El Charritos

Family-owned & operated

Catering service

While downtown on Mountain Road this Friday evening, I came across a Mexican establishment that…read moreproved to be a thoroughly marvelous discovery. Being situated right along the main avenue made it effortlessly easy to locate. Stepping inside, the restaurant makes an immediate, positive impression spotlessly clean, beautifully appointed with authentic Mexican-style decor, and filled with a wonderfully warm, vibrant atmosphere. The hospitality was top-tier from start to finish. A gentleman named Luis attended to me with exceptional grace, providing service that was attentive, welcoming, and thoroughly polished. With Luis's expert guidance, I ordered a Strawberry Margarita to celebrate the end of the week, which arrived artfully crafted, perfectly balanced, and delightfully refreshing. For my main course, I selected the Shrimp Tacos and the Azul Fish Tacos, accompanied by a side of beans and plain white rice. The kitchen moved with remarkable efficiency, and the dishes arrived after only a brief moment. Every bite was an absolute culinary triumph exceptionally fresh, beautifully seasoned, and executed with high-status quality. Between the immaculate cleanliness, lively ambiance, sublime cuisine, and Luis's stellar service, this spot earns full marks from me. A thoroughly memorable experience I shall most certainly be returning

We came in for lunch after reading good reviews. It was crowded but we were seated within a few…read moreminutes. The restaurant refers to itself as New Mexican rather than Mexican, like in Texas. The food has a little different spice mixture (some lighter or a different blend) and some food items are interpreted a little differently by the chef. Nothing disappointed us. I ordered the Frank Sr's Combo Plate to sample some of my favorites. The surprise here was the green chili sauce and using brisket instead of ground beef. It was the good kind of surprise. My wife ordered Calista's Carne Adovada Plate (brined & marinated pork cushion). Both dishes came with rice and charro beans. We exchanged forks of food across the table and every item (all 7) were a hit. The rice was cooked in chicken broth and butter and the beans had almost no cumino or chili powder but had something else slightly spicy and delicious. I could have eaten a bowl of rice & beans. But the Combo plate and Pork entree were some of the best I've had. Now I know why it is New Mexican food not Mexican food. I will come back and recommend this restaurant to people I know,

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Arellana's Guaco Sopapilla Burger

Ramona’s Mexican Cafe

4.9(80 reviews)

1.4 mi•Old Town

We love this restaurant!! The food is excellent, and the staff treats us like family.read more

Excellent on all counts. Food service ambiance are all…read moregood. Joel is very good! Go soon to enjoy!

Homey feeling seating area

Chorizo aplenty

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Inside is intimate

Church Street Café

3.6(1.1k reviews)

This easily overlooked cafe on a side street in Old Town turned out to be the place to have an…read moreideal New Mexican meal, what I came to the state to do. Tamales are prominent on the menu, so I figured they would be good. They were the small brick like tamales that used to be standard in New Mexico cuisine, though you don't always see them any more. Still tasty, though, with tender pork inside. Green chile on top was not sauce but actual chiles, mixed with cheeses and tomato bits. That worked really well. Choice of sides. I had standard rice and beans, but they weren't default Mexican restaurant style. Sopapillas for dessert, no cinnamon and not piping hot, but fully puffed so the honey could go inside as it should. Service a little offbeat, but he tried.

The food is overpriced…read more The quality is below standards for the area. The service was slowww The beef burritos were plain. The chicken tortilla soup was plain and drab...chicken broth, a few small cubes of chicken and potatoes. No cilantro, cheese or onions. The only item we ordered over our 2 visits that was above average was the delicious guacamole Pricey at $14.99 but a generous serving. We won't return. I will add this; our visit was during the height of the balloon Fiesta and they were no doubt over maxed. I also understood they have a very small kitchen within to work with so that's understandable. Fabulous 200 year old building with stunning architecture was worth the visit alone

Seating above and below

Combination Platter

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Chicken Tacos

Garduño's of Mexico Restaurant & Cantina at Old Town

3.2(239 reviews)

1.6 mi•Old Town

Terrific. Amazing. Tasty. Delicious. All good things…read moreI'm surprised this has a low rating on Google and Yelp because it was incredibly good food. Maybe the service was slow, but that's just the area, as we have learned in the last week being here. Everyone goes on their own time. But we got our food and it was delicious, probably the best meal I had all week. I loved my bowl of rice and chicken with all of the accoutrements. Very good drinks and very nice service. I would recommend it.

Food flavors were okay, but not much else was. The flour tortillas had the taste and consistency…read moreyou find straight out of the plastic bag at the supermarket. Nice choice of fancy high-end margaritas, but their mix is way too artificial tasting, without much if any fresh lime juice. The cheap margarita mix and industrial tortillas alone would have been enough to prevent a return visit. We have done so much better on previous visits here. On top of that, service was in full-on meltdown mode. Table next to us, which had been seated and served drinks before we arrived, was having words with the server about how long their food was taking. "Will it even be hot," she asked. After we had ordered and been served drinks, and ordered and been served food, they finally threw a few crumpled bills on their still-empty table and walked. My combo plate was completely wrong, and my wife's fajitas lacked the sour cream she ordered and the tomatoes and pico de gallo that were supposed to come with it. Wait staff blamed the kitchen rather than owning the mistakes on behalf of the restaurant. Took five minutes, and two requests, for my wife to even get her tiny container of sour cream. Table on the other side of us also had some problem; we heard the sever telling them that some item they ordered would be comped. They did comp my combo. But that's three adjacent tables poorly served. Not coming back.

Garduño's of Mexico Restaurant & Cantina at Old Town

Fajitas

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Patio

Duran Central Pharmacy

4.2(482 reviews)

"Cute pharmacy, mini-shop, and restaurant in Old Town"…read more Came here on a Sunday just after noon. The shop is cute with an eclectic assortment of goods-- candy/ nuts, games, stationary, drug store products, and more. It was HOPPING, too-- lots of people everywhere. We actually came for lunch, and there was a 30 minute wait, but we decided to stick it out, and I'm glad we did. The dining area is no-frills-- there are two large rooms and a bar area. We got a two-seater table. I had the blue corn chicken enchiladas with Christmas (red and green) chile on them, and shared some buttered tortilla with my girlfriend. The waitress was friendly but clearly stretched given the number of people in the restaurant. Food came out in about 10 minutes. BIG plate-- two large enchiladas, with some salad and pinto beans on the side. The enchiladas were coated half with green chile and half with red chile. The plate was SUPER hot. The taste was absolutely excellent. I loved that the chile added flavor and some heat but was not overpowering in its heat so I could enjoy the dish. The cheese and chicken inside were also good, as were the pinto beans. I loved scraping the last bit of sauce up with the tortilla. The price was very reasonable too-- about $15 for the dish before tax and tip. Overall, I'd very happily come enjoy this dish again or come try something else. And I wouldn't mind getting either trinkets or actual useful goods from the store either. Come check it out!

This used to be a place for locals to get great New Mexican food. Now it's a tourist trap. I…read moreguess this has been coming for a while. For decades it was a secret gem, but it became very popular, with significant wait time to be seated. Just went there recently and now the food has completely changed, catering more to tourists than locals, being more bland, and boring. The restaurant staff was great though, except for the one male there, who seemed like a blowhard. The rest of the store is full of kitschy tourist stuff, like it always was, and there's some fun stuff in there. The staff at the front kept greeting us, which was annoying. Anyhow, definitely not what it was, and not worth going to anymore for great, authentic New Mexican style food.

Dining area

Cherry Cheesecake Empanada | 06.08.2025

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The crew with expediter pulling hot plates from the sally, like whoa!

Old Town Cafe

3.8(47 reviews)

1.4 mi•Old Town

This is a nice little place! The decor was amazing (the license plates etc..) it was very…read morepleasant. The staff was great and prompt. The food was very good and exactly how we ordered it! Will definitely be back!

Stopped by for lunch on a Tuesday during Balloon week. When we got there, they had 18 open tables…read more(I counted them) but we still had to wait 45 minutes to be seated. Service was pretty slow and the food took around 30 minutes to come out. The food itself was pretty good. I had a burrito and it was stuffed chicken and topped with red chile. Not a bad little place if you can get over the slowness.

Interior decor.

Tamale bowl

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Char

4.7(161 reviews)

2.4 mi•Downtown

Luciana was the highlight of the night. Her attention to detail and her attitude was very pleasant…read moreto have around. Would definitely comeback just because of the way she treated us, made us feel like family!

Crystal was fantastic, she had the best recommendations!!! The Ranchers Benedict was out of sight!!!read more

New Mexico Ranchers Benedict

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Green Chili Stew

Ben Michael's Restaurant

4.0(216 reviews)

First time here. I…read moream traveling through New Mexico. I just stopped for a bite to eat. This place is very unusual... the chef is the owner and his food is delicious. I say unusual because the food is a cut above what you would expect ...this place has live jazz on Tuesdays. It's fairly small but the food and coffee are fabulous. He made a bowl for me with pinto beans, organic squash, delicious pork, with some cheese on top. Very flavorful. The coffee was basically a cappuccino. Very good. On my way back I can't wait to try his ribeye steak and a world famous margarita. It says in here he tales credit cards but he doesn't. However he tales checks and cash. I didn't have any cash on me so I wrote him a check That's the first check I've written in a long time LOL I definitely recommend this place 100%

What does a pharmacist turned restaurant owner who is literally a one man show do when his name is…read morethe restaurant? If you are Ben Michael, you are the host, waiter, bartender, chef, bus boy cashier and entertainer. Cash only. Entrees are $15-$33. The guy is literally amazing as his friend says, Renaissance man who whips up the Southwest dishes. But if you are lucky and not in a rush, he opens his piano for a little sing a long. If you come, be prepared to wait for the check, but you'll leave smiling.

2.5 mi•North Valley/Los Ranchos

Flan

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Ben Michael at the piano

Indian Pueblo Kitchen

4.0(530 reviews)

Connected to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and Museum this place is a gem and a must when at…read morethe museum. Service is excellent and speedy Food is delicious Ambiance is lovely Do yourself a favor and try this place

This place has a management problem. I waited nearly 1 hour to be seated as a single diner. During…read morethat time I notice roughly 1/3 of their tables in the main dining area empty. There were 9 lady servers in costume and another 2-3 food runners, a tall thin lady who seemed to nothing and a man who showed people to tables and doled out cutlery. With this much manpower they should have been able to handle a moderately busy Monday. They said once I was seated my server was very good. The menu is interesting but there were a few items unavailable. I got the taco with ground beef. The dish was thrown together and lacked presentation. I tried the ground beef alone so get a grip on their seasoning, what I found was a total lack of seasoning. I'm sure they want thou to depend on the chili sauces but hey, add a little something. Luckily there's 3 shakers in the table. The red stuff is a must add to the Indian taco!!! Oh and BTW, ask for extra cheese because it was hard to detect on my dish. Look, I ate it and didn't hate it, the fried bread is the reason I waited 66 minutes for my table. The dining area is great, very indigenous and really enjoyable. People seemed happy and if you visit the museum eating at the restaurant completes the tour. The ladies in Indian garb adds to the ambiance. I've had American Indian food before and it was far better. This place seemed geared towards the tourists and they seem to lay back on flavor. Try at your own risk but go to the kiosk and ask for a table long before you are ready to eat.

Blue corn onion rings served with green chile ranch dressing & fresh homemade salsa. Photo courtesy of GlobalGumshoe.com.

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High Noon Restaurant & Saloon

3.9(615 reviews)

I came here for a work event and our group had the side room right when you walk in to the right…read more It wasn't private as people had to walk through to get to the toehr part of the restaurant, but was good enough. There were some appetizers on a table and they were pretty good. We sat at 2 long tables parallel to each other and there was a preset menu. I got the tenderloin. It was really good and was unique in that it came on top of 2 mushroom enchiladas. Those were just ok, but were a good addition to the plate. The brown sugar - coriander curing on the steak made the dish and we had a great evening.

This place was middle of the road. Not bad but not great…read more Great atmosphere and an attentive staff. We had an issue and they took care of it immediately. Amazing margarita but the food was eh. My rice was hard in spots and so were my tortillas. None of it was traditional New Mexican and there were some interesting combos. My enchiladas were mare like a lasagna but tasty. I am glad we tried it but I probably won't be back.