Valentine's Mexican Food — Restaurant in San Diego

We came into town for the weekend and decided to try this restaurant based on the good reviews. Things started off well, but when the staff brought out the plain cheese quesadilla for my toddler, we found a fly inside (we opened it to cool it off before he ate it). Upon finding the fly, we respectfully took the quesadilla back to the counter to let the staff know. We completely understand that accidents happen, and the restaurant didn’t seem particularly dirty. The cashier didn’t apologize or anything and just took the quesadilla back to the kitchen.

Shortly after, the chef came out to our table to argue with us about what we found. The chef insisted that what we found was a piece of beef. I’ve eaten plenty of beef in my life, and from my experience, beef doesn’t have wings and legs. We remained polite and tried to say that we understand mistakes happen. We never asked for our money back or were rude. We simply took the food back to inform the staff so they were aware. Nonetheless, the chef continued to accuse us of being argumentative, rude, and simply wrong about what we found. After several minutes of this, the chef stormed back to the kitchen.

We proceeded to get up and leave with our meal unfinished. The food here was mediocre at best (even excluding the fly) and the service was outright unacceptable. We will never return to this restaurant!...

Valentine's is a venerable and cheap late night stop on my walk home from Gaslamp. Although their carnitas tacos don't blow me away, they get the job done after several drinks. Don't make the mistake of ordering more than a couple (as I've done in the past), as the closer you get to something, the more clearly you see its flaws. In the case of Valentine's, it is the amount of grease in each taco that brings the flavor.

This is a solid, if unspectacular taco shop, that also offers decent sopes, burritos, flautas, and other Mexican-American fare. There aren't a lot of great taco options in or within short walking distance from Gaslamp, so I'd have to say that it is a good spot for the area.

Do check out the various hot sauces at the salsa bar. They have varying and unique degrees of heat and flavor, and can even be combined to add more life to your tacos.

Also, I'd say that if you're an American tourist and not from SoCal, you'll really like this place. Just about any taco you get in San Diego is better than what you have at home, so please be aware that my review is measuring Valentine's against its peers across the city, rather than against whatever lettuce/sour cream-smothered abominations called tacos that exists where...

As both a resident and jobholder of the Downtown San Diego area, finding quick, easy, affordable, and quality food has become somewhat of a never-ending quest; Valentines has been continuously a holy grail, if you will, when it comes to satisfying those late night cravings.

While some may say "it's not the best" these individuals simply have not taken all that this downtown gem has to offer and going for it:

1. Price - easily $2 cheaper than the nearest competitor (I won't name names, but they are on E Street between 4th and 5th) on almost all options across the menu
2. Quality - true family feel when ordering, waiting, and enjoying your food. A lot of places change slightly based on who is in the kitchen; eating here over and over, i am always delighted to have the same taste experience
3. Service - over the phone and in person, they are always very patience and polite; sounds minuscule, but when your waiting in a restaurant full of drunkards, a little service goes a long way in making you feel like that $12 burrito is worth it ;-)

Oh...and if you're still not convinced: self-serve salsa bar is...