Cafe La Maze - National City, California

Jcn 723

Consider yourselves warned! This place just sucks. I ordered the 24oz prime rib but asked for the end cut which I know is a bit more cooked than the middle. What was served to me looked kinda grey. It was dry and room temp. I love prime rib and any place I have ever ordered it from has served it hot and juicy and medium rare. I asked the waiter when the prime rib I was served was cooked since I felt I was eating someone’s warmed up left overs. He couldn’t look me in the eye and lied when he said it was just made. Bottom line, if you enjoy steak, do not eat here. If you enjoy food, do not eat here. I predict this place will be out of business in less than 6 months based on what they have the nerve to serve there. Remember, you have been warned.

Angelica Goldman

Our food was great! The best steak I've had out in a long time. The French Onion Soup was also very good. The atmosphere was nice. It reminded me of an old-school steak house. Our servers were also very friendly. Overall, it was a great experience.

Irene Oshiro

This is an old school type place! It feels like one of those historical places that's a big part of the community. With the different shade of red upholstery and pleather booths gives you that 70's vibe. Then we get an older waitress with blond hair up in a bun. It was Classic! To top it off live music from Ray who I remember from the butcher shop! The menu is simple but the prices are on the high end. What you pay for in my opinion is the Atmosphere the place was packed!! Would have been an excellent experience if it wasn't so hot inside! We'd actually just walk out for some fresh air! We wanted to stay at the bar for some drinks after dinner but it was just too hot inside and that's on a cool day. I can't imagine how hot it gets in the summer. Overall it was good food, friendly service good experience. Small parking lot in the back or street parking if available.

Rod Gullo

Our favorites are the prime rib, pork chops, fried calamari and creamy chicken soup! Excellent food in general. They are famous for their prime rib and offer a special anniversary priced prime rib dinner every year as a "Thank you" to their customers. They have a very friendly wait staff. This is a historic restaurant that was frequented by the Hollywood elite in the 40s and 50s, and still draws crowd at dinner time due to their high quality entrees. For us, it is well worth making the 12 mile special trip. Update: Stopped by for prime rib, creamy chicken soup, and garlic mashed potatoes. Excellent as usual, with fast friendly service! Update: Tried their sirloin steaks, excellent! Update: Prices have increased again, but quality remains excellent. Got the cheesecake dessert. It was very tasty, but at $7.95 it wasn't a good value. Update: Prices have increased yet again. This is becoming a pricey restaurant, however the quality remains excellent. Update: Another price increase. Excellent prime rib and sirloin steak. Update: Our first disappointing experience. Decided to try the fish and chips. For $25.95, we expected way better. Sadly the fish was prepared similar to corn dogs, but with 75% breading. Just a pinky finger sized piece of fish in each. Minus one star. On the other side of the spectrum, the boneless pork chops were excellent as usual. Update: Another price increase. Excellent prime rib and sirloin steak. Update: Got the Pork Chops and Prime Rib entrees. Both were excellent. Update: Another price increase. Got the Pork Chops entrees, and the Clam Chowder. Everything was excellent as usual!

Mike G

What a gem of a place! I've lived in San Diego for over 30 years and have never known about this wonderful restaurant. The food, music, and service were all spectacular! The steaks are perfectly cooked and half the price of other places. I highly recommend this place.

Erika Gullette

We recently visited Cafe La Maze hoping for a great steakhouse experience, but unfortunately, it fell short. The food was bland and lacked any depth of flavor. The steak, which we expected to be the star of the meal, was under seasoned and unremarkable—definitely in need of more salt and seasoning. For the prices they charge, we were expecting much more.

The cocktails were also a letdown—way too sweet and watered down, which made them feel more like sugary drinks than crafted cocktails. It was disappointing to see such a lack of balance in the drinks, especially for a place that prides itself on quality.

On a positive note, the service was fine—attentive and friendly—but even the best service can't make up for subpar food. We ended up feeling like we spent way too much money for such a mediocre meal. Sadly, we won’t be returning nor do we recommend this place.

John U

The food here was ok. We ordered a 14oz ribeye, there was no way it was 14 oz. The vegetables that come with the plate were just ok, and the baked potato was baked. Steak was really thin, which I don’t like. Might as well put it in a sandwich.

Service was slow, but I gave it five stars because the wait staff appears to have to bus their own tables, as well as take orders and deliver food. They were busting their humps the entire time. The place was way understaffed but, despite this, the staff did outstanding given the circumstances.

The restaurant interior and exit was nice. Had live music while we were there, not sure if this is an every night thing, but seemed to draw a crowd.

Patricia Eaton

Food was delicious, fresh, and portions were more than sufficient. A wonderful surprise was the live music! And some guest singer, what a treat! I was celebrating my birthday by myself, so they gifted me a slice of cake with candle and song. Customer service was great! The decor is old-Hollywood style, although you would not realize this from the exterior.