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    Turquoise Desert

    3.9 (92 reviews)
    Closed 11:30 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Order Turquoise Desert Takeout or Delivery

    Turquoise Desert Photos

    TURQUOISE DESERT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Loud
    Good for groups
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Turquoise Desert

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    Fish & Chips with sweet potato tots
    Corinna P.

    Stumbled in last week wanting some pub favorites. Service started off a little slow - employees looked a little frustrated and this was close to opening hours. Opted to start off with the Queso which was absolutely delicious. The chips weren't my favorite but the queso was Fantastic. I ordered the Hangover Burger Medium Rare with the bacon jam on the side. My burger was well done and also on a Brioche Bun which was not mentioned on the menu. The pattys flavor was good even though it was way overcooked but the burger didn't work for me on the Brioche Bun. Too much bread to meat ratio. It took from the flavor really. A shame since the burgers insides were decent. My fries were very dark almost burned but not a big deal. My hubs opted for the Fish & Chips with the sweet potato tots. Well let me start by saying that the sweet potato tots were Absolutely Amazing. Would definitely get these again. Nice and crispy on the outside and just perfect on the inside. The fish was also good just a little more on the "fishy taste side" but that's to be expected since it did say on the menu that it's battered "Rockfish" which is not a fish we are familiar with since usually fish & chips is made with "Cod or Haddock" - but still delightful. The batter was tasty and it held up quite nicely. Service was nice and food came out at a reasonable time. Restaurant is comfortable and the bathroom is clean. Overall a nice place to try out

    Burger and Sweet potato tots - very good.
    Sam A.

    A local jewel. Great bar food. Beer and Coke products. Service a bit slow. Small Gender neutral Bathrooms. Strip center parking. $65 for three with water and 15% tip!

    Menu
    Liza M.

    I'd been running around all day and just needed to sit for a little while. So I asked a friend if she had been and she said she loves it there. So I went. Sometimes I'm all about the vibe of the place. It had a good vibe. Bar was pretty much full but I found an empty spot. Lots of the tables were occupied, people chatting and having a good time. The food being delivered looked good too. People working in the kitchen were busy and collaborating. Staff was super friendly and helpful. I ordered a patty melt with onion rings (they were HUGE!!!) and tacos. Asked about the green cauliflower rice (it has cilantro) I don't like cilantro at all so I didn't order any with it. I had the tacos figured that was safe option since I wasn't super hungry. Everything was fresh and well prepared and good. I'll be back because I want to try their fish and chips. Plus this place is local. They're in enchanted hills near the newer defined fitness in that strip center.

    Congo Approved Nachos
    Jim F.

    In town for a long weekend visiting friends and we decided to try this tap room for dinner. Who am I to say "no" to a tap room? It was Friday evening and there was, surprisingly, no wait to be seated. It was pretty packed and there was a game of some kind being shown on the televisions (I can't tell you who was playing. Jim doesn't do sports). Our server met us pretty quickly and brought us water and took drink orders. I was definitely down for a flight and offered to set me up with a flight of her favorites, minus one because I specified I wanted at least one IPA. We were good with that. The flight (photos provided) was colourful and looked promising. Congo also approved. After we got our drinks apparently the place got slammed because the nice lady who was our server (whose name we didn't get) disappeared behind the bar to take care of drink orders. After about 10 minutes of waiting to place our food orders we decided to just flag down any person walking by. We didn't get his name, but he was able to get our food orders placed. My wife ordered a pretzel as an appetizer, I ordered the Nachos. I was surprised when he asked what kind of cheese I wanted, queso or shredded. I'm a queso-over-nachos kinda guy, but it's nice to have the option. Of the flight, 3 out of 4 were amazeballz. When she asked if I wanted to try the Winter Warmer I said "ok, I'll try something new". It was Santa Fe Brewing's Adobe Igloo. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. When I tasted it I....umm...didn't know what to make of it. It was malty, but had other tastes I couldn't pinpoint. Our friends tried it as well and it was met by a "huh" from all of us. The rest of the beers in the flight were good with a huge shout-out to the Turquoise Trail Cream Ale (which was recommended by our server). That one definitely gets Best In Show. The pretzel that wifey ordered was not your average ordinary hot pretzel. It was large and airy, not dark brown and dense. It tasted great, but it wasn't what you're used to. The beer cheese queso complimented it very nicely. My Congo Approved Nachos with beef were most excellent. The plate was heaping, and came with fresh serrano peppers. *High-Five* for the fresh serranos! The staff was constantly in motion keeping tables clean, drinks flowing, and food delivered. I wouldn't mind visiting again on a future trip to Albuquerque.

    Hawaiian pie

    Best "Hawaiian" pie I have eaten. Chunky ham and bits of pineapple. Good amount of cheese and a tasty, crunchy crust. Quick process ordered on DD and it was delivered efficiently. Good service! Will have to check it out in person and have a frothy beverage or 2.

    The bar area.
    Laura B.

    I ordered the chili cheese fries, but with chili con carne I steadily of the hatch chili peppers. The fries were soggy, even before the chili con carne and cheese were added. My daughter had a Turquoise Burger with lettuce and tomato and their works. The burger was okay, and she had the same problem with soggy fries too. They were cooked on the outside, but limp. I think this is from the cooking grease not being hot enough. The service was adequate and the iced tea was fine. It would be better if they added some flavored iced tea to their menu. There were 3 other tables with guests at lunch today, so the kitchen was not stressed with too many orders. The bakery associated with the restaurant was closed next door and we had been interested in checking them out. Maybe next time.

    Black n Blue.
    Anthony E.

    The food was excellent. the service was great. they have lots of TVs everywhere and a good beer list. Fun place

    $12 appetizer

    Food was not good, service was terrible, manager was not helpful and the owner couldn't listen to us without loosing his cool. The chicken appetizer was 8 pieces of chicken, about the size of small chicken nuggets. My fish tacos were not good either, the green chile stew was... sad, lacking taste, watery. The milk shake was not drinkable either.

    Frito Pie
    Teresa M.

    UPDATE-- With a sad heart, I update this review. The last 3x my husband and I have gone to turquoise desert the service behind the counter was bad, not only lacking but eye rolling, yawning, and just not interested in taking our orders. D There were only two other people sitting at the bar and it took us 10 minutes to flag down the gal behind the counter to order a beer. She was rude and distant. After I finish my beer, she never asked me if I wanted another one, or take our order. Her demeanor was terrible. Remember this, all tips start at zero and are earned. Sad for the owner; the face of the restaurant are the servers. We really like the owner and the food is good. I don't think his staff represents him. But we're going to give this establishment a break for a while. We eat out a lot. Hopefully the owner read this message and makes changes.

    leinenkugel summer shandy and the Penguins.  Great pair
    Kevin P.

    Great atmosphere and under new ownership. First time in and great to meet the owners who are also veterans. They have 26 taps of beer and cider and the leinenkugel summer shandy which I haven't had in years. I ordered the Hangover Burger with Onion Rings and the burger was messy, the way I like it, and the onion rings were some of the best I have ever had. Kelly was very nice and made sure I was taken care of and just watching both bartenders could tell they keep up with everyone around the bar and tables. Hats off to the chef for making great bar food. The bathrooms were nice and clean. I think I have found my hang out place.

    Vegan wings and fried pickles. YUMMY!
    D J.

    Best fried pickles I've ever had! The dish on the left is vegan wings (which were perfectly fried) and the right are the pickles. Ignore the one vegan wing I have in there. The batter is perfectly crispy and light and they make their own pickles. So delicious! I also ordered their fried shrimp basket. The shrimp was also cooked perfectly! It was cooked better than even most fine dining restaurants I've been to. They know how to do fried foods well! Their service was friendly and efficient. Never had to ask for a drink refill. They were on top of things! I can't wait to go back and get the fried pickles again and try another dish off of their menu.

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    1 year ago

    The food was amazing. The server was super good and she made sure we were good. It was slow when we were there but that was okay.

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    10 months ago

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Love both the brewery great food, and the bakery next door great coffee and baked goods!

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    3 years ago

    This is a great go to place. Good food, TV's for sports, good beer and family friendly.

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    3 years ago

    Bathrooms just nasty, bartender staff not very personable, I did like the Decor. One of the waiters didn't serve a clean glass for a refill.

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    Ask the Community - Turquoise Desert

    You might also consider

    La Reforma Brewery

    La Reforma Brewery

    (506 reviews)

    $$

    Business Parkway/Academy Acres

    What a fun new place! (New for me!)…read more The burrito was a whopper, and the tacos we got were filling as well. Loved the brownie dessert and the mango guava agua Fresca too! All in all, great meal and a great price. Two drinks, two dinners and a dessert for $48 before top.

    We read a lengthy glowing review of La Reforma in a recent ABQ Journal issue and had high hopes of…read morefinding something similar to the tacos we used to get in and near Cuernavaca, Morelos where we lived 2008-13. Sadly, we found kind of a mixed bag. First, the standout items. The margaritas were fantastic; some of the best we've had in the USA and extremely generous. The pinto bean sides were some of the best we've had since returning to the States in 2013. Perhaps not quite as great as those of the shuttered El Cotorro but still stellar. Next, the tacos. We tried only two of the several tacos on offer - The El Pastor and the Pescado. Both were served in what was called "corn tortillas" but these differed from virtually any corn tortillas we've ever had in Mexico or elsewhere. They were at least twice as thick as your typical corn tortilla found in just about all Mexican taco places in Mexico and elsewhere. The consistency and taste were quite different from your normal corn tortilla also. In fact, they really didn't seem to have much taste at all, of corn or anything else. Now to the fillings. At the aforementioned El Cotorro, the meat for the Al Pastor tacos was cooked on a vertical rotating spit which was the only way we ever saw it cooked in Mexico. The meat La Reforma used in their al pastor tacos was more chunky and way drier than any we ever had in Mexico or at El Cotorro. It didn't taste similar to any al pastor tacos were ever had in Mexico. It also kind of seemed like it wasn't cooked recently whereas in Mexico you can watch the cook with a large knife carve off the meat from the vertical spit right in front of you. Usually the time between the carving and it sitting in front of you is under 10 seconds. The fish taco at La Reforma was disappointing. The fish resembled a fish stick but one without much flavor. We wouldn't order it again. We gave the mini-churros a try for dessert. Because they were so small, they were way crispier than your typical regular-sized churro. We might return but we'd skip the al pastor and the fish tacos and try some of the other tacos. But we strongly suggest that they dump their current "corn tortillas" because they're not that good. Way too thick and virtually tasteless. Lo siento. Kudos for the margaritas and the beans. The rest of what we tried didn't live up to the recent glowing review in the ABQ Journal.

    Turquoise Desert - sportsbars - Updated May 2026

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