El Vale

Great food but they closed down. There is a new taco shop there now, not a restaurant anymore, the Taqueria San Luis Are the new owners. But even though they have a limited menu, the food is great, is like a take out taco shop. Their the ones from the little red and white trailer that was in the big parking lot of 2818 & leonard road, i guess their food is that great that they were able to move to a bigger place!

Very good food. I’ll be back. The quesadillas were terrific. Try the green sauce. It’s a little spicy but really adds to the food’s great taste. Name changed to Taqueria San Luis.

Way too spicy for my tastebuds! Not a restaurant anymore so they have a very limited menu. Friendly staff, although I think they need to be more descriptive on their menu items.

I had the breakfast tacos and store bought tortillas were used. IMHO, this is a cardinal sin for any breakfast taco.

Need to update the hours. They are closed on Tuesdays. We will rate it when it is open.

Best Lil Mexican Restaurant. Big Plus it’s BYOB!
Great food. Really great folks working there.

Authentic Mexican food! I loved it. If I ever visit this town again, I will certainly come again!

The dinner experience was served by the owner Rudy. It’s your basic hole in the wall joint with a specialty for shrimp cocktails. The service was fast and the motley crew of servers and helpers where fun and charming.
I ordered the chicken quesadilla, and a small cocktail — a large feast for a big guy like myself. The food was spot on, the flavor a delicious blend of Mexican cuisine and a hint of some secret family spices. My wife ordered nachos and couldn’t finish the good sized portions.
I got horchata to drink and it was great. This is one of our favorite spots and we will return time and time again.

Finally!
Finally I’ve found amazing Mexican food here in Bryan Texas. The owner and staff here are very friendly and welcoming. The food itself is delicious. The shrimp & seafood cocktail is a must. I can’t wait to return and try the mole.

I love this place, best Mexican food in Bryan, I always leave with big smile on my face. The enchiladas and the breakfast tacos are my top favorite oh and the salsa verde just great!!!

Had the Med. Shrimp Cocktail and ceviche tostada. It was great! Very fresh! Was here during lunch time not very busy. Great service as well.

Great sit down all around Mexican restaurant with a tremendous owner operator! We ordered and was very pleased. We will be going back soon. Rudy was someone you don’t need to miss.

Stopped in for some take out food and ordered a fajita torta and a chorizo gordita. The torta was delicious! Good size and excellent flavors in the meat. The gordita is smaller than el tio’s gordita, but they serve it with wonderful amounts of lettuce and avocado.
It was great to actually see big slices of avocado, considering avocado is pricey in itself. The choizo was okaay. I have yet to find chorizo I actually like in a restaurant so that is just me being picky.
Have heard a lot of people recommend their shrimp cocktail, so I’m going to come back soon and try it!
The only bad thing was that it was a tab bit hot in there, maybe their air conditioner was off?

I don’t see how I can top my real life friend Charles S.‘s review, except for with photos. :) So look at the photos I just uploaded of some killer, damn good Mexican Tex-​Mex fusion — get hungry — read his review and then just go there.
Well, gotta add this; My Sister-​in-​law choose Mexican food for her last night in Texas before an early morning flight to Tokyo. She asked me to pick and it took about 3 – 5 seconds of rubbing my chin before I put the left turn signal on and took her somewhere that I knew she would remember the rest of her life.
Rudy (Owner/​Founder/​Chef) in his cool new hat from his recent residency in Mexico, Guanajuato in fact — made our dinner and came out to visit with us for a good while. When I asked him if I was correct in calling his food Mexican /​Tex-​Mex Fusion he agreed without hesitation. Really nice guy and fascinating to talk to. My Sister-​In-​Law will remember this Mexican dinner and restaurant the rest of her life. Mission accomplished.
Now go read Charles S.‘s review.

If you don’t like El Vale, then I don’t like you. Period.
As I do more restaurants, I feel strangely drawn back into what fueled my passion to begin with, the *sometimes* paralyzing need to make happy. El Vale makes me happy. The owner has been a friend of mine for years, but don’t let that stand in the way on my review. he’s become my friend over the years because I have frequented his place so damn much. because, again, I love it here.
The shrimp cocktail, chorizo burrito, any seafood stew and any torta. You CANNOT go wrong with these…
As I sit here and watch Lethal Weapon 16, en espanol, or a Spanish novella that someone just changed to, I remember my childhood in my friend’s place.
Just go and relax and ask Rudy about life. real life.

The people are very friendly and the good is great. I have yet to have anything I didn’t like

Best Mexican food in BCS. Love the torta, shrimp cocktail, and the chile verde enchiladas. The owner is fantastic at making you feel at home and at making recommendations.

NOTORIETY: Hole-​in-​the-​wall Mexican Restaurant
FOOD:
3 Taco Plate ($ 7.50 before tax): This plate came w/​small portions of rice & refried beans. The refried beans were smooth, not too salty, & had pieces of skin to it. I thought it was good. It also came w/​choice of lettuce & tomatoes, pico (good & spicy), or onions & cilantro + red & green hot sauce.
Chicken taco: good flavor & moist. Best of the 3 tacos I had.
Chorizo: the pork was ground finely w/​a slight spiciness to it, pretty good flavor.
Steak: it was a tad tough, w/​decent flavor.
(Med) Shrimp cocktail ($ 9 before tax): Although it wasn’t my cup of tea, this cocktail was pretty good, as it had a nice spicy & tart flavor to it. The lack of thickness of the red sauce made it futile to dip crackers (comes w/​) in it. They also give you the option of having all shrimp or mixed (other seafood included).
Barbacoa & egg breakfast taco ($ 2 before tax): Decent size, tender & flavorful barbacoa. Good stuff.
Chips & salsa (Dine-​in only): The chips were extra thick, adding an excellent crunch. The salsa though was a bit watery despite there being chunks of tomatoes. Decent flavor nevertheless.
Chicken burrito grande ($ 7.50 before tax): This was a huge burrito. The chicken was cooked well, moist w/​good flavor. The fillings had a good taste to the burrito (rice, cheese, lettuce, & a few others). I’d avoid the red sauce that comes on the side.
OVERALL: Although its a bit far, El Vale is a good Mexican restaurant. Portion-​wise, I’d like a bit more, but it was reasonable.
RECOMMENDATION: Chicken taco or burrito (grande)
TIPS:
1. Breakfast served all day.
Last update: 4−19−13 TO; HCL; TO

El Vale has my favorite authentic Mexican tacos in B/​CS. The first time I visited El Vale I was greeted by the host, waiter, owner, and chef — they were all the same person. He’s super laid back and a very friendly.
The owner told me that his specialty is the Shrimp Cocktail so I had to try it. I film many weddings around the state and have had shrimp cocktails as hors d’oeuvres but never as a full meal. The shrimp cocktails at El Vale range from large to fish bowl sized portions. I had the smallest that I could order and a taco and it was quite filling.
The tacos come with lime, cilantro, and onions on the side so you can put on as much as you like. Everything is fresh and you can tell that great care went into preparing it.
This place is great, the food is tasty, and the owner is laid back and friendly.

We were looking for a good Mexican restaurant, and came across this place. We had difficulty finding it only because I hit the directions button on the iPhone Unilocal app and it didn’t take us to the right place even though the correct address was available. Looked like it was family owened. Very friendly employees. Prices were great, I think for 3+1 kid I paid just off of 25 including drinks and tip. Food was wonderful. Great protions, not sloppy and the inside was quite… natural.
The neighborhood might give it a slight uneasy feeling but it’s a nice tiny commericial business center compared to it’s sourrounding buildings.