Don't know why I waited this long to let everyone know how special this place is! From host/ess to manager - staff is top notch. All so attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable! Tonight went with a friend to share a pitcher of the greatest margaritas in town. We both wound up getting entrees and dessert. My friend had the stuffed sopapillas, which you can order many different ways. I had the huevos rancheros - eggs are fresh and amazing!! The dessert was ark Pinto's version of Tiramisu - incorporating Biscochitos. It is indescribably delish. Make sure you save room for this! The chips (warm) and salsa (cool) are always a great start to the evening. The vibe and decor transports you away from every day life and I feel like I'm far from home every time I walk up to the beautiful entrance. Best part of the night was Dom, our server. I mentioned he could teach a Master Class, only to find out this was his second day as a server ANYWHERE in his life. Well, I had to compliment the manager on their hiring and training of all staff - especially Dom. Truly the atmosphere, food, drink, and staff keep this local coming back for mor read more

El Pinto - Yogaritas! - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

The last few times I have came to visit Albuquerque I've eaten here, only because whoever we visit wants to eat here. The food has been okay. Not bad but nothing spectacular. The first time we got margaritas they were amazing. I ordered a Paloma the second time and it was not what I expected, I'm used to it being made with grapefruit juice. The staff was very friendly. Unfortunately service was very slow. It took them 1 hour to finally get our food order in. I've noticed this has been a thing when coming out to New Mexico where food service is slow in general. I do love the setting of the restaurant. Such a neat place. It's very beautiful inside and out of the restaurant. read more

Vacation Mexican food is usually sketchy. We had outstanding service from Colin. Food was good. Wife liked hers more. I would not get the enchilada next time. The taquito and tamale were good. Chili con carne spiced everything up to my liking. Chips and salsa ending with a sopapilla. Truly enjoyed our experience. read more

El Pinto - Sopapilla - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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I came here while visiting my girlfriend in New Mexico and we stopped by for a late lunch. The service here was superb and our waitress was attentive and gave us a good menu rundown. When you first step into El Pinto, you can feel the unique ambiance of the restaurant. It feels like you get transported into a different era and the restaurant is massive, it's easy to get lost! A great perk is that they still provide you with free chips and salsa, so be sure to take advantage of eating those crispy chips. We initially wanted to order some items off the lunch menu, but we decided to get the award-winning full rack of Red Chile Ribs. The portion was large enough to share with two hungry people. It came with a simple tossed salad with croutons and tomatoes. We substituted the baked potato for papitas (sautéed potatoes) and calabacitas (veggie mix of zucchini and squash). Both sides were well seasoned and paired well with the ribs. Honestly, the ribs did live up to the hype! They had a good amount of heat and did indeed fall off the bone. The meat was juicy and tender with a nice amount of red chile heat. To wash it all down, El Pinto provides free sopapillas with honey. They were fluffy and a great way to end the meal. Overall, if you're in the area, I highly recommend visiting El Pinto for a wonderful experience with New Mexican cuisine. read more

Excellent service, predictably delicious New Mexican dishes, and attentive wait staff. And the building is authentic New Mexican- feels like your Tia's house... sprawling, warm and colorful. Worth the price and the wait. read more

Great ambiance. From a wedding rehearsal dinner to a celebration of life, this place has the service you can count on. Authentic cuisine with plenty of spice to make you drown your sopapilla in honey. read more

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The restaurant is original Mexican style, adobe and beautiful, with numerous trees and shrubs.The food is pretty good.There is good spacing of tables. Until a recent visit I was satisfied with the wait staff. For parties greater than 10 (we were a party of 11) there is an automatic 20% tip included. The result is that we received terrible service since there was no incentive for the waitress. It took 20 minute to get drinks. It took 25 minutes for her to take our order and 40 minutes to receive our food. Someone came by twice to refill drinks and we didn't see our waitress in our area. However, she was quick to deliver the bill and for me to sign it. I strongly advise against bringing a large party. We didn't run into these problems for a party of two. read more

El Pinto is always bomb dot com. Service is always great and the atmosphere! Can't get any more New Mexico than this. And red chile ribs OH MY LANTA so good! A tad pricey but worth it in my opinion. read more

Great brunch! I had the biscuits and gravy with an egg. I also got a Bloody Mary and OJ. The biscuits and gravy were the best I've ever had. The green chili in them added a slight kick. Our server, Ceana was sweet and attentive. We also got the pop tart which was excellent and a sweet ending to our brunch meal. The ambiance is superb and hard to beat. There are outdoor heaters and soft Mexican music playing. read more

El Pinto - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

The best date place! My husband and I love to come here to celebrate special occasions but also just weeknight bites when we are too busy to cook. The staff are always so nice and attentive, and the food is great. Their salsa is soooo good. read more

El Pinto - Vegetarian Combination Plate - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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May not be the BEST New Mexican Cuisine, but it's as good as smaller places well reviewed. The Hacienda-like setting and outside seating is wins best atmosphere hands down. Waiters were on point, and we never were of need of anything. Best part? I'd been there as a kid and had vivid memories of this magic Mexican restaurant outside ABQ! It's now INSIDE ABQ. The memories hit like a tsunami! read more

El Pinto - The parking lot and entrance to El Pinto - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

This is the place to go if you're visiting ABQ and want the full experience of classic NM food.

It had been many years since we last visited Albuquerque, and we intentionally chose to return to a place we had enjoyed long ago. It did not disappoint! The salsa had a wonderful burn--just the way we like it. The queso was rich and flavorful, with chunks of green chiles throughout. The red chile was mild; I could have enjoyed a bit more heat with my burrito, but overall it was excellent. The tender chunks of pork were absolutely fabulous. We didn't get a photo of our sopapillas, but they were warm, light, and delicious. I had intended to request that they be served at the end of our meal, but I forgot that in New Mexico they are traditionally included as part of the meal. I prefer them as dessert, drizzled with the honey conveniently waiting on the table. The atmosphere was festive and welcoming. When we arrived, it was dark, damp, and chilly outside, but the entrance was beautifully decorated with red chile ristras hanging overhead. Once inside and seated, the restaurant was comfortably warm and inviting--perfect after the cold evening. Be sure not to miss the stunning amethyst geodes displayed in the waterfall near the bar. It's well worth walking through that area just to admire them. I may not have the exact terminology for the rock formations, but they are truly impressive and memorable. read more

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Top notch restaurant in Albuquerque! Great service and facility to go along with the delicious food. Would for sure return next time visiting the region. The story of the facility is very neat! read more

We love El Pinto. Every time we are in the area, we try to go at least twice. I love the uniqueness of the grounds, and they close in the patios during the winter so you can enjoy the outside feel without freezing. Beautiful fireplaces surround the facility as well. The food is amazing, large portions, and very tasty. I had the taco salad with chicken, my husband had chicken tacos, and my son got stuffed sopapillas with chicken. All of us loved it plus they brought out tons of chips and salsa as well as sopapillas. The server was really nice and overall we had a great meal. We will be back again soon! read more

Delicious food, excellent service and fun vibes in the outdoor dining area for groups big and small. Highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area! The red chili ribs are spicy but worth the slight pain if you're sensitive for spice. The chili con queso is so addictive, and the tortilla chips are great. The treat at the end with the honey and sopapilla bread is awesome! read more

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I've been here many times in my 20 year Albuquerque life. This time will likely be last. The chips and salsa were ok. Pretty standard. I got a flat Coke, was nicely switched to an ice tea. My husband had the Gold Marguerita- he said it was overpowering mix flavor. I had the carne adovado plate dinner, asked for some avocado but got guacamole. It was a small serving compared to price. The carne adovado was plenty for me- but if you're used to most local restaurants, this was SMALL. Even smaller than the small order at Sadie's. The taste was overpowering spicy, so if you like it hot. You might like that. Meat was dry and barely warm. Guacamole helped me with the spiciness. Husband ground beef burrito was nothing to write about. Nothing great. He was disappointed- but he did bring home some of the very large burrito and did eat it the next day. Sopapilla were thick and chewy. Not my style. Honey is honey! So that's good, no added corn syrup! Waitress was very nice and large reason I'm giving this a two. But the food was overwhelmingly not up to par. Can't give it a 3! Beautiful property. read more

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Wow what great food, great service and great ambiance! The chips and sauza were dynamite! We had the Number 3 combo plate and loved it and they topped it off with warm sopapillias! Number one place for a steak or Mexican in The big A! read more

El Pinto - A great family visiting for lunch! - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Totally failed to get pictures, but hey it looks like any other new Mexican food. Food taste always spot on. The service is always amazing!!! Beautiful place to eat as well, this place is huge!! read more

Their portions are big. My husband and I share. But their appetizer chicharrón is so delicious. By the time we leave I can't try a dessert from so much ch we ate. But we are never disappointed. read more

Chips and salsa were great. The guacamole app amazing. Sat in the bar, loved the ambiance that can only come from a restaurant started in 1962. Brianna our server very informative and always there when we needed something. Great smile and super friendly. Hope to come back. read more

El Pinto - Front Entrance. - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Our experience was fantastic, the location is like in the movies.. enchanted. I observed all the associates happy and providing great and personalized service. Michael our server provided a great service going an extra mile making out of this experience a memorable moment. The ambience was so expectacular like to not wanting to leave the place. The steaks cooked to perfection. We order a 2 ribeye and New York strip., the 3 cuts cooked to perfection in the perfect temperature. It was just a memorable evening with great friends, food, drinks and ambience.. we were able to thank the owner for a great dinner. See you soon El Pinto.. hasta la vista! read more

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El Pinto has delicious food and beautiful ambiance (from garden seating outside to bar seating inside and so many inside rooms too!). This visit I split a combo plate. The chile was great especially if you like deeper red chile vs the bright chile. On a previous visit I had a calabacita burrito and it was fantastic. Also, the salsa is delicious so pace yourself or plan on leftovers! The restaurant is huge! Last visit I sat in an area that felt like a greenhouse, it was the bar area and they had a game on. There is plenty of outdoor seating, which is a lovely option especially in summer and fall. read more

El Pinto - Salsa to start - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Three of us went to El Pinto, and we had a wonderful, leisurely lunch. It was Consuelo's birthday, and she received a free flan. Janet is allergic to onions, and he was able to find a good meal - chicken, asparagus, and a baked potato. I had the stuffed sopaipilla, and it was huge and delicious. I had to take half of it home. We had a wonderful time and will return soon. read more

We visit Albuquerque a few times a year and this is one of our favourite places to eat. The service is always good and so is the food. Looking forward to our next visit read more

We keep coming back here because of family in town. I really need to start suggesting something else. The staff is super nice and nothing against them. Use to be the only good thing about this place was the ambience. Even that is starting to go. Ordered sangria and it was watery so asked for another and same, watery. Got the breakfast burrito for $19. It was dry and had hardly any cheese and bacon. This place is so overrated. I can't express that enough. But I'm sure I'll be back. Ugh read more

Came to El Pinto for dinner last night with friends. Went to the bar for a drink while our table was getting ready. No more than a 10 minute wait. The margaritas are wonderful. They are made from scratch. Once seated we ordered chips, salsa and guacamole. For dinner we had chili carnitas enchiladas, hard chicken tacos and soft chicken tacos . Everything was delicious. The restaurant is so beautifully decorated you feel like you are at someone's home and patio. A great dining experience. read more

El Pinto - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Went here with colleagues for a late lunch. This place brings back memories for me. I lived in Albuquerque as a kid and went here back then. The atmosphere trends Mexican villa and the outside seating is the way to go. They had a salsa tasting station just outside the entrance where you can try out a few varieties. We started with the Green Chile Strips that come with chipotle ranch and the Fiesta appetizer platter which includes Red Chile Ribs, chile con queso, guacamole, and chips. The stand outs were the green chili strips and the ribs. The guacamole and queso were good, however the other two were amazing. The chilis were hot enough to feel them but not overpowering. The chili ribs had a good kick, were very flavorful, and falling off the bone delicious. On my next visit, I think I would get those if I could resist the carne adovada. I got tamales. I wanted them to be better than they were. The masa was a little too thick for my taste and there was not enough filling. The rice was a bit on the dry side. All of my colleagues were pleased with their choices which included Combination Plates and veggie plate. They brought the sopapillas with the main dishes, which meant they were not hot by the time folks were ready for dessert. It didn't stop folks from polishing them all off. Great place with excellent service. Our server, did separate checks in record time. He was very attentive and friendly. Overall a great experience. read more

El Pinto - Tamale Plate - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

This is a MUST TRY for anyone visiting Albuquerque. I try to visit every time I'm in town, they have LARGE portions, excellent flavors, a really cool location with lots of different areas to check out, and friendly staff. The quickest seating is in the bar area, but if nothing else you can walk the grounds and check out all the seating areas. I didn't realize just how HUGE this place was until I walked around one day while waiting. This is an experience you won't regret! :-D read more

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We really enjoyed our meal and recommend you give this place a try whenever you are in Albuquerque! I enjoyed a pork taco salad with green chillies and my hubby had the taco plate made with the beef. They even serve you dessert with honey collected locally, delicious. Service was spot on too! Enjoy. read more

The food is always delicious at El Pinto, some of the best red chile in town! The plates are pricey so I don't go here often but worth it for the vibe, especially if you have out of town guests. Our server was great and very nice! I will always be back for more red chile enchiladas! Yummy treat! read more

El Pinto - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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This restaurant is huge! There is ample parking and indoor/outdoor seating. While you wait there is lots of things to look at from photos of famous people visiting the restaurant to local art and premade products. To eat I shared the half rack of red Chile ribs that came with 2 sides and sopapillas. It was delicious and very filling. They also give you chips and salsa to start off and local honey for the sopapillas. read more

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First thing driving in the parking lot amazing esthetics. Have a reservation immediately was seating service was excellent quick even ordered drinks and was quick and delicious order house specials and they were amazing and delicious. So from walking in ordering and getting food took all of 10 minutes server was prompt and very attentive. Chips and salsa were great and super fresh. read more

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The place is amazing, very large place with really nice ambience. The food was excellent. I had tacos and the margaritas were a little weak what still tasted good? Also, the staff were very helpful and friendly. read more

Patio: 8/10 (loved the rural setting but it wasn't as picturesque as in the website, and the mosquitoes were annoying) Chips: 10/10 Salsa: 8.5/10 Sopapillas: 10/10 (never had them before!) Margaritas: 5/10 (tasted good!! Cute glass. But very small serving) Food: 4/10 Service: 5/10 Chatgpt did me dirty recommending this place. It was so far out of town, which would have been ok, but the patio (what I was looking for) wasn't anything super amazing. What really ruined our experience was the service. We were seated and served chips, salsa, and water immediately. However, the server was MIA for about 25 minutes after that. We were visiting from out of town and would have loved to enjoy the chips and salsa with a margarita, but we weren't able to place our drink order until the chip basket was empty (They did refill the chips quickly, which was great). We usually like to take our time and have a drink before ordering our dinner, but based on our server's earlier negligence, I was worried we'd be there all night if we didn't order right away. I got the combo enchiladas. Very one-note and I didn't find much meat inside! Run down bathrooms. read more

The restaurant has really nice vibe, lots of patio seating with beautiful dried chilli decors under the roof. The servers were helpful and friendly. I love their fresh guacamole, it's chunky and so fresh! I ordered a verde soup as well, and it's super comforting, with potatoes, shredded chicken and chilli verde in it, served with a soft tortilla. We also tried the famous red chilli rib, it's pretty tender, and the seasoning was unique, the spices were covered all over the rib and it has some good smoky flavor. read more

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I really enjoyed my visit to El Pinto. The ambience was exceptional. The food delicious and the service was on point. I would definitely return here. read more

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So sad. I grew up going to this place. We went last night and it was less than average. We were with a large party and every single person said they barely had any chile and their dishes were dry. That is not the NM way. We were given only one small basket of sopapillas with one container of honey for the whole table. We ordered pitchers of margaritas which are now $99! And yet had very little tequila. Our guacamole had no seasoning. This place is not the same. It's bigger but it's gone down hill. read more

So this was my first time at El pinto. The immediate impression is oh my gosh there's so many cars in the parking lot and oh my gosh the parking lot is huge. The next impression upon walking in is that oh my gosh this place is enormous. When asked how many people they serve the answer was they can serve up to 1200. Like wow! So with that said let me expound on our experience. There were 10 of us. Our party was supposed to be 12. We usually all get individual checks. For reference we were told that they will give individual checks for party up to 10 but larger parties they will give only up to four checks per table. I hope that's helpful information to somebody. Additionally, for a large parties they add a 20% tip automatically to the bill. This is not an issue for us we don't mind when the tip is automatically added as long as we know they're doing it. Nothing like overtipping and then day and age when tipping is pretty overdone anyway. Okay, our service was really good. Very congenial and timely service. The food portions were big. They serve a lunch menu until 4:00 p.m. daily. So we got there around 3:00 got our drinks and then ordered by 4:15 we actually had our checks. The place was not slow but it also was not overly busy on a weekday at 3:00 p.m. . I'm definitely looking forward to coming back and trying more menu items. The only potential note about this location is, according to two members of my group who need handicap parking, is that there is not enough handicap parking. I hope that the owners will notice that comment and take that too hard to make it easier for those who walk with canes and walkers and other such devices. Also, the ambiance in the garden is just spectacular it's really inviting and wonderful place to just relax and breathe. read more

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Now, if I could, I would leave a "zero". This establishment does not deserve four stars. The food is bland and flavorless. It's almost comparable to frozen Mexican food. The service was terrible. The servers lack engagement & menu knowledge. The ambiance lacks authenticity. To display an Indigenous Warrior such as Geronimo in a Mexican restaurant is distasteful. If you're ever in the mood for good Mexican food & consistent service, then check out Sadie's. They don't promote cultural misappropriation. I live in California & I used to live in ABQ. So I know what good/decent restaurants to frequent in Albuquerque. I'll definitely spread the word to all my friends inquire about the food in Albuquerque. read more