Luga's Villa
7 Sanlitun North Street,
Sanlitun
Behind 3.3 Plaza
三里屯北里7号楼
3.3 大厦后边
135-2013-7915
www.lugasbeijing.com
lugazx1@gmail.com
Open 11am-3am, Daily
Price Y100-Y199 per couple
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- City Weekend says
With handmade corn tortilla dishes and juicy alambres, this two-story tower of Mexicana serves some of the most authentic Mexican cuisine in the capital. The restaurant has a quiet homey ambience, while the bar sports a pool table, flat-screen TVs and live music, as well as Luga's legendary margaritas and draft Stella.
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Most Recent Reviews
This is the sort of place I'd never come to Sanlitun for, but while I'm there I have to swing by. Their nachos are fantastic, just like I'd get in the Mexican dive back home. The other stuff on the menu never seems as good, however.
Luga's Villa is mainly based on drinking than eating, though they do have a variety of food on the menu but it seems that they have more drinks than there is food. One time my friend ordered 2 nachos dishes, but it was a bit too expensive so he wanted to cancel 1 nacho and just wanted one of them, but the waitress said "I already sent the order to the kitchen." (In Chinese of course) then my friend said that she could go to the kitchen and tell them that she have mis-clicked 1 for 2, but she denied it and kept on repeating what she said. So my friends ended up spending another friends Birthday present money on the food. Which is disappointing... What's more disappointing is that when the food came, it tasted bad. Honestly, I know how Mexican food tasted like and it tasted different to this one on Luga's. And both of the dish costs 50 RMB so we had to pay 100 for them. Also, personally I think the music is waaay too loud for a restaurant and bar. Like I have to shout in order for the person to hear me, keep this type of volume in a nightclub, seriously no ones is dancing and everybody is trying to have a good time, while your big booming music is distracting people who are talking and trying having fun.
No complaints about the food and I suppose this is why I've been several times over the years but the service is spotty at best. I'd recommend checking your bill carefully before paying, and please don't be in a rush...things are sure to be slow. The service kills my experience there every time. I leave feeling more stressed than anything else, and this is after a drink no less! Speaking of drinks...I'd stick with beer, the margaritas are an expensive watered down mess in my opinion.
Yum. I really enjoy Luga's food. The enchiladas with green sauce are really delicious! and spicy, but not too spicy. I also love that they have different flavors of margaritas. Sometimes they're good and sometimes they're not, seems to depend on the night. I think they give a pretty fair portion of sour cream for 5 RMB extra, which is quite nice and they're chips and salsa are a good and cheap starter. Not particularly kid friendly, especially when you have to climb out a window to sit outside on the 2nd floor (fire hazard?) but the staff were happy to see our 2 year old and were very good with her. However, I think now I'll save it for date night or Mommy's night out! Plus, then I can have more margaritas....
Had a plate of the chicken flautas last night with a big glass of stella to wash it down. Solid stuff at RMB55. sour cream could use more bite though.
Unfortunately I have to agree with beijingprincess. I didn't want to believe it was true, but last night my whole group was denied any free drink even though we were decked out in red, white and blue, complete with face paint. The waitress told us we had to have our team's uniform. I pointed out that is not what the sign says, to which she replied, "It's a bad translation." a) That's clearly crap, because the rest of the sign was in perfect English and b) If you know that's the case, change the sign or at least take the darn thing down! In a city where there are so many restaurants, many with much better food, sometimes it's these ethical things that really do make the difference. Unfortunately Luga's is resting on its reputation and many still flock there, but I for one will not be going back to any of his establishments. Saddle Cantina all the way. At least they honor their specials (fajitarita Monday!).
Luga's Villa earns a solid 1 star for World Cup hospitality and I'll tell you exactly where they lost each star. First, they don't recognize any of their advertised drink specials--so don't be duped like I was. I showed up in my Korea jersey for the evening game and ask three times about the "Free drink for those in uniform when their team is playing" and after 3 wen-yi-xia responses from our server it became obvious that she was not wen-yi-xia'ing or else really bu-zai-hu'ed about our drinks. They lost another star for the food, as it was all cold when it arrived. I give them some slack for how busy it was outside, but honestly, it was not crowded inside and it makes me question how they handle the crowds for any other weekend night. One additional star was lost for the two hours I had to wait for a simple order of wings. We originally ordered cheese sticks and wings and then nachos a half an hour later. The cheese sticks arrived at the 1 hour mark and the wings arrived at the apparently reasonable time of 30 minutes after they were ordered. The wings were served after only two wen-yi-xias, which I guess is above par for the night, but the dressing was warmer than the wings, which is probably not going to bode well for me tomorrow. The last star was lost when I asked to speak to Luga about our disappointing experience and i was directed upstairs, then to the basement and then to the third floor. Finally, a bartender asked if she could call the missing Luga on my cell phone since her's didn't have anymore battery. Apparently, Luga can't spring for a house phone.
All this being said, our warm beer was served relatively quickly by the staff and Luga seemed to be on the premise earlier in the night. Also, the outdoor patio is a prime spot for viewing World Cup play. All this gets them a lonely star. But, if hot food, advertised drink specials, and attentive management if your thing, I would probably try out Saddle Cantina, Pavillion or any number of neighborhood places that provide a more well-rounded drinking and dining experience.
I've been in BJ over a year now and last summer (for me at least) Luga's Villa was the place to be. But now things have changed. The service is bad and the only new thing I see on the menu is higher prices for drinks. I went there last weekend and I waited more that 45 minutes for my food and.. it was cold!!! The service was very slow and not very nice.
Same thing that happened to Serrot happened to me! Beware, they aim to cheat. I believe they intentionally scam patrons over drink orders. My friend ordered a margarita, and I was asked if I wanted a drink. I said maybe later but certainly not at the moment. Everyone at the table heard me articulate this clearly to the server who also clearly acknowledged. Still, a drink was put in front of me. This was no mistake. The food was pretty good, but I give them NO STARS FOR BEING DISHONEST. Don't go here unless you could care less about your hard earned money and have no dignity.
Oops, forgot to put a rating on my comment below...
Let me first say, my food was no problem. It was hot and delicious and pretty authentic, and that's the only reason I'm giving them 2 stars and not 1.
I went with a group of 6 other people, and it took the wait staff about 40 minutes to get most of the people their food. And the food that they got was lukewarm to cold. The worst part was that one of my friends didn't get her food for 2 hours. We reminded them multiple times, and they said every time that it was almost here. Then about the 3rd or 4th time we asked them, they came back with our receipt and said that we hadn't ordered it, until we pointed it out to them on the receipt (why didn't this come up before then?), and even after that, it still took another 20 minutes before they brought it.
Basically, great food, but the service was so poor that none of us will ever go back.
Be prepared to get more than you ordered and not in a good way! I went out with several friends for a few drinks and dinner and we decided to start our night with a round of nachos and beer(best way to start any night). We ordered happy hour specials from the menu and were surprised when our waitress brought out a fifth drink for the four of us. We told her we hadn't ordered the fifth but she was insistent that she had heard us say we wanted it (we all were having beers) and refused to take it off of our ticket. Not only that but it was one of the more expensive drinks on the menu. After our inquiry there was mysteriously no manager to be found.
On another occasion in which I foolishly decided to go back, my overpriced "margarita" was nothing more than some blended ice chips with lime and silly straw. I know this is a common practice in Beijing but when it's followed by unremarkable food, it's not worth the frustration or money. Luga's is passable for Mexican, at least for anyone who salivates at the thought of Taco Bell, but it's no more special than that. Service at this Luga's and the Thai one upstairs has been notoriously bad with disappointing food to follow it up. If you're looking for really good Mexican food in Beijing with valuable drinks (the ones that you DO order) that aren't watered down, I suggest Peter's or Amigo. But don't settle for Luga's like I did, you'll be disappointed.
This place is awesome. Similar menu, drinks, appeal as Saddle Cantina but much better quality all round. I had the lychee margarita, which was delicious and didn't have any of those huge ice chunks that make the Saddle's margaritas so undrinkable. The nachos come with a choice of beef, chicken or beans, which is nice for people who don't always want to eat a lot of meat, and the portions of guac, sour cream and cheese were really satisfying. Lots of other things on the menu looked great, too, and I'm looking forward to trying them in the future. I also really liked the nice outdoor balcony.
Was there 2 days ago...Great chicken fajitas, great mango margharitas, awesome terrace! The prices were ok too, so what more could you ask for?!
I finally broke down and went to Luga's villa (with low expectations) a couple weeks ago. Imagine my surprise at the delicious chicken enchiladas, wrapped in legit corn tortilla, drenched in red, green, or black mole! And free tortilla chips if you order an entree! And the salsa/sour cream/ guacamole tray that arrives with everything!
Good atmosphere and friendly service. However the food is more Tex-Mex if anything. Still have yet to find an authentic Mexican restaurant in Beijing.
Only been in Beijing five months. It is hard to find good food and service. I have finally found both. I walked in the door and got welcomed by the manager and the staff. The manager himself came over and waited on us. He recommeneded the wings as a snack and the fajitas as the main course, also the margaritas. The staff took over after that. The food was great, I have not had fajitas or hot wings like that since I left the states, and I have been to many eating establishments since I have been in Beijing, only the real expensive places have been this good. To the point, Management is good and the staff is friendly. These kind of things are not seen everywhere.
Perfect night: quesillda and mojito from here. And I found it a lot cheaper than the description above suggests.
Good food, good times, good service now they have a dart board. Good combination.
Yeah, but was very sad to see the old menu items, the burritos, were missing from the new menu. When we asked, though, they could still do the burritos.
I am shocked: Mexican menu in Mexican ... I mean Spanish. And, it's delicious. Can this be the same Luga's? Chef Monica and Luga have done Beijing a great service. Enchiladas are spectacular. The sizzling chicken fajitas, served in an iron skillet with sides of sauches, are unbelievable. And, the margaritas are great too.
A great upgrade from the old Luga's, and no no price hike so far. He's got a wonderful new billiards table as well. Only one draft beer at this time, but is promising a lot more.
Since he's also got wifi this might be one of my regular third place hangouts.
[HTML_REMOVED]A New Menu, a New Luga’s[HTML_REMOVED]
[HTML_REMOVED] What happens when you hire an impassioned chef, increase the items on your menu tenfold, throw in a few more drinks and do it all by opening up a second location just a block away from your flagship bar? You get Luga’s Villa Mexican Restaurant & Bar. Owner Luga Zhu helms the venue’s sleek second floor bar, which sports a pool table and live music, and has unleashed the culinary expertise of Executive Chef Mónica Wong for the Casa Mexicana restaurant on the third floor.
[HTML_REMOVED] The results are a bar that ends up serving some of the most authentic Mexican cuisine in the capital and a refined restaurant that feels like you’ve been invited over to a friend’s house for dinner. You can still get one of Luga’s wicked margaritas (YY50), but the new menu is the only place in Beijing you’ll find handmade corn tortilla dishes. Enchiladas go for YY45, traditional Mexican spaghetti for YY48, and Alambres—skewered barbecue meat in chicken, beef, shrimp or veggie—start at YY50. You can finish the food off with one of Luga’s draft beers—Stella Artois (YY40), Guinness (YY45), Beijing (YY20) or Tusker (YY30).
[HTML_REMOVED] [HTML_REMOVED]Zachary Franklin, 2008[HTML_REMOVED]