El Pati de la Pepa — Restaurant in Valencia

We had the pleasure of relaxing here for a cold drink and a bite earlier today and let me tell you, JusBel and his lovely team more than lived up to their reviews! The place is in the heart of all the action in El Carmen quite close to the Mercat and Lonja and yet they have created a breezy oasis with seating inside and out where you feel like you could be in Havana. Beer was cold, my tinto verano refreshing and perfect for a warm September day. The gambas were by far THE BEST we’ve had since moving to Spain - marinated in garlic, spices and oil, perfectly cooked (thank you Carolina!) and arrived with bread for sopping up the delicious garlic oil! In addition we shared carnitas tacos which were scrumptious, slow cooked citrus infused pork with enough delightfully piggy bacon fat, red onion and cilantro to leave you wishing you’d not shared! We really enjoyed our time here and as we were preparing to go, postres were mentioned and in particular, legendarily good Quatro Leches (we lived in SoFl for many years so feel like we’re in a strong position to judge Cuban cuisine). Fortunately we ordered just ONE with two spoons - good thing too as JusBel served it with a splash of Amaretto which made it even more ridiculous, please do NOT miss this option when you come! All in all, fantastic place with wonderful friendly service and delicious food. We...

The only thing I could say against this place is they didn't have all the ingredients for the drink I initially wanted at the time we went. That being said, everything else was worth more than 5 stars. The owner himself seated us and helped with waiting and bussing tables, which is a sure sign of a quality human. He is incredibly personable and as genuine a human as anyone could find. We had a blast bonding over gym stuff and his grandmother's recipes (some sort of Cuban Chicken Wing "Casserole", and it was To. Die. For.) And we even got a picture with him after our dinner. Personal recommendations: get the agua de valencia, because it's amazing and you will not regret it (pace yourself though if you wanna walk home). Also, as mentioned above, the chicken casserole is absolutely incredible. As for timing, we showed up shortly after they had opened for dinner service and we got a seat right away, but by the time we left they were full, so plan accordingly. The rest of the service was also fantastic, and I can't recommend this place highly enough if and when you're in Valencia!! The best place we ate while we were...

I do not recommend it. If I could put zero star I would, trust me. Bear in mind I only ordered 3 tapas and a jarra of sangria and I ended up paying €42. Let's start : Small portions (5 shrimps for the tapas) - Btw it is called on the menu shrimp and then on the bill, Gambas weirdly. The croquettas were ok and the patatas uncooked. Outdoor terrace tables not stable. They tend to forget people sitting in the terrace. To order you need to call them. And now, the jarra of sangria is €18. I asked which type of wine they used and the waitress only replied to me that this is the normal price. I mean this is the price of a bottle of good wine. I meant here Sangria is just a portion of some red wine mixed with fruit juices such as orange juice. So either the wine they used is a grand cru or the fruits come from a small valley where they they used a bottle of Evian to water each of them! Nothing here justifies such a high price and even when I asked there was no explanation.

I honestly felt...