La Buena Vida - Durham — Restaurant in Durham

It’s a no from me. If you want a fun place to drink with friends and don’t mind extremely slow service this might be the place for you! I’ll start with the positive. Their drinks are cool. They’re all gimmicky and are definitely a “show” and they taste good too. However, that’s honestly where the positives end. The food has potential, but the menu is SO misleading. You advertise a Molcajete with lobster and clams that doesn’t come with lobster or clams, but still has a $40 price tag. - Our guest who ordered this, questioned about the lobster (missed the clams) and they doubled down that he was wrong and it didn’t include a lobster; without having even checked their menu. They came back and spoke to one person in our party, not even the guest who ordered it, and said they were going to include the lobster for free to make it right. (However, upon googling the locations menu on DoorDash it states it includes the lobster at the $40 price tag- so no, you didn’t include what was supposed to already be included for free). You advertise a cheesy burger skillet and it’s an actual burger? It sounded much more like an “acp” style dish. Now to service- I understand not bringing everyone’s food out at the same time. You don’t want other people’s food to get cold, okay, I get it. But come on. Half our table received their food- and the second half had to wait over half an hour longer for theirs. LITERALLY- no exaggeration. More on the service- where was it? Any and every refill- we had to hunt our waitress down and ask. We spent around half an hour as well just waiting for our check. They had completely cleared our tables before bringing the check. Also- we had a fluent Spanish speaker in our party and the waitress, who spoke to the non fluent Spanish speakers before the person who was fluent arrived; proceeded to only interact via the fluent speaker. I understand if it’s not your first language, maybe it’s more comfortable, but from the view point of your customers, it just felt rude. A table of 8 and you only spoke to one of us. And we constantly were having to ask them what was being said. The customer service was SEVERELY lacking. I have zero intentions on coming back here. I’ve been to this location AND the cary location. You don’t want to get me started on...

This is not a restaurant. It’s a club.

The quilted entryway should have been our first clue. Step inside, and the “Mexican restaurant” façade falls apart instantly. It’s just another gimmicky nightclub in a sombrero. The giant TVs claimed “the Mexican experience,” but that couldn’t have been further from reality.

We came for dinner on a Saturday night and were seated immediately by two unfriendly hostesses. Latin house music pumped through the speakers - not a bad choice, except it was blasting at “neighbor-calling-the-police” volume.

We ordered two margaritas for $13 each, and I’m fairly sure they were made with Jose Cuervo. Absolutely not worth it. For an appetizer, we got queso dip - $8 for a portion so small it could have been a sample at Costco.

Our food arrived quickly, but enjoying it was impossible. Why?

Because at 8:00 PM, mid-bite, the speakers suddenly blared the Godfather theme song. At full blast. For five to seven minutes. Then, without warning, it switched to the 20th Century Fox intro (yes, the YouTube version), before pivoting to a Latin guitar backing track.

A man with an electric, light-up guitar strutted out and started playing along. Fog machines hidden in the ceiling pumped out clouds like we were at a middle school dance.

Simultaneously, a squad of staff emerged from the kitchen carrying wooden airplanes filled with shots of ... maybe liquor? They marched around, chanting and stopping at tables of five or more to offer shots like it was communion. One man wore a sequined jacket and a mirrored bunny mask.

The guitar guy played two songs with his YouTube soundtrack, then the music switched back to Latin house - somehow louder than before. It got so loud we couldn’t even hear what song it was. Eventually, someone turned it down and I could chew without my molars vibrating.

The whole thing felt like a rejected Saturday Night Live skit or a bad fever dream - if your fever dream included bad margaritas, overpriced queso, and a bunny-headed hype man.

Our server Cristina was sweet, and we tipped her 20%. But we will NEVER, EVER, EVER be back.

If you want to be a club, be a club. Just don’t pretend you’re a restaurant while serving mediocre food at a rave.

When did Mexican restaurant owners decide they had to double as...

Flavor Vacation! It starts before you even walk in and then WoW! This place is special. From the outstanding smiling, classy service down to the empty plates making you want more even when you’re full. I truly felt like I was on vacation, nothing like it around. The elegant sophisticated atmosphere and decor just blew me away.. okay let’s get to the food..The food… well I can’t say enough good things. Allow me to brag a bit. A cuisine full of flavor that makes you happy, so much I can’t get it out of my mind. My taste buds were going nuts! First the drinks were original, unique and put a smile on your face. Chips, salsa, avocado dip, cheese dip.. not your normal everyday you find anywhere else.. from the simple first impressions of the chops and dip I knew there’s something extra about the food here.. banging! Hands down, the best and freshest ceviche that you will not find anywhere else. Try the LaBuenaVida ceviche!!!! We got two different orders of ceviche, both so delicious and you can tell they are prepared with the freshest seafood. The chilaquiles was the best comfort food and tasted amazing. The steak tacos with bone marrow and gold flakes are out of this world. The plantain chicken and rice felt like Mexican mothers were in the kitchen making it for their own famil… well all of our food orders felt like that! The flan desert had the perfect taste and consistency, exactly what we needed to end the amazing night. Everyone of the employees there make you feel so special. We have already booked our next events, my birthday, and planned a lunch for next week just because! Edgar was our waiter and we couldn’t get enough of his recommendations. What an experience, a level above all else. Trust me, you’ll be thanking yourself ;) I cannot wait to go back and try new entrees....