I wanted to like this place. The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated and very clean. Our server was very friendly, too. But the food just wasn't that great. The chips and salsa were complimentary which was nice but the chips were cold and the salsa although good tasted like jarred salsa. I ordered a mojito which honestly was the best thing I had. The chori pollo lunch that my hubs and I both ordered was not good. The chicken was pretty tough and a little gristly. The rice was pretty good but the beans I found a but to watery. Hubs thought they were ok. Neither of us liked their homemade corn tortillas which had a really weird texture and a not so good flavor . We were happy we only bought lunch portions and definitely wont be back. read more

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Our 1st time at La Vaka and we were impressed: Very good Margaritas...we ordered ours with Hornitos, Cointreau and fresh squeezed lime & orange Tasty tortilla chips & salsa Buffalo wings were awesome and I am a chx wing snob! Supremos Nachos were excellent Polite & prompt service Prices was affordable Verdict: we will be back! read more

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Great atmosphere and the food is amazing . The BEST TORTA in the state . It's MASSIVE . You got your moneys worth here through the portion size and quality of product . read more

La VaKa Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Goffstown, New Hampshire

Hoober floober, that was good! Lovey wanted Mexican and figured why not go to Monarquia, our standard place in Amherst. But ... I wanted something new and so, a little research later, came up with La VaKa. Lovey was amenable and so off we went. Well, we have a new fav. The interior is colorful and fun. Lots of traditional Dia del Muerto designs on the tables and chairs, a central bar area that looks like a huge piñata, and so forth. Tons of seating but for our visit on a Monday late afternoon, not crowded at all. I suspect that changes on the weekend. Gratis chips (not homemade but crisp and good) and a mild tomato salsa kept us happy as we scanned the menu. Whew - extensive! And quite a few items that aren't generally seen around here. A molcajete - either meat or seafood caught my eye and that's what we ordered. They say it can feed two but in my eyes it can also feed four. It's a LOT. See the pic. Tons of very tender steak, nicely grilled chicken, shrimp, lengua, a very tasty jalapeño popper wrapped with bacon and a moderately spicy chile for chile lovers (me!). Onions and a bubbly cheese sauce that just kept bubbling. Really delicious. As were the refried beans (definitely above average) and the Mexican rice. Even the bit of guac was a notch above. Next time I'm getting a huarache. First time I've seen that since I left Cali and it's one of my "I like 'em" dishes. And Lovey will be having the camarones a la Diabla because ... they've gotta be yum. They have an highly extensive list of tequilas, orderable by the shot or the small glass, including ones which cost more than a twenty year old scotch. Go order one and let me know how it was! Wide variety of margaritas and cocktails as well. Lots of outside parking and the mall they're in is "nice", not a sketchy place that you feel a bit uncomfortable about being in (looking at you, Elm St in Manchester). We'll be finishing the rest of yesterday's meal tonight and I'm looking forward to exploring more of the menu. read more

La VaKa Mexican Restaurant - Regular molcajete - Mexican Near Me - Goffstown, New Hampshire

Perhaps most beautiful Mexican restaurant I've ever been in. It's also huge inside. Easily could fit over a hundred people. Overall, the service was good and friendly. As you can see by my photos, the menu is extensive. And they also make fresh tacos and walk at the center Taco grill. We got the lunch special and it was a good value and tasty. We will definitely come back, and if you like bars and tequila, they have an exceptional one. read more

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Great Mexican spot! Stopped here while on a work trip and I was impressed with the atmosphere, service and food. I got a shrimp quesadilla and it was great. You get chips and salsa to start. Their birria dishes also looked great! read more

We've tried dinner here three times and each time said we wouldn't go back. The food is generally bland and overcooked. It tastes as if it is cooked beforehand and just reheated. Service is average, nothing great but wait times are longer. The ambiance is nice, they have a guacamole bar and live music on a regular basis. read more

First visit to what will become a regular in our rotation! 2 couples got the last table at 6:15 Sat eve. The place was loud with patrons and live music but we could hear ok at our booth. Everything was delicious, from the warm chips and salsa that greet you to the various entrees (seafood enchiladas and Mar y Tierra were big hits). Everything was fresh, certainly tasted homemade and perfectly seasoned. Full bar, many options for Margaritas (upsell can be pricey but beautiful). The decor is lively and fun, colorful and enhanced the experience. Looking forward to trying on a weeknight when it may be easier to talk ;-) read more

La VaKa Mexican Restaurant - "Patron Perfect" Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Goffstown, New Hampshire

Staff were very accommodating to our big family and friendly! Food was great. Everything was clean.

Food was very good. Got three meals out of one dinner. Very tasty. Perfect Margaritas.

Went here for dinner with my sister. Great food, drinks, and service. We shared a margarita flight, queso, empanadas, and each got the Quesabirrias. Everything was amazing. I do wish they'd label the margaritas so we knew which was which. Will definitely be back. read more

La VaKa Mexican Restaurant - Quesabirrias - Mexican Near Me - Goffstown, New Hampshire

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Large well decorated place with authentic food. Great time here will certainly return.

If you enjoy authentic Mexican cuisine and haven't tried this lovely restaurant, you'll be in for a treat. Their place is large and welcoming with plenty of ample seating and parking. A smile greets you and seats you to your preference. Bright decor. Their table corn chips and salsa are very tasty. My wife had the vegetarian enchiladas and I had their special carnitas plate. Plenty of food so we took half home for dinner the next night. My carnitas, little meat, was delicious so I'm glad I ordered it. My wife's enchiladas were quite tasty too especially the sauce. They have a bar too if you want a cerveza. Stop in and enjoy. read more

Stopped for lunch on a Saturday with my husband. We sat at the bar and service was great. I personally loved the decor and the open kitchen area. I was in awe watching homemade tortillas being rolled out and cooked right there. The food was delicious and genuinely would recommend. The lunch menu was so affordable and impressed with the amount of food. With 2 lunch items and 2 margaritas the bill was less than $50. read more

La VaKa Mexican Restaurant - The back of a seat. Love the art - Mexican Near Me - Goffstown, New Hampshire

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Probably the most authentic Mexican restaurant I visited during my time in New Hampshire! The food was delicious and had great flavor as well as the horchata and Jamaica drinks. Our servers were great and communication was good and the decor itself was super nice! Definitely worth visiting! read more

Decided to stop by and give this place a try. It's big lots of tables so it's great for bigger groups. Menu has lots of options including a lunch menu. Food was delicious, definitely catered for people who can't handle spicy foods but still tasty. Service was good, I was seated at the bar and got my food quickly. read more

La VaKa Mexican Restaurant - Tongue tacos - Mexican Near Me - Goffstown, New Hampshire

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Awesome new place in Manchester/Goffstown! Located in the old Shaws Plaza in Pinardville, this place rocks. I'm a huge Mexican food fan so I was excited to try this place once I heard of it. HUGE beers and Margaritas which is a great way to start. Had the Queso dip as an appetizer. Very flavorful and had a velvety feel to it...very smoooooooth. Had to try the Mocajete' (AKA Cauldron of Meat) and it was amazing Great, food, great staff and a really nice place. Will be back many times! read more

La VaKa Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Goffstown, New Hampshire

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Alexis fue nuestro server y nos atendió muy bien! Excelente atención y la comida muy rica y fresca.

Located in the former Makoto Asian space at Shaw's Plaza in Goffstown, La Vaka Mexican Restaurant finally opened for business on April 26, 2024. This is the only Mexican restaurant and bar in town! There were already people waiting outside for the doors to open, just after the delayed 5pm opening.  This space was nicely redone with colorful decorations on the walls and a painted burro near the entrance. The layout is spacious and offers 2 full service bars with seating, tables and booths. There is also a back dining room for parties and meetings. The background music was playing not very loud over the speakers and the lighting is good here.  I headed to the bar and took a seat. The bartenders were ready to go. The drink orders for margaritas came in quickly. I placed my food order promptly before it got too busy. I ordered the Seafood Chimichangas ($19.75 plus tax) and a staff member was bringing out complementary chips and mild salsa to each diner. My food arrived very hot in about 15 minutes. The plate of food was generous, 2 seafood chimichangas with tender shrimp and real blue Crabmeat in crispy fried shells, queso on the bottom, served with soft white rice and a mixed green salad with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream. I barely finished my dinner and got the check, which was $21.43 with tax and before tip. Overall, my food was pretty good, what I would expect from a casual Mexican restaurant in NH. The service became hectic and delayed as the place started to fill up. The kitchen was backing up and folks sitting around me were still waiting for their main entrees. As I was leaving, there was a wait to be seated. I can only imagine how busy this new Mexican spot will be on Cinco de Mayo. I will come back for the lunch specials (Mon-Sat) during the week. read more

The food and the ambience were great ! Loved the painted chairs . I chose a special with cactus and my friend had enchiladas. The service was a little lacking but they haven't even had their Grand Opening yet so it will probably improve. read more

Amazingly Clean and fantastic decoration! Phenomenal food and staff. Been several times and I order the same thing each time and it is consistent in flavor and presentation. 10/10. read more

This was our second trip to La Vaka. On both occasions, the food and service was excellent. This past weekend, we were a group of 5, we all had different entrees and we shared appetizers and desserts. Everything was presented beautifully and timely, and each part of the meal was delicious. Our server, Maria, was super helpful and friendly. She kept a close eye on us and ensured that our experience was top notch. The ambiance is enhanced by music and brightly colored decorations on the walls and throughout the restaurant. La Vaka is highly recommended and we look very forward to returning! read more

Very disappointing ordered a 32 ounce IPA beer charged 1499. You can get the same beer at the Mexican restaurant on 2nd Street same size and IPA for eight dollars. Order a margarita with patron didn't even get a shot of patron. It was all the orange liquor and lime, and had to fill the glass with more ice just to fill it very disappointing in that drink. Ordered the stuffed jalapeños they had bacon on them that overtook the flavor I took the bacon off, and the jalapeños weren't even hot. They were so tiny with like a cream cheese filling no flavor at all. Ordered the Chimi, the appetizer chimichangas, and the dough was all soggy and undercooked sent those back. Very very disappointing will never go back. read more

La Vaka is HUGE! I had no idea this interior space was so large. There are 2 bars, and a salsa making station with gigantic molcajetes and also a tortilla station. The space is brightly lit with bold painted colors and a few fun photo ops scattered about like the large cow at the entrance, and a large flowering tree with dangling hearts in the back. We were seated in the back of the restaurant in the booths lining the wall. These booths were more elevated so you have to climb in a bit. There is a little footrest which is helpful, but I am very tall and I could barely reach it. I imagine shorter people would not be able to reach the foot rest and would just be sitting there dangling. The chips and salsa arrived quickly to the table. The salsa is very mild with hardly any heat at all. The queso fundido was nice and also appealing to a broad range of palates. For drinks I ordered the Milagro Anejo 16 oz margarita with salt rim. I also upgraded to the fresh lime juice which is $1.50 more per drink and worth it! The margarita comes garnished with dried citrus wheels and a cocktail pick topped with a cute little cactus on the end. My second drink had a little watermelon. I ordered the El Huarache with steak and verde sauce and it was wonderful. It's a large dinner plate-sized entree loaded with meat and vegetables, including nopales (cactus) which is so good. The fresh corn masa has a bright and distinctive taste. And at $10.50 it's an amazing price for a full entree! My companions also got the Seafood Chimichangas and Chimichangas with shredded beef. No complaints anywhere! Overall, everyone was very happy with their meals albeit a little lacking in heat which was very minimal. I'd like to come back for their lunch specials. They have a large selection of great lunch items all under $10-12. read more

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We wanted the house marguerita daily special but the waiter told us it wasn't very good and we'd really like the patron. So, my husband ordered it without knowing that the waiter put in the order for a 32 oz which was $32 !!! It came in a large fish bowl glass instead of a pitcher and it was ALL ICE! I asked the waiter and he said they only put 8 oz equal to two margueritas in it!!! What a RIP OFF! and he said there was nothing he could do ... the food was okay but all over priced for a family restaurant. AND.. It's NOT legal to call it a 32 oz. drink if you only put 8 oz. in it.. and the glass it came in looked like it could only hold about 20 to 24 oz of liquid since it had a false bottom in it. so if you want 32 oz. of ICE for $32 you're crazy. read more

Excellent Mexican food when you are looking for it! Queso fondido is awesome! Food or ready quickly but is made with quality! Definitely recommend. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is great but can be a little loud when they are busy. This is my go to Mexican place when I am in the mood for large portions that will give me two meals! read more

These are, definitively, the best quesadillas I've ever had in my life. Nice work, guys!

First time visit, loved the calming environment and cleanliness. Alex, it waiter was very attentive and added to our experience

My partner and I LOVE this place! They usually have live music on Fridays. The staff is friendly and attentive. The salsa is phenomenal! When ordering, we've had better success with the chicken and veggie dishes (as opposed to steak/beef). I enjoy the burrito gigante with chicken and veggies. My partner loves the chicken taquitos and chicken street tacos. We also always enjoy a bowl of queso (keep in mind the medium queso is HUGE). read more

The restaurant is beautiful, super clean, and laid out very nicely--not overcrowded! The food is fresh and tastes great! Service was fast and staff was very friendly...Maria was the BEST!!! read more

The food is delicious and service Amazing! Alex our everyday was si friendly and provided top notch service! The restaurant has great ambiance it is livley yet no super loud and beautifully decorated. We recommend 100%! read more

We had a great experience at La Vaka. Food was very good. Restaurant is clean and spacious. and our server, Maria F, was the best.

Alexis was 10/10 service, love the guy for reals!!! Poblano pollo and steak fajitas were amazeballs. We loveeee la vaka

This was our first visit to this New Mexican restaurant and there was a long waiting line my wife and I like eating at the bar so I asked if there was a waiting line for that and they said no. The bar was almost empty so we went over and 10 other folks followed us. You're the negatives. We were the first one to the bar and the last one served a beverage. Daniela was the only bar keep working this huge bar. They sent someone over, but I watched Daniella make eight drinks to this other bar keeps one drink, and that continued thru the night. We ordered I had a sizzling fajita. My wife had a burrito. It was a long time coming, and when the food arrived, it was not sizzling. Here are the positives people are very friendly. Daniel our bar keep was very friendly very efficient. I did notice a large tip jar and asked her if the tips were shared across all the staff and she said yes they were. That was disappointing to me because obviously Daniella works a lot harder than the other bar observed and I would've wanted her to get a large portion of that tip . The salsa and chips were outstanding. The food, although not piping hot was out of this world. I can't imagine how good it would taste if it was hot when it got to my table. I would love to give this a five star as I think it would be worthy, but given the cons of this first visit, I'll give it a three star and I will go back read more

The food was sooooo good. I got the Enchildas Suiza (cheese enchiladas with carnitas on top) and they were spectacular. The enchiladas were super cheesy and the carnitas were at fall-off-the-bone levels of tenderness. Every bite of the combo was heavenly. Service was a little slow but that's clearly because they were swamped and it was the opening week. At every moment, every staff person was working. Ultimately, our food came out hot and correct and that's what really matters. As such, I'm not concerned and I'm not removing a star. We will definitely go back! read more

Excellent service and presentation. First time I went I wasn't impressed. I had ordered the chicharron and they were deep fried and way over done, hard as a rock. I gave them another shot and tried the enchilada mole and it was very good. read more

La VaKa Mexican Restaurant - Enchiladas molé - Mexican Near Me - Goffstown, New Hampshire

Went a couple of weeks ago Had an hour wait But worth it everything went well and the food was delicious read more

Great well crafted food and guacamole made as you look on. Also makes a killer Margarita

I was born and raised in Southern California and this is some of the most flavorful Mexican food I've had in NH. Deep flavors and genuinely friendly staff (They were nothing but patient when dealing with a male Karen-a Chad?). Great live music too! Remember that this is a new business so be patient as they work out the kinks and get their flow down. We will definitely be back! read more

We were surprised by the size of the restaurant. It has a huge bar and several good-sized seating areas. We were greeted promptly by our server with chips and salsa. The salsa is very mild but a nice treat with our margaritas. We each had the "Special Dinner" so we could sample a Burrito(chicken), enchilada(cheese), chile relleno, tostada, and a taco(ground beef, rice, and refried beans. It was very good and we each brought half of it home. We definitely will go back. So happy La VaKa is in Goffstown read more