Maria Bonita on Danziger Strasse is only big enough for a handful of people to eat at the same time but the food at this tiny Mexican bistro is a real treat.
Tacos Alambre
Salsas
A lack of good Mexican food in Berlin is one of the biggest culinary gripes in the city, especially amongst the expat crowd. As an indication of just how bad it can be here, I once had Fajitas with cabbage in them – a first (and I’m determined a last) for me.
So I’m pleased that some friends told me about the quality of the Mexican food at Maria Bonita not long after I moved to Berlin.
Puerco Especial Burrito
In the early days my meal of choice was the Puerco Especial Burrito – a large tortilla filled with pork, guacamole, red salsa and Chipotle cream – an abundance of meat with a great balance of flavours for 7€.
Over the years I’ve tried out most of the dishes on the menu and I’m still a fan of the Puerco Especial and everything I’ve had has been tasty but my go to dish now is the Huevos con Beicon – scrambled eggs, refried beans and bacon wrapped in a tortilla.
Huevos con Beicon
Unfortunately, it’s not the most photogenic meal but believe me it tastes amazing.
A beer is always a good option for washing down Mexican food but Maria Bonita also does a mean Frozen Margarita – perfect for hot summer days.
For a full rundown of what is available you can check out the menu on the Maria Bonita website.
Maria Bonita, as mentioned earlier, is a small restaurant – just a kitchen really with a few stools at counters facing the cooking, the street and along the sidewalls (10 or so in total). In the summer though you can eat at the tables outside on the pavement or take your meal to Mauerpark – the M10 tram will take you from the door (almost) to the park.
Tacos Alambre
The choice of Mexican restaurants has improved recently with the opening of Santa Maria Eastside and NETA Mexican Street Food but Maria Bonita remains one of the best options when it comes to Mexican food in Berlin.
best thing to do in the summer is to grab some food from there and take it over to mauerpark and sit on the hill.
Great idea, though I’m not sure I’d have the patience to wait until I got to Mauerpark before I started eating!
I prefer to take the food up to Wasserturm hill. Taking along one of their delicious Frozen Mescal Margaritas may keep you distracted long enough from devouring the food along the way.
Thank you! I agree, it’s not that easy finding good Mexican places to eat in Berlin.
As an American in Berlin, I definitely feel you on the bizarreness (corn on top of everything! frischkäse galore!) of Mexican/South American options here… I’m skeptical but also excited to give this place a try after the new year!
Let me know what you think of it because opinion on the various Mexican options in Berlin always varies wildly between people. In a discussion on Twitter yesterday after I posted this some people said they loved it and some hated it there.
Hey, I am neither American nor a lover of Mexican food, but I still have something to say… (sorry).. so, I LOVED Santa Maria when they opened, we went there with a Mexican friend regularly back when they still had that corn stuff in a banana leaf (tamales??) and many other entres. Something happened shortly after that, I don’t know if they didn’t have the courage to continue their concept or the will…? It certainly wasn’t because of a lack of costumers, the tiny shop was packed all the time. But the quality of the food changed, in a negative direction and since then has never improved again. I find the food rather bland I have to admit.
There’s certainly no need to apologise for having something to say. It’s good to get as many opinions as possible and any tips anyone has to get the best food in Berin. I only wish I had visited Maria Bonita when you enjoyed the food. Considering that I think it’s tasty now, I can only imagine how good it might have been then.
The Santa Maria is maintained by Australian guy, Julian, and Maria Bonita is owned and operated by Trey Wright, two of the original partners in the initial endeavor, but now they are still friendly but totally separate places and directions.
It was a little confusing that you say the “small place” had changed to the negative, (the smaller one is Maria Bonita) but you named Santa Maria, a different restaurant. It’s hoped you’ll give them another try, whichever one you were referring to.
Maria Bonita stays with authentic Mexican recipes as they are produced in Mexico, which may not suit the tastes of those who are used to Mexican “inspired” or based dishes.
This looks really good!! I went to a Mexican restaurant at Simon Dach Straße this weekend called Mojito and thought it was so delicious as well. I don’t eat that much Mexican usually but now I really want to try out more!
Josie, thanks for the tip. I’ll have to add Mojito to my list of places to try.
Thanks for dropping by Maria Bonita, and we hope to see you again soon, as well as the other posters on the thread. We’re on Facebook, Twitter and have a little site here on WordPress also. We appreciate your review! http://mariabonitaberlin.wordpress.com/.