Izakaya Maze in La Mesa

A couple of weeks ago, we had the pleasure to dine in for their 1 year anniversary dinner. Chef Nate Horton served us some of his best Japanese-Mexican infused cuisine. For the dinner feast, we had their welcome drinks, which was delicious! He started off by serving us the wagyu eggrolls, blistered shishitos, fried calamari, and bruesselsprouts, which all of it tasted great! Next, we had the izakayasliders (my favorite of the night), mushroom karrage (which we thought was a little too salty), and the duck fried rice (the duck was too dry for us). Lastly, he served us albondigyus, austrialian NY steak, and we had pre-ordered the 3lb wagyu. Overall, this experience was wonderful and such a pleasure to be served by the chef. Most of the time, we dont see them. However, disappointed that they told us we were done when we didnt get the dessert, which was included in the dinner feast. First, the server said chef is making some browning with miso ice cream, then he told us they didnt have brownie and gave us some ice cream. You think with such an elegant place, they would serve you a more delicate dessert. However, I have great experience and would recommend trying !

Great experience eating here! We came to celebrate a birthday and were pleasantly surprised by every dish. The takoyaki fries and karrage mushrooms were both amazing. The wagyu dishes are really good, and the cocktails are great! Nice servers and relaxed atmosphere. The bar seating is a nice set up as well but we did sit at a table.

I was very hesitant when my wife said we are going to eat at a Mexican/Asian fusion restaurant. However I am So glad we drove an hour a ten minutes, so worth it. The combination of flavors Chef Nate throws together, absolutely incredible. Service was amazing, food was the best and it made it even better when Chef Nate takes the time to talk with each customer. Props kind sir for your creation, we will be back for sure.

My gosh. Or should I say OMG. This.place.slaps. While you may wonder that this place serves sharing-style or Tapas-style servings or that the places only has 35 seats, it is big on flavor and service. We tried almost half their menu and were just blown away. We had the scallop skewer, the Wagyu skewer, along with the Wagyu egg rolls, sliders, crudo and other items that at this point we cant remember because it was so good. We also had a few of their libations which were extremely tasty. Pretty much a repeat for us next time we visit. The staff are polite and professional. They are following current Covid guidelines. Extremely recommended.

Good service. But over priced for the food and location. All dishes are salty, wayyyy too salty. The duck fried rice is basically soy sauce rice, super salty. A bit of let down. Servers are nice tho

Very well prepared food using modern techniques and high quality ingredients for a very fair price. Glad to have this place in San Diego.

I just recenty heard about this spot in an article about the hottest newly opened restaurants in SD. Its close by so I had to try it out. Located in an unassuming strip mall, we werent even sure which door was the front door. Once inside, its a simple small space. We ordered the VIP margarita and the mole old fashioned. Both were tasty, definitely not your traditional old fashioned but still good. We also ordered the gem salad, sliders, duck fried rice and Australian wagyu. I gotta say that Im craving that duck fried rice right now, wow! The wagyu had a nice char on it and was cooked perfectly. The chef, Nate, welcomes all guests and describes the food which is a really nice touch.

Incredibly delicious food, super unique as well! The only negative was the noise level of the restaurant. It was very loud, however I would still recommend one-hundred percent!

You need to try this place! One of the most unique spots in San Diego, with some of the most delicious and carefully crafted dishes Ive had.Their A5 wagyu will be the best steak youve ever had, I guarantee it. But the side dishes are amazing too. We had the wagyu sliders, egg rolls and albondigas soup with wagyu, which was an awesome flavorful twist on the traditional Mexican dish.The other real treat is having the chef come out and chat for a bit, and personally share all of the details of the food youre savoring. The drinks are great too. Definitely recommend!

Been in 2 times now, once for the regular menu (5*) then again for the tasting menu (not enough stars to describe how amazing). You can tell every detail was thought about then reconstructed then thought through again. Chef Nate is an amazing chef and just great human being. Now to describe the drinks ....There is not enough gratitude and overall joy that can describe how much love and passion Angel has with his craft, drinks are divine. I wanna say thank you for overall experience of great food and people ......wish I could leave 100*