Cantina Valencia Tex-Mex & Tequila Bar — Restaurant in New York

Went here with the wife for our Anniversary, if you want Mexican food with a NYC vibe on Staten Island this is the place to be. The restaurant is very spacious, really nice artwork, great designs, and it makes your eyes wander around. But you are there for food and drink!

Appetizers: Served first chips and salsa, the chips seem like a fresh corn masa chip so it’s a bit thicker, nice crunch, perfectly salted, and holds up the guac and salsa. Salsa is good, tastes fresh and homemade!

The guac flight is amazing! The Regular Guac is fresh, simple, and flavorful, the Street Corn Guac had a very lime flavor which blended well with the corn, pico, and cotija. The pineapple bacon guac is where it’s at. The fresh chunks of pineapple, the right amount of bacon pieces, and avocado…you would be crazy to miss out on this. The Pastelitos were amazing also! The crust is flakey the chicken is super soft and tender, and the chimichurri sauce should be sold individually!

Drinks:

Started with the El Toro and Laredo…frozen fresh, perfect amount of liquor where you can definitely taste the liquor but enjoy it in the mixture. The Laredo Strawberry kick adds a wonderful flavor with the pina colada!

Then moved to the Frida and Gabriela…that’s where the game changed. My wife got the Frida and as much as I don’t personally like watermelon, this was wonderfully refreshing, something I would not mind ordering at all (and to be honest I actually loathe watermelon). The Gabriela is a ride, normally I hesitate ordering a “chipotle” drink or any drink that claims to have “heat” because it always lacks that heat…boy did this drink change the game. Pineapple Puree which tastes like candy alone, but the chipotle has an amazing Smokey flavor and the heat hits you marvelously. The best spicy/heat based drink I’ve had in years. If you don’t like spicy things avoid this, but if you are a heat lover, this drink is a must have!

We also got treated to a Margarita Flight, which proves not only do they use fresh fruit, but they have the margarita game on lock. Every one had a distinct flavor (the guava was the best in my opinion, subtle guava purée mixed well with every sip, the strawberry was vibrant and sweet, mango enhanced the regular margarita the best. Gave it the flavor to bring the regular margarita from a 10/10 to a 12/10) but the drinks were are highly refreshing and addictive. Be warned you will probably not stop after one. Get a Designated Driver ready!

Dinner:

The Birria enchiladas melted in my mouth. Whatever they used to cook the short rib was definitely pulled out of grandmas kitchen because the flavor was spot on, and the meat you could chew with no teeth. Literally melted in your mouth, and the rice and black beans were chock full of flavor, they don’t skimp on seasoning their food here with flavor and love! My wife got the Carnita Burrito with the cilantro lime rice (she did not get the cilantro lime rice which was a little upset but we let it slide being only open a week.) the meat again was melt in your mouth perfection. Everything tasted fresh and not from some frozen package. The food is definitely cooked with love here. I would have loved to try the cilantro lime rice and hope the next visit there in the next couple of days hopefully I could try it.

Every waiter, waitress, and owners were very attentive. Very knowledgeable and made you feel at home. If someone didn’t know something they had no issues asking and came back promptly to answer any questions. No one hid here which I find happens a lot during busy nights (yes even on a Wednesday night the place was packed.)

Make sure you make a reservation!!! Seeing how quickly the place filled even shocked me. My only Con…and it’s a personal qualm is the noise factor. It was a bit noisy for me, but that’s also due to how packed out the place got!

Definitely my New Mexican Food Restaurant with NYC vibes without ever leaving the island. Will definitely come back again in...

Food was pretty good. Appetizer (carne asada fries) was tasty. The quesadilla entree was also good. The rotisserie chicken was dry and bland. I left almost the entire chicken and just ate the rice and beans. May have been a fluke but I wouldnt risk it again. Rice and beans were excellent though. Waitress was very nice, helpful, and attentive.

I would have given five stars but the manager or owner (who seemed very nice) got under my skin a little bit. He asked how the chicken was as he saw I was not eating it and I told him it was dry. He apologized and said he would take it off the bill and i told him that was not necessary but he insisted. Bill came and it was unchanged. I provided my card and told the waitress that the manager had said he would adjust the bill. He came over and ensured me he took 20 percent off “the entire bill”. I thought this was a very nice gesture.

Took forever but she came back and showed me my new total! 6 dollars off of a 125 dollar bill!! She had my card so i was already charged for this but 20 percent off of 125 is 25 not 6. I realized… he took 20 percent off of the chicken only lol. Ridiculous. I wish he had just accepted when I said “that is not necessary” but instead he chose to waste my time over 6 dollars. Even if he had just accepted my refusal of the initial offer of a discount I would have given the experience a four but wasting my time to insult me with 6 dollars made my final impression of the restuarant a bad one.

I am not saying dont go. You should go. Drinks are great. Food is solid. Just dont get the chicken. And if you are offered a discount… dont give them the card until you see the bill lol.

Edit: owner or manager contacted me, apologized, and confirmed that the revised bill was an error. Very nice people. Ignoring the bill issue, i enjoyed the visit and will return. Just not getting the...

The food was decent (but that’s not the problem). It seemed as if the staff has some usual customers that dine there (that are also their friends) that could be a bit troublesome. Me and my fiancé were at the bar when these group of women showed up and sat right next to us.

I definitely don’t mind conversing with new people, nor do I mind someone sitting next to us. But what I’ve noticed was when one woman out of the group saw me and my fiancé (yes we are black), her whole mood changed. She took it upon herself to practically sit on me at the bar (butt kept bumping me).

Now this was on a weekday and there wasn’t a lot of people there, so this person sitting directly next to me was a bit odd. We came from work and decided to hang out before we decided to go home. Once the group came, the staff stopped coming to us, stopped asking if we needed anything, and only attended to them (mind you, they weren’t ordering a lot like we were).

Long story short, I had to put my arm out indicating she was way too close. She didn’t apologize, told the staff “I was doing too much”, and went over to a security guard (another friend of the group) to make it seem like we were a problem and invading their space (he didn’t do anything, thank god lol)

We were becoming usual customers, but after that moment, we decided not to come back. Sometimes it’s a bit confusing how some could display covert racist tactics and microaggressive behavior in a space where we are all suppose to just unwind from work and have a good time. And might I add there’s the Berry homes (projects) next door (predominantly people of color reside there). But unfortunately this is Staten Island and this is one of the many ways they try to say to people of color that we’re not...