Puerto Vallarta – Newington

Good food, lots of it, pleasing prices, and a distinctly Mexican atmosphere are definite plusses for this restaurant. Add to this seemingly never-​ending, complimentary chips and salsa and you have the makings of a really great place.
But the biggest issue with the place is its spotty service. The wait staff, while always courteous, we’re hard to find at times, especially when it came time to pay the check. The management needs to spend more time in training.

The Queso Fundido is fantastic! This PLACE is fantastic!
I had chicken fajitas for one which was enough to feed two. The chicken was of good quality and there were tons of onions and peppers, too.
Highly recommend this place for authentic, flavor-​filled, delicious Mexican food.
The service was also very great. The staff was attentive and prompt.

Authentic, clean, very friendly, and outstanding quality. Seems like every time we go the food is consistently very good. Drinks and food and made fresh and with fresh ingredients. Wait staff always polite, friendly, and efficient. Chips and not my favorite but most likely I’m used to more of an «American» style chip, salsa very good. The food comes out hot, as ordered, and great presentation. Most meals there is plenty to take home. One of our favorite spots, expect a little wait during peak hours but well worth it.

This is one of my favorite restaurants chain in Hartford so pls pardon me if you find this review slightly biased: P
The best thing is tortilla chips with 3 different salsa. Habarnero salsa is the best of 3. Top chips with freshly made glucomol. Make sure u ask for spicy or jalapeños in fresh glucomol.
In entrée, i ordered veg one enchiladas n i burrito combination. Veg is all beans and cheese but still tasty.

Amazingly good. Never an issue, customer service is great and the food is even better.

The best Mexican food I’ve had so far. Being a vegetarian it’s tough to find options. But this place had soooo many options and all they have is awesome… The salsa verde is awesome if you can take it hot. The ingredients were so fresh, that you could feel it in every bite. The left over quesadilla which I took home, was perfectly fresh the next day too. I had to wait for about 45 minutes to get a table to Saturday evening, but every minute was worth the wait for the food I had.
Must try…

Ummmm DELISH! I’m amazed, for some reason I always thought Puerto Vallarta didn’t have good food, so I have always avoided it until today. Came in for a late lunch/​early dinner after running errands. Man can I tell you the food hit the spot!
The décor is nice and reminds me of authentic Mexican places I used to go to when I lived in Florida. The menu is large and has tons of options. Whatever you’re in the mood for they have it. The chips and salsa to start were great. Not too greasy and the salsa was fresh (with lots of cilantro). I ended up with the 3 taco combo platter. The chicken was good but the picadillo meat was my favorite by far! So flavorful and tender. The refried beans and rice were also tasty. For dessert we got the deep fried ice cream and it was the perfect end to the meal.
Fast and friendly service, plus decent prices makes this place more than worthy of a repeat visit!

I have to give Puerto Vallarta props since they were able to accommodate a last minute party of 14 this weekend. No reservations and no wait at 5 PM! They were super friendly about it, too. We had a big table in the back and since it was our friend’s birthday, they brought out three plates of free, piping hot churros for dessert. It was so nice of them and we also saw them sing to another birthday table. It’s a good place to go for a celebration, it seems!
The food is solid here. I loved the salsa that came with the chips at the table. I think I liked it so much because it had cilantro in it. Cilantro always makes salsa delicious. For dinner I had enchiladas in a mole sauce. The mole sauce was good; the flavor was not as complex as others I’ve had, but it was tasty. The weak link of the dish was the rice — some of it was overcooked and crunchy. But the portion sizes are generous (almost too generous) and we were able to have leftovers for the next night.
So overall I’d give the food a 3 and service/​friendliness a 5.

We went there for lunch, and we loved it !
The décor is very typical, the waiter was nice and the food very good. Great enchiladas and burrito !

Always love, love, love it here!
We dined at the bar last night and, per usual, it was superb. The staff is always super awesome, they are always smiling! The bartender never lets you have an empty drink for more than a minute, they are really on top of their game. The food is always a crowd pleaser, from the moment you sit down you’re gifted with the most delicious chips, salsa, and queso dip. The queso dip is addictingly good, I have to contain myself from literally almost licking the bowl. I had the Enchilada del Mar last night and my boyfriend had the Tacos Pastor. Both dishes come with a healthy serving of refried beans, rice and a nice tossed lettuce mixture. My enchiladas were mouth wattering and my boyfriend loved his tacos. The portion sizes are HUGE so we always have some to take home for later. Their drinks are also really wonderful– I love Palomas and they make a really good one. I prefer to use Don Julio blanco rather than their house tequila, but that’s just me. The bartender even gave us complimentary shots of Don blanco at the end of our meal as a nice «dessert». You can’t go wrong with this Puerto Vallarta!

Just got done with the ceviche and have a food baby worth bragging about. Friendly staff, fast service and clean. Back to the ceviche, it was excellent and had both fish and shrimp and was enough for two. Will be back soon.

I would rather eat here than go to bed with Ryan Gosling.

Love this place. The rice, refried beans, and enchiladas are yummy! The food definitely doesn’t taste like American Mexican food I think it’s pretty authentic Mexican. The portions are huge so expect to bring home leftovers. The prices are very reasonable. If you want good Mexican come here.

This place is pretty big! Maybe that’s why there weren’t too many people for dinner? Plenty of seating. Bar section in restaurant too.
Price: definitely around $$, plates vary from $ 15 – 30. Don’t be fooled by the appearance of food! Many of them come out on these huge looking platters which wow you but the plate are flat and do not have depth so the portion isn’t as much as it first appears. I was able to finish with no problem ha.
Food: food is decent. Didn’t wow me but I was able to get a variety which is nice: some meat, beans, rice, guacamole. You know the drill.
Environment: casual and chillax place to meet with friends and family. As expected for this cuisine.
Might or might not go again but there are so many restaurants that are in this area that I would only consider going if I had a large party of people and didn’t want to worry about seating.

This is my go-​to Mexican restaurant. I’ve never left here unsatisfied. The food is always cooked to perfection. I usually get a coconut margarita, which always tastes amazing. Every visit, the staff has been very accommodating :)

This place is slipping. Bad.
I used to be a regular. I would be there for birthday parties, events, or really any day I didn’t feel like cooking. The staff there knew us by name back then. I’m risking ever going back by writing this review, but it was seriously that bad today.
We sat down, ready to order. They came and delivered tortilla chips, salsa and water. We were ready to spend our hard earned cash on margaritas, apps and dinner. My husband and I hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours and were looking forward to a good meal. The waiters all passed us, making sure not to make eye contact. We sat there for fifteen minutes being actively ignored by the waitstaff. It was pretty unbelievable. Every table around us seemed to have someone doting over them except us.
After yet another waiter passed us, we bounced. I told the hostess we never got served and «thanks anyway» she had the nerve to say «you’re welcome!» in a snotty tone. So rude.
You lost a good customer Puerta! Adiós!

Yes, I am a very big fan of this place and have been going there for many years way before my Unilocaling days. I know many of the servers by name which is a testimony to the fact that there is very little wait staff turnover which should tell you something about the owner and management. Yeah, I hear the effete Mexican foodie snobs complaining about the food authenticity and the like, my response,“Bull Durham” get over it, move on go through your extra lbs. around somewhere else. The food is solid, a mix of Tex-​Mex and Old Mexico, slanted somewhat toward the American pallet, that is in fact what it is and what it was designed to be, period! And for my money they do a very fine job. I will tell you this, no one in the area and I mean no one does a better job on Cinco de Mayo than Puerto Vallarta. If you wish to go there on the 5^th of May get there early and I mean early like for lunch and stay the whole darn evening, it will be a celebration you will long remember, I promise!!!

Great lunch special! I enjoyed my meal even though I don’t remember what I had (silly me). That darn margarita!
My friend brought her four-​month old son and the waiter was very accommodating to expanding the booth so she can park the car seat!
In regards to the Battle of the Berlin Turnpike Mexican Restaurants versus Plaza Azteca, I can’t decide because both food and service are wonderful! I have to say that the ambiance at Puerto is quieter than Plaza.

Price are a bit high for certain things but they make up in the size of the meal.
The quesadillas are pretty big. Tasteful and don’t break into a sloppy mess.
The burritos on the other hand are a slop fest (Deluxe Burrito). If u want to grab your burrito, these are not the ones. These are Anti-​hands Burritos.lol. The good thing is that when using the fork and knife, it’s not that difficult nor sloppy.
The Calamaris were awesome. Huge pieces. The price is perfect for these monsters. It’s def a meal for one. Or for TWO skinny folks. Lol.
Service? Well our first time the guy that we had was speedy Gonzalez. The second guy was a sloth. I had to go to him to ask for something. No Bueno amigo!

Superlative of the day: extravagant
Extravagantly expensive, extravagantly loud, extravagantly huge… you get the gist of it. Unfortunately, those are mere distractions for the real extravagance– how upsetting it is that Connecticut calls this the best Mexican food in the state when so many other places go neglected.
Red flag #1: weird ingredients. Not weird as in, esoteric, but weird like, «we bought this location from an Olive Garden and are using the last of their ingredients.» Mushroom cream sauce, Parmesan cheese, and red wine vinegar make odd impressions.
Red flag #2: watery booze. If your food is bad, try to make the booze decent or at least strong. Margarita was tiny and flavorless.
Red flag #3: the food photos speak for themselves, but I’ll go on. Copious amounts of sour cream atop bland, bland dishes. We ordered a chimichanga and an avocado tostada. Both were choked with shredded lettuce and anemic tomato slices, revealing about a ½ cup of dry meat underneath. The rice and beans were bland and gritty. I have shown a photo of my plate before and after the extraction of edible components. For the record, there were three slices of brown avocado atop the soggy tostada. Good for my protein goals, bad for my palate.
We won’t be back. This is like a Mexican Cheescake Factory. It is a pity that here this is favored over Monte Alban, El Sarape, and the like.