La Vaquera - San Juan Capistrano, California

Christian Noyola

We chose La Vaquera to celebrate my birthday, and let me tell you, this place did not disappoint. We started with delicious cocktails and the West Coast oysters. We followed it up with a schmoorgasborg of additional appetizers. The Brussels,steak tartare, and tuna aguachilie each one tastier than the next. For the main course, we shared a mouthwatering 22oz creekstone ribeye and chicken, which paired well with the broccolini and cornbread. We still had enough room for some tasty dessert. Our server Nicole was super attentive and constantly checked in with us throughout this entire experience. This was a perfect place to celebrate a special moment in my life, and I highly recommend anyone to do the same. I will be returning to try their brunch options as well.

Larry M

Located in the newly built shopping center, on the Los Rios Historic street, La Vaquera is a great addition to the dining places in old town San Juan Capistrano.

Food is prepped over an open wood flame to add a rustic touch, slight mex/ranchero flavors are woven in to deliver a mouth watering meal.

Started with the Persimmon salad with a chipotle dressing. Excellent.

Shared the Mary’s Heritage Chicken and what a meal. Chicken had excellent flavor not dry at all and great seasoning with the chimmichuri sauce and salsa verde layered on! OMG
Came with charro beans and blue corn tortillas. Need I say more…it gets better. Added the Cripsy Brussel Sprouts with aioli and cheese.

If you get this meal and need a wine I recommend the Thacher-Cabernet from Paso Robles. Rich beautiful wine that goes great with this roasted chicken meal.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

Service, atmosphere and bar to match. 🍷🥃🍸

If you haven’t already made your reservation, you will need it.

Cheers!

Johnathon Avila

Classic So Cal dishes with a modern twist that perfectly represents present-day San Juan Capistrano while also paying homage to the California cowboys of days past. Everything was absolutely wonderful, from the food to the cocktails, to the staff to the atmosphere. No detail is overlooked. We tried the Tuna Aguachile, Grilled Spanish Octopus (cooked perfectly), Carne Cruda, 10 oz Black Hawk Farms American Wagyu Denver Stea, and the Roasted Heirloom Beets. Will definitely be back

Carrie Drew

I received a bad oyster that was so disgusting I cannot shake the taste or smell. It ruined my day to be honest. I immediately knew it was bad because it smelled and tasted so rotten. I spit it into my napkin and returned it to the shell and asked the waitress to take the oysters back and have the chef please smell it so this does not happen to anyone else. I’ve had so many oysters in my lifetime and I think this ruined it for me. It’s the one on the lower left. I had taken a photo before I ate it. It was the second one I ate. So gnarly. Beyond the oysters, we got yellowtail crudo and eggs and bacon. The eggs were undercooked when I asked for fried and crispy. The bacon was SUPER greasy and floppy and undercooked. The first wine we tasted we did not like - La Mancha. I’m bummed on this place. We asked a bus boy for salt and pepper and he said yes then never returned. I would like a refund to be honest. It was bad.

Shanna Sottosanto

The location is great it’s in the new river street market. It’s soo cute. Cocktails were good. But mine was pretty small. Both my bf and I would go back for drinks but not food. It’s was extremely overpriced for what you get. My meat was chewy and had hard fat on it and portions were small. It also needed some bread on the side. It was so plain. And my bfs breakfast sandwich was mediocre and smothered in sauce to compensate for lack of flavor. The server also told us the food will take a while to come out so she highly suggested an appetizer since we were starving. So we ordered a $24 carne crudo (way way overpriced. Same price as a whole big gourmet burger at the neighboring restaurant) but it came out last. Sooo we felt a little gypped on that.

Clare Hindman

This was the most delightful restaurant experience I’ve ever had! The food was absolutely amazing, I highly recommend the cornbread, brussel sprouts, and steak tartare. The drinks were incredible and the whole experience felt complete by the warm and welcoming staff. I can’t wait to return!

Clara Hazelwood

I’ll start by saying that Google should create a new feature where brand new restaurants get a 30 day window of reviews that do not impact their star rating after freshly opening... Call it a sort of trial-period where the restaurant has a chance to act on the received feedback, and implement the changes prior to reviews actually “counting.” I’m leaving a 5-star review out of principle and empathy (with constructive feedback)

Seeing a 3.9 star rating is sad, but I do get it. When we (two of us) came by on a Sunday morning at opening time with no reservation, we were confused as to why it was taking so long to situate the few sets of two-person parties waiting ahead of us in a completely empty restaurant. We waited 10mins and were seated by a host.

Improvement opportunity: train hosts to better-acknowledge waiting guests in line, and develop a word track that explains there are many reservations that will fill the restaurant up soon, and that they are trying to situate non-reserved guests into the handful of unreserved tables. Otherwise, the back logistics are invisible to the guest who only sees an empty restaurant, and silent host continuously swiping around on an iPad with zero explanation. Also, it’s always been a huge pet peeve of mine when the first words out of a host’s mouth are “do you have reservations?” rather than a warm salutation preceding that question, like “hello,” “welcome,” or “how are you?” Maybe the sassy dark-haired male host was just having a bad morning. Regardless, it’s San Juan Capistrano, not pretentious LA… be friendlier!!!! Be warm!! Be hospitable!! If you’re a business in the River Street Ranch, make it a huge point within the culture of the staff to embody that vibe.

Alright- food feedback. I ordered the Short Rib Barbacoa Hash. Clearly very high quality ingredients, but absolutely needs way more flavor and seasoning. Needs more spice from different peppers other than a poblano, needs more acidity/tang, and wouldn’t hurt with a cilantro sprinkle to give it some herbaceous dimension. Also, if one adds cheese to this dish, it needs to be a melty shredded substantial cheese like cheddar or pepper jack, not the faint shavings of Parmesan I was given that looked like they would all blow away if a breeze came by. Also, I recommend picking a great local hot sauce brand to carry in the restaurant to offer customers, if not planning on making adjustments to entree. Hot sauce options are a HUGE must is So Cal.

Sourdough breakfast sandwich. Delicious but only if you add bacon… because without it, it’s literally just egg, hot sauce aioli, cheese and arugula? Also, a side of bacon is $12? I guess that just hurts my brain. Anyway, the sandwich was delicious after adding bacon and more salsa on it. The purple sourdough bread is phenomenal with great texture and taste.

TL;DR
Service: hosts needs word track/mood training, server was very nice (was a nice young man I think *maybe* named Josh who introduced himself and shook our hand after the meal, nice touch)

Food: needs more flavor but on the right track

Ambiance/design: BEAUTIFUL. Can’t wait for every other element of the restaurant to come together with time so this place reach its full potential!

Sandra Daley

High quality food in a beautiful setting. Steak was perfectly done. The beets and beans were perfect. A bit loud inside - if that bothers you, outside seating would likely be better. Also cool, even inside, on a winter evening - dress accordingly.