Located in the Price Hill Neighborhood, boasting a 4.7 stars, Maya sits at the end of W 8th Street coming from Downtown Cincinnati.

As with many of the adventures with 83.71, Maya is a new one for me. My best friend and I were looking to catch up for lunch and we asked another mutual friend where we should go. We normally default to our typical spots in Clifton or our local neighborhoods but we were pointed to Maya so we said, let’s try something new.

Maya has been in Cincinnati for quite some time and it’s hard to believe that I’ve never been here before. My best friend mentioned that he’s driven past it plenty of times but he’s also never stopped here despite it being closer to his home.

It just so happens that our visit was on a colder day after we had just gotten some snowfall and it was the perfect setting to eat a comforting Indian meal. Unsurprisingly the menu had too many options to choose from but I decided that for my main dish, I ‘d try something new as I’d normally get the Chicken Curry.

On this day, the Lamb Curry caught my attention. On a scale of 6, I did get a 4 to match my friend who got his Chicken Tikka Masala. We also ordered a side of naan to go with our meal because no meal Indian meal should miss out on a perfect naan. With it being a cold day, I also decided to get a Chai as well. I grew up with Chai and it’s one of those drinks that just makes sense with Indian Culture. I personally have no idea how to make it and I think it’s something that I will try to get at the many Indian restaurants that we will explore as we do not have any Chaiwalas in the area. If there are, please let me know!

The chai came out first for me and it really was a very comforting and delicious beverage. It tasted very similar to the chai I am used to and please, let’s not mix this up with Chai Tea Latte (also let’s not get into the habit of “tea tea”). Next came out both our curries, rice, and the naan. Before I dive into the lamb curry, I have to hand it to Maya for one of the best naans that I’ve ever seen and tasted. Immediately from looking at it, I could tell that this was going to be a good naan. You could tell that it was very fresh and it wasn’t overdone in the sense that it had a lighter look and feel to it.

The lamb curry was just perfect; it was very tasty, it was just the right amount of spicy, and it really paired well with the rice and naan. It was so good that while I normally will default to a fork or spoon, I decided that today’s curry was going to be eaten by hand just like my mom would want me to eat it. Let me tell you that everything just paired so well. The food was all very fresh and if it wasn’t for the heartburn to follow, I would have gone for another order of the lamb.

I also gave my friend’s Chicken Tikka Masala a try and I have to say that as one of the go to dishes for most of the Tri-State area, the Chicken Tikka here was just right. I really gave to hand the meal to the naan. I don’t think about naan often but with the dishes that we ordered, the naan here was different but still perfect enough that I can’t really stop thinking about it.

I have to say, that for all the Indian restaurants in the 83.71 it’s surprising to me that over 20 years, somehow, I’d never heard of them and I’m sad that I hadn’t gotten to them sooner. In the Cincinnati area, we’re very fortunate to have a diverse culinary scene and some of the best Indian restaurants are tucked away in some neighborhoods such as Price Hill that some of us will never get a chance to explore. If you ever get the chance to be in Price Hill, it’s definitely worth the visit.

Parking is limited but it’s a good sign of a great restaurant in my opinion. Check them out at 4486 W 8th St, Cincinnati, OH 45238. Visit their site here to order online but it’s definitely worth the visit: https://www.mayaindiancincinnati.com/menu