Vallarta's

13731 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33618
813.264.7691
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Vallarta's in Temple Terrace is THE BEST Mexican restaurant in Tampa Bay. Succulent food, all the chips and salsa you can eat and humongous margaritas. Good COLD beer as well.

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2 reviews for Vallarta's

4.5 out of 5 Overall User Rating

AnotherGringo

User Rating

7/31/2009

Last Review - Right Restaurant, Maybe Wrong Location

My family and I have eaten regularly at the Anderson Road location, and have never had a bad meal. One of the things we've noticed is that every time we go in, there are a lot Mexicans (notice I didn't say Cubans or Columbians) there, though there are some as well. And we also seem to hear a lot of Texas accents. The food is good, I like the Tamales myself (Mexican not Cuban) as does my son the chef, and Chile Rellenos. I haven't tried but overhear a lot folks ordering the Carnitas. The one bad side is that the enchiladas sometimes seem to be nothing more than burritos, depending on the night and cook. The menu is really more unabashedly Tex-Mex than anything, so who cares what all those folks on another site who brag about how much time they's spent in Mexico have to say. This location has an open kitchen, so you can see for yourself what is going into your food, and follow it from the time the time your is order is taken until the plate is delivered. Don't go by some other sites with reviews - go and judge the cleanliness yourself. I can't compare to Estella's but I've heard nothing but good things about it. As far as the other places on this list, I haven't found good food at any of them and thing they're preferred by yuppies who live for happy hour.

anonymous

User Rating

1/4/2009

SKIP THIS PLACE- GO STRAIGHT TO ESTELLA'S !!!

Inside patrons all gringos and only one Hispanic family - BIG HINT!. Waiter had a huge Mohawk and recommended either the fajitas, the chili relleno or the Rib eye steak. The first two were already poorly rated here. I ordered the Vallarta steak - a rib eye with onion, pepper and tomato on top. He did not ask how I wanted it cooked - BIG HINT #2. I did not get a Rib eye. I got a half of a ROUND STEAK sliced 1/8th of an inch thick and cooked to a crisp. DH ordered the Two Burrito‘s. They were extremely small. Meals came with just rice & pureed beans. We paid $12:50 & $9:50, We could have gotten huge portions of great food, with side salads & guacamole at Estella’s Restaurant. I also ordered a side dish of Guacamole - but I said if it’s not fresh don’t bring it. He offered to bring a fresh sliced avocado instead HINT #3 When the waiter asked how it was, I said “BAD” and he asked if I wanted to order another dish. He disappeared and never came back. Another waiter took over and he said to another in Spanish - “they just want a discount”. HINT #4 they assumed I did not speak Spanish. I asked to see the manager and he never came. I wrote a note on a napkin telling the manager about our food and service. I took it to the front receptionist and asked her who the manager was. She looked at our old mohawk waiter and in Spanish he told her to say it was a guy sitting in a chair who had been chatting with her (her boyfriend?). He looked nervous and played along. We were so disgusted with the meat scam and one lie after another. Since I never got to talk to the manager I’ll post my comments online. I will also try to report the misrepresentation of the steak to the restaurant inspectors. This is a scam. Do not go here. For the same money we could have had an exceptional meal really close at Carraba‘s.,

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