Margaritas Mexican Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in North Carolina

A Tale of Two Taco Tuesdays In my little village of Denver, NC, prior visits to Margarita’s have been underwhelming.

I had high hopes when it took over the space from the prior restaurant. I can’t even remember it’s name. My only memory is a dismal ambiance and food to match. The only notable thing was mural of a track of a Cat 5 hurricane across the Caribbean and up the Atlantic coast to the Carolinas. Margarita’s undertook a significant interior remodel, including painting over said mural so it looked promising when first walking in. But personally, they should have left the mural.

But after three trips and just ok food and indifferent service, I told myself I wasn’t going back. Except I did.

On the occasion of the last day of my son’s 29th trip around the sun, I took him out for a little celebration. When we go out on Tuesdays, it is usually to Sports Page and their Taco Tuesday. I just wasn’t up for it this time so my son suggested Margarita’s.

Walking in, I saw immediately that it was also Taco Tuesday here. The universe had spoken and I decided to give it a try. I’ll do my best to be fair to both restaurants to see which restaurant fares better for Taco Tuesday.

Choice: Point to Sport’s Page. A much wider choice of tacos over this Mexican food restaurant. Go figure.

Taste: A chicken taco. Point to Margarita’s. You would expect this, however other trips to the establishment have been a little disappointing.

Ambience: Judgement call. Margaritas has a nicely appointed dining room whereas the dining room at Sports Page is your average diner. However, it’s bar has multiple TV screens. I like TVs so point to SP.

Parking: A draw.

Capacity: A point to Sports Page. Margaritas dining room I believe is bigger, however Sports Page’s bar seats more plus it has outdoor seating. But let’s get real: In the Carolinas, we have, in a good year, 4 months of pleasant weather. The rest is merely tolerable.

We will “take back one Kadam” (name that movie) if you like sitting at the bar. Sports Page has very loyal bar flies. I mean no disrespect. This Clientele are crucial to any restaurant’s survival. Just get there before 5 if you hope to find two adjacent seats around the bar.

Service: SP. The bartender at Sports Page when we visit is almost always Natalie. She is very friendly, very efficient, and goes out of her way to connect with Chris who has a touch of autism. We are there on many Tuesdays so there’s that. I have not dined in the SP dining room so have no comment.

On the other hand, service in the dining room at Margarita’s has never been that remarkable. However, on this particular visit, our server, Rilee was terrific. Engaging. Even cleared away the plates and detritus of a meal. That hardly ever happens at most casual restaurants now. So, a bonus point to Margarita’s. Too bad Riles is going back to App State in a week or two.

Price: A point to Margarita’s. We are only talking twenty-five to fifty cents per Taco depending on selection, but doesn’t Taco Tuesday sort of suggest uber inexpensive? Plus you get chips and salsa.

Adult beverages: A point to SP for it’s wider selection of beer, including craft beer, and a decent offering of bourbon and whiskey.

Conclusion: If I can count, for Taco Tuesday, Sports Page wins overall. If we are just grading on the taco, Margarita’s wins. When you get right down to the tacos, the chicken taco at Margarita’s tastes better but Sports Page adds jalapeños if you are into those. I am.

I’m sure Margarita’s would give me some but I’d have to ask. Plus you get a wider choice of tacos and you can watch TV if you please. I know, sports bar vs. restaurant, not exactly a fair comparison. If you don’t care about TV or the other tangibles of dining, go to Margarita’s for the better taco. Plus you get chips and salsa.

Note: Had this been a tie, Sports Page would have won anyway. My son likes quesadillas and when we go to Sports Page on other than a Tuesday, he will always get a quesadilla. Quesadillas at Margarita’s are caca. Sports Page puts some effort into their...

My husband and I went for a late lunch/early dinner and had Guero as our server after being rushed to order he never came back! We had to look and look for him for a refill and after interrupting a conversation he was having finally received a refill for my husband. We ordered a side of Pico and had to ask him several times for it before it was finally brought to us. I was speaking to another employee expressing my concerns with our visit and Guero kept asking him in Spanish what I was complaining about. As we were waiting for him to get our bill I looked over and Guero is at the cash register computer smoking his vape! Inside the building! After finding out the Boss’s name Hector I discovered as we were leaving that Hector had just arrived so I called Hector over to voice my concerns and the entire time I was speaking to Hector Guero was standing there asking what I was saying. I can tell you that we will not be back! We come to this restaurant very often but after this visit I’m not sure we will be back. I’m not to sure that Hector took my complaint seriously. He told me he would speak to Guero but I’m not to sure it was sincere. Hopefully they will get this matter sorted out because to be honest Margaritas is the best Mexican...

After a disappointing visit to Henry's Tavern (see review) I came to Margaritas. As I walked in I was immediately greeted with a smile. Sitting at the bar, the atmosphere was inviting, authenticly decorated with traditional garb. Bartender was nice greeting me while providing menu was a nice start compared to establishment across the street. I ordered the chicken mole with corn tortillas. Meal came out in respectable time, plate was hot, however meal was warm. The refried beans were tasty, covered in a layer of cheese, however slightly watery. The chicken mole was non traditional which was a little disappointing although tasty. In my experience the chicken served with mole is strip from the bird and shredded. This chicken almost appeared to be very thin chicken fingers or tenders. The mole also was watery missing the traditional grittyness and flavor. This was more like a thin sauce. While appearing as an authentic Mexican restaurant this was a little disappointing. That being said the food was good, as was the service. The jumbo margaritas are another story. Wow! Bring friends to help u drink, you could go swimming in the glasses. I would recommend this ...