Maya Palenque — Novato destination for Mexican flavors, margaritas, and a lively bar scene on Enfrente Road. Expect a full menu alongside drinks, weekend DJ nights, and weekly karaoke — check mayapalenque.com for current events and specials. Happy hour is posted Monday–Friday, 2:00 PM–7:00 PM.

Maya Palenque — Novato's Most Beloved Family-Owned Mexican Restaurant, Built from Reclaimed Timber & Authentic Yucatan Recipes Since 1976

There are Mexican restaurants in Marin County. And then there is Maya Palenque — a place so deeply rooted in the Novato community, so authentically connected to the culinary traditions of the Yucatan Peninsula, and so genuinely distinctive in its building, its food, and its energy that it occupies a category entirely its own. Since 1976, this family-owned institution on Enfrente Road has been feeding North Marin with the kind of honest, deeply flavored, organically sourced Mexican cooking that comes from genuine recipes, genuine care, and a genuine love for the people who walk through the door.

Maya Palenque Restaurant was first established in 1976 by the Lepe family, who had authentic recipes from Yucatan, Mexico. Nearly five decades later, it remains one of the most singular dining experiences in all of Marin County — a community institution that has survived every economic cycle, every culinary trend, and every challenge the North Bay has produced, sustained by the loyalty of generations of Novato families who return not because they have to but because nowhere else quite delivers what Maya Palenque does.

The Building — Built by Hand from an Abandoned Gold Mine

Before you taste a single bite of food at Maya Palenque, the building itself tells you that you are somewhere genuinely different. In 1984, they built this unique building from all refurbished timber and lumber like telephone poles, train track rails, and other material from an abandoned gold mine. The result is one of the most architecturally distinctive restaurant buildings in all of Marin County — a structure assembled from reclaimed industrial materials that carries the accumulated history of California's mining and railroad past in its walls, its beams, and the gorgeous carved wooden bar that regulars cite as one of its most beautiful features. The gorgeous carved wooden bar is not a decorator's choice — it is a piece of genuine craftsmanship that gives the interior a warm, dark, deeply characterful quality entirely consistent with a restaurant that has always valued authenticity over appearances.

The Story of Ownership — Two 37-Year Employees Who Kept the Dream Alive

The most remarkable chapter in Maya Palenque's nearly half-century history is not its founding but its transition — a story of loyalty, investment, and community commitment that reflects everything the restaurant has always stood for.

Starting in 2014, Maya Palenque Restaurant was purchased by two standing employees, Carlos and Joe. Carlos, who had already been part of the Maya Palenque family for 23 years, and Joe, who had been part of the family for 14, reinvented the Maya Palenque restaurant to the jewel it is today.

Twenty-three years and fourteen years respectively — employees who had grown up in this restaurant, who knew its recipes and its regulars and its rhythms as well as anyone alive — chose to invest their futures in keeping it going rather than let it pass to outside hands. With Luis, their new kitchen manager, they created an all-organic menu. Hand-picking all the products, Maya Palenque is able to serve the freshest tasting dish to each guest. Their goal is to keep Maya Palenque Restaurant serving this wonderful community for another 40 years and beyond.

That transition — from founding family to loyal employees, united by the same commitment to quality and community — is one of the most genuinely heartwarming restaurant ownership stories in Marin County. And the organic menu that Carlos, Joe, and Luis built together has elevated Maya Palenque from a beloved neighborhood Mexican restaurant into something more deliberate and more distinguished.

The Food — Ancient Maya Cuisine, All-Organic Ingredients, Fresh Every Day

Step beyond standard Mexican fare into ancient Maya cooking from the Yucatan through Belize, El Salvador and Guatemala — with regional treasures like Pupusas, Tacos Chapines and Hilachas served in a relaxed, family-friendly room. That description — ancient Maya cooking spanning the full breadth of Mesoamerican culinary tradition — distinguishes Maya Palenque from every other Mexican restaurant in North Marin County. This is not California-Mexican fusion or Tex-Mex comfort food. It is a direct connection to the Yucatan recipes that the Lepe family brought north in 1976, maintained and elevated by a kitchen that sources its ingredients with the same care a farmers market chef would bring to a tasting menu.

Mexican food, grill and bar — always fresh ingredients, hand-picking all the products in order to serve the freshest tasting ingredients to guests. Best service, best food, best drinks and best atmosphere.

Make a meal of Maya's special Chile verde — slow cooked chunks of pork served in the restaurant's special home-style tomatillo sauce. The chicken with pineapple — one of the rotating specials that reflects the Yucatan tradition of combining savory proteins with tropical fruit — has developed its own following among regulars who time their visits around its availability. The prawns with peppers are thoroughly enjoyed by those who order them, and the chicken nachos stand out for being "clean" — meaning you can taste the individual flavors and they aren't goopy. The salsas — homemade and consistently praised across years of reviews — are the kitchen's most direct expression of the Lepe family's original Yucatan recipes, and the shrimp appetizer is consistently singled out as a standout first course.

The menu includes kid-friendly items like chicken nuggets and a cheeseburger — kid dishes come with the bonus of a free meal — making Maya Palenque one of the most genuinely family-inclusive dining experiences in North Marin, where adults can explore authentic Yucatan cuisine while children have options that work for them.

The Bar — Margaritas, Karaoke & Saturday Night Salsa

Maya Palenque's bar — anchored by that gorgeous carved wooden bar — is one of the most vibrant and most genuinely fun bar scenes in all of Novato. The margaritas are celebrated across years of reviews as exactly what a good Mexican restaurant margarita should be: strong, fresh-made, and unapologetically delicious.

Beer on tap, margaritas, martinis, and the full range of Mexican cocktail classics are available daily — with happy hour running Monday through Friday from 2 PM to 7 PM, making Maya Palenque one of the best happy hour values in North Marin County for a weekday afternoon.

But it is the evening programming that truly sets Maya Palenque apart from every other Mexican restaurant in Novato. Every Thursday, karaoke runs late at this beloved Mexican spot known for killer margaritas and a fabulously welcoming vibe — come ready to sing, dance, and stay awhile. And Saturday nights transform Maya Palenque into a genuine party: DJ Kike spins until the early hours, turning the space into a salsa party — expect a lively crowd, strong drinks from the bar, and plenty of room to move.

That combination — a restaurant serious enough about its food to source everything organically and hand-pick every ingredient, and lively enough to host karaoke Thursday and salsa Saturday — is the most completely Novato thing about Maya Palenque, and the reason it occupies a unique position in the community that no other restaurant in North Marin can replicate.

Late Night & Catering — Novato's Most Versatile Dining Destination

Open Sunday through Wednesday until midnight, and Thursday through Saturday until 2 AM — Maya Palenque's late-night hours make it the most reliably available quality dining and bar experience in all of North Marin County. After HopMonk closes, after the other Grant Avenue restaurants have shuttered for the evening, Maya Palenque is still going — still serving fresh food, still pouring excellent margaritas, still welcoming the Novato community with the warmth that has defined this restaurant for nearly fifty years.

Maya Palenque offers inside and outside catering — hosting business meetings, wedding receptions, birthday parties, and any kind of reception. Call for a free consultation. The private event capability — in a building this distinctive, with this much history and this much food quality behind it — makes Maya Palenque one of Novato's most genuinely interesting event venues for any occasion that calls for great Mexican food and an atmosphere that no generic event space could provide.

Recommended by Marin Magazine and holding a 4.3-star Google rating across 735 reviews — numbers that reflect nearly five decades of consistent community service and genuine culinary quality.

Address: 349 Enfrente Rd, Novato, CA 94949 Phone: (415) 883-6292 Website: mayapalenque.com Instagram: @mayapalenquenovato

Open Monday–Wednesday 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM · Thursday–Saturday 11:00 AM – 2:00 AM · Sunday 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM · Happy Hour Monday–Friday 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM · Karaoke every Thursday · DJ Kike & Salsa every Saturday · Dine-in, takeout, delivery & catering available