Valencia — Restaurant in Covington

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...

Beware of the price on the Paella Valencia. In large print, it says $31.00. We just dined there for lunch today and the server told us it was a dish that could only be ordered for 2 or 4 people. So we said that was fine because we both wanted it for lunch. We were going to share it. Not once did the server say that the price of $31 would be DOUBLED for 2 people. We were in shock when the bill showed $62. If you can’t order a single order of paella, then don’t put a single order price on the menu! The prices should show paella for 2…$62 and paella for 4….$124. BE HONEST, FOLKS! Have some integrity. WE GOT DUPED ONCE. We will not eat there again. The manager said “the server tried to explain it to you,” but obviously he dIdn’t. My partner and I have dined in fine dining restaurants all over the world and have never experienced this.

We ordered the pork belly app and the paella Valencia, both were good, not great. We’ve had better!

In response, the manager defended the server saying the prices were explained, but clearly they were not. We would not have ordered the dish had we known it was double the price. In reading all of your previous reviews, I see that there are other customers who have had similar comments about the priciness of this dish for what you get. The server never mentioned the price of the dish. I did not yell at the manager, but I didn’t appreciate the lack of professionalism in his handling of this matter. An apology was in order, not a defense of his service staff. The manager should have tried to solve the problem and smooth things over. That is his role in the restaurant—to make sure that his customers have enjoyed their dining experience and WANT to return to the restaurant. Repeat business is vital, especially for a new restaurant. This “trying to please” attitude was non-existent in our conversation. We are not inexperienced diners nor are we irresponsible diners. We could have stiffed the server for his lack of service, but we gave him a “pass” and left him a $25 tip. Being written off by your management was the icing on the cake. We will not be back and your restaurant will not be recommended to...

The food was awesome, but we were very disappointed in service.First of all, we made a reservation, but we were told when we got there there were no tables available inside, but we would be seated outside. We did not want to eat outside as it was rather warm. They did get us a table inside which was great. We ordered appetizers , dinner and a bottle of wine. After the bottle we decided to get one more glass as you have the same wine on the menu. Your glass of the same wine is cheaper than getting it by the bottle, which is unusual, so we simply asked our waitress why that was so.. Her response was, “Well, now you know”..We felt like she was very flippant.Then, we weren’t offered coffee or dessert. Then, as we were finishing up sips of our last glass of wine, the lights were turned on and they were beginning to clean up. I understand you close at 9:00, but our reservation was at 7:30. And the Paella took quite a while to prepare and that was fine with us, because we understand it takes time to prepare excellent food! We just felt it was a bit rude to make us feel kicked out! I looked at my watch when we walked out the door and it was 9:10. Was it really necessary to turn the lights on customers right at 9:00 when we were finishing up? I hate writing this negative review, but the owners need to know. I hope this constructive criticism is taken to heed. You have a beautiful restaurant with great food. Please don’t let your service keep people from...