A native of Mexico City, Maya’s talented chef/owner Richard Sandoval knows authentic Mexican cuisine. His popular Upper East Side restaurant is perpetually packed with neighborhood locals who love the hacienda-style room—wood-paneled walls accented with native art, and terracotta tiled floors—and such dishes as cordero en mole verde, a lamb shank braised in a chcolate sauce with pan-roasted potatoes, chayote squash and baby carrots. The house mariscada—a mammoth bowl bobbing with sea scallops, shrimp, mussels and clams, served with black rice and a coriander seed-red pepper emulsion—is superb.

Maya Information:

• Mexican menu. Dinner. Closed Christmas and New Year's Day. Bar. Business casual attire. Reservations recommended. Credit cards accepted.