We had a lovely dinner at Lucha Tigre last night. Even though they had a large order ahead of ours, we received our food co in a timely manner. The owner even came out and apologized! No apology necessary! The food was excellent and we had a great waiter. We appreciated the many vegetarian options! read more

Take out order--where they used chicken breast meat, they should be using thighs. I have a suspicion they pre-cook chicken breast and then heat it up in whatever dish they make. The Tso's was okay flavor wise and I appreciated the sesame seeds for crunch, but it was pretty dry. The pollo saltado was pretty bad. Really dry and overwhelmingly salty. Just ick. Lots of room for improvement. read more

Always a standby in Chapel Hill. They were open when half the town seems to be closed or close early. Even though I got there 15 minutes before closing, they graciously accommodated me and fed me. Thank you! The food is seriously good and seriously big. I always think I need an appetizer to go with the main course, and I'm always wrong here. The bulging I nachos are amazing! Great flavor combos. Lots of food. Just fantastic. I've never had less than wonderful service from nice, friendly servers and bartenders. If you haven't been here, I can't imagine why not. read more

I've been going to Lucha Tigre for years! I truly live the ambiance and Sunday brunch. They sometimes have live DJ. It's such a vibe. My favorite things besides EVERYTHING is the Pozole and Pollo Saltado. read more

This is my favorite place to eat in Chapel Hill! Delicious fusion of Asian and Latin cuisines. I've tried almost everything on this menu and my favorite dish is the Heat Seeker Tofu. You have to get a couple of tapas to start and Bulgogi Nachos must be one of those. Cocktails are also fun to try. Casual setting and friendly attentive staff. We've never been disappointed. My husband and I had our first date here and the night he proposed we went here for dinner. :) read more

The coolest place ever with the most amazing food. Took my parents here shortly after moving from az to nc and we are hooked! We sat outside and it felt like an adult and more sophisticated rainforest cafe because of the green outdoor vibes. The service was great and the food was five star... best steak I've ever had. 10/10 must go!!!! read more

Lucha Tigre - Outdoor - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Bulgogi nachos were delicious and very large portion. Fast take out service at dinner

The food was great and the place was super cute! I was a little worried because no one else was there when we got there , but we got there around 6ish. I had the pineapple jalapeño margarita and my significant other had a Lucha Mojito. They were delicious and super cute. Our waiter had wonderful suggestions. I had the kimchi pork belly fried rice and my significant other had general tsos. Both were delicious and had huge portions. Only complaint is our waiter became a little less attentive and it took about 15 minutes to get our check. Def would recommend! read more

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Fabulous. There drinks are delicious as they are fun. The pho softshell crab and garlic noodles and the chicken wings are great!! The chicken wings are crispy and juicy. As for the pho, probably one of the best in chapel hill. Plus, the staff is friendly and wonderful. Must go when on this side of town. read more

Lucha Tigre - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

I wanted to get a to-go meal and try this place nearby our house. I got a taco trio to go. 2 of the 3 were losers. Particularly the Butternut Squash taco was bizarrely composed of just blended PLAIN butternut squash--NO idea why a chef would not sautee sm. chunks of the squash in a nicely seasoned garlic & herbs, chili powder.... and include a slaw or ... I should have been told--it's like you know, Gerber Baby food in a taco!! Oh, o.k. that sounds great! (The lady bartender was super nice and pleasant by the way) The chicken taco (don't remember description)was weird, my daughter ate half and set it aside to starve & I took a bite and thought hmmm , maybe I'll upcycle this... The Kalbi taco was a winner!!! It was exactly like a kalbi marinade and perfect w/ its slaw... I guess you have to know what to order there?? read more

I'm not going to lie, I was a bit scared to order the infamous bulgogi nachos, since everyone keeps saying they're gigantic and I didn't want to stuff myself. We instead ordered the bulgogi rice bowl and the al pastor pad thai entrees. Bulgogi rice bowl was very..boring? It was just rice and meat..apparently there was kimchi in it but I hardly tasted it. Filling portions, but not exciting I suppose. Just a rice bowl. Meh. My al pastor pad thai was also huge, and I couldn't finish all the pork, but the flavors were there. The meat was definitely al pastor, and the noodles had the classic pad thai taste. My only critique would be that it didn't seem like a fusion dish. It was just Mexican meat placed atop thai noodles? I don't know..it still tasted good, but the flavors of the meat and noodles were so distinct from each other, that it was like eating two different dishes...if that makes sense. Best part of the meal was certainly the coconut tres leches cake! My friend recommended it so I had to order and thank goodness I did. The side of homemade cream was a little weird..tasted bland..not enough sugar..or flavor. But the cake itself was perfect. Moist, not too sweet, ugh I need to go back and get it again. Hope the review helps! read more

Lucha Tigre - Tres leches cake - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

I honestly, I love the food, the service , the ambiance at Lucha Tigre. Great apps, ceviche!, drinks and service :-) Fun for GNO, or swinging by for great food read more

Instead of flat out reviewing Lucha Tigre I guess I'll just tell you what not to get. Don't get the pork belly buns. They don't know how to treat pork belly here, which makes me leery of all their pork products. The bartender says that's not what it usually is but I suspect that's exactly what they think it should be, hard, bland, dry, and tasteless. Honestly it was like a brick that they then broiled. Everything else was pretty good, pretty awesome in fact, I think the empanadas need work and I wasn't a fan of my beer, but the tacos, whoa. The squash was fantastic, well seasoned but lacked texture. The rest of the tacos we had were the chorizo (like a corned beef hash of chorizo, it was amazing) The beef that they are known for (forget the name but they marinate and fire up skirt steak for this one and again, it's awesome) The last one we had, or last type to mention really was the general tso chicken (it was awesome tooooo!) We loved the tacos so much we ordered another of both the chorizo and the beef. I wasn't impressed by the empanadas but my girlfriend enjoyed the corn one that we ordered (not that I didn't, I did, just not as much as the packed out tacos) Whatever you do, sit at the bar, same food better pricing. read more

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I've been to Lucha Tigre twice now, both times for dinner, and I have to say I like the concept of Lucha Tigre but the actual execution isn't really doing it for me as much as I want it to. What I mean by this is that there's only a few dishes I'd feel comfortable ordering but that's about it. And even those dishes I'm not ecstatic about. On my last visit I ordered the heat seeker tiger shrimp which was good but the greasiness of the fried rice kept me from considering it was great. My sister was dining with me and ordered the Pad Thai which was a flop. The dish was very bland in taste despite all the ingredients and the noodles seemed to be overcooked. She tried to make it work but the chicken that came with it was very dry as well and eventually she threw in the towel and asked if she could replace it with another dish. When the manager came over to address this, she was very unprofessional about the situation and didn't even ask what was wrong with her dish which I found strange. Having years of experience in food service, I was shocked by how the manger handled the situation almost making it seem like we were an inconvenience, this helped to make my decision of a two-star rating instead of three stars. We also ordered an appetizer of steamed dumplings which were not good. My sister made a comment that they tasted like frozen dumplings you buy in grocery stores which I had to agree with. On my other visit I ordered their empanadas which I believe to be their more successful dish. I tried a combination of flavors and enjoyed it but it's not enough to keep me coming back. I've heard their bulgogi dishes are good but after having mediocre experiences the past two times I won't be trying it. read more

Lucha Tigre - Heat seeker tiger shrimp, so delicious! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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I hadn't eaten at Lucha Tigre for a while bc now live in Raleigh. I forgot how magical it can be. There were 7 of us older and disabled included and the entire experience was seemless! Got all kinds of drinks and appetizers to start,amazing. Service was impeccable and entrees divine. They were in full stride on a Saturday night. read more

Cockroach in the pad thai does take the edge off the overall experience! And the feeble, nonchalant response from management makes it seem they were not all that surprised about serving up insects. read more

I love the idea, and the food here is solid. But I was not blown away as I had hoped I would be. Wife and i shared pork belly buns and beef bulgogi nachos. Each had plusses and minuses. The pork and the buns in the pork belly buns were solid, but they also had a large slice of cucumber jammed in the bun which threw off the ratios of the components. The bulgogi flavor of the nachos was solid, but the beef was dry and there wasn't enough spicy heat. I also thought the presentation on a long thin plate was curious since when you eat nachos they tend to fall to the sides. In this case onto the table. Will be happy to try Lucha Tigre again and hopefully the execution will equal the concept next time. read more

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This is my "go to" for dining out with visitors to the area. Always have something on the menu to suit anyone's tastes. Great atmosphere, and service. read more

My first time returning here since the pandemic and it was very underwhelming. My wife and I went on a Saturday night around 6PM and didn't have a reservation and when we arrived the place was pretty empty and we were asked if we had a reservation. I looked around and asked if we needed one? Most of their business seems like it's walk-ins or take out. They were very understaffed. There seemed to be only three people serving and taking orders. We ordered the Heat Seeker Shrimp to start and they were frozen shrimp, and lacking in spice. Very underwhelming. Fine. I wouldn't get again. My wife ordered a salad and I got the jumbo soft shell crab and noodles which was more burnt tasting than flavorful. The portion was not anything jumbo. Maybe its an office night, business was bustling for take out by the time we left and things eventually filled up but a very underwhelming experience and like most places prior to the pandemic maybe it was just better before. read more

What a fierce-sounding name! Mexican and Thai fusion is a pretty original genre, and I was excited to try the food. My friends got tacos and seemed to enjoy their food more than myself. Unfortunately, too much salt seems to be a prevailing theme. I had the Pad Thai Al Pastor, which is a cool concept, but not well-executed. I love al pastor, but theirs was dry and all salt. I love pad thai, but their noodles were very greasy with oil that tasted old. Prices are reasonable, but if I end up back here, I will be sure to order something else. read more

Went with my daughter for a late lunch...great food with good choices on the menu and great service! We'll be back!

Recently came here for some late night eats and was really pleased! There are plenty of options, ranging from cheaper dishes to $20+ entrees. And the beer selection is great! It's the only place I've been able to find a Singha in Chape Hill. We had the veggie dishes, but I'm definitely dying to try the bulgogi nachos. The sauce in the tofu pan fry was great! And the butternut squash taco was A+. This would be a good place for groups, a date night or just sitting solo at the bar. read more

I have been meaning to try the Bulgogi Nachos at Lucha Tigre for years now. I had a feeling that it would be love at first taste after hearing about such an unholy combination of pure deliciousness. One of my lifelong goals was finally crossed off the list. I stopped by Lucha Tigre with a friend on the way to a concert at Cat's Cradle, and the parking lot was absolutely packed. Holy hell, was it ever packed. I had to park across the street in a lot where the chances of being towed were non-zero. This was kind of ridiculous given that it was a Tuesday night. I can't imagine trying to dine at Lucha Tigre on a weekend. Lucha Tigre is a Latin Asian fusion restaurant. There are a multitude of very interesting menu items that I'll try someday over the rainbow. The Pad Thai Al Pastor and Skirt Steak Mojo are just a few of the more interesting entree items that blend Latin and Asian flavors together. All of the interesting menu items didn't distract me from the mission at hand: Bulgogi Nachos. I went ahead and ordered the nachos for the table, and the server was pretty obnoxious. She needed to verify multiple times that I wanted the nachos located under the Tapas section. This doesn't make sense given that there are no other nachos on the menu. After further banter, the server ultimately told me that the portion is far too big for two guys, and I must have meant not-the-nachos and... Yeah, it really doesn't make sense. We're growing boys (mainly growing fat...), and we can eat. Lucha Tigre does a Taco Tuesday special. Pick from a variety of tacos for $2.00-$2.50 which represents a slight discount from their usual price. I ordered the Guajillo Chicken (chicken marinated with guajillo chilies) and the Panko Crusted Fish. The nachos came first, and the portion was ABSOLUTELY HUGE OMG I COULDN'T FINISH... No, I'm kidding. The portion was probably just right for two people with small entrees or 3-4 people with bigger entrees. Think about the portion of nachos that you typically get at a bar for ~$10, and that is how much you get at Lucha Tigre. These nachos could easily serve as an entree for anybody with a moderate appetite, if that's what you want to do. Seriously, don't believe the hype. I hope the other servers aren't this obnoxious. I absolutely loved the nachos. They were definitely worth the pilgrimage from the distant land of Raleigh. I knew that the flavors of bulgogi, queso, and kimchi would blend well, and I was very satisfied. The tacos tasted good, but were fairly average. There's a multitude of very cool menu items at Lucha Tigre, and I look forward to sampling them in the not-too-distant future. The Bulgogi Nachos are a must-try when stopping by the restaurant. The waitstaff hopefully won't be obnoxious to all diners, but ignore them if they say that the portion is massive and needs to be divided among 23095853 people. read more

I agree with other reviews, this place doesn't work. The concept and menu items are confusing. Not much a fusion but separate offerings from different cultures. Got the dumplings and chips+guacamole to start. Then tofu plate and duck as entrees. Nothing great about any of the dishes we got. The chips and guacamole lacked seasoning (perhaps a lime would've helped). One thing- I liked the bok choy in the tofu plate. Nice service and parking. Wouldn't come again for the food. read more

Lucha Tigre - Wouldn't recommend either of these appetizers- chips & guac, dumplings - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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I had been excited to try Lucha Tigre for a while, but never made the trip until last weekend- and I'm so glad I did! The menu is full of exciting appetizers and entrees. I finally settled on the shrimp as my main dish, and my group decided to share the bulgogi nachos as a starter. Both were extremely unique in nature yet very tasty! With great food and great service, I'll definitely be back to try some more dishes!! read more

Lucha Tigre - Chicken Lemongrass Chicken Bowl, Heat Seeker Shrimp, chicken Pad Thai Al Pastor - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Bland food not worthy of a stop. Very pleasant server; she was the only thing good about the evening. We will not be back.

#1 Asian fusion restaurant in chapel hill! Spicy chicken and noodles is my go to! Killer drinks with fresh juices. Great service. Fun environment. High quality! Highly recommend! read more

The food sucked, quite simply put. The pad thai had this bad gelatin consistency and the ramen was filled with pork fat. Also, the fried dumplings had a burnt taste with absolutely no seasoning! The service was nice, but the food left me feeling upset that I spent over $80 for the worst food I've ever tasted. Also, now that im looking at pictures of the pad thai, I got only half of the ingredients. No surprise there... read more

This restaurant is fine if you don't mind finding a small beetle/roach type insect sautéed in with the veggies you requested in place of noodles on the Lemongrass Chicken. I've never found an actual roach in food before and have never been so disgusted. I left it on the napkin for the waitress to find and paid our check as fast as possible. Just absolutely sick to my stomach thinking about what else I might have eaten before noticing this bug. Horrifying. There is no reason for bugs to end up in food. Clean your kitchen. This is so gross. read more

Lucha Tigre - Small roach/beetle type insect found in the Lemongrass Chicken. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Lucha Tigre is an interesting take on Korean/Latin fusion. The fusion seems to come more from putting dishes from different backgrounds on the same menu, rather than hybrid-type original concepts that I usually think of with "fusion" style restaurants. Although there's nothing here that really seems very risky or unique, the food is just really good, and I keep coming back time and again. Great tacos- the bulgogi, Asian pork, and fish are all good, and there are some decent vegetarian options too. The bulgogi nachos are however to die for. Pair any of the above with a margarita or a tecate and you have yourself a great meal! read more

Not really sure where to start here, amazed with this spot! The entire vision for this concept is perfect for the Chapel Hill demographic and the space makes you feel almost as if you're in South Beach. The first comment I made upon walking into the restaurant is that the space is a lot warmer than it seemed in the pictures, everything is well thought out and graphically pleasing. The logos, artwork, lighting, and outside areas really amazed me. Now to the drinks. The Tequila options are crazy! They sell some of the worlds best Tequila at a fraction of the price, offering quality mixed drinks and a wide array of beers. Anywhere I can find a Pacifica, I am very happy. Next to the food, wow. I tried plenty of their tapas and there wasn't one thing that left me underwhelmed. Empanadas, Chicken Tostada, Steamed Dumplings, and Crispy Green Beans. Everything that came out seemed better than the last, and the menu was clearly very well thought out. The food was all exceeding my expectations. I encourage you to visit my pictures and check out what I ate! Visit this restaurant if you're looking for a wide variety of top class food, amazing drinks, and a high quality environment. Thank you guys for being awesome! I will be back ! read more

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On my cousin's road trip to North Carolina we were looking for something unique for dinner and Lucha Tigre seemed to fit that bill. However, the overall experience was average. Right from the start service was very slow. It took 8-10 minutes to get seated when the restaurant was only about 50%-60% occupied. After getting our menus add in another 15 minutes to have a waitress take our orders. Unfortunately, the food was pretty average. My cousins ordered the Beef Bolgogi Nachos as an appetizer, and my cousins told me it was quite tasty (FYI I really don't like Nachos at all). Some highlights my cousins mentioned was the generous amount of Beef Bolgogi, the Nachos were still crispy/crunchy, and the other toppings (like the fresh peppers, tomatoes, jalapenos, crema, etc.) indeed gave the dish it's proclaimed salty and sweet flavor. My entree was the "Taquiza" three taco entree which I chose the Chipotle black bean, Butternut Squash Red Curry, and Braised Asian Pulled Pork. The Chipotle Black Bean was just okay. The black beans were cooked properly; not too soft and not too hard, but flavor wise it was quite bland as I could not taste much of the claimed Chipotle. The Braised Asian Pulled Pork was pretty weak. The pork itself was cooked well, but I didn't taste any "Asian" flavors (whatever that generic term means). In fact, I didn't get much flavor at all. Of the three, I enjoyed the Butternut Squash Red Curry the most. I liked the slightly chunky texture, and also enjoyed the inherent sweetness of the butternut squash coupled with some decent curry flavor. For a side I ordered the Chili Edamame and it was probably the best thing from my meal. The Edamame was very fresh and had a buttery sweetness, and the hit of chili dusted on top was a nice pairing too. One cousin ordered the Pan-Seared Tofu Bowl and she found it average. The tofu was cooked well and the ingredients were all fresh, but she mentioned that it was lacking flavor and the dish was overall quite simple. It wasn't something you'd pay too much money for, since this dish could be replicated at home fairly easily. My other cousin ordered the Pollo Saltado which is Lucha Tigre's take on a traditional Peruvian dish. Again, the components of the dish were cooked fine and were all fresh, but any semblance of assertive flavors was just missing. While the fusion concept is interesting (though not exactly new), one would expect the marriage of Latin and Asian flavors to birth food with strong and vigorous flavors, but what was actually conceived was pretty boring. read more

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Excellent Mojitos! The the chicken ramen is good, and so are the empanadas. The service is also good. No complaints

Such a different fusion place. Asian/Mexican never thought that it would be so good. I had the Pad Thai Al Pastor I love heat so I wish there was a little more of it, but the pineapple added the best flavor. I also had the mushroom and queso empanada which was good, but the general tso empanada knocked it out the park. It was mouth watering and the only thing I didn't share with anyone. If I pass through Chapel Hill again I would 100% get 2 of them. The curbside pick up due to the covid-19 was simple enough. I recommend asking for plastic ware during your order they forgot mine, but I has a spare pair of chop sticks in the car so I was saved.... read more

Lucha Tigre - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Came in a little past noon for a weekday lunch when I was in the area for work. The whole experience was underwhelming. For starters, the place was extremely understaffed. There were two people running the show, but I believe just one waitress and the other was the host? When we walked in, no one was at the podium, but the host came running out after a few minutes with a takeout order. The customer tried to tell him something was missing but the host literally walked away to greet us while the customer was still talking to him. You can tell the customer was upset. The food was okay. The concepts are good, but execution is subpar. We went with the vegan ceviche. The temperature was awkward. I expected it to be chilled, but it was very room temperature. It also didn't have any seasoning or herbs whatsoever so I found it bland. I went with the pick 2 entrees. The red curry butternut squash taco sounded so delicious. When I received I thought the filling tasted good, but it was a huge glob of it on a tiny tortilla so I couldn't eat it like a taco. It also needed something for texture like onions or lettuce to make it more of a taco. After a few bites it just felt like eating mashed up butternut squash. The shitake and queso empanada had no queso in it. The filling was literally just mushroom with no seasoning, so it was overall bland. Like that they are creative in their menu and they definitely don't leave vegetarians/vegans out, but I think overall the food lacks seasoning and needs better execution. read more

Lucha Tigre - Pick 2 for lunch: butternut squash red curry taco and shiitake queso empanada with wok seared bok choy. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The food and ambiance was awesome! I went with my fiancé and our friends. Our friends ordered drinks and let us try them, and they were both great! The pineapple margarita was served in a super cute pineapple shaped mason jar thing. In terms of food, I had the salmon dish and my fiancé had the pollo saltado. Our friends had the general tsos and the kimchi pork belly fried rice, which i also sampled and were also great!!! My salmon was served with a butternut squash mash and it was really food with an interesting kick. The only thing i wasn't impressed with was the asparagus as it seemed undercooked so was not really edible. Also, our server was really excellent about giving us menu suggestions, but after our food was delivered he did a somewhat poor job on follow up. It took us close to 20 minutes to get our checks and get cashed out after we had been done eating, which was a little bit of a bummer because we had tickets to an event. Also, the floor was oddly sticky. Overall, i will definitely return and am looking forward to trying some more of their dishes! read more

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Asian fusion places are hit or miss. And this spot is definitely a hit. This is probably the only Asian fusion place in the area that I am into. Everything we've gotten here has not disappointed, and the piece is also decent. Will be coming here on a regular :) read more

I've had this place bookmarked for a while so I suggested it when my friend and I were looking for a place to grab lunch. Such a good decision - I'm so happy I found this place one day on yelp because I don't think I ever would've stumbled across it otherwise! Here's what we ordered (in order of preference): - Beef Bulgogi Tacos. Probably the item I liked the most out of what we ordered. These little tacos are full of stuff they barely fold. The bulgogi and flavors mixed in the taco were really good. Definitely recommend! - Beef Bulgogi Nachos. We ordered this after it was recommended to my friend. There are a lot of toppings on these chips (and a lot of bulgogi!). The nachos were really good. If you order them, you don't want to wait too long to eat them, if you want to eat them with the tortilla chips, because the chips on the bottom will start to get soggy since there are so many toppings. - Chicken and Waffle [Two pieces of honey-chipotle fried chicken, served on a homemade green tea waffle]. I love green tea... so having the green tea waffle was fantastic! The chicken can get a bit messy because it is very saucy but it was good. Overall, it was a good experience. Parking was easy. Ample seating/had no wait when we went. Restaurant has a cool vibe. Food was good. read more

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Went here for a late dinner, so there was not a lot of people in the restaurant which made service pretty quick. We got a bunch of apps to share and the pastor pad Thai. The bugulgi nachos was HUGE. That alone could have fed my friend and I. The meat was pretty good, and there was also kimchi in there which was a nice contrast. The other shrimp spring roll is just alright, and for $6 go to an actual Vietnamese restaurant and get it there for half the price. The shrimp ceviche was very delicious, tasted very fresh with the avocado. The pork bun was too fatty and tough for my taste so I would probably skip that too. At this point we were too full for the pad Thai, so we had to pack it home. However, I did have one bite and it was definitely not your typical pad Thai! It had a great flavor. Definitely one to try. read more

Underwhelming. Food (4/5 dishes) was all served cold as if it had been sitting in the kitchen for a while. Bar service was also very slow. My wife ordered a margarita to enjoy with dinner. 35 minutes later the margarita arrived after both of our meals were finished and the plates had been taken away. read more