
Cafe La Maze
1441 Highland Ave, National City, CA 91950
About Cafe La Maze - steak house in San Diego, California
1940s steakhouse with classic red leather booths & mod light fixtures serving beef & seafood dishes.
Customer Review Summary
Cafe La Maze offers a mix of experiences based on customer reviews. Many patrons enjoy the nostalgic atmosphere, reminiscent of an old school steakhouse, complete with friendly service and live music. They praise the quality of food, especially the prime rib, steak, and various appetizers, noting that prices have increased but quality is generally maintained. However, some customers report disappointing experiences with food quality and service, mentioning issues like overcooked meat and poorly prepared dishes. The ambiance has received mixed feedback due to distractions like TVs clashing with live performances. Overall, while there are commendable aspects, inconsistencies in food quality and service have led to divided opinions among diners.
Key Features
Service options
- Delivery
- Takeout
- Dine-in
Highlights
- Fast service
- Great beer selection
- Great cocktails
- Great coffee
- Great dessert
- Great wine list
- Live music
Popular for
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Solo dining
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible entrance
- Wheelchair accessible parking lot
- Wheelchair accessible restroom
- Wheelchair accessible seating
Offerings
- Alcohol
- Beer
- Cocktails
- Coffee
- Comfort food
- Happy hour drinks
- Happy hour food
- Hard liquor
- Late-night food
- Wine
Dining options
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Dessert
- Seating
Amenities
- Bar onsite
- Restroom
Atmosphere
- Casual
- Cozy
- Historic
- Romantic
- Trendy
- Upscale
Crowd
- Groups
- Tourists
Planning
- Dinner reservations recommended
- Accepts reservations
Payments
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
- NFC mobile payments
Children
- Good for kids
- High chairs
Parking
- Free parking lot
- Free street parking
Customer Reviews
Rating Distribution
Martha Contreras
We had a great time there. My cousins and sisters had a blast, great food, great service, great music, lots of dancing and great company 👍🏽🫶🏽✌🏽💚
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.
Carlos Cornejo
Great relaxing Atmosphere to have lunch or dinner. food was delicious👍👍 Excellent waitress service by jasmine Highly recommended for friends or family to have a good meal with great prices. Had 5 appetizers all delicious and fast service was there a fee years back for dinner can't wait to try dinner. new owner and management new great stuff on menu 😋 👌
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.
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.
Hazem Saba
We tried this place under new ownership and all we can say is wow. From the delicious appetizers, amazing drinks at the bar, and the ribeye steak, all was beyond delicious. The staff was amazing and very attentive. We will definitely be back for more food, great live entertainment, and many more happy memories for our family. Thanks Cafe La Maze.
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!
Krisztina Sierra
First visit. Wrong drinks, low quality food, both ordered medium prime rib, one was undercooked, one overcooked. One missing the au jus. Mashed potatoes scooped like ice cream. Two water glasses brought out with lipstick on them. Crouton crumbs all over salad, fries seemed like frozen bagged. Overpriced for quality and presentation. Two TVs playing two different movies clashed with the live entertainment and cheapened the ambiance. Very disappointing for such a long established local icon. Manager made efforts with the service, hence the second star.
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