The food is always very good! I really enjoy the poblano cream sauce on my enchiladas and the queso. The service was excellent this time. Most of the time that I eat here, it's good. The ambiance is ok. They play the music too loud and when it's busy, it's really difficult to hear each other. If you sit in a booth, it's better. Overall, La Buena Vida is one of my favorites! read more

Great food great wait staff. Loved the margs! Thanks for a great meal! Make it for happy hr

The atmosphere was very nice. The wait staff was very friendly. The position size was perfect and the taste was very good. We had a mixture of foods to share. The carnitas tacos were cool perfectly. Tender with good flavor. The enchiladas were a nice size and rellenos was not to spicy. The charbroiled chicken looked like they ran it through a press it was big and flat. We laughed about it but the person who ate it said it was very good and not dry which was expected. Too bad it wasn't a nicer evening to be able to sit on the patio. read more

I love this place. It has the best Paloma. The last few times the food has been served cold. The cheese in the enchiladas is cold to the touch. I was not able to eat it they did comp my meal. read more

The food is excellent and that place is incredibly clean! They are serving up some authentic Mexican cuisine with some amazing margaritas.

First time dining here and I now understand the crowds I always observe as I drive by. The menu selection and taste remind me of the Rio with a subtle advantage on quality. We will be back! read more

Eat here about every week. Love the carne asada, the chile relleno, and the mole here. It a great place with the best margs in town. Get the La Buena Vida margs - they don't disappoint. It's better than the place in old town that get all of the lip service. read more

Shared the fajitas with my husband. The steak was gray and tasted sour. The chicken tasted fishy. Mentioned it to our server, I didn't want them to serve it to anyone else. I'm pregnant and try to be careful what I eat. She said she would mention it to the manager. We weren't looking for them to comp our food (even though we didn't even eat half of it, it was so bad). A server who wasn't even ours nor was he a manager came over and showed us our check and told us to pay. We paid and as we left I asked to speak to the manager. Told him the situation and explained that I just didn't want someone else to be served expired food. He then told me there was no way the food was bad and we must've just not liked it. Didn't appreciate being called a liar when the meat was clearly rancid. We will not be back. $75 to share a plate of fajitas that was spoiled. No thanks, I can spend my money elsewhere and not be called a liar. read more

Food continues to be amazing - it stopped there. The service was horrible. Not sure if it was just our server. We were there after lunch rush. Took forever to get cocktails. Won't be back in awhile read more

What I thought was gonna be a great meal turned out to be quite sad. First off, the food is way too expensive for the portion you get. Second, the food is really not that good. My sister got the quesadilla, which was like $16 and got 3 small pieces. And they charged an extra $3.50 for sour cream. read more

Good place for intimate conversations, High back booths give fine privacy and easy conversations, but not a typical party atmosphere. Charming fun staff make dining fun. I had me some shrimp chili rellenos, They have the best tasting, chewy stringy cheese, and delicious sauce, but can't say I ever found the shrimp. Very delicious overall! The order of Guacamole was huge, and had real solid advacado chunks, that were deliciously fresh. read more

La Buena Vida - Shrimp Chili Rellenos - Mexican Near Me - Fort Collins, Colorado

The music is so loud you can't talk to the people at your own table. Will not go there again even though the food is good.

Have eaten here many times over the years, however the quality has slipped. Smaller portions,higher priCDs, often cold food. House margaritas are now blended with ice rather than poured over the cubes making them watery and not as good. Hasn't been very busy the last few times I've been there, and I can see why. read more

Was here about a year ago and it was not good . Food and service was terrible but tonight was a complete 180 turnaround. The food was so delicious along with excellent service and great margaritas. 5 stars all around read more

AMAZING!! The best Mexican food I've had in a while. Delicious all around from the Chips & salsa, meal and margaritas. I wish I lived in Fort Collins so that I could go here every weekend. Lots of seating inside and great space and the servers were great as well. Trying to go back ASAP. read more

I would not recommend this restaurant. Cold food, not very friendly service, the waitress didn't even ask me if I wanted salt on the rim of my margarita read more

This is the best Mexican food I have ever eaten! Made from scratch and sooo good! Best Margarita and chips and salsa! read more

The food is wonderful-especially the molè. I REALLY wish they would turn the music down. It's far too loud every time I've been. Even with the place half full over lunch hour it's hard to have a conversation. read more

This place is walking distance from my house. I heard it had great margaritas, sadly that is not the case. I have never wanted to send a margarita back, but I did with this one, instead I just asked for some lime wedges to try and make it better myself. It was so sweet, a gross kind of sweet that is hard to describe. I love real homemade margaritas and this place says that they are but yuck, it was the worst marg I've ever had. Now let's talk about the food, I had the soup and a street taco. The soup was just weird, it had a decent flavor but there was nothing but these weird French fry type things in it. The carnitas in the taco was very dry. My date had fajitas, I had a couple of bites, they tasted like they had Kroger's generic taco seasoning poured all over the contents. The service was not great - not particularly friendly and forgot things we asked for. I will not be back. read more

Buena Vida has become one of our recent go-to restaurants, but we've had our share of learning what we like and don't and the best times to go. Our favorite times to visit are Thursdays (ladies day) or Sundays (men's day) where it's 2-1 house and Cadillac margaritas OR everyday happy hour from 4-6. For food we stick with a few trusty items such as carne asada with chipotle marinade, chili verde and brochetas de camaron. The staff is always friendly and bustling to serve. We can't wait for the patios to be open again soon! read more

La Buena Vida - Carne asada (chipotle marinade, sun rice for potatoes) - Mexican Near Me - Fort Collins, Colorado

First time trying this place and I'm so glad that we did. Best date night ever!! The food was completely authentic and I came from The Bay in Cali! The Al pastor tacos were out of this world. Definitely going to come back again and again! read more

La Buena Vida - Al pastor tacos, and the skirt tacos (rosemary and chipotle) - Mexican Near Me - Fort Collins, Colorado

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Had a wonderful lunch here for my birthday. My friend and I both chose the three taco plate. The tacos were street taco size with generous portions of chicken, beef, shrimp. We tried all but the shrimp. a side of black beans with a small amount of cheese and a side of rice. Everything was quite tasty. I had a margarita to celebrate as my friend was driving, good that she was as they are generous with the tequila! I was given the choice of a dish of ice cream or a shot of tequila for my birthday, which was certainly nice! Enjoyed the ambience, the service was great and despite being quite busy our server was very attentive and the the food arrived quickly at just the right temperature. ! I highly recommend giving this place a try. You won't be disappointed! I'm going back to try the chili rellenos! It was hard to choose from all the tasty choices! read more

Our daughter was visiting from out of state, so we were in Fort Collins for the day. We had never been to La Buena Vida before. We were greeted and seated on the back patio. We were asked for our drink order, then our food order. It went downhill from there. After our food was served, the waiter disappeared. My food was ok. Nothing was warm. My husband ordered a relent and enchilada combo. He asked for green sauce and got red. The sauce on the relleno was cold. My daughter said her food was ok. I asked for a refill on my ice tea from three separate wait staff. Only after the third request, did I get the refill. We weren't impressed with both the service and food. We will not be coming back. read more

Our Fort Collins favorite for Mexican! Great food, wonderful margs. Ladies night Thursdays two for one! Excellent service, seating outside for nice weather days. Delicious. read more

I haven't eaten in restaurants at all during the now two-year pandemic. But, the situation is getting better and so my wife and I decided to head back to La Buena Vida and sit outside for a change. So glad we did. The service was great, as usual. Their margs are pretty good, not sweet, so I ordered one. Our entrees were chile rellenos for me and a combo platter for my wife. These were dishes that we hadn't tried before. I'm not quite sure of the ingredients in the white cream sauce that covered the rellenos, but it was delicious. The chiles were poblano, not Anaheim, and the beans were black. All as expected. I asked for a side of hot salsa and was given a wonderfully spicy hot mixture. Flan was our dessert and it was 4/5, but I'm picky that way. The outside tables have individual fire pits built-in, although we didn't need to use ours. Very cool, though. read more

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Delicious food and margaritas. I have the Chile Rellenos and they were great. fabulous weight staff, who gave wonderful service, and had a fun sense of humor. read more

Hands down the best Mexican restaurant in Fort Collins! The food is consistently delicious, the service is amazing, and the owners are outstanding people. In the many years we've been dining here, we have yet to have a negative experience. Highly recommend everything about La Buena Vida! read more

Insure that you enjoy the good life: visit La Buena Vida! As a native of San Antonio, TX, I am qualified to rate Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican cuisine; La Buena Vida is a superb example of the latter. How often do you find quail on a menu? The chile relleno was not too spicy for one of us, and the fan of chipotle declared his carne asada perfect. The margaritas were memorable, the green sauce was piquant and had just enough bite. La Buena Vida handled everything perfectly, from the reservation to the service to the menu. I can't wait to return! read more

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I had the poblano peppers with shrimp and tilapia, and it was absolutely one of the best, Mexican dishes, very unique, one of the best I've ever had! Everything was fresh, not too greasy even the homemade chips were not too greasy. The tomatillo sauce is outstanding. read more

This has got to be the best Mexican restaurant in the area! The food is consistently great, the service is unbeatable, and the atmosphere is nice. The majority of the menu is gluten-free, for folks that prefer that - this is a place you can go and enjoy basically everything. read more

In search of great Mexican food here in Colorado! Found it! La Buena Vida gets 5++ stars. Food: I know it's not always about the chips & salsa but we devoured two baskets of their chips with a couple of dishes of salsa & a side of guacamole which were great! We ordered tacos al pastor, shrimp tacos and grilled shrimp. Everything was great. The grilled shrimp came out on 3 sticks and were cooked & seasoned great, hope you like spicy! Atmosphere: they built a beautiful patio during Covid for outdoor seating, which is probably staying, but we sat inside and everyone was enjoying their food and it felt like we were enjoying a meal in Mexico! Service: our waiter Abraham was fantastic, he! He obliged our attempts at ordering in Spanish and was super fun! Tips: you can't go wrong with the Brochetas de Camaron, it's spicy and good! read more

First off I want to say I love that that menu is not so extensive! For us, this is important! We stopped by on a Sunday and had buy one get one house margaritas and drafts! We also tried their Micheladas and they are delicious!!!! They use Clamato juice which make a difference!!!! More authentic with Clamato! The building is unique with tons of cultural decor. Patio area has heaters however I will wait till summer :-)) Service was fantastic! Can't wait to go back! read more

La Buena Vida - Michelada - Mexican Near Me - Fort Collins, Colorado

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Kept with a classic and had a bean and cheese burrito and a margarita. I love their refried black beans. So yummy! Great service every time.

If I could give 0 stars, I would! Worst restaurant in town. I've grown up in Fort Collins, and this place is one we will NEVER return to. Food is awful and WAY overpriced. The service is terrible. We waited for our waiter to show up for at least 15 min after we were seated. The food took even longer. When I asked to speak to the Manager, he was "too busy" and the hostess said they could call us back. Then I spoke to the Owner and he was not helpful at all. They can't give discounts or comps apparently, like a lot of places do. Which, whatever, but he didn't even apologize for the nightmarish experience we had. Hope they're out of business soon! Maybe if he had acted like a good service business owner and treated us right and was apologetic we would've considered going back someday. But....nope! BYE. We'll tell everyone we know how terrible it was. read more

The La Buena Vida Pomegranate margarita. A tasty and well balanced drink served in a pretty glass. Service is friendly, fast and efficient. read more

La Buena Vida - La Buena Vida Pomegranite Margarita, very tasty and nicely balanced. - Mexican Near Me - Fort Collins, Colorado

Great for celiacs! Most of the menu is gluten free and all the non gluten items (including tortilla chips) are done in a dedicated gf fryer. The carne asada and potatoes were so good! Only downside is that it was a bit pricey. read more

Totally surprising and really, really good. Hidden gem. Ignore the cheesy sign. Once you walk in you will understand. Yum! read more

La Buena Vida - Bar area - Mexican Near Me - Fort Collins, Colorado

Always great food! I love the rosemary charbroiled tacos and their margaritas . The best! Outdoor patio with table fire pits really helps to set the ambiance on chilly days/nights. read more

I am super glad this place was open during COVID they spaced everyone properly and all were wearing masks! Food and service: Service was good our waiter was great, my only note was at times she did take a while to come and check on us but it didn't bother my friend and I too much since we were having a layed back day! The food was ok, I wish I could say it was amazing because it certainly looked that way when it came out but the flavors just wern't as yummy as we had wished. Also we orded sopaipillas for dessert and they were . . . Unique. They tasted like spoaipillas but they were flat and crispy. I'm all for a different twist on old classics but I'm sorry I prefer puffy warm sopaipillas with honey!! Also my friend ordered a melon margarita and it came out tasting very plain the waitress was very nice and brought out a shot of the melon flavor and that made it better!! I reccomend that!! Not sure when or if I'd come back I prefer going to mom and pop places that make family recipes! But I'm also the kind of person who likes to check a place out for myself before I form an opinion so please give this place a try and see what you think for your self! read more

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La Buena Vida has always been my family and I'd go to. We know most servers and look forward to the delicious margaritas and food. We've never run into an issue until tonight with a manager we had never seen or met before. It's my dads 65th birthday and we made reservations for 6PM tonight for 11 people at the big corner booth table. We showed up at 6 to be told our reservation was at 5. The restaurant took 0 accountability and the hostesses just kept saying we made our reservation for 5 which we didn't. Eventually my mom asked to speak with the manager who literally just blew her off and walked away. He later told me he "didn't condone being yelled at" which is reasonable had he been yelled at in the first place. My mom had a right to be upset and the way the staff handled the issue and took no accountability nor did they try to correct their mistake was wrong and upsetting. read more