Valencia

Incredible dinner and drinks. The atmosphere was perfect, and the staff was pleasant. We will return soon and highly recommend Valencia!

Valencia never disappoints! From the food, drinks and staff, it's simply top tier! It's my go to place when I'm in town.

Rarely, are we ever, blown away by any restaurant. My wife and I eat out frequently and are a tough sell for a 5 star rating. Valencia…blown away. From Chris our server, to the cocktails, to the ceviche, goat cheese, fababa Sp? (Navy bean soup) to the beef short rib (fork tender with lentils) and burger (more on this later) , we rate Valencia as one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten. Not kidding. I’m officially rating the burger as the best on the Northshore if not the south. Not south La, the ENTIRE South. If you don’t go eat this burger you are simply wasting your time eating one anywhere else. That good. Only suggestion is I would substitute the chunk breakfast style spuds with ther homemade, thin onion rings. The flan…EXPERTLY done. Best I’ve eaten anywhere. So, stop reading this, get in your car and get there. If not, you’ll have to make reservations weeks in advance.

Finally had paella and it was amazing! The flavors were amazing. Everything was so delicious I’m at a loss for words.
The drinks were fantastic definitely try a cocktail named desire.

The staff was also fantastic! The FOH manager was so friendly. It was a great experience and we will be back to try the new drink menu.

Please try them out!

On Tuesday evening my family and I had the pleasure to try Valencia Restaurant in Covington and oh my what a treat! I had heard it was owned by the same family who owns Empa Taco which is our favorite spot in Madisonville so I couldn’t wait to celebrate my birthday at Valencia Restaurant.

When we arrived we were greeted by the hostess and the manager. We did not have a reservation, which was not a issue and they asked if we preferred inside or outside dining. I said I’d love to be outside but there are no tables open and the manager said give me one minute. When then watched him rearrange some 2 tops to make a larger table and set us up nicely on their front deck. Our server Christopher was quick to stop by, fill our water glasses and introduce us to the menu. He explained because the meal is all made fresh it is their preference to take the entire order at once and explained the paella (which is why I was there) could take 30-40 minutes to prepare. (Having eaten Spanish food around the country I was well aware good paella typically takes that long).

To start we decided to have their red sangria and it was sooo good, the fruit in it was fresh and yummy. For our meal we decided to have the Creamy Goat Cheese & Pork Belly Bites. Keep in mind I had my children with me (11 & 13) who are typically picky eaters and I ended up having to fight the kids for the pork bellies which have an amazing sauce on them and beg my wife to share the creamy goat cheese with me. The orange marmalade on the goat cheese was to die for!

After we finished our appetizers our server Christopher kept our glasses full and made sure to check on us while we enjoyed the ambiance of their front deck while awaiting our paella! I would say Christopher or the manager would come by at least every 5 minutes to check in and provide an update on the progress of our entrees. We waited maybe 10 minutes between courses but that wasn’t a surprise as they told us from the moment we sat that the paella was made fresh and would take some time. Yall….. it was soooooo worth the wait!

For our main entrées we ordered the Charred Grilled Spanish Octopus, the Paella Valencia for 2 and of course some chicken nuggets off the kids menu. The octopus came with 4 large pieces of meat and was served over a grilled pineapple with capers and bed of grilled potatoes with a great sauce. Everyone at the table enjoyed this dish and my wife, who doesn’t typically finish a plate made sure not to leave anything on this one. But people, the Paella Valencia was the start of the show! It was cooked to perfection and every bite was scrumptious. The pan was filled with large shrimp, sausage, chicken, prawns, calamari, mussels, & andouille! Even my children enjoyed this dish because they were able to pull out the meats they enjoy and just avoid things like mussels. As much as I wanted to eat the entire pan, last night I was very happy to enjoy this paella as leftovers and it rewarmed just a good!

Overall, I would say:
Atmosphere = A+
Service = A+
Food = A++

Would I return and dine here again? Hell I texted a group of 10 people on the way home saying we MUST all come here because it was so good!

***I did not think to take photos, I borrowed these from other reviews to show some of what we had.