Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ was originally located in a food truck off on 11500 Manchaca Road as a temporary position until their new permanent location opened in June. Now they are located in Buda Mill & Grain at 306 South Main Street.
Valentina’s is only open for specific hours and days every week. On Monday, they are open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and they are closed on Tuesdays. From Wednesday to Sunday, they are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. This information can all be found on the valentinastexmexbbq.com site. If you’re also waiting for your food or wanting to do something before, there are also a few shops around there including Hays CO Outfitters, Ellipsis Boutique, and The Mercantile.
I visited Valentina’s for lunch on a Saturday. While it was pretty busy, there were still a lot of seating options. There are a bunch of picnic tables around the restaurant but they also offer seating outside, around the bar, and in booths along the wall. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Their menu features many different assortments of meats, tacos, sandwiches, and sides. Prices vary from item to item, but the smoked meats are sold by the pound.
I ordered the sliced brisket sandwich, and I think it was okay. I wish I had gotten the chopped brisket instead, because of how thick the slices of meat were on the sandwich. The sandwich overall was pretty good, but I also felt it was a little bland. However, the barbeque sauce they provided did help add more taste. We also ordered two sides, tangy slaw and the red potato salad, which were both bland as well. The tangy slaw didn’t really have that much tang, and the red potato salad didn’t taste like much of anything, so we had to ask for more salt.
For the price they charge for everything, and all the good things I have heard about this restaurant, I was just expecting a little more. Unfortunately, it was disappointing. I would come back, but I would probably get something different. I have heard a lot of good things about their breakfast tacos and their Tex-Mex menu, so I might try that if I return.
Despite the lackluster food, the ambient setting was great to be around. According to reviews, multiple people have stated that the service was not great and moved very slowly, though when we went, the service was pretty good. The one thing I do have to complain about is the long amount of time it took to order food. There were already two people in front of us so we thought it wouldn’t take that long but it took longer than expected. When we sat down, our food came within the ten minutes we ordered, which was really impressive, accounting for all the reviews stating how long their food took to come out.
If I were to rate Valentina’s on a scale from one to ten, I would give them a solid seven. While their food didn’t reach the overall hype it was given, I do think they have a lot to offer with the wide variety they do have and I would definitely visit again. This is an ideal location for gatherings with friends and family, given the flexibility they offer. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys trying new culinary experiences.
