La Carreta Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Bermuda Run

La Carreta in Advance prepares some tasty Mexican cuisine in a beautiful building—the attractiveness of the building alone is almost worth a visit. (Please see my backstory on this building at the end of this review.)

I sat at the bar to place a to-go order. The bar features a lot of beautiful wood and luxurious booths that are very cozy and inviting. The bartender was polite and helpful but also quiet and business-like. I had a margarita while I waited. It came from a machine, and I am more of a purist when it comes to mixed drinks, yet I must admit that it was excellent.

Chips and salsa: the chips were standard fare, but the salsa was outstanding. Very fine and smooth tomato base, it had the perfect amount of seasonings and fresh cilantro. In addition, it had a perfectly awesome heat to it. I would imagine that people who like no heat would think it was too hot, but I LOVED it.

Beans and rice: refried beans were generally mild but had a nice flavor. Rice was also mild and a bit dry.

Taco, burrito, enchilada: all tasted good but the beef was very mild. The cheese was excellent. I wish there had been a little more sauce.

Price was just a tick high. But the owner has to pay that rent somehow.

Which takes me to the building. This building did not originally house La Carreta. It was actually called to Saratoga steakhouse. When I first moved to this area into 2003, it was a well-known fact that one of the best steaks in the area could be found just west of Winston-Salem at a little hole in the wall on US Highway 158 called Putters. The owner dry aged his steaks, a time-consuming process that produces a deliciously flavored meat. Eventually he decided to move to eastern Davie County, and had a magnificently beautiful building constructed for his new restaurant, which he named Saratoga.

Unfortunately, things did not turn out well. The steaks were truly outstanding, and there was a house-made blue cheese dressing that remains the best I’ve ever had. EVER. The price, however, more than matched the value of the steak and people found it difficult to dine there on a regular basis without taking out a second mortgage. This was also at the time that the economy went into the tank, which did not help. For this and other reasons, the owner had to shutter his windows and close down. Sometime after that, La Carreta took over the building for their restaurant.

So you can still dine in this attractive building, but you will be eating good Mexican food rather than...

Visited 1/4/25 noon. Seated quickly and drinks brought shortly. Order taken and food came quickly. Beans and rice very good. Salsa ok but chips tasted oily. Fajitas good and generous amount for lunch special. Drinks refilled as needed. Dining area too dark for my liking. Chicken soup good and large serving.Revisited 2/27/25. Server seemed put out by anything we asked for(extra salsa, chips). Thought of leaving after seeing how filthy printed menus were. Stayed and had steak fajitas. Have had jerky that was more tender. Guacamole tasted like pure salt and could not eat. Ate about half of vegetables and took rest home. At home I was sick all night long. Tossed leftovers out. Try at your own risk. Returned 5/9/25 5:00 pm. Busy but seated quickly. Drink orders taken and drinks delivered. Food orders taken and arrived quickly. Tableside guacamole very good. Customizing orders no problem. Avacado salad very good. Chicken fajitas good. Rice very salty, guacamole included with fajitas not very good. Generous portions. Waiter very attentive. Great improvement from all previous visits. Returned 9/19/2025 5:00 pm. No wait, orders taken. Salsa bland not good. Chips greasy and cold. Food delivered. Grilled shrimp salad with avacado very good. Mixed fajitas ok. A bit overcooked but hot. Lettuce needs better prep. Beans ok. Sour cream and guacamole very bad. Consular (our waitress) rude and very slow to respond to request (when we could see her). Place has taken a downturn and I can not recommend...

It pains me to leave this review because Ive often frequented this restaurant for lunch and dinner. Their food is excellent. I think theyve probably got the best chips and salsa hands down. But their service leaves a lot to be desired. We enjoyed having lunch in the bar area. I do NOT recommend sitting at the bar area for lunch. You'll be lucky if you even see a server. When they do show up it isnt with a smile. Our most recent and final visit was a wednesday night dinner date. Parking was nearly impossible. We stood at the entry awaiting a table as party after party continued to arrive and were seated ahead of us. When we were finally seated we waited close to a half hour to place a drink order. It was kind of shocking. I ordered a margarita and waited. All the while new customers came in, were seated, and served drinks. After my margarita arrived i never saw the server again. I patiently watched customers who arrived after us receive their food orders. I felt completely if not intentionally ignored. I finally threw a $10 bill on the table and left. As a matter of fact, I was going to leave a three star review but after recalling this upsetting experience Im making it two stars. Only because of the food. Will...