On July 18, Valle contemporary Mexican restaurant in Oceanside became San Diego County’s fifth Michelin-starred restaurant. It was the culmination of Valle founding chef Roberto Alcocer’s 22-year quest to earn the coveted award.
The Baja native’s dream was born in 2001 at his first professional cooking job at Michelin-starred Le Patio restaurant in France’s Bordeaux region. After working around the world in Michelin-starred restaurants, Alcocer opened his first restaurant in 2014, Malva Cocina de Baja California in Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe.
Now, Alcocer — who moved his family from Baja in 2021 to open Valle in Oceanside, because Michelin stars aren’t yet available in Mexico — has a new dream.
“Since I came to this country I said I’m going to get a star, and my wife was telling me ‘don’t say it out loud because what if you don’t get it?’ For me, it was motivating. If I say it, I need to make it. And now I’m saying I want to get two,” Alcocer, 39, said in an interview at Valle restaurant last week.
Robert Alcocer, San Diego’s newest Michelin-starred chef, inside his Oceanside contemporary Mexican restaurant, Valle.
(John Gastaldo/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Michelin Guide’s stars are internationally recognized as the pinnacle of excellence in the restaurant industry. Michelin opened its awards program to Southern California restaurants in 2019. Since then just four other San Diego County restaurants have earned stars. Carlsbad’s Jeune et Jolie and San Diego’s Soichi Sushi and Sushi Tadokoro each earned a star. And Addison in Carmel Valley is one of just 13 restaurants in the U.S. with three stars.
Robert Alcocer, founding chef at Michelin-starred Valle restaurant in Oceanside, hugs the Michelin Man mascot at Michelin Guide’s California Awards Ceremony on July 18, 2023, in Oakland.
(Jojo Korsh & Jason Sean Weiss/BFA.com)
Since earning the star, Alcocer said dining reservations have been pouring in at Valle — seating is now booked through September — and so have resumes from people eager to work there. Alcocer has transitioned from four menus to a single eight-course, $165 tasting menu that allows all guests to have the same dining experience. And Alcocer said he has been contacted by many longtime chefs seeking his secret for earning a star after less than two years in business.
‘People say to me ‘you’re an overnight success.’ I say ‘see my face? I’m tired.’ That overnight success took 20 years,” Alcocer said.
The interior of Valle contemporary Mexican restaurant in Oceanside.
(John Gastaldo/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Alcocer now lives in Carlsbad with his wife, Erika, and their 11-year-old daughter Roberta and 7-year-old son Roberto. The demands of running Valle, first during the pandemic and now during an industry-wide labor shortage, have been hard on his family. He’s at the restaurant from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. On Mondays and Tuesdays, when the restaurant is closed, he’s usually at home doing administrative work by phone and email or driving down to Baja to check in with staff at his Malva restaurant.
Robert Alcocer, San Diego’s newest Michelin-starred chef, inside his Oceanside contemporary Mexican restaurant, Valle.
(John Gastaldo/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Fortunately, Alcocer says his family has long been familiar with the sacrifices of the culinary life.
“People are now coming in with higher expectations so I need to be there,” he said. “When you go to a Michelin star restaurant and I fulfill your expectations, you’ll say ‘yeah, it’s good, maybe I’ll come back someday.’ But if I exceed your expectations, you’ll say ‘wow’ and you’ll come back and back.”
Here are excerpts of our interview, which has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: The first year of business for any restaurant is always the hardest. What was it like for you at Valle?
A: It was a roller coaster of emotions. We opened in October 2021 when COVID was going down so our books were full until December. Then COVID hit again and we went from fully booked to zero. And it was hard keeping a staff on with not enough tips. They were jumping ship. Keeping the quality was rough. One of the first Yelp reviews we got was: “This place is going to be a steakhouse in six months.” The thing is you can hate it, but that’s like gasoline for me. I said “All right my friend, I don’t know you but I can promise that this not going to be a freaking steakhouse in six months.”
The bar in Valle restaurant in Oceanside.
(John Gastaldo/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Q: When did things begin to change?
A: There are a lot of wealthy Mexicans living here in San Diego County and they miss good Mexican food, and there are locals who like being able to dine at a special-occasion restaurant without having to drive 45 minutes to San Diego or go to Orange County. They came in and said, “This is Mexico,” or they said, “Thank you for opening in Oceanside.” We had people crying in the dining room because the flavors remind them of their grandma or their grandpa and the traditional things they grew up eating, but with a contemporary touch.
Q: Why has Valle succeeded when other fine-dining Mexican restaurants in San Diego (Bracero Cocina de Raiz in Little Italy and El Jardin in Liberty Station) have not?
A: Because we know how to explain the food and how to sell it. So if you see a taco at $20 or $25, your first reaction is “Dude, it’s a taco.” But if I explain the art behind the taco and how many people were involved in making it, you understand. It’s also about hospitality. San Diego has a lot of restaurants with really good food, but the service is not as good. People want service that makes you feel comfortable and the staff respects you and treats you like a lady or gentleman. That’s why Valle became successful. We’re not just cooking good food, we’re also paying attention on how to present and serve the food.
Dishes at Michelin-starred Valle restaurant in Oceanside.
(Courtesy of Jordan Younis)
Q: Is finding Michelin-quality staff getting any better?
A: It’s been a struggle to hire. There’s not enough of a market up here (in North County) for them to look for jobs up here. So we stopped hiring servers and now we’re building our own staff. We bring in people as assistants and train them up. I have a cook who drives up from Tijuana every day and doesn’t have a SENTRI pass. He’s here every day, fresh and proud, because we’re doing Mexican food. People have been dropping resumes including someone from Addison. But we do Mexican food and it’s not the same selling our menu.
The exterior of Michelin-starred Valle restaurant in Oceanside.
(John Gastaldo/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Q: How is Valle different from Addison or other Michelin restaurants?
A: We have the same finesse and high standards, but I’m not trying to copy anybody. I understand the elegance of Addison, but I’m in Oceanside and we’re in a hotel. This is a beach town and I don’t want to lose the client who arrives in a cap and shorts. Maybe they came for a staycation and didn’t pack nice clothes but still want to eat here. My dress code is come as you are. I don’t see myself closing the door to people. We’re the ones who wanted to open a fine-dining restaurant here and they are the ones who are OK with us being here.
Q: How would you describe your Michelin star service?
A: Since day one I’ve said we don’t have VIPs. We don’t know who the (Michelin) inspectors are, so everyone is treated like an inspector. We’re going to blow your mind with our service. But if you are an inspector and you see everyone being treated the same way as you, you’re going to say this place is consistent. At the end of every meal, guests at every table are invited in to the kitchen. I greet them and offer them a small treat. You’ve already had your dulces (desserts) and paid your bill and you think that’s it, and in the kitchen I’m handing you a small ice cream so the experience never ends. It’s about how can I add more to the experience.
A charred onion tart topped with caviar is chef Roberto Alcocer’s signature dish at Valle restaurant in Oceanside, which earned its first Michelin star in July 2023.
(Courtesy of Audrey Ma)
Q: Do you have a dish that has become Valle’s signature?
A: It’s the charred onion tart, which has been on menu since we opened. I took it out but people said they came for it, so we brought it back. Now it’s the first dish on the eight-course menu so everyone can have it. What people love about that dish is how an onion was elevated to fine dining and we top it with caviar, which brings brightness, saltiness and texture.
Q: Will earning the star allow you to be more adventurous with your cooking?
A: The star validates that this is a good place to dine and to trust the chef, because he’s going to feed you well. But we have already been evolving the cuisine because we have regulars now who trust in us. So the good thing now is we can take risks. I’m being more creatively free in doing what I want to achieve, but I’m not there yet. In Mexico we have a saying that you don’t put all the steaks on the grill. You want to go little by little.
The bar inside Michelin-starred Valle restaurant in Oceanside.
(John Gastaldo/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Q: What is one of these creative risks you have taken?
A: My favorite food is hamburgers … so I put a cheeseburger on the bar menu. It’s a really nice burger. We bake the bread, grind the meat and make the pickles. We only sell a certain amount each week because we make only one batch of bread and meat. It’s the only dish on the menu that I don’t accept changes or substitutions for because if I did, it wouldn’t taste the same. To me the menu is more personal now. I feel more confident and comfortable doing my thing, and having a burger in a Mexican restaurant is like, what the heck? Why not? It’s good. Try it.
Robert Alcocer, San Diego’s newest Michelin-starred chef, inside his Oceanside contemporary Mexican restaurant, Valle.
(John Gastaldo/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Q: What are your goals for the future at Valle, besides earning a second Michelin star?
A: I’d like to have our own valet parking. I want to improve the flatware. I’m adding a cheese cart in the dining room that will offer cheeses from Baja and here. We just moved to an eight-course menu, but I want to make each course more magical, whimsical and theatrical. It’s about dialing in the experience.
Q: On Instagram you’ve been posting a lot of celebratory photos since earning your star. But what’s the reality of life for you behind the scenes these days?
A: To get where we are has cost us a lot. Nobody puts the bad stuff on Instagram. Nobody posts the hustle. For me, the under-staffing is the hardest part. The reality is that sometimes the cooks don’t show up, and the other day my bookings were a mess so I took off my whites (chef’s coat) and I went and did my walk-ins. I haven’t found the formula yet where I’m not still in the kitchen chopping onions and sweeping floors. Maybe Thomas Keller (the famed Napa chef with a combined eight Michelin stars) is still chopping onions. I don’t know. But that’s the real life. Sometimes you just need to chop onions.
Valle
Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays
Where 222 N. Pacific St., Oceanside
Price: $165 for an eight-course tasting menu (vegetarian option available)
Phone: (866) 723-8906
Online: valleoceanside.com/contact