3333 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 575-4374
Parking: in parking lot
http://www.puertovallartasantarosa.com/
Last Visited: June 24, 2005
Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 to 4stars
Price: $ to $$$
The funny thing about Puerto Vallarta is that I asked a coworker whether he had been there before, and his initial reaction was, “I HATE THAT PLACE.” This came from a person who I had never heard use the word ‘hate.’ Well, after some explanation, it wasn’t the food, service, atmosphere, or price that he hated, but the mariachi band. Apparently, when the mariachi band is playing, they can drown out your conversation.
So, with that, things were okay again since I was heading there for lunch, and the mariachi band only comes after 7pm daily. Enter Puerto Vallarta and on the wall are tons of photos of people. I don’t know who these people are, but there are many many photos of people sitting in the restaurant.
The place is decorated with lots of colorful blankets bunched in the middle and fanned out on the sides. There is also a painting of the mariachi band, and on the bottom of the painting is the phone number for how they can be reached – artful advertisement. There is a television in one room on a high shelf. There are four dining areas: one near the kitchen separated from the main room by waist high walls, the main room, another section on the side, and a small atrium facing the road. The atrium has a lot of windows which brings in a lot of sunlight. There is a lot of wood – fairly light in color, but somewhat old style.
Large tables are covered with white plastic tablecloths while small tables are not covered. We had reserved our table for a large group, and when we arrived, there were pitches of water, overturned water glasses, stacks of napkins sitting upright in glasses, and silverware rolled in napkins already on the table. There was also a basket of chips located between each group of four seats and salsa and bean dip adjacent to the chips. I was impressed at how everything was well prepared for us. Puerto Vallarta seems accustomed to handling large groups. They are also available for catering.
The bean dip was very good. The salsa was a little tangy and spicy and they give you plenty, but the chips were just so-so. I’m not sure if the chips were homemade, but they didn’t seem to have the freshest crunch. Maybe I’m just used to very crunchy chips. On my second visit, I found out that the chips from my first visit were stale, or at least on their way to being stale. During my second visit, the chips were great. I wouldn’t have even questioned their freshness because they were obviously fresh. Unfortunately, this just makes my first impression even worse than I thought.
The lunch menu features the regular dishes as well as a number of lunch dishes for around $5 to $6. Some come in around $5. All the lunch dishes are served with rice and beans, and the only thing that seemed to differ about these compared to regular dishes is the size. Lunch dishes are slightly smaller.
Most entrees are available with chicken, pork, or ground beef. Shredded beef is available at an additional cost.
- Deluxe Taco Salad – I selected chicken with my deluxe taco salad. It was a rather large portion with my tostada shell standing up from the dish holding the seasoned chicken, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream. All of this was topped with a slice of tomato. The cheese had been placed on top of the meat, so it had a melty (but not completely melted) texture. The tostada shell was held in place by refried beans. There didn’t seem to be any refried beans on top of the shell, so that was a little disappointing because I didn’t get to enjoy the beans. The shell was crispy and the ingredients of the food were very fresh and certainly filling. $7.95
- Burrito Lunch – The burritos at Puerto Vallarta are very basic. They’re actually quite like the enchiladas, minus the cheese. I selected shredded beef and a combination of shredded beef and green bell peppers were cooked and wrapped inside a flour tortilla. That was it. I was expecting some lettuce or salsa, but there wasn’t anything else in it. Rice and beans accompanied my burrito. The flavor of the shredded beef was good, and it comes with plenty of sauce. The tortilla is soft. The beans are much like the dip – refried. It’s a great value, but not quite what I expected. ~$5 (I don’t remember the exact price)
The service was very good. Our servers cleared all of our plates very politely and promptly. At the end of our meal, they also gave us a plateful of cinnamon and sugar deep fried chips. These chips were large and topped with a large dollop of whipped cream. Strawberry syrup was drizzled across the chips. That was a nice way to end the meal. During my second visit, service remained good, and they were great with getting us in and out within an hour. They were not rushing us mind you, but we told them we were in a rush, and they accommodated us very well. The dessert was great getting to eliminate any aftertaste from the previous dishes.
I would be willing to return to Puerto Vallarta for their large portions and friendly service. It’s hard to determine the true quality of their food since I only tried one dish. They have been around Santa Rosa for quite some time, so they certainly appeal to the locals. They don’t seem to be the best place in town for Mexican food, but certainly good in terms of service, atmosphere, and style.
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