At the moment, this tiny, brightly-painted takeaway is a closely-kept secret known only to the residents of River St, if the number of followers it has on Twitter is any indication – 4, if you’re interested, including me. But believe me, the rest of you are missing out.
The takeaway that preceded Maya was more your average late-night stopping point for chips & kebabs, and I’ve got a feeling that it’s casting a shadow over the new business, but the two couldn’t be more different. This is definitely not your average takeaway joint – there are no lurid photographs accompanying the entries on the menu, no haze of grease in the air – it’s just good food that you can take home in a box.
The main thing on the menu is pizza, which is freshly made to order and topped with delicious ingredients that wouldn’t look out of place in a good sit-down Italian restaurant – parma ham, rocket, goat’s cheese, artichokes. I’d especially recommend the calzone, but I’m yet to order a Maya pizza which I didn’t enjoy. The crust is particularly good – crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside – so make sure you order some garlic mayonnaise to dip your crusts into.
You can also get pasta dishes and salads, which I have to admit I haven’t tried yet (the pizzas are too tempting) but which sound equally delicious, and a burger or a hot dog if you want to keep it traditional, but pizza is the real star of the menu.
Finally, not only is the food great, but it’s really good value, too – all the pizzas are less than £10, so it’s much cheaper than Domino’s (and much better), and delivery is free within three miles. There’s really no excuse not to tuck in, so come on – help me get this fabulous little independent the following it deserves. Their website isn’t running yet, but you can find them on Facebook (Maya Takeaway) and on Twitter (@mayatakeaway), or pop in to see them at 10, Rivers St Place.
