Maynards Market and Kitchen

While staying at the Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson, we couldn’t resist walking across the street to check out Maynards Market & Kitchen. Located in the old Tucson train station, Maynards Market is an easy going wine bar and the Kitchen is a fine dining experience all under the same roof. The best part is, you have full view of the still very much active railroad tracks behind the station.

The staff on both sides of the restaurant are some of the most friendly people I have come across in Arizona. Tucson’s hospitality continues to wow me year after year. With that said, the following meals were comped however it does not affect my opinion on my experience.

The Market is very easy going with a great selection of sandwiches and my personal favourite – poutine! Yes, there is a Canadian in the kitchen and he is doing the classic dish more than justice. Quebec cheese curds with a roasted duck gravy – what more can you ask for? You also have the option of added foie gras!

[2024 UPDATE: poutine is no longer available. Check out their full menu here.]

For the vegetarians out there, they do have a veggie garden sandwich and a vegan beet sandwich.

In addition to the lunch offerings at the counter service market, there’s also an excellent spread of local treats. Thanks to the Hotel Congress mini bar, I have become obsessed with the Prickly Pear gummy candies and jelly. This is the ultimate souvenir gift to bring back to Canada for your friends and family. The packaging is so cute that I’ve kept it all these years later and still use it to hold SD cards. Just saying!

The ambience in the Kitchen is what I imagine a ritzy old dining car on a train to be like. Dark wood, heavy furniture, and a long elegant bar. The restaurant also overlooks the train tracks for your viewing pleasure. Katie and I were so excited about the menu at Maynards Kitchen that I can unashamedly admit we overate just to try all the wonderful dishes. We started with the Chef’s Board charcuterie and it was a well balanced dream. We kept mixing and matching condiments, meats, and cheeses willy nilly but everything went together beautifully.

The real stand out to me was the Beet Salad. Normally a salad with beets in it is pretty standard but they took it to the next level. Here are the ingredients: Salt roasted golden beet, farmers cheese, charred onion, tarragon, cocoa nibs, red radish, watercress, hibiscus vinaigrette. Is your mouth not watering? If the answer is no, you must not have a pulse.

For our main courses, I had the seafood bouillabaisse which was happiness in a bowl. Katie had the pan-roasted duck which I can confirm was MIND BLOWING because I insisted she share. We did not make it to dessert so I will have to make a return visit to report back on that one.

For vegetarians (which I have since returned to being after this post went live) there’s plantain stuffed ravioli that sounds absolutely delightful.

When visiting Tucson Arizona, I cannot recommend eating at Maynards Market and Kitchen enough. It’s the best mix of casual daytime meals and fine dining for dinnertime. The historic building and cozy atmosphere only adds to the overall experience. This is a must for any train enthusiast!