If you’re looking for some great Southwestern cuisine, there are few better places to find it than Albuquerque, New Mexico! There are plenty of great restaurants in the large New Mexican city, and finding the right one for your needs can be a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, we’ve done all of the hard work. Join ViewCation as we attempt to track down the best restaurants in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Nexus Brewery & Restaurant
If you’re looking for a laidback place to grab a beer and a bite to eat, Nexus Brewery & Restaurant is considered by many to be the preeminent place to go in Albuquerque. As the name of the restaurant should suggest, the beer comes from it’s own onsite brewery. Meanwhile, the food being offered up has just as much care put into it. As compared to the majority of New Mexico eateries, which predominantly offer up Southwestern fare, this place serves soul food. Some of the varied offerings that you’ll find on the menu at Nexus Brewery & Restaurant include gumbo and bread pudding, but you’ll also find some suspiciously Southwestern offerings being served to guests, such as frito pie.
Antiquity Restaurant
If you’re looking for a great restaurant in Albuquerque where you can take people you want to impress, then there are few better choices than Antiquity Restaurant! For both New Mexico natives and guests to the region, Antiquity Restaurant offers one of the classiest dining experiences that can be had in the city. The fancy atmosphere brings with it a high price tag, but rest assured that you’ll be getting your money’s worth with such quality meat choices as veal. Another thing that makes Antiquity Restaurant so popular with upper-class clientele would be it’s vast selection of wines, with over 60 wine selections on the menu.
Le Troquet
If Antiquity Restaurant offers the best fine-dining experience in Albuquerque, then Le Troquet offers the city’s denizens the best chance to taste some authentic French cuisine. The atmosphere is similarly fancy, so you won’t want to come here for a cheap and easy lunch. One thing that sets Le Troquet apart from other restaurants is it’s seasonal menu. This rotating menu allows the restaurant to feature dishes that utilize fresher ingredients than usual. Of course, the seasonal menu also makes it a little hard to know what to expect when you show up for your meal. Still, visitors to Le Troquet will always be able to count on the fresh baguettes.
Seared Bistro
Seared Bistro is another classy restaurant, this time with an emphasis on juicy meats served with a Southwestern flare. The meat-based dishes are certainly the most popular on the menu, with the green-chili-featuring steak sandwich being the item of choice. However, that doesn’t mean that vegetarians will be left in the dark when they stop in for a visit. Those who choose to abstain from partaking in the flesh can enjoy Seared Bistro’s revered veggie burger. Not only is this burger plant-based, but it’s also made using entirely non-GMO ingredients. Whatever your preferences may be, Seared Bistro is a great Albuquerque eatery.
High Noon Restaurant & Saloon
Seared Bistro offers up meat-based dishes in a modern atmosphere, but those that are looking for something a bit homier may prefer High Noon Restaurant & Saloon. This restaurant has been a favorite amongst Albuquerque denizens for decades, with the eatery first opening it’s doors in 1974. Ever since, it has become known as one of the preeminent steakhouses in the New Mexican city. One of the things that make High Noon Restaurant & Saloon stand out from the competition is the incorporation of wild game into the menu. Given that this is the Southwest, visitors can also expect some things on the menu that aren’t traditional steakhouse fare, including margaritas and burritos.
Campo at Los Poblanos
Like Le Troquet, Campo at Los Poblanos is an Albuquerque restaurant that prides itself on it’s seasonal menu that utilizes fresh ingredients. At this restaurant, many of those ingredients come from an on-site organic farm, with the eatery itself being located within the greater Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm. Whereas Le Troquet is known for it’s French cuisine, Campo at Los Poblanos is a restaurant that offers up traditional Southwestern cuisine. Campo at Los Poblanos is a popular spot for dinner, but it’s even more bustling during the breakfast and brunch hours. The surrounding landscape provides beautiful scenery.
Cocina Azul
Cocina Azul is another restaurant offering up the kind of cuisine that you can only find in New Mexico! This Albuquerque restaurant doesn’t break the bank with it’s Southwestern dishes, which is one thing that sets it apart from the eateries that we’ve looked at previously. Just because it doesn’t break the bank doesn’t mean Cocina Azul doesn’t offer up some incredible tastes for visitors! One of the most popular things to order while visiting Cocina Azul is the steak ranchero and eggs. Though this item is technically on the restaurant’s breakfast menu, it’s severed all day!
Mary & Tito’s Café
Since 1963, Mary & Tito’s Café is another standout New Mexican eatery offering up traditional Southwestern fare, this time with a particular emphasis on the Mexican side of things. The main item that makes the restaurant so popular with the locals is arguably the stuffed sopaipilla. Their sopaipilla are stuffed to the brim, and they can make an intimidating meal in and of themselves. If you’re looking for something a little bit heartier, you can try out the pork.
Sawmill Market
Sawmill Market isn’t technically a restaurant, but it’s undeniably one of the greatest places in the city of Albuquerque to grab a bite to eat! Sawmill Market is sort of like a farmers’ market, but it’s open everyday. There are numerous vendors within the market, and there are plenty of options for fresh food. Some of the tastiest things you’ll find at Sawmill Market include waffles and poke bowls.
Duran Central Pharmacy
Duran Central Pharmacy is another eatery that stands out from the competition in Albuquerque. This time, the thing that makes the restaurant standout the most is the fact that it’s nestled in the back of a historic pharmacy. As far as the restaurant goes, the food is pretty much what you’d expect given the region. That said, it’s done well. Some of the things you’ll find on the menu include enchiladas and tamales. Their tamales have become so popular that they’re even sold by the dozen so that visitors can take them home.
Debajo Tapas y Vino
If you’re in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and you’re looking for tapas, than you can find few better locations than Debajo Tapas y Vino. The tapas you’ll find here are as authentic as can be, and you’ll also find an incredibly impressive selection of wines. If you want to taste the wines and don’t want to fill up on tapas, you can choose to snack on the restaurant’s first-rate charcuterie board, containing imported meats.
Farm & Table
Like Campo at Los Poblanos, Farm & Table is an Albuquerque eatery that prides itself on using local ingredients. Whereas Campo at Los Poblanos ingredient’s come from an onsite organic farm, Farm & Table sources it’s fresh ingredients from many different local sources around New Mexico. If you want to taste Southwestern cuisine that’s authentic inside and out, than supporting the local community by eating at Farm & Table is a must.
Padilla’s Mexican Kitchen
Padilla’s Mexican Kitchen is yet another Southwestern restaurant on this list offering up Mexican staples. You’ll find the traditional selection of tamales and enchiladas here, as well as some of the best chile rellenos in the region. Besides the chile rellenos, another thing that make this restaurant stand out from the competition is the fact that it only accepts cash as payment. This is certainly something that tourists will want to know beforehand, but customers can rest assured that cash-only payments means more profit and less fees for this local and family-owned business.
The Artichoke Café
Coming back to the world of fine dining, the Artichoke Café is an Albuquerque restaurant that offers up such high-class dishes as steak tartare and duck rillettes. Of course, this is another eatery that isn’t a good choice for those that are looking for a casual dining experience. However, those with money and time to spare will find some incredible food.
Frenchish
Frenchish is like Le Troquet in that it offers up French cuisine to Albuquerque’s denizens. However, it stands apart from that aforementioned restaurant in that the cuisine is more modern, and the atmosphere is more family-friendly. The menu is also especially accommodating towards those with special dietary needs, whether you’re avoiding gluten or meat. If you’ve never experienced French cuisine before, this is certainly an unintimidating place to get your introduction.
Seasons 52
Seasons 52 is yet another Albuquerque restaurants that prides itself on having a seasonal menu that utilizes fresh ingredients. Like Farm & Table, Seasons 52’s preference for utilizing fresh ingredients can be assumed directly from the name. The word “seasons”, of course, refers to the seasonal nature of the menu, whereas 52 is the number of weeks in the average year. Besides great vegetable-based dishes, another thing that you’ll find being served up at Seasons 52 is a vast selection of wines. True to the number in the restaurant’s title, Seasons 52 is always sure to keep 52 different wine selections on hand for it’s guests.
The aforementioned selections represent what we believe to be some of the best restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico! Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that there are several popular places in the city of Albuquerque to get farm-to-table cuisine, and that one of them is actually called Farm & Table? Comment down below!