Paulina's Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Victorville

My wife & I moved to the area WAY BACK in 1999, & after 20 years, FINALLY a restaurant with excellent Mexican food, service & ambiance in Paulina's! When we 1st started dating, I took her to La Paloma (in La Verne) as some friends had turned me on to it. Good was good (not GREAT, but GOOD), nice, authentic ambiance, prices, service and EXCELLENT chips & salsa. Moved up here, tried a few places like El Tia Pepe....nice ambiance, good was bland, disappointing (red sauce on enchiladas, wet burritos akin to sauce in Spagettios😒). A few other spots, too, but not memorable enough to recall. Tried the new Pancho Villa's about a year ago, TREMENDOUS ambiance/atmosphere, beautiful place....food was eh...ok, I guess (to be fair, I typically get either enchiladas-chicken, more often than not, & wet burritos. I figure if something as basic as those 2 dishes, especially the red sauce, doesn't leave me wanting more, then I've no desire to try anything else on the menu. (To be fair, I have heard that this place does have some excellent dishes-like the ceviche & their seafood brunch- from family members who grew up with & KNOW EXCELLENT, AUTHENTIC Mexican food, but I'll have to take their word for it). After years of looking for a local spot & numerous disappointments, we gave up & just drove all the way down to La Paloma for our Mexican food dining experiences. HOWEVER, last weekend, were short on time, but wanted to get in a long overdue date night, so Googled the local spots & went over the reviews. Paulina's stood out with a 4.8 out of 5 stars, so we figured we'd try it. Had hope, but not high expectations, given 2 decades of disappointments in the local spots.....but, WOW!!!! SOOOO GLAD we found THIS place. Tucked in the corner of a small strip-mall I'd never even really noticed before, this little gem was WELL worth the time! Inside, it's small, but we immediately liked the ambiance as it had that authentic Mexican restaurant feel, but with a fresh, updated/modern look/decor. We're seated quickly & immediately had chips & salsa served to us, as the waiter took our drink order. Not a huge menu, but some interesting choices (more than just Mexican food, some even mixed/blended)so as soon as he brought our drinks, we were ready to order. I got the .......you guessed it,...chicken enchilada dish, my wife the cheese enchiladas (she's vegetarian & while they had a good assortment of vegetarian & vegan dishes, she wanted something more traditional). For me, good enchiladas begin with the sauce...& in Paulina's red/roja sauce, NOT ONLY was I not disappointed, but I was impressed! The only other restaurant I've ever had sauce as good- that I was actually excited about & couldn't wait to have again- was Avila's Ranchero Mexican restaurant in Newport Beach (they have several locations along the coast, but only as far inland as Irvine....but ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL Mexican food!). Well, Paulina's chicken enchilada dish was right up there! Can't tell you how happy we were to FINALLY find a local place with Mexican food we both loved, can't wait to have again & a place to call our own! Family owned & operated, homemade sauce, tortillas,... everything & the quality really shines! I hope I'm not overstating it, but if you've never been, & are looking for ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS Mexican food, EXCELLENT service & REALLY NICE, COZY ambiance, you should DEFINITELY check this place out. Prices were competitive (seemed a tad higher than our regular spot (LA Paloma), but I didn't have to order any of my favorite sides (sour cream, guacamole), as they were included.... so, came out about the same, minus the 2 hour round trip & gas to boot. HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Chicken Enchiladas!!! Confident you won't be...

In short this is some of the best Mexican food I have had in my life. Not only is this place worth visiting if you are in Victorville, is is worth driving to Victorville for.

Every time my wife and I have eaten here we have been treated with the best customer service and food we could expect. The food is top notch and fresh. Although we live in Lancaster, CA - sometimes we make the hour drive to Victorville just to eat at this wonderful place. Our favorite is the chile relleno, but everything we have had here has been the best. One of the things I always judge a place on is just if they get the basics right, and this place certainly does. Even the simple rice and beans, the salsa and chips, every item we have had here is done with attention to detail and to perfection. The staff is amazingly courteous and attentive. This is just an amazing restaurant that we hope receives all the success and acclaim it truly deserves. If you love Mexican food, you must go to this restaurant! I have attached a photo of thier special, In short this is some of the best Mexican food I have had in my life. Not only is this place worth visiting if you are in Victorville, is is worth driving to Victorville for.

Every time my wife and I have eaten here we have been treated with the best customer service and food we could expect. The food is top notch and fresh. Although we live in Lancaster, CA - sometimes we make the hour drive to Victorville just to eat at this wonderful place. Our favorite is the chile relleno, but everything we have had here has been the best. One of the things I always judge a place on is just if they get the basics right, and this place certainly does. Even the simple rice and beans, the salsa and chips, every item we have had here is done with attention to detail and to perfection. The staff is amazingly courteous and attentive. This is just an amazing restaurant that we hope receives all the success and acclaim it truly deserves. If you love Mexican food, you must go to this restaurant!

I have attached a photo of their special,...

Please follow us on Facebook at SNDTravels. What a great find in Victorville CA. With good reviews and a recommendation from our hotel we decided to checkout Paulina's. This is not a taco joint but an non-conformist Mexican restaurant that makes everything by hand and changes some items daily. The menu includes rib-eye steak, swordfish, salmon along with some Mexican food staples. Diane and I had fajitas for two with steak, chicken and shrimp and that included rice, beans, sour cream and guacamole. Diane had a salad and I had the chicken and celery cream soup. Everything was very good. All three meats were cooked perfectly and the sides were well seasoned and enjoyable. The homemade salsa was chuncky with well balanced ingredients with just the right amount of heat. The soup was so good I could have just had that for dinner. The soup changes daily so you never know what will be available. They say if you've tried a soup you enjoyed that if you call earlier in the day they will make it for you. Jose, our server, has been there since they opened 12 years ago and not only knows what to recommend but you can tell that he truly believes in the quality of their food. Can't wait to get the opportunity to come back and try something new. Highly recommended! THE NEXT EVENING! Stuck in town unexpectedly so here we are. Diane had chicken and beef nachos and she said the beef was even more tender than the night before. That's saying something. I had the rib-eye with chipotle butter. They hand cut their own steaks and it was melt in your mouth with and outstanding grilled flavor. This place is a...