The Med at La Valencia Hotel

If you want to start your day with a cup of coffee, a plate of delicious food and a view of the ocean, The Med is your place.

Wow, where to start. New chef and the food is not good. Had to pay $5 for a "bread service" which took 30 minutes to arrive. Gnocchi appetizer had 6 mushy gnocchi plus too much other stuff, such as pomegranate seeds, greens and nuts. A potato that came with a rib-eye was served as a long rectangle, poached then seared, but raw in the middle. Few menu choices. Very few guests dining. Old and outdated decor. Uncomfortable chairs. The opera singers in the lounge around the corner were still very loud in our area. All that for $170 for two people. Would not go there again.

The best views. The food is great. It is not cheap but a must have when in La Jolla. We go every trip when staying downtown. Staff has been there for years and that speaks volumes.

Food was returned twice because meat was not cooked medium. Other issues with food would not have expected in a high end restaurant. Service staff were friendly and professional.

Beautiful view delicious food

It was my husband’s 86th birthday dinner, and I wanted it to be so special, and it was! Our meals, as well as the service was superb! We really enjoyed the quiet, world class ambience. We both highly recommend the Med Room at the Valencia Hotel!

Good food, but no ambiance, bright lights, poor service with wait staff scurrying around. My partner requested a fork after entree was already on the table, waitress threw it down at my spot. High prices for the atmosphere.

Beautiful and Romantic . My wife love it and that's all that mattered.

Went for the Holiday tea which was scheduled between the slow time of 2-5 pm. Wait staff was non-existent and likely focused on sidework. $90 for a glass of champagne, a few finger sandwiches, some average desserts, and had to ask to have tea refreshed when it went cold in the pot. Do not recommend.

The food was fantastic, the view from our table was glorious. Somethings they could do better is work on the menu. I recall the first time I ever had paella was at La Valencia and it was sooo good. That is a food experience that changed my life; that was decades ago so, not their fault but was hoping to have paella there again. Also, some in my party were a bit disappointed at the menu selection available.

Excellent, would recommend . BUT . . .you DEMAND !!! 50 characters? What's with THAT? It's a deterrent to our participation . . . xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

HNY. Rejected kids from NYE party and then miraculously changed their policy when they screwed up the dinner service.

No NYE celebration feel in the Med room itself. Could of been any other night.

Food was poor really. Undercooked elements of the initial dishes.

Refused to provide bread when asked. But then again miraculously found some towards course 3 - guilt complex. Other tables also asked.

To top it off they missed a whole course of the set menu and brought the main course instead.

In all a joke of NYE restaurant option.
It requires new management with a definite change of attitude and move away from pretentious view of itself and a good look at what’s out there.


A mistake on my part to even consider it. Will reconsider Easter brunch now and probably try something fresh and new.

Was there many years ago. Missed the old booths at the whaling bar. Still old classic Clark Gable getaway hotel and restaurant. Really good service vivacious and the smoked whiskey presentation awesome. Food delicious and presentation eye catching. Thought it would be a cloth table but on December 30 we had the best experience.

Impeccable food and innovative menu. We were a party of five ordering apps and entrees, desserts and after dinner drinks. Everything was beyond expectation.

Very good food, nice ambiance and decent service considering it was Christmas Eve. When I made the reservation, I was told kids 12 & under are free and that older kids get 50% discount. When I got the bill, our 12 yo and 13 yo were charged at full price. I decided not to object since it was Christmas Eve. Buyer beware.

Very disappointed, the quality of the food was very poor for the price. Have been there for breakfast many times and the food was fantastic. Took my father for his birthday and he also was very disappointed. Also how cheap can you be that you have to charge $5 for bread when the average price of a plate is $40. $400 for six people for dinner and $5 for bread it's just tacky. Only good thing was the waiter was very very nice don't know his name but tall gentleman

Very nice small table with great service and a wonderful viee

Very limited menu; had hard time deciding what to get for a Sunday lunch. Food we ordered not great.

Beautiful hotel, the “pink lady,” extremely nice staff. The general manager personally came to our table to make sure we were ok. The new menu was excellent! Thanks for a great experience

A very nice table next to a panoramic window with a view of the ocean. Staff was friendly and nice and the lunch was outstanding. Thank you for a wonderful experience.

Thanksgiving Dinner was great with friends and family. The buffet included lots of different dishes that were excellent.

Very good experience!

My family loves this place because of the beautiful view and fantastic location but lately the food is absolutely gone downhill I recommend it without a doubt for a cocktail not to eat

Disappointed with the new menu. We left before dining and chose a restaurant down the street. My wife was looking forward to the pate' that the previous chef had offered. We thought the menu choices were odd (fish with pastrami or was it some other kind of pork?)

Amazing views from the outdoor dining venue. Creative chef with inspiring brunch menu. Accommodated my gluten free diet fine.

Lovely dinner on the patio, excellent service and great ambience (soft guitar music played inside). Each dish was beautifully plated, fresh and delicious - I never wanted the meal to end. The ahi taquitos cannot be missed!

Great food but one hour to receive food and 10 min wait for hostess to acknowledge us and we had a reservation. Asked to move tables and said ok then walked a party to it. Overall for $60 for 2 ppl too high priced and poor service but food and ambiance is excellent.

We had a lovely brunch! Great outdoor seating! Beautiful ocean view!

great place great view, food was excellent definetly will be back.

Rude and unfriendly host, I felt guilty that I came there with my friend.
We did not felt welcoming at all.

Lovely as usual. Can’t beat the view. Appetizer with calamari, shrimp, and scallops delicious. Avocado crab toast and crab cake great. Dessert to die for.

Beautiful view and terrific service. We went for Sunday brunch, lobster Benedict was delicious, lobster roll received thumbs up as well. Love this hotel, intimate and elegant escape from the everyday.

Menu is a glorified lunch menu
Fried seafood was fast food quality
Waitress paid us little attention
Con siege said she arranged my wife and I a surprise bottle of champagne for our anniversary which did not arrive
No happy anniversary greeting despite advance notice
Views fantastic
What a difference a year makes
The only blot on a fantastic hotel
Won’t celebrate at Med next year. Other way better food options in the village
Bummer

Exquisite on every level. We enjoyed a perfect brunch: the tastes, the view and the service we all A+.

Great ambiance, mediocre menu and food, service friendly but scarce

Beautiful view from patio. We ordered the salmon which was deliciously crispy on the surface with a sauce on top. It was served with a mashed potato mousse as well as asparagus. I highly recommend the Whaler spirited Dessert beverage(Creme de cacao, kahula, brandy vanilla ice cream). Service was great initially but a bit after we placed our order, it was difficult to locate our server.
We will be returning if ever in the area again.

A most pleasant lunch with friends...we will be back.

Food/Serivce (Mark was great!)/ location are all excellent

We loved every minute of our sunset view, terrace dinner with excellent service from our waiter and delicious food!

We recommend that the live music be lower, while it was lovely to hear, seemed overbearing for such a small space. We were outside and it was difficult to talk over.

L V used to offer superb dining in a beautiful room, patio, upstairs. Now the terrace venue has small tables, the adjacent room has small tables close together, etc. The main room was near empty and dark when we moved there to escape the chill. The menu is small for an upscale dining room and the food selection is matched at any bistro. Pricing is for an upscale restaurant which this is not. Service was friendly and competent. Not suitable for a "special occasion" dine out.