La Fogata Mexican Restaurant

Ms T have been to La Fogata at the N Croatan address each Sunday on this trip, five total. I know there are many great places for American breakfast on the beach, but I find them all boring. I never want American breakfast anymore, only Mexican. Although La Fogata is not technically open for breakfast, and does not feature a ton of breakfast items, it works for me.
To start with, Ms T is not as addicted to eggs and chiles as I am. She is free to explore the menu, something I should do more, I guess. La Fogata does a good job on grilled chicken and she has ordered what they call ACP several times and loves it. This is Arroz con Pollo and is nicely seasoned strips of grilled chicken over rice with white cheese sauce over the top. It really is a guilty pleasure. The rice is their Mexican rice which I love. It is real rice (not Uncle Ben’s) and is gooey and well flavored. Today she deviated and ordered a quesadilla with the grilled chicken and found it to also be good.
I have ordered either Huevos con Chorizo or Huevos Rancheros each time, for my Mexican breakfast fix. They offer chilaquiles but I am a little concerned about them, based on the description. I like the Huevos con Chorizo fine. Their chorizo is not strongly flavored. I probably like the Huevos Rancheros better. They do a good job not overcooking the eggs. The Salsa Ranchero is probably the salsa served with the chips, but seems to have more oregano. It is well flavored. These are accompanied by rice and beans, both of which are good homemade style. I always order chiles torreados to chop up and eat with them as well as asking for corn tortillas.
On one occasion I ordered a side plate of Carnitas to try. I need to try them again before passing a final judgement. I love carnitas and get some really good ones, more often than not. These were pretty dry, so I need to see if that is normal. Otherwise they were good. I wonder if they sell enough of it.
I also feel La Fogata is good enough to try for a dinner because as I said in my review of Plaza Azteca, I need something more than the Sopa Azteca that is the only reason I go there. I need to try the Tacos de Carne Asada, the Chori Pollo, the Tacos al Pastor and maybe the Chilaquiles.
This is not a taqueria. You won’t find lengua and cabeza. It is one of those family restaurants that has some good things and a lot of Gringo food. It’s above average and good enough for a late Sunday breakfast that we keep returning. It feels more family run and less chainy than Plaza Azteca. So while I have rated both three stars, this is a much stronger three.

Good food and fair prices, If you’re not up tight or stuck on San Diego style Mexican food your experience will be fine, or if you are going to bash based on an accent at a Mexican restaurant you should probably go elsewhere. It’s a Mexican restaurant. Been going here for well over 10 years mostly in the offsesson. There is not a good restaurant you will be in and out of in a hurry during the tourist season, hundreds of thousands of people in such a small coastal area make for wait times, sorry you and I were not the first to find the OBX. Always been dealt with in a friendly manner and in a form of speech I can understand.

This is my husbands favorite place here in the OBX. This year, the service was again exceptional. And the food is good — especially for the price. The portions are pretty big and tasty. Not too spicy but enjoyable. I had the chicken fajitas and they were excellent. They are also super kid (toddler) friendly.

Brought a large group with 6 kids and 4 adults on a Wednesday night. We were a little concerned based on the reviews, but we were pleasantly surprised. Service was attentive. Food was very flavorful. Highly recommend the Tacos al Pastor, Choriqueso, and the enchiladas Poblanas. Sure the ambiance could be better, but overall a good value for the money.

Visiting NC from NJ wanted Mexican. Drove past this restaurant a few times during the week decided to stop in. Service and food were great! Seated pretty fast, and food was serviced hot and delicious. Overall excellent experience!!!

We had a couple of the lunch specials and the food was hot and delicious and the service fast and courteous. We will definitely go back!
I especially liked the refried beans and the beef enchiladas.

This food stinks. Not authentic at all. If you want real food go to plaza azteca. I had the enchilada ranchera and the sauce was very plain, I could barely taste the cheese. The guacamole salad was pretty good and the rice was ok but the chips were extremely dull and oily in flavor. In addition, our waitress told us they were out of rice so other people in my party changed their orders. When the food arrived, however there was rice on my plate. The service overall was slow and sub par.

Excellent service and bar selection. food was some of the best Mexican on the beach. will return as close to home

Great food! I’ve had lots of Mexican, and this was one of the best Mexican restaurants I’ve gone to. Service was great, too.

We ate here on the recommendation of friends. The food looked good, but didn’t have much flavor. I grew up in New Mexico, so I know good Mexican food. I was nauseous before I left the restaurant, and my wife became ill shortly after we returned to our beach house. Our server was not attentive so we seldom saw him. He was slow bringing our check and slow picking up our payment. As a result, we stayed longer than we felt like staying. Not recommended.

Reasonably priced, good food. The complimentary chips and salsa are a great way to start your meal. My wife and I eat here frequently as its close to home.
We are always seated quickly and the wait staff is friendly. Unless the place is packed, the food comes out pretty quickly considering everthing is cooked to order.
There are a couple of TVs usually with sports on and a cool little bar with full ABC. Margaritas are always tasty.

Great tacos My wife was so happy with the service. Miguel was good at explaining the menu as specials. Made our Cinco De mayo. Thanks

Our first experience was with take-​out. We ordered lunch for about 6 people. Tons of chips, salsa and all the food was delicious. Problem was, they forgot one persons meal and we were charged for it. We called about it, the manager apologized up and down for it. My husband went back to pick up the food and the manager also refunded the money for that meal. Totally made right of their mistake.
A few days later we went in for an early dinner. Service was promp and friendly. Everyone enjoyed the food. I had pork chops with chimichurri sauce and it was awesome! The manager also recognized my husband, apologized again for the lunch mishap, thanked us for returning and gave us a discount on our dinner. Wow — top notch customer service. Both experiences here were great — we’ll definitely be returning!

Oh boy, what to say… I enjoy simple tex-​mex food and La Fogata has that. While unremarkable, the food was fine. The operation however… Service is remedial. I’m still not sure the young man who waited on us spoke English. After taking our orders, he brought chips, salsa and our drinks and… we never saw him again. There was a couple, man and woman, who appeared to be splitting the front of house duties and they were running all night. The children who served as wait staff needed constant coaching.
After our meal was brought by a silent young lady with a rictus of a smile on her face, I sat back to watch the Keystone Kops-​like action that took place when a party of FOURTEEN arrived and were seated nearby. I think some of them never got silverware and at least one baby spent part of the meal on its parent’s lap when a requested high chair never materialized.
My quesadilla was fine and my wife reported the same about her chicken enchiladas. Getting out of the place was no small feat. No one approached to ask about dessert or the check. The bill arrived when we stood made like we were getting ready to leave. Thankfully, I had the correct bills for the meal plus tip. If I had to wait for change, I’d still be there.
All this said, I have to point out that La Fogata has maintained multiple locations on the Banks for at least the 13 years we’ve been vacationing there. Clearly, they have something people like. On the night of our visit, it was not on display.

Okay, I know you see this alot on Unilocal,but DO NOT EAT HERE! the staff are terrible they speak little to no English. they have the worlds biggest menu but no help on deciding or any recommendations unless you speak Spanish. The drinks order came with our bill. I got tilapia, it tasted good to be honest but was presented badly, plate was dirty, rice was out of the cooler cold. My boyfriend got pork tacos and also got the WORST FOOD POISSONING EVER!!! he has never had it before and never since but even without that I wouldn’t eat here. The bill is not itemized and we noticed a few people contesting charges. Also the first bowl of tortillas is free… then they charge you for more.

Food was hot and fresh! Service was friendly. Chips and salsa were some of the best in OBX. They had Mr. Pibb so I was very pleased since most places don’t have a Dr. Pepper/​Mr. Pibb option.

Quick seating and excellent service. Our waiter was helpful and attentive. The food was delicious and served as large portions. There was nothing we could dislike about this dining experience. Try this gem!!!

Food: fajita
The beef and chicken with mushroom, green pepper, and onion fajita was average. It came with a plate of refried beans topped with a little melted cheese.
It was supposed to some with sour cream, guacamole, and 2 tortillas. The waiter never brought them. At one point earlier when I asked for another food item I received a look.
I am a tourist here, but isn’t this a tourist town? Even if I make it back here I would not return and would not recommend this place.
(Side note: my 12 year old son noted the décor was lacking bordering on comical)
.

We had a very nice dinner at Lafogata. The chips and salsa were very nice. I ordered the Fajita Salad special as my main course. I could not believe how small my salad was and there was very little lettuce. I thought everyone else’s plate had more lettuce on them, as a their side dish, than I had for my main course. I ended up requesting some soft tacos and ate my «salad» on the soft tacos. The dish was good, but not what I expected. The enhiladas looked good. The wait staff had us seated, served, and out of there in what seemed like thirty minutes. We were shocked at how quickly they had us leave — perhaps if we ordered alcohol we would have had more time at the table. If you are in need of a quick, mexican dinner, Lafogata is just the spot.

When we arrived, the people who worked there looked lost and didn’t know what to do.
Our waitress seemed very sad and depressed. I was worried she might cry at some point, but she never did.
The food wasn’t that great, I’ve had better.
The worst part was the end when we went to pay. The lady at the register charged us DOUBLE what we should have paid. She didn’t know the prices of anything and became very rude with us. She started throwing things and then slapping the keys on the register. It was very awkward and a little entertaining.
Go somewhere else for better food and service.