美味(měi wèi) - delicious, tasty; a delicacy in Mandarin

美味 (měi wèi) means delicious. It works as an adjective, 这道菜很美味, and as a noun for the food itself, 桌上都是美味, where English would say delicacies or good things to eat.

Register is what you are really learning here. Spoken Mandarin says 好吃 for food and 好喝 for drink, dozens of times a day. 美味 is the written word, the one on menus, food blogs and packaging, and in speech it sounds a shade lush, the way scrumptious does in English.

The trap follows from that. A learner who compliments a friend cooking with 很美味 is understood but sounds like an advert. Say 太好吃了 instead, and save 美味 for when you are writing about the meal afterwards.