Welik Mexican Cuisine

High on our list in search of great Mexican food in the Santa Clarita Valley was Welik. Even fellow Unilocalers have name dropped this place to me. So tonight found opportunity for dinner out, after the Mrs. and I both had long grueling days at our various workplaces. And we settled on Welik.
On entering, the first impression is «not a whole lot of ambience». But that’s soon overlooked by a very warm reception. After being seated the true test begins, the taste test:
Chips and salsa (a perfect 5 stars)
Chicken tortilla soup (3.5)
Carne Asada (3)
Pollo Beans (4)
Rice (4)
Flour tortillas (4.5)
Strawberry Lemonade (3.5)
And that was just my meal rating. From listening to my wife’s comment on her combo dinner, I’d guess she was thinking about a 3.5. She thought her Chili Relleno had too much cheese and her Chicken Enchilada was a bit bland. My one complaint was that my Carne Asada was over cooked.
So does our search for a great SCV Mexican restaurant end here? No. But compared to most every other Mexican place we’ve eaten at in this town, we’re much closer with tonight’s dining out at Welik.

Great service !! Amazingly fresh and delicious food !! First time here, we will be back.

We were visiting from Texas and decided to Unilocal a place to eat. We found Welik and it was worth the detour. The food is very traditional. Wonderful flavors and it’s not too spicy. The owners were out in the dining room talking to the quests and were very genuine people. Service was also outstanding. The Flan is mouth watering and is a must. Highly, highly recommended.

ROACH!
I have been to this place about 5 times and food has been decent. Service excellent, very friendly staff. However, the last time I went for lunch, I had a terrible experience. Our food was served and there was a roach running over my food!
The owner was apologetic but didnt really think it was a big deal, her comment was «it happens». She was however very grossed out about having to kill the roach and clean the table. She offered to sit us at another table but we decided to leave the place.
I just dont think I can stomach ever going back!

I had the pleasure of having lunch here today, and boy was I impressed !!! The food is authentic and has a home taste. I loved it. I ordered the chicken burrito off of the lunch menu and had it specially made to order with a habanero sauce oh and the horchata is so so good !!! Can’t wait to be back. Thanks Welik!

We went again for the second time hoping the first time wasn’t a fluke.
It was just as good as our previous visit.
Friendly staff, great service and terrific food and banana stuffed chocolate crepes for desert. We will be back soon.
There is a very good reason that they are rated one of the 10 best restaurants in Santa Clarita!

If you are headed to Magic Mountain or have plans to drive through this area, be sure to plan for a wonderful Mexican meal. The restaurant is small, accommodations for about 21 patrons. There is a very small staff (husband and wife team). The food is absolutely amazing! First they drop off freshly made tortilla chips with delicious refried beans and homemade salsa. We ate two servings and almost skipped lunch
My chile Relleno was perfectly seasoned and battered. The soft, melted cheesed blended well with the Mexican rice and refried beans. Incredible food and I highly recommend a stop through for their delicious food! The owner’s son is a student at UCLA and member of their marching band

Being that we were in Santa Clarita for the day, I did what I always do and accessed my fellow Unilocalers for reviews on local restaurants in the area.
I’ll admit the picture of the chips and salsa and poblano mole entrée won me over.
This restaurant is located in a strip mall, it’s easy to miss if you aren’t familiar with the area.
Once we entered the waiter greeted us right away, there was one family having lunch at a large table toward the back.
He got our drinks & menus to us quickly and brought us complimentary Chips with Salsa & bean dip, the chips were warm and fresh, the salsa was seasoned and chunky with fresh tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.
I chose the combination plate of 1, which was a chile Relleno and rice & beans, it also comes with a side salad, price was $ 10.
The chile Relleno was good, not great as it was more batter than chile, the rice was fluffy, and the beans were fresh and tasted homemade.
The waiter was attentive and teasing as he came to the table to serve me lunch and said, «I have your chicken enchilada.» I of course wasn’t paying attention to my plate and started to tell him what I ordered and then looked down to see it was my Chile Relleno… He got me good. Stinker.
All in all good food, great service and next time I’ll try that poblano mole.

I was excited to try this place because it has a lot of reviews and «5» stars on Unilocal.Overall impression after eating? Definitely over-​rated and enough to make one wonder who’s eating here – surely not «foodies». Okay, so right off, the salsa was delicious and that was a nice start with the tortilla chips. I asked for an order of freshly made guacamole and they made that in front of me at the table – it wasn’t bad and I always love «the show» but even stirring in a bunch of Serrano chili didn’t punch it up enough.
The accompanying cup of Chicken Tortilla soup was a little lackluster, I’ve had much better, and a friend felt the same way about the Albondigas they ordered.
We decided to start out sharing the Arroz Con Pollo – the best part was the cheese and vegetables and next time I’d order more of that and less chicken. Didn’t bother taking leftovers home. Very disappointing was the fact the kitchen ran out of Chili Relleno which is Mr. Picky’s favorite.
Next we shared orders of the a la carte shrimp enchilada and special request for a Molé enchilada. Mr. Picky and I seriously disagreed on these. I thought the shrimp enchilada was really good but was very disappointed in the mole sauce on the chicken enchilada – while he preferred the latter. Couldn’t figure that out. Both had a little gentle chili heat in the background that the Horchata helped tame.
We decided to finish with dessert. I ordered the fried ice-​cream and it was pretty good. Mr. Picky was once again unlucky in discovering they were out of flan but was pleasantly surprised by the banana-​stuffed chocolate crêpe.
Everybody leaving the restaurant had big smiles on their faces and seemed very happy about the dining experience. I can only think this community doesn’t have a lot of fabulous examples of various types of international cuisine by which to judge. If I could, I’d rate it «3.5» stars, but Mr. Picky puts it at «3″ – the level we don’t go out of our way for, meaning we rarely go back.

This place is awesome, I have been twice with my family in 10 days. I’m counting the days until they get a liquor license, those awesome Mexican entrées will definitely go down better with a large Margarita.
I love the tortilla soup, it’s a must have. First visit I had the special which was amazing, next visit I had the pastor burrito.

Nice and relaxing atmosphere with pleasant servers. Delicious horachata! Amazzzzing chocolate flan! Within minutes my family destroyed it! Next time we better order two! Can’t wait to come back. So many dishes to choose from.
No alcohol served though so you can’t get your drink on haha but that does not phase me cos I’m high on life!

At first I was skeptical — how can a venue in the SCV get FIVE stars on over 160 reviews!!! My skepticism was delightfully quashed after a family meal here.
First, the parking situation here isn’t as bad as folks make it out to be. If you go later, you may have to park a little farther down near the glass or auto shops. Oh no, walking in LA!!! Frightening, I know. You’ll need the post-​dinner walk anyway after the amount of food Welik puts on your plate.
Our server Damien was so thorough and courteous I thought for sure he was part of the ownership family. Although he wasn’t, he made the effort like it was his own place.
The food. Oh my the food. Fluffy rice, tender black beans, perfectly cooked meats, and spicy salsa. Yum yum YUM! What I like most about this place too is that it is NOT obnoxiously loud. It’s a great place to enjoy a meal and company.

Another awesome lunch. Great food, great service, great time.
What’s better than eating somewhere owned and operated by genuine and caring people.
Five stars!

They got me right at the door. Welcomed us in and we enjoyed a great Mexican dinner.
From the Albondigas soup and the table side guacamole to the main course, it was all good.
I can’t wait to go back and try other things.

Hundred Islands Grill, a Phillipino restaurant, is now supplanted by another restaurant whose culture & country had an ongoing trade with the Phillipines facilitated by Spanish galleons when both regions were colonies of Spain.
Welik (weh leek) is the anglicized spelling of the word Huelic from Nahuatl/​Aztec language of central Mexico meaning «delicious» written on the front page of the menu.
The interior is simple, clean, spartan, w/​comfortable chairs & massive tables that look as though they are from a hotel banquet hall. Requisite pictures of El Castillo pyramid in Chichen Itza, possibly Palenque classical Mayan archeological site, Aztec calendars which seem to be expected by non Mexican customers decorate the walls.
Totopos/​fried corn chips were thin, light, crispy w/​scent of fresh sweet oil. There is a frijol de pinto/​refried bean dip & a roasted chile salsa roja that has a slight bit of a slow burn. I combined both to create a dip that had thick texture from the frijoles as well as having gastrique, piquancy, & vegetal lightness from the salsa roja.
I chose the Tortilla soup which was chicken broth based w/​chunks of chicken breast, onions, bit of rice, corn tortilla strips, & aguacate/​avocado garnish.
One of the unique dishes at Welik was the «Molcajete» which is actually a grinding instrument closer to our mortar. In this case the Molcajete serves as a hot, heavy stone casserole dish. The shrimp is grilled w/​a bit of ocean sweetness. A Burrata looking Mexican cheese is soft, w/​surface tension & the interior is a bit mushy & dairy sweet. Chicken is breast meat that was not marinated to retain moist, softness & a bit over cooked so it came out dry & chewy. Likewise with the beef strips which was well done.
The Salsa de Chile Rojo was gutsy, assertive w/​hints of possibly vinegar for a strong gastrique, ground dried chiles that gave the sauce a grainy texture & a chile pepper subtle heat as well as complex, sharp, earthy, smoky overtones. This salsa roja went extremely well w/​the Burrata-​like, mild sweet cheese & fine w/​the sweetness of the shrimp, but the chicken & beef due to their being hard & dry didn’t seem to benefit as much. There was the standard accompaniment of frijoles de pinto, arroz/​rice, bit of guacamole & pico de gallo/​diced tomato, onion, cilantro, green chile. 3+ Unilocal stars.
A good wine from Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California del Norte such as El Grenache would have upped the game as an interesting food & wine pairing. The sweet, fruity wine with good acidity & light tannin having flavours of dark cherry, dark plum, blue berries would have been a great foil to the smoky, sour, earthy flavours in the Molcajete. Hopefully Welik will be able to apply & receive a beer & wine license.
Crepas de Chocolate are dark brown colored crepes with the batter containing powdered chocolate. The inside filling is Crème Chantilly flavoured w/​a bit of almond extract & slices of ripe banana. The textures are fluffy & smooth inside while the crêpe is like a thin pancake. Chocolate sauce is drizzled onto the finished crêpe for an even more chocolate effect. A good Café de Olla would have made a great companion to the chocolate crepes since Café de Olla has subtle hints of canela/​cinnamon along w/​a refreshing bitterness.
Service by the wife & husband team was amiable, kind, hospitable in the best of Mexican tradition, but done in a quiet, refined, warm manner. Don’t expect big Abrazos, but the reception is warm & dignified. We overwhelmed the kitchen with 21 people in the group ordering all at once, but the food slowly came out in due time. Apparently, our reservation was made the previous day so they may not have had time to prepare & anticipate such a large group in their fairly small restaurant. However, they did their best to accomodate us. 4+ Unilocal star for service.
This was my first time at Welik, & the Molcajete my first dish, but w/​the super nice service, I would like to up the 3+ Unilocal stars to a 4-​. Good place to have Mexican cuisine w/​a central Mexican accent. Buen Provecho.

If your looking for an authentic Mexican full course meal, come here. You cannot leave disappointed.
This was my first time here and I was blown away.
We walked in to Welik at 8:59 PM (not on purpose) our usual spot in the valley had closed early.
Lucky for us, we came here.
We were greeted with a warm welcome, seated promptly and given outstanding customer service despite our tardiness.
Our meal began with complimentary tortilla chips, salsa and bean dip. I couldn’t get enough of the salsa, It’s truly addicting.
Then we were served cup of soup which tasted fresh and loaded with authentic flavors.
Our server recommend the «Chile Poblano», it was our tables favorite item. I surely recommend it as well after trying it. We also ordered 2 combinations, chicken enchiladas and a chicken burrito. Both came with rice/​beans, the portions are huge! We came very hungry and still managed to leave with leftovers. :)
Our meal was finished with a complimentary flan. My heart melted by how well we were treated. I will surely return again and can’t wait to bring more people here.

Delicious food and great customer service.
The chicken Suza enchiladas were excellent
I will definitely be back!

I had my belated birthday dinner here and it was a very pleasant experience. I had a vegetarian burrito with rice and beans. Everything was seasoned nicely and was very fresh. This was the first time I had broccoli in my vegetarian burrito.
When I first arrived, they welcomed me with smiles and a bright hello! Then I got my menu (quite a large variety of dishes and a la carte to choose from) and nice, fresh, warm tortilla chips with salsas. They were tasty and warm! The waiter had a humorous personality and they were very transparent about how they prepare their food and their passion for their establishment.
Their location is a bit of a «hide and go seek» game and the parking is pretty tight and scarce, but their food made up for all of that. I will definitely come back again. They are a humble group of people who own this establishment and I am happy to have shared my personal experience.

We’ve been back more times than I can count. We’ve also introduced «Welik» to so many people and they all love it. The food is amazing, the service is very accommodating too. For instance, when I ask for just a little sour cream on my tortilla soup, they give it to me and they don’t charge me for a «side» of sour cream like some of the other local mexican restaurants.
They also keep the chips, salsa and bean dip coming, you never have to ask for a refill. I can’t wait until they offer some lunch specials! Hopefully one day they will open for breakfast too.

My mom and I saw an article about this place in the local magazine so decided to give it a try.
First of all. It is located in the Del Taco parking lot! So be sure not to miss it (like we did).
We came here Friday and now went to dinner here again just two days later. The food is DELICIOUS! The waiter first brought warm chips with beans and salsa for dipping. We have order the Enchilada Ranchero, Arroz Con Pollo, Chile Reyeno, Tortilla Soup and Albondigas Soup (not sure if I spelled any of that correctly haha). All of the food was seasoned well, cooked perfectly and was quite large portions. The pricing for the amount and quality of food is very reasonable.
In addition to the great quality of food, the staff is SUPER FRIENDLY. The servers are very attentive and always have a smile on. :)
This is by far my new favorite Mexican restaurant in SCV!