  
  The food at ANY restaurant doesn't have to be amazing, its the timing of when the food comes out and the quality of how its made.
  The food here has awesome quality, its certainly not haute cuisine but its so tasty.  I crave this food now.  Each visit to this area and we eat here no matter the circumstances. =)
  
  Thats all you need for great food. Consistency, and this place has it.

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  Posted on 12.29.12 Ashley G.

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  This place is close to my job so I get take out from them occassionally.  The place is always busy when I go there so if you are dining in you may have to wait for a table.  There is always a hostess at the door and the bartenders have been professional and attentive, even while being very busy, when I pickup my order from them.  Mostly they get the four stars based on food quality.  Everything I have eaten there tastes like it is made from scratch.  I always get the feeling that I am eating a quality meal that somebody spent some time cooking.  For those of you that like your Mexican spicy, this isn't the place.  My one complaint would be that they could make things a little bit spicier, but I always feel like I ate a home cooked meal when getting food from them.

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  Posted on 12.17.12 Steve K.

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  Maria's ranks 2nd or 3rd on my tacos in Omaha list (behind Cali Taco and the south O food trucks).  The soft tacos are fried and delicious.  They don't quite compare to Cali Taco, but are still delicious.  They just recently went through a renovation that I think really lightens up the place and added a really nice conditioned patio.  I'd stay away from the Maria's sauce as it is more of a gravy (as others on Yelp have stated).  It doesn't quite fit for me on Mexican food, but some must like it.  The food is all basic staples and since they've been doing it for over 30 years I think they have perfected it.  
  
  They take credit/debit cards here now.
  
  You will definitely leave weighing a bit more than when you walked in but its worth it.  If you are looking for a delicious taco and don't want to head to Cali Taco or South O head to Marias.

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  Posted on 12.13.12 Erin R.

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  One of my coworkers raved about this place, and I had already tried (and hated) Cali Tacos. I ordered the Surf and Turf tacos (fish and steak) with rice and beans. The tacos were fine, I though the shell was better than Cali Tacos - whatever, nothing special. The rice and beans were inedible. So gross, I have never been so offended by these two side dishes in my life. The rice was dry, and the refried beans were a disgusting paste. I tried mixing the two to make it better, but that didn't help AT ALL. If the sides were better, I might have thought about going back.

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  Posted on 11.20.12 Jessica Y.

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  The food was awesome!  I had a fish taco and chicken taco.  Both were very, very good.  The shells are puffy and didn't fall apart while eating them.  Also had a frozen margarita which had I not been driving, would have drank a few more!  The special tonight was a two - $6.99.  A choice of tacos, and several other options and it came with rice.  Very good deal and I left stuffed and didn't eat it all!!
  
  So to those who have given this place a poor review, you must have been on drugs the time you went.  I will be going back to Maria's!
  
  Oh, and the wait staff is super!

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  Posted on 07.19.12 Jane B.

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  Great place to eat!  Been there many times before, but tonight was a surprise. The entire atmosphere has been remodeled along with a patio addition. Nice change and good food!,,

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  Posted on 06.30.12 Todd V.

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  I'm writing this review purely on the tacos and margaritas only!
  
  If you want Americanized Mexican like Fernandos, this isn't the place for you.  This is a family run restaurant, and it's obvious they use their own recipes (hence brown gravy on the burritos)  So I can see why people don't care for it.
  
  The Margaritas are out of this world, at $21 for a pitcher, you will know why.  Please have a DD if you plan on drinking more than 1 of these bad boys.  Yikes!  So good though.....
  
  Now on to the tacos.  Fluffy, fried, stuffed pouches of heaven.  I think it's the cheap cheese (government cheese? perhaps?) that make them so good.  On Tuesdays you can get 2 tacos for $4.99.  That and some margaritas and you are set!
  
  They have remodeled in recent years, and now accept cards.  Don't believe the haters, Maria's is decent.

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  Posted on 05.25.12 Audrey C.

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  I normally don't waste my time re-iterating how much a place sucks, but Maria's is such a pitiful joke that I must do this.  Again, the only reason I walked in here one more time is because I work nearby.  Forget the indescribable disappointments such as cash-only, bitchy service, and weak $9 drinks, let's focus on the fact that NONE of the food here tastes good!  I would take the Wednesday special from Junior High School for $1.29 instead of this slop any day.  Seriously!  My dog refused it, what else needs to be said.  The meat they use is like the stuff I throw away; bland, flavorless, cooked so long it tastes like mashed nothing.  And the regular staples like rice, refried beans, queso, salsa are straight out of the cheapest jar/can they can find.  Despite all these shameful disgraces, the prices still somehow remain sky high!  The biggest issue I have with this restaurant are the patrons.  I want to beat the piss out of every regular in the place for being so incompetent and supporting a restaurant that makes such terrible food!  A full parking lot brings in new customers like me, and I know every new customer will be disappointed because they don't have an age-old ridiculous tradition they feel obligated to uphold.  Get real!  Tradition blows - learn how to cook decent food and tradition will create itself.  I hope this places closes down soon so that someone who actually knows how to roll a tamale can have a chance at my business.

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  Posted on 03.23.12 Josh S.

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  Good food and good people, but do not go there anticipating traditional Mexican food.

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  Posted on 12.18.11 David G.

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  Taco meat had no spices, very bland.  The burritos came with gravy, not what I look for from a Mexican restaurant.   I would not go back.

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  Posted on 11.13.11 Jeff K.

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  This place is old school, family owned authentic mexican.  If you are looking for tex-mex or something even remotely resembling taco bell, you're barking up the wrong (Mexican) tree.
  
  Margaritas are to die for, although be careful, the potency could mean you're also splurging on a cab ride home.  Get a pitcher.
  
  Get a mixed basket of chips with cheese and mix the hot sauce on the table in the cheese sauce.
  
  Do NOT leave here without a beef soft shell taco.  It's their specialty and I've been eating here for YEARS and have tried nothing else.
  
  Food is 5 stars, but the family-owned restrictions loose one star for convenience.  Cash only, no credit cards, no reservations, not always open.  Although when their new patio is open, they may get that last star from me!

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  Posted on 08.19.11 C R.

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  Crowded, unsightly, cash only...I had high hopes for this place. The service was fine, guacamole was small but fresh and good. I'm racking my brain for anything else positive to say. Even the reputed great margaritas were horrible, watery, flavorless, much like the rest of the food.

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  Posted on 06.12.11 Windy R.

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  This place is horrible.
  
  Strike 1:  As you walk through the door there is a sign saying no Credit Cards accepted and there is an ATM which charges $2.95 fee.
  
  Strike 2:  Ordered Queso Dip.  It is Velveeta cheese in a little bowl.  Decided to ask for Salsa.  
  
  Strike 3:They don't have salsa.  No Salsa at a Mexican Restaurant????  We should have left at that, because they were out, but we decided to keep going.
  
  Ball 1:  Margarita was good.  Ok, maybe the food is going to be great.  Right?  WRONG!
  
  Strike 4:   Gravy on Enchiladas, I am thinking red sauce.  Ok that should be good.  NO!  It is real gravy like Thanksgiving Style.  I kid you not.  It was grey in color and seemed to have some lumps.
  
  Strike 5:  No Onions!  Really you make Mexican food with no onions?  Even Taco Bell has onions and something that they pass as pico de gallo.
  
  Strike 6:  Bland food.  Ok I decided to get past the Turkey gravy on my burritos that didn't have any onions and try it.  Seriously Taco Bell has more flavor, oh and they use something that at least tastes like cheese in theirs.
  
  After 6 Strikes, I have decided this restaurant is forever out.  Go to this place at your own risk.  I don't understand all the past reviews.  This place is horrible.  AVOID!

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  Posted on 05.21.11 Jeff F.

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  Being a Papillion native, this is my favorite local spot to get Mexican food.  The food here is a lot like Cali Taco but not quite as good.  The tacos are pretty good, but I usually get the #9.  Two burritos smothered in Maria's special gravy, it is so delicious, I highly recommend it.  I also always get a side of flour chips with salsa to start things off.  they taste the same as Cali Taco's chips.

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  Posted on 06.29.10 Colin S.

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  I've been going here since I was a kid.  It will always be my favorite mexican place because the food is so good.  Normally I'm not a huge mexican food fan.  If that's you.  This is your place.

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  Posted on 04.26.10 Kevin B.

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  The nachos (chips w beef and cheese, jalapenos on the side) were good, and the margaritas were killer, but nothing else was worth gushing over.  My curiosity got the best of me and I had to try the gravy-laden beef, bean and cheese burrito (which reminded me more of something I'd eat at the Bohemian Cafe than a Mexican restaurant).  Luckily I traded half of that for a chicken enchilada and had a chicken taco to supplement.  Oh, and people comparing these tacos to Cali Taco is blasphemy... sorry.
  
  Maria's has been around for more than 30 years, and it shows.  The meals and menu are the time-tested staples and there's obviously no need for variation.  Salsa in a restaurant syrup dispenser sits out on the table, Fernando's style.  Even sour cream, which you have to specially order, comes in those tiny packets.  And there's no need for embellishments like cilantro and guacamole either.  
  
  All in all, it was definitely some gut-sticking gluttony, but not worth a special trip back unless it's for the margaritas.  Woo Weeeee!

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  Posted on 04.09.10 Sarah G.

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  I love Mexican food so when a friend said this place was her favorite, I couldn't wait to try it.  I ordered a taco and an enchilada.  The first couple of bites, I remember thinking this is pretty good.  It was hot and cheesy.  By the end of the meal, I remember thinking this was the possibly the worst meal I've ever had.  Maybe it was an off night but I won't go back to find out.  I felt like there was a rock sitting in the bottom of my stomach.  The food was greasy and just not good beyond the first few bites.  The atmosphere left a lot to be desired but I could get over that if the food were better.

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  Posted on 02.09.10 Patrick W.

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  Plenty of food, good service but it didn't taste like Mexican food. Do Omahans like bland?

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  Posted on 10.28.09 M L.

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  This place is for real.
  My first visit was Friday for a business lunch.
  Among the first things you notice are the warnings. No separate checks, Cash only - no credit cards. Only open for lunch on Friday. Only open for dinner on Friday and Saturday. Damn... tough to do business with this joint?! Well, my hosts told me it has been around a LONG time. IF you are that restricted in your business terms and still around after all those years, the food must ROCK!
  It does.
  Come here... eat the Maria's plate to start. "Puffy"taco, tostada, a burrito with some dreamy sauce, and an enchilada. No goofy beans and rice business here.
  I'll be back to try the Chili Rellenos... they take 30 mn per the menu... and that is probably a good omen.
  And the little "Puffy" tacos are totally heaven. Not greasy in any way. Not overdressed. Cheeses slightly melted. OMG. Things this good will get popularized, and Bobby Flay just did a throwdown with Arturo's on these things not long ago. It's just a matter of time before our bellies will be full of these from any number of places [or the frozen food aisle].
  The service is good here. They do not give chips. Don't complain. You don't need them. After the food you will be thankful you did not waste digestive space on freakin' chips!

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  Posted on 02.21.09 Reed N.

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  I love Maria's. I've been coming here since I was little as most of my extended family lives out this way. I've hardly strayed from the soft shell tacos which are to die for. They are "famous" according to the menu and I agree because I've never had one so damn good. They are indescribable. I don't know if I would call this tex-mex. Maybe because I don't really know what that is. Super friendly service, and comfortable atmosphere. I would travel to Nebraska just to go here, no joke.

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  Posted on 12.03.08 Jacquelou W.

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  My family would always eat with a friend's family once a week, and if we were craving Tex-Mex, Maria's is where we would go.
  
  It's hidden away in Ralston, and nobody in my family knew about it until we started going there with the other family. But wow, is it good. Best tex mex I've had in Omaha.

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  Posted on 11.24.08 Zachary Sam Z.

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