Velero's Restaurant Mexican cuisine — Restaurant in Valparaiso

Sat for 15 minutes before anyone came to the table except we were poured some water. Took another 10+ minutes (yes 25minutes) to get some drinks. Our server Brian said sorry your waiting so long. Chips and salsa that are usually built into the menu was a charge. There was 4 of us (2 couples) and were given a tiny bowl of salsa, barely enough for 1 person. Asked for a few more small bowls of salsa, 4 more charges on the bill for each of the 2oz of salsa! A small rock glass margarita $13, take out the ice and maybe a few oz. total margarita. 3 of us ordered chicken enchiladas with mole sauce and the enchiladas were luke warm with cool mole sauce in all 3 of our dishes, not very tasty and no one came back we could tell the food wasn't hot. We didn't see our server Brian for another 20 minutes. Brian made 3 total appearance at our table; #1 he took our order which consisted of appetizer, (drinks n dinner) all at once.#2 He brought the drinks then #3 the bill, he never checked on us or our food. Someone else brought us the food. Next time we saw our server was him bringing us the bill. The rice was good. Thankfully the young lady filling water was able to get us additional chips (we saw her way more than the server Brian). The food was not to their standards like when they were on Calumet. The place is modern looking but food and service and charging extra for a couple ounces of salsa, no thank you. Nice to see a couple familiar faces in there but they weren't dealing with taking orders. Until this place gets their act together the four of us (and our families) will not...

My Valentine's Day dinner at Velero's in Valparaiso was a disappointing experience. This was my second visit to the restaurant, though the first was at their previous location. While this current location on Indiana Ave is larger, the parking situation is still less than ideal. Street parking is available, which is a plus. We were seated immediately, but it took a good ten minutes for our server to even take our drink order. After that, another ten minutes passed before he returned to take our food order.

Around that time, a musician began playing, and it was incredibly loud. It made conversation at our table nearly impossible. The noise level was simply overwhelming. When the food finally arrived, everyone at the table agreed that it was dry and overcooked. Nothing stood out in a positive way. I had ordered the Steak Enchiladas with red sauce, based on the server's recommendation. The steak was tough and overcooked, and instead of the red sauce I expected, the enchiladas were covered in a white sauce. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't what I ordered, and the overcooked steak ruined the dish.

The only bright spot was the Mexican rice, which was surprisingly flavorful. However, this one positive aspect wasn't enough to salvage the overall experience.

Overall, the experience was far from enjoyable. I can understand the appeal of live music, especially in the summer when they have outdoor seating, but inside, it's just too loud for a pleasant dinner. I won't...

We had the good pleasure of dinning here for the first time Sunday, early evening. Service was welcoming and friendly. Menu was well diversified, not the usual south of the border fare. Lime Margaritas we’re in the best of NWI quality, shaming the chains. Regular guacamole may very well be the best we’ve had and surely no less than equal to the best. Can’t wait to try their other varieties. (Yes, there’s more) Tuna with habanero mango is in a league of its own. Habanero Mango sauce will set you free and the tuna tender and fresh. We followed these appetizers with a simple grilled chicken salad. We were satiated with the richness of the appetizers, eating more was out of the question by then. Knowing at this point that the the chicken and avocado dressing were going to be a special treat, we couldn’t help but sample it. The chicken seasoned (marinated?) to perfection and the avocado dressing a whole new taste treat. It was almost painful denying ourselves these salads as we boxed them to go. But, oh boy, lunch today is going to be special. Thank you Luis (our new friend for ever) for a wonderful dining experience. Be careful bringing a new or newer date here, the focus will quickly shift from that special someone to the food. Knowing what We know now I still don’t really understand that even on a Sunday evening how we were able to get a table. So do us a solid and don’t let anyone else know about this place. I’m afraid if word gets out we’ll have a hard time...