Michael J&#x27;s

First off, been here before, the food was good, the beer was better than most in El Paso. But I'll…read morenever go back here or recommend it to anyone coming to Ruidoso. Called inquiring about reservations, told it's first come first serve and I should expect about a 15-20 min wait. Showed up, 3 adults w/ 3 kids at 5:30. Was told I was the 2nd name behind an 11 top, and should be able to be seated in 5 min due to a few tables just waiting to be cleared upstairs. 20 mins later I watched them clear a 6 top at the front door downstairs, then split it so they could seat two tables of 4 who had shown up after my family. After waiting another 10 min I asked about how long we were looking at, the woman at the door told me she would go upstairs and check on the table, she returned to inform me that I was now looking at probably 20 min before we could be seated. We left... I don't know if the elderly woman working as a hostess at the door is an owner, a wife, family friend, or simply a pity hire due to her old age, but she has no business working customer service at a restaurant. She lied to me and several other groups about wait times, and seating availability only to double down several times about how soon we will be seated. She obviously has zero idea about how food service works, customer service relations, or kitchen service/food service times. Side note: an obviously drunk group of six made their way in during my wait, the bartender had no issue serving them, fingers crossed they weren't driving home, but I doubt anyone is that lucky.

Everything here was great. The service was awesome and they have a great selection of beer on tap…read morewhich we loved. They do not appear to serve liquor though so be prepared for that. The homemade salsa was fantastic. It was so garlicky and had a good kick thank you for seasoning your food! And the burger, that was a backyard, 4th of July type burger. It was great!

Josh's wine

Sangria and select black cherry coke

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Plenty of beers

Cafe Rio

3.8(466 reviews)

My family of 7 who are pizza lovers stopped in while strolling Midtown. I browsed some restaurants…read moreonline prior to our venture to Ruidoso and this was on our list of places to try thanks to the many raving reviews. The place was packed when we arrived, but gratefully time was on our side and we were able to be seated promptly without a wait. They have a walk up counter outside where you can place to-go orders. Just come back in 15 minutes after ordering (they won't call ya). Looks simple, divey and well loved and the crowds are the proof! We ordered jumbo pizzas and a couple of cheese slices for my 10-year old. The slices are huge, definitely only need 1 for a kiddo. We didn't know lol. Slices are giving New York, so fold in half and bite. If you have toddlers that typically eat 1 slice, I would even say order 1 slice to cut in half. Mom of 5 here ‍...you're welcome lol. Lemonade was fresh squeezed, sweetened, but naturally on the tart side. My kids weren't a fan, but I thought it was excellent! They don't know what's up. But if you have kids, maybe yours won't like it either lol. I enjoy Gingerale but usually don't get it because most brands contain high fructose corn syrup amongst other junk. I was unaware of the Boylan brand until today! Enjoyed it very much with our meal. Was light and refreshing. We'll look for it elsewhere now. I like gourmet pizza and my husband doesn't. This was a good middle. "Not too gourmet" he says. I say it's a step above the major chains. Thin crust and lighter without all the bloat to follow, but still a little greasy lol. Take that as you may! Highly recommend this stop for pizza lovers. We'd come back! Staff was attentive though the place was and seems constantly busy. When I hear cafe I don't think pizza, but now I just might lol. No complaints!

This is a locals favorite, and you will see lines that span several people. I am not a fan of thin…read morepizza, hence the 3 stars. I also didn't find the flavors to be appealing. We tried a kale soup with sausage, it tasted healthy, if you know what I mean. The pizza also tasted healthy, despite being full of meats. I wonder if I misread the menu and this is a vegan place, or a health store. The place looks a little bit like a ski shop. Our waitress was nice but other random staff members were nicer. At some point, a podcast started playing and replaced the emo/skater playlist. This place is weird. I think this is a thin crust pizza town...

Chef salad. way good!

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The Ranchers Steak & Seafood Restaurant

3.5(264 reviews)

0.7 mi

•$$$

My wife and I celebrated our first anniversary on Saturday, March 21, 2026. We went to Ranchers in…read moreRuidoso. We were told that the wait time was 1.5 hours, and we decided to wait in the bar. Brianna, the amazing manager (we had met her on our previous visit) arranged to have us seated in the bar for dinner, no waiting! There we met the incredible Ed the Barman, who took care of us personally, both drinks and dinner. Ed made us the best martinis we had in years and even created a special cocktail for my wife. We had the onion rings as an appetizer, which were amazingly tasty. Among the four of us, we had shrimp cocktail, prime rib, sirloin, and filet mignon. We had a side of excellent grilled asparagus and my wife had a superb Caesar salad. Everything was delicious and cooked perfectly. For dessert, we enjoyed cheesecake and carrot cake, both top-notch. My father, who was from the East Coast and constantly in search of 'New York style' cheesecake, would have been delighted. For our family, Ranchers is the cream of the crop in Ruidoso. Brianna and Ed, along with other employees, turned our anniversary into a world-class celebration! Thank you, Brianna, Ed, and all the Ranchers staff. (If you go to see Ed, which we recommend, be sure to wear a Hawaiian shirt.)

This place has so much potential which is why it's so disappointing that every time I go I end up…read morewondering why they don't do better. It's a beautiful place with a nice dining room and bar area. The menu has just enough to choose from that anyone should be able to pick something they would like. Nothing is too fussy and the prices are decent for a steakhouse in a small mountain town that depends a lot on tourism. I have been there for lunch, for dinner, by myself and with friends - probably over a dozen times over several years. Not once have I walked away feeling like I had a great experience. The service is usually decent but the servers always seem way more interested in chatting with each other or hanging out with other employees. On more than one occasion I've heard them complain about other customers or getting another table as more customers come in the door. The food is generally okay but nothing special. It's not a complicated menu but you can order the same thing more than once and who knows how it will show up to the table. Over or under cooked, way over seasoned or missing ingredients listed on the menu - this has happened to me several times. Walking into the restaurant you are rarely greeted by someone right away. It takes a while for anyone to notice you and then if someone does it's usually a busy server or someone who doesn't look like they work there. Today I was greeted by someone who was dressed like they were cleaning out their garage. Several times I've been seated at the only clean table in the room. By the time I've left, the tables have all been dirty and no one has touched them during my entire meal. A table was only cleaned if it was needed for someone else coming in. It's a really bad impression. Something needs to be done to isolate the kitchen from the front of the house. You can hear the kitchen staff yelling, cursing and playing loud heavy metal music throughout the dining room and bar. During meals I have learned a lot about the personal lives of the staff and not because I wanted to. All of these things are fixable. I keep going back because I'll hear that there is a new manager or a new chef but it seems like nothing ever really changes and it's a shame.

Brussel sprouts

The Ranchers Steak & Seafood Restaurant - Menu

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Downshift Brewing

4.1(232 reviews)

0.7 mi

This is a really nice place, and I had a really good time here. The beers are good, not amazing,…read morebut you can drink them without feeling cheated. There is also a drink menu which I suggest you try. The staff is young, this brewery may be the next incarnation of breweries, replacing the big bearded lumberjack dudes with young girls from some summer camp. A lot of high pitched voices and running around, but everything was OK. It was a nice experience nonetheless.

Downshift Brewing is one of the few spots in my opinion that have good food and also a nice spot to…read morehang out. Pizza is very thin, so I wouldn't say it will hold you down, but it was pretty good. The dip we had was good and everything was fresh. You order at the front, get a buzzer and go back to the counter to get your food, so it comes out pretty fresh and quick. We came here after a day of driving around Ruidoso so we can unwind with some drinks, which were well made. Everything was spot on, recommend if you're looking for a chill spot with good food and drinks. As always, straight from the plate.

Downshift Riverside Tap Wall

Downshift Brewing - House made tender meatballs served on toasted bread with creamy mozzarella & fresh basil. Side of housemade Italian pasta salad.

House made tender meatballs served on toasted bread with creamy mozzarella & fresh basil. Side of housemade Italian pasta salad.

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Grab your Beer-to-go available in 4 packs or growlers from either of our locations!

Noisy Water Winery

4.3(107 reviews)

Very welcoming staff in a beautiful place. We tasted a few things at the bar, ordered a couple of…read moreglasses for the Hatch Chili Wine, and headed outside to the patio to sip and watch the world go by. When we went back in, we bought a bottle. Really enjoyed our afternoon and can't wait to taste this wine again!

Friendly staff, great wine and knowledge of the different varietals. We love to visit as many…read morelocations because each one has a hidden gem to taste. Love this winery

Ristra of chile

A thing of beauty

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View from inside

Zocca Coffee

4.4(104 reviews)

1.7 mi

•$

The employee was super sweet! I had a Zocca Machiatto with caramel and it was delicious! The…read moreestablishment is cute and has a lot of seating. I love a good coffee shop!

Coffee was great, very cute cafe and aesthetic, stay was quick and friendly as well. It was…read morereasonably priced too. Whenever visiting new towns we try to visit local coffee shops versus Starbucks, it's just part of traveling experience for my husband and I.

Interior

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Pastries and Bagels. They have cute signs everywhere!

Noisy Water Winery

4.1(24 reviews)

Amazing place! The wine and charcuterie board is delicious. We stopped by twice when visiting…read moreRuidoso. The staff is friendly. Theres a lot of good merchandise. It's kid friendly. Great place for lunch, dinner, or just a drink.

We had a great wine tasting experience here! It was $15 for a selection of 4 different wines, and…read moreeach one we had was great. I love a good Cabernet, and they've got an award winning reserve that was excellent. They also just opened up their upstairs "secret" room, which we were able to look around and enjoy as well.

Perfect with their array of wines!

Enchanted Vine November 2023

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On tap

Nana's Yummy Cupcakes

3.6(52 reviews)

What a "sweet" place, and a great escape from the rain outside!…read more The owners were extremely friendly and welcoming, and the cupcakes were delicious! We most definitely will be returning! Highly recommended!

Walking around midtown today after lunch and decided to grab some cupcakes to-go. Picked up a…read morechocolate buttercream, German chocolate and a strawberry cupcake. We've tried the pistachio cupcake before as well, delicious! The strawberry was my favorite out of the 3 we purchased today, perfectly sweet and moist, could've used just a little more frosting. The chocolate buttercream was our least favorite out of these, kinda dry and not enough chocolate flavor, may go great w a coffee though. The German chocolate cupcake was good, still a tiny bit dry, but the flavors were great! I do look forward to our next visit and to see what other flavors are available! The owner was handing out cookie samples, salted caramel I believe, pretty tasty, the caramel was a little to large for the size of the cookie, but the taste was great! The people working here are super friendly and sweet :) Always welcome you w a smile and genuinely want you to enjoy their treats and shop. The shop is cute and has a little area to sit out front to enjoy your treat and there are lots of cute things to browse while in line; little candies, honey sticks, baking cookware, candles and more. Definitely stop by when you're visiting Ruidoso!!

German Chocolate

Chocolate Buttercream

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Quarters Nightclub and Grill

2.2(126 reviews)

We decided on this restaurant as we were walking the little stores/shops and this place was open…read more Regrets! The food took forever, and all was past overcooked. As you can see in the photos, the burger was so dry and overcooked even though the menu states it would be cooked "medium well". The chicken wings were cold, salad looked so sad. If I could give 0 stars, I would. Shawn was our server.

3.5 stars. There's…read morenot that many places open late in Ruidoso so if you're looking to have some fun with friends after 9pm, you're options are small. If you're looking for some country dancing, kareoke, or just a place to have some beers this is one of your options. It's usually pretty busy during the weekends especially if it's tourist season. If country music ain't your thing, they do have a jukebox (AMI) you can play music on and you can also download an app for it, similar to TouchTunes. This place is your typical local bar, it's casual, nothing fancy. It has two pool tables, some arcade games, a patio, a dance floor and plenty of seating. They do have live music on certain days, check their Facebook page or other social media to get that info. They check for ID at the door at night. They do have a kitchen that serves food during the day.

Nachos

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Pizza Hut

2.8(35 reviews)

1.7 mi

•$

I get that this is a fast food joint. Who leaves reviews for fast food? Well it was bad enough that…read moreI felt compelled. Pizza Hut used to be a good wing place. The last 2 times our wings looked like this. Why not put forth the effort that takes 30 seconds to make the wings the way I ordered them!? I ordered food because I DIDN'T want to put any effort into a meal. The dude at the drive through forgot my pizza. I had to remind him and he gave no form of apology. We are a tourist town and if we let these places go unchecked with their lack of quality, our town will suffer for it. Do better.

Man. I FREAKING LOVE this place. I'm so glad it's in buisness and still doing good business. My…read morehusband and I came in on a Sunday night, the staff was extremely welcoming and helpful. The girl behind the counter was super cute. Walked us to our seats even though there wasn't but a few other couples in there. He was in sucha great mood and seemed so happy to be there. It's so nice to see people enjoying the job they have! We had a large pizza and pitcher of soda, everything was so good. We were so sad going home knowing we couldn't visit one I ce we were back home! Can't wait to visit when we come back.