Valenca

basically the only fancy place in easton, PA and SO GOOD.
the scallops. yum. they came served over diced sautéed apples and next to a ton of fancy veggies including three different types of mushrooms!
also the asian style calamari was fab and i ate the entire appetizer by myself, #noshame2k16.
unfortunately my dad’s white mac and cheese was cold and apparently tasted like velveeta (fyi velveeta isn’t white).
our waiter was great and when i had a question immediately asked the cook to find out the answer which was appreciated!

Food was just O.K. for the price and service was horrible! Our waiter, Keith, was no where to be found most of the night and his excuse was that he was getting slammed on the other side. We were there for 2.5 hours which is way to long since we cooked our own meat on a stone, and he only came to our table 3x and 2 of those times we had to ask the busboys to find him. First time there and last time! Very disappointed for the price we paid!

Love this place! The Mozzarella and Crab Caprese is amazing! Got the breakfast pizza is to die. And the Duck breast AMAZING! My favorite place in Easton to eat! I also recommend the sangria!

I read the previous reviews after going to Valenca last night (Thursday) with the family. I was surprised to see the negative experiences. We had a really enjoyable meal with great service and experienced nothing like what I read.
The place was relatively empty. I assume this was due to Lafayette College being on winter break. Thus, we were seated right away even though we had a party of 7. The server was extremely nice and very knowledgable about the menu. The restaurant was spotless and extremely comfortable.
Everyone enjoyed their food. I had the pasta carbonara which featured large chunks of pork belly to go with fresh locally sourced peas and some exceptional linguinie that is made in the restaurant. Funny: one of the servers who brought out my dish must have heard me talk about my love of all things bacon, so he went back to kitchen and brought me an extra helping of pork belly! THAT’s how you do it! (although my cardiologist probably won’t applaud that).
Others enjoyed the NY strip, the rossoto and the crab bisque soup. Another hit was the clams appetizer that my 8 year old had as her meal. They came in a mustard based wine and butter sauce. Really outstanding. I would order those next time as my appetizer.
From a price perspective, one could argue that the prices were a bit on the high side, but I would not complain given the freshness, portions, taste and overall service. We didn’t drink, save for a glass of house merlot for my wife, so I can’t comment on the cocktails.
Overall the service was friendly, prompt and our server was very enthusiastic and knowledgable about the menu.
One additional plus is that even though the menu says the restaurant will charge parties of six or more a 20% automatic gratuity, they did not do so. I appreciated that.
I strongly recommend trying Valenca, expecially for a date night dinner or to impress a client on business.

My husband and I just got back from a meal he described as «being the worst he’s had in downtown Easton». He ordered the marinated strip steak and it came to the table so over salted that he couldn’t eat any more after barely having half of it. The mac and cheese that came with it was nothing out of the ordinary. My risotto was good but nothing outstanding. All in all a very disappointing night out when we were attempting to celebrate my birthday.

Had a special dinner here last night and we will most certainly be back. The meat and cheese plate was awesome! Their goat cheese balls were indescribably good. Ambiance is quiet and intimate. Wait staff was attentive and knowledgeable. We had a great time and a great meal.

I think this is a solid restaurant. The food varies, I’ve had both good and bad, but never anything that’s blown me away. The waitstaff is on a whole very nice and friendly, but there have been a couple of awkward waitresses that didn’t seem too interested in being helpful.
I really enjoy the outdoor seating, just wish the furniture wasn’t so light and uncomfortable.
Overall, you can’t go wrong at Valenca.

Excellence. All across the board. Wonderful staff and the food is just amazing. New exec chef has really brought this place to life. Ignore all the bad reviews, this place has left the past behind and is now an important staple of downtown Easton.

I visited Valenca on several occasions. After reading great reviews I was optimistic about visiting. Nevertheless, the first time I was served cold undercooked food that they magically had remade in less than 3 minutes. (MICROWAVE MAYBE??) GROSS!
After eating reheated food I tried again last week. This time my food was cooked, but there service was very brief, and made me feel like I was inconvenience. The server never made eye contact and when I asked to speak to a manager, she rudely obliged. A woman who called herself «the owner» came to the table. I explained the service or lack there of, as well as my cold food the week prior. She comped our $ 10 appetizer after we’d already spent upwards of $ 100 on drinks and dinner. What a joke.
I wouldn’t be back for a free meal. There an ample supply of classy, delicious restaurants in Easton, don’t waste your time here.

Not what it used to be. New ownership and executive chef have changed what used to be a gem in Easton.

Pretty good brunch. The Bloody Mary was pretty average, and it took a pretty long time for food to come out (which I generally don’t mind, especially for a weekend brunch), but the entrees were worth it. The onions (which I had in my omelette and also in my breakfast potatoes) were SO GOOD. Everything was prepared really well. Overall a really nice atmosphere for a relaxing Saturday brunch.

Love the bar, love the atmosphere; however, I’ve tried many entrees and appetizers and am always disappointed with the food. Always. Will definitely go for a cocktail but will never buy food here unless I’m absolutely desperate.

First time guests Saturday night. What a great place. Great greeting by the host. Great service by our server and the food was outstanding!!! Will definitely recommend this place to our friends and family as well as be back again soon.

Excellent seafood. I had the Swordfish with the asian preparation that they usually do for salmon. My daughter had the salmon and my wife had the shrimp and grits with chorizo. Everyone were happy. Grilled caesar salads were very good and huge. They have specialty cocktails for 10 dollars. Fish was very fresh. Risoto balls for appertizer were good. We sat outside which was nice.

The appetizers are fine except they overcooked the octopus, but they serve us a nwe plate. No complaint about that. However, the entrees are disasters! They were extremely salty. Only the steak on the stone was not salty, the rest of 5 entrees were horrible, especially the crab cake.
I spent total 300 dollars including 50 dollars gratuity for this six people meal. And I never expected this.
However, the service was nice though.

Had a ladies brunch this weekend while visiting friends in PA. No wait when we arrived and our request for a different table was willingly granted. Service was attentive throughout the meal.
Being a group of eight we all ordered something different. Everyone was very pleased with their meal. The churros and fruit was delicious as was the omlettes and salads. I loved my Valenca pizza with fig jam brie and arugula drizzled with truffle honey.
I would definitely visit again.

My wife and I went out with friends who had tried Valenca before and wanted to give it one more try. The atmosphere was nice and we were surprised that the restaurant wasn’t packed on a Saturday night. We were promptly seated at our table, but we should have taken note of the early warning signs and left. We put in our drink orders, and my friend and I ordered a draft and they came in small white wine glasses.
After about 20 – 30 minutes, the waiter took our order. My friend asked if he could have a minor modification to his entrée and the waiter informed us that the chef was in a bad mood and stressed, so he didn’t want to bother him. We placed our order and waited a half hour for our appetizer. Once we finished that, our salads came. My friends Cesar salad had lettuce that was so wilted, it wasn’t edible and he didn’t touch his plate. When that waiter finally checked in after 20 minutes or so, my friend mentioned the problem. The waiter apologized and cleared our plates without offering to address the issue.
When our entrees came after another half hour (yes this was and hour and a half after being seated), we were hoping for the best. My friends fiancée said her fennel was so hard she couldn’t eat it. My wife’s meal was undercooked. Fortunately my friend and I got a steak on a stone. Since we cooked it ourselves, it turned out OK. After trying to get the waiter’s attention for 15 minutes, he took an entrée back and asked the cook to put the vegetables on the grill. Several minutes later, the waiter returned with the entrée still under cooked.
At this point, we had enough, and asked the waiter to bring the check and put the remaining entrée’s in containers so we could take it home. After another 10 minutes, he informed us that they entrees were thrown away accidentally.
We thought that at least they would credit us, but only removed 6 dollars from the one undercooked entrée and charged us full price for everything else. We were so upset, we paid the bill just to get out of there.
The one thing that bothered us most, is that it was clear to the waiter that we were not getting what we paid for, yet he made no attempt to correct the issue. In addition, the owner was wandering around the restaurant, and we tried to get her attention several times and were ignored.
I have to say this was the most disappointing dining experience I have had in the Lehigh Valley. Not only was the service poor, but the food was bad, and the owner and waiter made no effort to address our concerns. It’s too bad, I think the restaurant has potential, but it is so poorly managed that I don’t see it getting better. I strongly recommend skipping Valenca until they hire a competent staff and manager that understands how to treat customers and run a restaurant.

First time here and we loved it. Came across Valenca while plotting one of our all-​day motorcycle excursions. The wind blew us through Easton, PA and in search of a cool place to have brunch we found Valenca.
Very nice restaurant, with very friendly service. This place started out as a Portuguese restaurant, but now is more of a fusion place. Executive Chef Abe Lopez is a fellow New Yorker, so extra points there.
I had the Valenca Benedict which is their take on Eggs Benedict, and clearly shows the Portuguese roots. Replace the English Muffins with arepas, replace the Canadian bacon with chorizo, and spike the hollandaise sauce with chipotle and the result is something pretty damn good.
Top it off with a couple of mimosas and one of their sinful desserts and you get a place that we’ll be stopping in many more times in the future.
Come check out Easton, PA, it’s a lovely city, and while you’re there, stop in at Valenca. Tell Candace I said hello ;-)

Second time there tonight. Taking my special lady for a special dinner. Made reservations and was to believe to be a sell out night. But apparently was wrong many tables available all night
Upon arrival was seated by the front door to an empty room. Asked hostess and she was able to move us
15 – 20 minutes before anybody came to the table. Service tonight was poor. Apparently the front staff was not being managed. Last time here the service was fantastic tonight it was the opposite
Food was great but the service really put a damper to things. For this price service should be first class

Dining date: Dec. 23, 2013 for lunch.
Although not completely authentic, the Cuban sandwich was fantastic! My wife loved the chipolte chicken sandwich. Great beer list on top of the great food! The server was friendly and attentive. Prices were average for Easton. Will definitely come back.