Best Albuquerque Restaurants: 15 Spots That Prove This City is a Food Haven
By Maria Rodriguez | July 18, 2025
Farm & Table
AUTHOR BIO: With a day job that requires constant travel, Maria Rodriguez is likely a frequenter of your favorite restaurant. She’s reviewed restaurants since 2007 in publications from Barcelona to Bakersfield.
For years, every time I landed in Albuquerque, I made a beeline for the same green chile spot, Sadie’s—no menu, no decision, just muscle memory.
I’d sit there smugly, thinking I had New Mexico all figured out. But on a whim a few visits ago, I tried somewhere new, and then another, and now I’ve become embarrassingly obsessed. The city’s food scene is deeper and more daring than I ever gave it credit for—chefs remixing tradition, newcomers pushing genre, and yes, plenty of green chile if you know where to look.
Here then are the best restaurants in Albuquerque right now, from neighborhood classics to revelatory new arrivals.
1. Farm & Table
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This North Valley restaurant is dedicated to local ingredients and seasonal menus. Farm & Table sources from nearby growers and even have their own 12-acre permaculture farm—if you’re craving authentic New Mexico flavors with a farm-fresh spin, this is the place to be.
2. Mesa Provisions
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Every time I walk into Nob Hill’s cozy dining room, I feel like I’ve been let in on chef and owner Steve Riley’s latest experiment in New Mexican flavor. Riley—a 2024 James Beard Best Chef Southwest finalist—blends regional staples (hello, green chile and duck-fat tortillas) with inventive riffs on seasonal produce that feel more rock‑and‑roll than rustic. Here’s where you’ll find the best of Albuquerque’s culinary soul, one playful, locally rooted dish after another.
3. Frontier
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This is where hungover UNM students, bleary-eyed professors, and out-of-towners with guidebooks all end up sooner or later, crammed into one of the cavernous dining rooms beneath fluorescent lights. The breakfast burritos come hot and heavy, the cinnamon rolls arrive slicked in butter, and nobody leaves hungry or particularly proud. It’s not nuanced, and that’s the point—Frontier is Albuquerque comfort food at its most chaotic and beloved.
4. Ten 3
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Getting to Ten 3 requires a ride on the Sandia Peak Tramway, which is half the fun—until you’re 10,300 feet up with a cocktail in hand, watching the desert flicker below. At the top, chef J. Martin Torrez, who started his career as a teenage dishwasher, now leads the kitchen with a menu that’s both refined and deeply personal, blending New Mexican and global flavors. If you're aiming for the fine dining room, make a reservation and ditch the hiking gear—yes, there’s a dress code.
5. The Shop Breakfast & Lunch
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Chef Israel “Izz” Rivera has quietly built a brunch empire on the back of chilaquiles that could qualify as a controlled substance. His red chile sauce—spooned over slow-roasted pork shoulder—is reason enough to set an alarm, and the burger doesn’t phone it in either, stacked and sloppy in all the right ways. Come early, come hungry, and maybe double-check Instagram to make sure they didn’t close for a staff recharge weekend.
6. Burque Bakehouse
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Sarah Ciccotello and Chris McQuary started out selling pastries at farmers markets, and now they’ve got a brick-and-mortar shop—and a 2024 James Beard nod to go with it. The lines form early for their green chile–jack croissants and elote danishes that manage to be sweet, savory, and a little weird in the best way. Bonus points: they donate a portion of proceeds to Indigenous organizations through the Honor Native Land Tax.
7. M’tucci’s Bar Roma
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When M’Tucci’s took over the old Kelly’s space, Nob Hill got a jolt of Roman energy—housemade pasta, salumi boards, and just enough swagger to make it all feel like a party. The fifth outpost in the group’s empire might be its most ambitious, especially with Teddy Roe’s, the cocktail den hidden out back like a speakeasy for people who actually drink. Don’t leave without grabbing some sausages or shrubs from the retail case—trust me, Tuesday night pasta at home will thank you.
8. Gimani
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At Gimani, the menu’s short, the vibe’s tight, and the $25 flight gets you any four slices—think pizza tasting menu without the pretense. The Angry, loaded with pepperoni, pickled jalapeños, and double mozzarella, has developed a cult following that regularly cleans out the place. If there’s any gelato con olio e sale left at the end, get it—it’s one of those deceptively simple desserts that’ll ruin you for lesser sweets.
9. La Guelaguetza
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Just off Route 66, this family-run spot from the Salazar brothers delivers some of the most vibrant Oaxacan food you’ll find north of the border. They were James Beard semifinalists in 2022, and it’s easy to see why once you’ve tasted their mole trio or the birria tacos that drip flavor onto your plate and your shirt. Chapulines and ants show up on the menu too, for those ready to level up from the usual green chile.
10. Sadie’s of New Mexico
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Sadie’s is a cornerstone of Albuquerque dining, known for its generous portions and signature salsa that packs a punch. The enchiladas, drenched in your choice of red or green chile, are a must-try. Don't leave without indulging in their sopaipillas—fluffy, golden, and perfect for drizzling with honey.
11. Coda Bakery
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Coda Bakery draws the kind of lunchtime line that tells you everything you need to know. The bread—crackly outside, cloud-soft inside—is baked in-house, then stuffed with headcheese, jambon, or pork belly that tastes like it’s been perfected over decades. Do yourself a favor and grab a few extra baguettes to go—they won’t make it home.
12. Tin Can Alley
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On Albuquerque’s north side, Tin Can Alley stacks shipping containers into a multi-level hangout where some of New Mexico’s best-loved food and drink spots collide. Grab a pint from Santa Fe Brewing, then take your pick: Neapolitan pizza from Amore, a Cubano from Guava Tree, or pho that’s better than it has any right to be from Pho Kup. Time it right during Balloon Fiesta, and the rooftop patio becomes the city’s most underrated viewing spot.
13. El Modelo Mexican Foods
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You could work your way through the full menu here, but most locals will tell you to start—and probably end—with the tamales. They’re made fresh daily, generously filled with red chile pork or green chile chicken, and come out steaming like edible care packages. Grab a table, dig in, and know that showing up anywhere with a dozen of these earns you permanent VIP status.
14. The Range Café
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Every town has its dependable, slightly kitschy diner, and for Albuquerque, that’s the Range Cafe—retro signs, turquoise booths, and a menu that covers every craving. Even Barack Obama stopped in during a 2009 visit, reportedly for the huevos rancheros, which still hold up. It’s the kind of place where green chile shows up everywhere and no one questions it, least of all you.
15. Mary & Tito’s Café
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Since 1963, this family-run classic has been the undisputed temple of carne adovada, tender pork stewed in red chile so rich it should come with a warning. The original recipes still anchor the menu, thanks to Mary and Tito Gonzales’s descendants, who haven’t changed what was never broken. A James Beard America’s Classics winner, it’s the kind of place where combination plates and green chile smothering are not just accepted—they’re expected.
