Southwestern cooking and a dedicated wine list among Manteo's seafood houses downtown
Ortega'z Southwestern Grill and Wine Bar sits on Sir Walter Raleigh Street in downtown Manteo, pairing Southwestern-style cooking with a dedicated wine list on a stretch of Roanoke Island better known for oysters and shrimp than green chile and margaritas. It's classified as a restaurant, bar, and food establishment all at once, and its moderate ($$) price range puts it in line with the rest of downtown's sit-down spots.
The wine bar side sets it apart from the beer-and-cocktail crowd found elsewhere along Manteo's waterfront, giving it a different feel from the typical Outer Banks dinner spot built around fried seafood. Like most of downtown Manteo, it's an easy walk from the shops and galleries around Shallowbag Bay, so it folds naturally into an evening that starts elsewhere in town before or after dinner.
763 reviews
4 months ago
Some of the best tacos I have ever ate. Shared Carne Asada and Guy's approved fish tacos and an appetizer of chips and salsa. Get the flour tortillas for the chips. They are delicious. All and all, a must stop for great food at a decent price
4 years ago
We were in town for a concert at Roanoke Island Festival Amphitheater. We stopped here to eat before our concert. Love the outside seating at the front of the building. What a cool vibe. We ate inside, which had a fun, funky vibe as well. Our first encounter with our server was a bit off putting. He introduced himself, we hesitated for a moment on our drink orders and he seemed distracted. Then said he would be back in a minute without taking our order. We started to second guess our decision to eat here. But the rest of the evening things went great. All our drinks were very tasty. The food was delicious. We all ordered different dishes and tried bites of them all. Very impressed with all the dishes we had. The stuffed mushroom app and onion rings were amazing. So glad I ordered the onion rings as a side with my salad. Definitely a must try. The server made great suggestions throughout the meal. At the end of our meal my husband decided we should take a shot before we left. Our server recommended a tequila shot with a house made chaser. I don't love the taste of liquor so I didn't love it, but it was a huge hit with the rest of the group. Highly recommend this restaurant if your are in the area. The atmosphere is a great representation of the local area and serves amazing, fun and unusual dishes utilizing fresh catch/local fare. Mid level price and fun and trendy decor.
3 months ago
Genuinely one of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve ever had. We were sat immediately but shouldn’t have been given that we ended up waiting 2 hours at the table. It took 30 minutes just to take our drink order, and when the drinks came out the Sprite was pure carbonation while the Pepsi tasted like an unidentified chemical. After waiting almost an hour, we ordered chips and queso just to survive, and somehow it still barely came out before the food. Honestly, the queso tasted so store bought I wouldn’t be shocked if someone ran to Walmart for it. The food finally came out after 2 hours and somehow got worse from there. The “chicken” chimichanga was 75% beans with chicken strategically placed at the ends for decoration. The pulled pork nachos had slimy mystery meat throughout, and the chicken tenders looked like pink popcorn chicken pellets. On top of all that, everything was wildly overpriced. I don’t even blame the servers at this point, this place needs kitchen help, management help, and maybe an exorcism.
2 months ago
Absolutely one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. We came here expecting a great experience because this place has been featured by Guy Fieri, but it was a complete disappointment. We were seated and then completely ignored. Customers who arrived after us were greeted, served water, had their orders taken, and even received their food before anyone acknowledged us. We waited patiently, tried to get the staff’s attention more than once, and were still ignored. The service was unacceptable. We were made to feel unwelcome and extremely uncomfortable. There was no communication, no apology, and no attempt to make things right. Watching everyone else get served while we sat there being overlooked was beyond frustrating. The restaurant appeared to be run almost entirely by inexperienced young staff, and there seemed to be no management or organization. The level of customer service was shockingly poor. Being featured by Guy Fieri set high expectations, but the reality couldn’t have been more different. I would not recommend this place to anyone. Save your time and your money and go somewhere else. We will never be back.
8 months ago
I'm not sure where to start with this review as r every aspect was bad. Our chicken chimichanga was 75% black beans (see photo) and had a weird sweet taste. The overpriced chips and salsa were all so broken it was impossible to do them. The guacamole was lime forward. The pork nachos were simply not good. The cheese fries were limp and barely cheese covered. The chicken in the fajitas was tough. The service was sloooow and our food came out in 3 waves , with each being at least 5 minutes later than the last. To top it off they tried to charge us $150 too much on the bill. Nightmare on NYE.