"A staple of fine dining in Elizabeth since 1989, Valença has served as the premier location for business lunches and Newark Airport layover dinners. The name refers to to Valença, Portugal, not Valencia, Spain. The menu is reflective of Portuguese, Spanish, and American/European influence. The restaurant is quite spacious, and has two entrances. On their side entrance, they offer a take-out and casual dining area, as well as a churrasqueira. The front entrance is where you 'll find the fancier, white table-cloth dining room, which is quite spacious and decorated with chandeliers. Although steak is not a widely popular dish in Portugal, Valenca is most known their 'steak on a stone ' dish. Their shrimp in garlic or their Portuguese chorizo appetizer are excellent places to start. As it 's a local Portuguese restaurant, they get their seafood from a local fish market, and you can 't go wrong with many of their seafood options. They offer a variety of Portuguese wines as well as a house-made sangria. The service is always excellent, and as expected, Valenca is arguably the best Portuguese restaurant and best choice for fine-dining in Elizabeth. They have a parking lot located directly across the street, plus street parking isn 't too hard to find in this area of North Elizabeth."
