Maynards Kitchen & Bottle Shop

I've been going to Maynard's since they opened. Interestingly they either have the best food in Tucson or it's just eh. It depends on who the current chef is and their menu Some seasons I want to eat everything on the menu and some, I have a hard time finding anything. Right now it's the best meal in Tucson. We ordered 3 appetizers for 2 of us. We were going to order a fourth but we got full. I asked the server to pace the food and was promised that would happen, but of course everything came at once.

First time having dinner, make a note reservations are always best. We sat upstairs, very fancy, l felt a bit underdressed. Didn't really know what to expect, and when the host asks if you have questions, you should ask. I had the duck breast with root vegetables, it was delicious. My one friend had the chicken, and another friend had the mushroom risotto. Now when they said, "Would you like to add scallops?", they didn't say you would be paying 9.00 for each scallop. It should have said "each" on the menu. She said they were delicious, but it was a shock when the check arrived. We did receive a free mini panacotta before the meal and also had some roasted brussel sprouts. All and all it was delicious.

Maynards was recommended to me by a coworker, and it did not disappoint. The food was extremely flavorful and the portions were just right. We got to experience the first of their new summer menu. The atmosphere was intimate and neat since it’s located in an old train station. We got lucky to sit inside since we did not make a reservation, so I highly recommend making one in advance. My only wish was for the cocktails to be a tad bigger (sorry did not take a picture). Other than that it made for a perfect date night!

Pros: The roasted beet appetizer ($13) was great -- the beets were silky and the flavors were strong and went together nicely. The cocktails we got (City Slicker and Harvest Moon, both $15) were also flavorful and fun. The service was consistently amazing -- our waitress was helpful, knowledgeable, and attentive without hovering. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was nice. Cons: Unfortunately, almost everything else was mid. And it was way too expensive for almost everything to be mid. The beef tartare ($22) had a pretty good flavor and texture but came with the limpest French fries I've ever eaten. The oysters were $4.50 each, tiny, and generically fishy (though, to be fair, they had a great texture). The amuse bouche (complimentary) was a mealy, watery tomato over a grocery-store quality focaccia. We got two entrees: the seared divers scallops ($43) and the mushroom steak with mole ($27). All three of the scallops were cooked well, but there was no seared crust on any of them and they were very salty. The mushroom steak itself had a good flavor and bite, but the mole was uninspiring and the accompanying squash was undercooked and unseasoned. Like, raw pumpkin. But man. The dessert was so bad that it was funny. Maybe that's on us for getting a $12 deconstructed "cookies and milk" dessert, but even so. The "cookie milk" was the most offensive -- a generous pour of sour-smelling, clotting, unflavored milk. I got a chunk of soft floating milk fat in my last sip. We did not finish the milk. They definitely did something to it, but it didn't taste like cookies or anything. The "cookies" were a comically large pile of fine crumbs. Eating them was strongly reminiscent of the end of a nature valley granola bar, in both flavor and texture. The cookie was? Maybe a generic shortbread? The crumbs were paired with the tiniest smear of chocolate cremoso imaginable. This had a sad puddle of olive oil and some flaky salt on it. It was basically a tablespoon of pretty good chocolate ganache on the side of a mountain of, again, shortbread(?) cookie crumbs. We initially tried to sit outside, but there were loud (LOUD) trains going by every 3-7 minutes, 30 feet from the entire outdoor dining area. You could not hear the person across from you. In their defense, they moved us inside promptly and graciously as soon as we asked to move. Anyway, we used a gift card and had a good time laughing at the dessert. We won't be back unless someone else is paying and set on going here and nowhere else.

Love the historical setting and the way they have maintained the history. The menu had just recently changed, and everything was delicious. Our service was friendly and prompt. It was a lovely experience.

beautiful ambiance and environment. went for an evening date and the lighting was perfect! everything we ate was incredible, photos are of the pivot salad and butternut cream pasta- some of the best pasta i’ve ever had!

Just some of the best food we've had in Tucson! First I'll start with the decor and location. It's located at the Amtrak station building and is a very unique restaurant. Walking in you notice it's not a very large restaurant but is very quaint. The bar area to the right and down below via steps is the dining area. Old style like the Old Pueblo but stunning and beautiful as you'll see in the pictures. Our wait staff was John and he was an outstanding waiter, very personable. The rest of the wait staff was also friendly. Now for the food and drink. I ordered the Maynards Old Fashioned and it was one of the best I've had. Maynard's menu is seasonal so what you see today you might not see next month because this restaurant uses local/regional meats and produce. Yesterday Chef Brian Smith knocked it out of the park! We ordered the $75 per person course which is a 6-course meal with a dessert at the end. You'll see a 7th in my photos because we were celebrating my wife's birthday. She didn't like the churro dessert because the creme fraiche was too smoky but I thought it was fabulous (I like smokey food). You don't really know what you're getting as it's chef prepared and changes from day to day. I won't explain each course but when you look through the pictures you'll see how wonderful each dish looks and tastes even better. Our favorite was the steak course and the heirloom tomato course but everything was wonderful and we don't think it could have been any better. We'll be back for sure to try another round. Thanks Chef!

IMHO this is the best restaurant in Tucson right now. The train station setting very romantic, the staff very professional and friendly and the food outstanding. The menu changes frequently however it can be assured that the oyster mushrooms with caramelized whey and salsa Matcha Will be on the menu, do not miss it. The beef tartare was great As was the duck comfy with dirty rice.