La Buena Vida - Durham

Reviews

• JG

  Jimmy Gradeless

  1 day ago
  5.0
  I was in town for a pretty serious surgery and stayed at the motel right next door. And the person that took me was an old friend from my childhood and we were cutting up before we even got in the restaurant. But we opened the door to see. These giant padded doors it was really cool but we were cutting up anyways. When we got inside we decided to sit the bar and they have Mexico and USA baseball came on. It was quite perfect and our waitress the bartender looked right out of Las Vegas. Better than Las Vegas. I just left there. And then the manager this big giant guy with a black jacket on. We both ordered steak a la Mexican for $24.99 anyways, we were totally kidding and I hope nobody thought that we were being racist, but we are joking that it looked like the Mexican Mafia because everything was so perfect. Well apparently they overheard us and somebody put on the theme to godfather really loud over the music. I don't know why but we absolutely loved it and it was perfect night and one of our fondest memories of my recent trip! On top of that, when the food came out it was perfect. It's so flavorful. We loved it. The beans, the rice it was all perfect and for $24.99 wow it was a bargain!
• JC

  Jazmine Crabbe-Harris

  3 days ago
  1.0
  First and Last time going- Beautiful Venue though! Went for a friend's lowkey and kid friendly birthday dinner. Arrived by 8 did not leave until almost closing time. There was all of 5 tables max with no more than 2-4 people at each of them, with a few other birthday's being celebrated. When I arrived with my family, the other half of the table had already placed their order, so upon their food being served my family placed our order. Firstly, the tables have a weekly specials list on the table, which will not be honored upon receiving the check if you do not remind someone what day of the week it is? They charge you for togo cups- so if your kid wants to take the drink togo you get charged for a full fountain drink. The horchata tasted chalky- most places it's a hit or miss- so we asked to have those removed from bill and replaced with something else (still got charged). We had a kids meal which is supposed to come with a drink (free) still got charged. Our table faced the kitchen, so the entire time we are looking at the mass amount of employees for a very under populated restaurant, we were trying to make sense as to why we continued to sit at this table for as long as we did. Our server we could see every time the door opened to the kitchen was doing....?????? THEN as we are waiting to get our checks and god forbid ask for togo boxes and have to wait on all of that to come back, when she does finally return, repeated the bill items to us, there was no weekly discount applied to the bill so we had to wait for her to come back after adjusting that and getting manager approval, AND WE STILL WERE CHARGED FOR A 30 DOLLARS worth of extra things that were not supposed to be there. While we are waiting for the server to return with togo boxes (we're all still slightly eating) the bus boy comes and starts clearing off our table, and taking things while we are using them. I mean he is reaching over our shoulders and across the kids plates, at this point we were like what if we weren't ready to go yet? Obviously, with children we could no longer wait to be assisted so the bill was paid and a call and conversation was had upon open the following day. The manager remembered our table, apologized for all that happened and seemed very understanding and wanted to make the situation right. Refund was supposedly applied- I called back two days later to follow up, was told to wait 3-5 business days or more depending on bank (i used to work at one, could take 7-10 but if you know your establishment then you know how long they typically take) Well here we are well past the window and today a new manager addressed me by name and said he was issuing a refund TODAY...now we must wait additional days and all of this has become a headache, and is extremely unfortunate. Communication is Key and this could have all been very simple and rectified before we ever left the building. We should have been addressed by management well before our faces began to drop.
• JJ

  Jaleesa Jackson

  Feb 27, 2026
  4.0
  La Buena Vida has an amazing atmosphere, and the service was exceptional from start to finish. From the host to our waitress, everyone was friendly, welcoming, and very knowledgeable about the menu. I absolutely loved the birthday celebrations! They have a unique way of giving the entire restaurant a heads-up before it happens. It doesn’t disrupt the vibe at all—in fact, it brings everyone together and makes the moment feel even more special. Honestly, it’s one of the best birthday experiences I’ve ever seen a restaurant create. While everything overall was fantastic, I do have one small critique—the Lychee Martini. Unfortunately, that was the only disappointing part of the night. My boyfriend even ordered me a second one while I stepped away. Because everything else was so great, I didn’t want to send it back or make a fuss. I would just suggest adding a bit more lychee juice or syrup to really bring out that flavor. Other than that, I’ll definitely be back—and I’m excited to try another cocktail next time!
• KM

  Kristen Mirek

  Feb 22, 2026
  2.0
  Visited Saturday evening. Pretty sure the review about them being racist came from the table beside us, as they were clearly having a bad time. Now, there were a lot of issues last night, but I don't think race was one of them. We were also a party of two and sat at a two top, with larger groups being sat at the larger tables. That's just how it is. It's the downside of date nights at most restaurants...you get sat at a table that can barely hold two glasses of water, much less an appetizer, two entrees and drinks. As for my review, service was severely lacking and the kitchen was very slow. It took almost 30mins to get our food (which was freakishly delicious and almost made me forgive them), but once we were done and our plates cleared away, it was another solid 30mins for our waiter to come and allow us to pay our bill. He then proceeded to stand right above us, which made my husband hesitate to leave a lower tip as planned. Good thing we didn't want dessert or we still might be there... The place looks cool and the food is good, but that's my first and last time there. Good food doesn't make a poor dining experience worth it.
• RR

  Rick Rothman

  Feb 18, 2026
  1.0
  We had 6:30 p.m. reservations on Valentine’s Day and unfortunately had one of the worst dining experiences we’ve ever had. We were seated at a high-top table because no standard tables were available, which we understood given the holiday. However, it took about 20 minutes for our order to be taken. We ordered fajitas along with a beer and a margarita. Another 25 minutes passed before we received our water and drinks (chips and salsa came out quickly). By 7:45 p.m., after multiple check-ins with our server — who was polite, apologetic, and clearly overwhelmed — we spoke with a manager. At that point, our entrees still had not arrived. The manager assured us we would not be charged for the entrees, that our meals would be prepared to-go, and that we would receive a gift certificate for a future visit. A fajita plate (not what we ordered) was eventually brought out for us to share while we waited. It then took another 45 minutes just to receive our check. Most of the staff appeared to be involved with the evening’s entertainment rather than the dining room. The entrees we originally ordered were never delivered, and we were never given the promised gift certificate. After more than two hours, we left without ever receiving the meals we ordered. Our waiter did his best in a difficult situation, but the lack of organization and management follow-through — especially not honoring what was promised — was extremely disappointing.

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