Mesa Fresca Diner

I think they are now closed, which is very sad. Went by a couple of days last week and the diner wasn’t open any of the days. By the end of the week, even the General Store looked closed. However that day, there was a sign that said, «New and Exciting things to come.» I hope it is by the same operators that were there and not a new group.
At the very least, I’m hoping Mesa Fresca opens somewhere else.

This is the most unassuming diner I have ever been in. It is attached to a gas station for crying out loud. If it wasn’t for the Unilocal review I would have never walked in here.
This place is about 20 minutes away from me so have only been over there 2x since my discovery. I ordered the same thing both times. Chorizo Breakfast Burrito! It is substantial and extremely awesome. This is the first and only breakfast burrito I have found that was worthwhile since leaving Northern Virginia 7 years ago. The one I loved up there was Annita’s Tex-​Mex and it was a quarter of the size. Anyhow, Mesa Fresca’s is far better and massive. Good blend of eggs, beans, potatoes, chorizo, cheese, and onion. This is a breakfast a lumberjack or fireman would love. I would not consider this something you could eat while driving.
The place looked really clean and the husband and wife that run the show are mega friendly. There are a ton of options on the menu and they all read very well. There seems to be about ten tables and a couple TV’s. It is a very simple looking place however the food creations seem anything but simple. I look forward to trying everything on the menu.

Outstanding food and service !! These guys love what they do and it shows :) Large menu as well as I ask for custom mixes and matches from time to time and they are always friendly and happy to help in any way they can. My favorite stop for lunch … about once a week for their breakfast platter, and if im in the area dinner too. If you haven’t tried eating here, your missing out.

The food was great, the diner was very clean, and the prices were reasonable! Best of all, it’s within walking distance from home!
I had the 3 piggy sandwich — delicious!

Run don’t walk to this hidden gem! Had breakfast here today and it was crazy good. Huevos rancheros were full of flavor. The service was amazing and the staff was so friendly. Perfect place to bring kids or grab any meal of the day. Breakfast served all day, awesome burger menu and don’t even get me started on the tacos!
Forget the chains and bypass Mickey Ds and Taco Bell and support this homegrown business! It seems like a family business. There was beer, soda, and also a case filled with cheesecake, cinnamon cookies and shortcakes!
Drive thru is available, gas and general store! Makes a perfect morning coffee and biscuit stop or easy Friday out with friends.
I’m headed back tomorrow night for tacos!
Again… The service and the people were so nice!

Love supporting small businesses, especially when the owners are this super friendly, makes you really want them to succeed. I enjoyed the Mesa Fresca breakfast burrito. First time having eggs over easy in a burrito — I am a huge fan. Restaurant is clean and service is good, don’t let the gas station location deter you.

I just moved to the area and was running errands and decided to use Unilocal to find a Mexican restaurant. It seemed liked it received good reviews. I will say I was surprised when I pulled up and it was part of an old general store. It doesn’t have the feel of a Mexican restaurant. You go to the counter and order. You can order Mexican or they have American fare too.
I ordered the special Carnitas pork burrito which included chips salsa and drink. When it came out it was huge. The flavors were good. It was a pleasant surprise and I will be back!

Yummy, clean and smiles!
5 stars is hard to come by with me. So receiving 4 is pretty awesome.

Good:
Clean
Quick
Staff was nice
Bad:
Sprite taste was off
Chips are on the thick side
Guacamole had no flavor or spice. Just tasted like raw onions. When they brought it out it was only a small amount and he said they only had half of a good avocado. For $ 4 that was expensive to start with, much less for not getting much. He offered to get us something else and I asked for a discount on dessert. They gave us $ 1 off a tres leches cake. I think they should have done more than that.
Veggie quesidilla only had a tiny bit of avocado. Now knowing they were almost out of avocado that makes sense but the only reason I ordered this was because I love avocado. Quesadilla was really lacking flavor, too.
Cake was clearly factory made and nothing special. For $ 4 it was a small piece, too.
Salsa was basically water and onion.
I would not go back as I left on the hungry side with a taste of onion strong in my mouth.

Check out their Tacos authentic AL LA cart selections on the blackboard to the left!!!
A good amount of meat and the right amount of cilantro. I tried the chix & pineapple, tongue, and yes, the intestines. The tacos were ALL SUPER. What a great little find in the middle of no-​where! Don’t miss it! Super clean (at a gas station!) and extremely friendly too.
Unilocal HAS A 50% OFF LUNCH SPECIAL HERE! THE OWNERS WANTED ME TO SHARE IT WITH YOU. ENJOY!

Picture this — Cinco De Mayo fell on a Monday in 2014 and as per the norm most restaurants in downtown Apex were closed along with the local bottle shop. The Mexican place in town was open and the wait was an hour and a half.
Off I went to my trusty Unilocal app and it directed me to Mesa Fresca.
My wife and I headed there with infant in tow and came to the address… a gas station? We parked outside and contemplated venturing in as, well it’s in a gas station. Not one to stand on protocol and being a regular food truck supporter I steeled us both and crossed the threshold.
What we found was not only surprising, but really good.
The place was immaculate, tables were spotless, the walls were well decorated and a young lady behind the counter greeted us warmly.
We ordered a plethora of tacos and a quesadilla, some chips and salsa and some of Mexico’s finest cerveza’s. All the flavors were onpoint and the meal was beyond filling. The price point is low, but the quality is very good.
The chef was full of smiles as we walked in and after our food was delivered he checked on us a few times. I wish for their sake that they’d have been mobbed, but was glad that there was little to no people there. In talking to the owner/​chef, they had recently added dinner hours and people were a little slow on the uptake — lucky for us. Personal service and a quiet stress-​free May 5^th dinner.
We’ve been back about once a week for the past 2 months and I’ve not been disappointed. I’ve not delved into their burgers or their sandwiches sticking solely to their Latin american offerings.
We’ll continue to support this gem in a gas station.

I just had a great breakfast at the Mesa Fresca Diner. I had the Mesa Fresca Burrito which contains two over easy eggs (messy but genius burrito innovation), bacon, cheese, refriend beans, slow cooked onions, and probably other magic.
It was a ton of food and inexpensive. The couple who runs the place are really nice.
I like the way the chef thinks. He keeps a giant supply of slow cooked onions on hand. You know you’ll need them for some dish (or every dish). I have to go back to try the carnitas and Three Little Pigs sandwich.
I didn’t try the pancake tacos, but I’ll be back for those too.

I just had the Mesa Fresca burrito. So delicious! I now want all breakfast burritos to have over easy eggs! Such a good idea. I can’t wait to go back to try some tacos!
When I left, the woman that took my order asked how I found out about the place (answer: Unilocal!). That’s a great sign that they care about their business. That always makes me happy. I will definitely be back.

Yup, it’s in the gas station but great breakfast, lunch and tacos. Very casual so don’t expect Sullivan’s table service. Order at the counter.
Staff very friendly. Had breakfast which was great… had combo, home fries had a little but if a Latino twist. Looking forward to having chorizo and eggs next time along with trying their tacos.

We really weren’t sure about this place but when we ordered the Mesa Fresca burrito and it was so good. The owners are very friendly and you can tell care about their place and their food. The owner served the food to us personally and was very friendly and cared if we liked the food.
We go there for the breakfast food mainly. We will go back for lunch soon.

Thanks to my Unilocal Buddy Alison D., I stopped by the Mesa Fresca Diner when I was craving some good authentic Mexican Food one afternoon. When is the last time you walked into a restaurant (attached to a gas station store) that was clean, inviting, and has staff welcome you as you walk in? It really is a nice little place. The girl behind the counter was so friendly and helpful to this new customer.
I had 2 Tacos; a Chorizo and a Carnitas. They were great! Each served on 2 warm, soft corn tortillas, with just some onion and cilantro. Right on! I had Beans and Rice as my sides but they had other sides to choose from.
They had a sign in the window that «We now serve BBQ Ribs!» and they were on Special that day so I brought home 2 to go. They were seasoned wonderfully, although a little fatty. Served with cole slaw and baked beans, with white bread. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than that!
There are tables to sit at here and everything looked very clean, and the staff was friendly. The shop attached to the restaurant is where I visited the clean rest rooms and they have all kinds of goodies in there for sale.
Nice Place! Thanks for the tip, Alison! :-)

I have eaten here many times. Everything has been great. I tend towards the mexican side of the menu, but they have a fairly wide variety, e.g., hamburgers, pot roast. I’ve tried most of the tacos (fantastic), but the crème de la crème is what I had this morning. The Mesa Fresca breakfast burrito is unbelievable– over easy eggs, refried beans, potatoes, crack, pixie dust, etc… Whatever is in it, it is out of bounds delicious. WHOA! …and for a reasonable price?!? getoutofhere.
I recommended it to a coworker who went for lunch every day for a week. Once you get in the groove it’s hard to get back out.
Bottom line– great spot, give them a shot.

Everything about this place is a surprise, from the unexpected location at a gas station, to the friendly service, and the food. Perhaps because the owners are also the ones waiting on customers and cooking the food, is what makes Mesa Fresca service a standout.
The dining area is kept clean, the menu is extensive and pretty easy to navigate. I don’t think of this as a traditional diner, but more of a street-​food place with a sit-​down option. Some things are probably a bit messy to eat when you’re driving, but will work for take out. In other words, there’s nothing high-​brow; the few things I’ve tried have varied from okay to good.
I like that I can order breakfast any time. Sometimes there’s nothing better than breakfast for lunch. The Huevos Rancheros are decent although everything starts to taste the same after a few bites. Until that happens, the mesa potatoes are tasty and the eggs are nicely cooked. The breakfast burrito is good. Really good. The homemade salsa is also nice, but they don’t serve nearly enough of it.
On one visit, where I wasn’t in a breakfast state of mind, I tried the grilled steak burrito. It started out a bit bland, until I bit into the meat, which was tender and full of flavor. The meat was saltier than I would have liked, but it was balanced out by the onion and pepper. Again, though, I’d probably ask for extra salsa and skip the chips. One thing about Mesa Fresca food — there’s none of the barely-​visible veggies or meat.
Mesa Fresca has a drive through, but it’s not fast. The food isn’t pre-​made so you’ll be waiting in your car for a while.

I learned a long time ago that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, so I had no issues eating Mexican food in a gas station!
The place is nothing fancy, but I will say it was spotless clean. It’s a family owned business, and while we were there the two people working were part of the family. I get the impression most of the people you will see behind the counter are owner-​operators, and they take pride in making sure you are happy.
Despite ordering at the counter, they bring the food to you and even make sure you have everything you need, and check in frequently to make sure it’s to your liking.
We ordered a la carte tacos: carnitas, al pastor, pollo, y carne asada. All were excellent, and my husband liked my carne asada so much that he went back and ordered another. (Don’t judge, it was our lunch and dinner at 4pm.) We also tried the guacamole (super fresh) and salsa (a little runny but also fresh). The black beans were good, but not knock your socks off our anything. Just a nice compliment to the tacos, which are really where it’s at.
Our only complaint is that we didn’t have room to try the chorizo or any dessert. Next time!

This is a cute little diner attached to a convenience store and gas station.
This is the type of place that if it were along I-​95 would become a routine stop for many travelers along the route. The diner is extremely clean and the owners are quite friendly. The diner menu offers a nice variety and they serve breakfast all day. It’s a comfortable place to stop and eat or you can take advantage of their drive-​thru!