Reviews for Vals in New Orleans, LA

The crispy beef and cochinita pibil tacos are soooo good! The guacamole was a pleasant surprise, it was very fresh. My michelada... was really good. They have options for clamato style and traditional (real) micheladas. Everything was great! You order sushistyle. They give you cards to fill out. Each person decides what they want to have to eat and you tally how much of each itemand then note it on the cards. Food came out quickly and everything was nice and hot. The only thing that was kind of a letdown was the tres leches cake. It had very little flavor. Like it was missing more of the sweetened condensed milk. It tastedlike cake soaked in regular whole milk. Definitely recommend stopping here if you're in the area. Read more

The food was fine and so was the service. The space was a vibe, especially during the summer. It is somewhat off putting and... forceful that they automatically add a 20% gratuity, especially when the receipt still keeps a line for the tip, but the wholeconcept of tipping and restaurant workers' wages in this country is warped and there is no knowing who is getting away with whatat any particular time. Read more

The food is so good! I?ve had the tacos, a sandwich special with pork and guacamole, the chips, everything is great. But the... elotes are my favorite. The Vals margarita is pretty great too! Read more

Vals has a laid-back and modern atmosphere and a good happy hour drink menu offered 4-6 pm every day. Indoor and outdoor seating... are available but if you are prone to mosquito bites, you might get bitten even indoors since the front door is open (I leftwith several fresh mosquito bites). The bartenders have good pours and the tortillas were tasty and fresh. The tacos had plentyof meat but the flavor was a bit lacking. I also prefer a bit more leche on my Tres Leches, still good though. Read more

I?m from Santa Barbara, CA and a California native, and the food at Vals blows away any Mexican food I have ever had in... California. Additionally, the ambiance and service are excellent. The servers are very kind and attentive. The restaurant isclean and had a very cool vibe conducive for a pleasurable fun lunch or dinner. It?s super COVID friendly, and I?m sure afterCOVID, this will be even more THE place to party and have fun with friends. I can?t wait to visit Vals again! Read more

This is a really great neighborhood with a lot of bars, restaurants, etc. There's indoor and outdoor seating and I really like... the ambiance. I didn't like that the gratuity was already added in. Not a lot to choose from on the menu but the food was great.The host was super friendly and told us about a great bar down the street to go to after we ate. Guacamole was a bit spicy forme but I'm weak. Just corn on the cob I have never had like this and I highly recommend. Read more

Vals nailed the design of their intimate indoor and lux SoCal patio vibe. Hats off to the Architect. The service was first rate... and perfect level of attentive but never feeling like an interruption. I particularly loved the service window for cocktails andsnacks while we waited a short 20 mins for our table as walkups on a weekend at sunset. The cocktails were on point as one wouldexpect although priced accordingly. The menu is au la cart or Sushi style as explained to us. You fill out your order on a papermenu which was nice. The menu is fairly traditional street tacos, dips, and sides with a couple of interesting sides like Elote,a Tuna Tostada, and even a salad. The food was unfortunately a little disappointing. I was hoping for unique flavors, perfecttextures and the highest level of execution on can get in a taco given the already high bar set by everything else. The food didnot deliver on flavor or texture unfortunately. Our food was a little under seasoned and underwhelming. The chips for the salsaswere everything from light ans crispy to thick chewy and saturated with oil. The totada had a great texture but the flavor wasso mild it was like eating sashimi with no lemon or soy. The small street tacos were beautiful and have great potential. Theyall needed salt but were almost there. The two different types of beef tacos were indistinguishable from each other in flavor.The one vegetarian option was boring and insufficient for someone with an appetite. The crown jewel and savior of the tacos wasthe shredded chicken uniquely cooked in a verde enchilada like sauce. It was amazing. Didn't try the fish although i wish ihad. Would definitely go back and encourage others to. Hopefully they can tighten up on the food execution. I don't like paying$30 for a meal I could have bought for $15 at a taco truck and have been more impressed with but thats me being picky. Mostpeople arent spolied by taco trucks and are looking for a sexy spot for date night in wh Read more

Living in the Freret area, I was really excited to see construction on Vals was completed. The restaurant looks great! They have... a good amount of outdoor seating which is perfect in the COVID times. Our first visit we just ordered take out. You can orderonline and schedule your pick up time. We scheduled 5:15 and it was ready right on time. Between my wife and I we tried justabout everything. Our two favorite tacos were beef and sweet potato, which, I didn?t anticipate liking sweet potato somuch. The elotes and beans stole the show! Highly recommend each of them. I?m a picky bean eater, but these come with a TON offlavor. The elotes are also fantastic! Any version of Mexican street corn is always a must! Overall, it was good takeout! Can?twait to try it at the restaurant. They are a much welcomed addition to Freret for me and my wife. Read more