Best Restaurants for Foodies in San Marcos

There are always many ways to praise Valentina, but in few words it is one of the best, if not the best, dining experiences in all of San Diego county.

Tour- 5 stars, fantastic! The tour was amazing- educational and fun with some great beer samples. Can't beat the ambiance in the restaurant, but service was pretty slow, but who's in a hurry when you're enjoying great beer?! Whoever created the Stone Fireside Magic brown ale deserves a big fat raise and an award for the best ale I've ever tasted in my life. Wow wow wow!!!

Got reservations for seats at the bar. There is a tasting menu, as well as a separate bar menu, mostly small plates. Cocktails from menu are twists on classic cocktails, and they were truly extraordinary, as well as the off menu cocktails we ordered, and we've sampled some of the best. Food sampled at bar: Crudo, Tartare, Pain et Beurre, and Gougere. All were phenomenal. Service at bar was very attentive and knowledgable, they know what they're doing, and they do it well. Cool vibe and music playing from reel to reel player in bar. Very open, busy kitchen with frequent calls from cooks, "Oui, chef!" Great for foodies and cocktail nerds. Pricey, some may not appreciate the value.

Beautiful restaurant inside. I rated three stars for food only because there were scant few vegetarian and vegan items. Those were basically side orders. There is not one salad available as an option. The other four people in our party that ordered meat meals really enjoyed their food. I also ranked 4 for noise because the only table available was outside, which is next to another restaurant that had their own music playing. I think if you requested a table inside, it would be perfect. I ordered a martini and it was average And very small. We ordered the s’mores for dessert (And there is actually a vegan option with a vegan marshmallow) But they didn’t really Taste like s’mores. The presentation was lovely though, although not real effective grilling your own marshmallow over tiny coals. I would definitely go back if the Restaurant would provide some actual vegan meals.

So Much Fun!! Great food and service… Band was great not too loud or crazy just fun with their choices of songs…Will be back everytime company comes to visit