Mayahuel

Mayahuel is a family-run restaurant in Astoria dedicated to Mexico’s most essential craft: turning heirloom corn into fresh masa, every single day. In the kitchen below street level, the Vazquez family soaks, rinses, and stone-grinds more than 150 pounds of corn each week. That nixtamal process—centuries old, meticulously repeated—creates the warm, pliant dough that becomes our tortillas, tamales, gorditas, and tlayudas. It’s the quiet heartbeat of the restaurant and the reason our food tastes the way it does.

Cuisine

We cook northern and coastal Mexican food—especially seafood—along with dishes from our Pueblan roots. Everything starts with the tortilla: house-milled masa, pressed to order, warm from the comal. From Aguachile Tatemado,tacos made with our nixtamal tortillas to crisp tostadas and generous tlayudas, the masa does the talking. Moles simmer slow, salsas are roasted and ground fresh, and toppings stay intentional. The goal is simple: technique, seasonality, and a perfect tortilla.

What Mayahuel Means

In Mexican tradition, Mayahuel is associated with nourishment and transformation. For us, it’s a daily reminder: take good ingredients, treat them with respect, and let craft turn them into something memorable.

Visit Us

Come taste how fresh-milled masa changes a tortilla—and how a tortilla can change a meal.