Maximo
Adrian Torres cooks a five-course tasting menu for $45 in West University Place, and Bao Ong gave it three stars in the Chronicle.
Why go
Local Foods Group revamped Maximo early in 2025 with a change of kitchen and a new menu, and Torres runs it with guidance from Seth Siegel-Gardner.1 Torres cooked at Hugo Ortega's Xochi and at Thomas Bille's Belly of the Beast, and he nixtamalizes his own corn, so the tacos, huaraches and tetelas all start from the masa.1 The kitchen makes the queso fundido tortillas from the sourdough starter it runs at Milton's, a sister restaurant.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the guacamole. Whipped avocado, a ring of tomatillo chimichurri, and a
todo
seasoning Torres jokes is an everything-bagel condiment, with sesame seeds and bits of dry seaweed.1 - Order: the roasted oysters, in green garlic butter with cotija in place of parmesan and crunchy chicken chicharron on top.1
- Order: the squash blossom tetela, a triangle of nixtamalized masa with the pale yellow leaves pressed into it.1
- Order: the mushroom taco. Ong calls it a must.1
- Avoid: the caviar and the truffle. Ong found the caviar added little to the chicatana butter on the masa cornbread or to the lobster-and-crab taco, and the truffle shavings got lost in the short rib.1
What locals & experts say
- Houston Chronicle (Bao Ong, restaurant critic, three stars, 25 June 2025):
Maximo's appeal, however, goes beyond the gently priced tasting menu. The West University Place restaurant, under chef Adrian Torres with guidance from Seth Siegel-Gardner, honors tradition while expanding the notion of modern Mexican food in Houston and beyond.
1 - Ong on the tasting menu:
Even with an optional $30 beverage pairing, it's one of the best deals in town.
1
Good to know
- Timing: dinner 4pm to 9pm Wednesday to Sunday, with happy hour from 4 to 6, plus brunch 11am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Hours as printed in the June 2025 review.1
- Price: the tasting was $45 in June 2025, with a $30 beverage pairing, and every tasting dish is also available a la carte.1
- Booking: reservations through OpenTable.1
- The patio is the seat to ask for, surrounded by cacti, succulents and terra cotta tiles.1
Verdict
should-visit — The Chronicle prints its scale on every review, and three stars on it means excellent and one of the best restaurants in the city. That is the strongest single piece of evidence on any row in this batch, and after the cold audit of 2026-09-08 it is the only one. Torres cooked at Hugo Ortega's Xochi and at Thomas Bille's Belly of the Beast and he nixtamalizes his own corn, which is what the tetela and the huaraches are built on. The caveat is Ong's own and it is worth carrying: the caviar and the truffle were the weakest things he ate.