Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Garcia's Kitchen Express

    3.1 (58 reviews)
    InexpensiveMexican
    Closed 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

    Garcia's Kitchen Express Photos

    GARCIA'S KITCHEN EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Quiet
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

    You might also consider

    More like Garcia's Kitchen Express

    Recommended Reviews - Garcia's Kitchen Express

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    chicharron burrito
    Tommy P.

    I was really surprised when a knowledgeable friend suggested we meet here - I've never been all that impressed with the Garcia's restaurants I've visited and tend to avoid them. Turns out this one is a _franchise_ and they make everything fresh every day. Wow, I sure noted the difference and I'm grateful for the efforts of everyone at Garcia's Kitchen Express, because they really took the time to make sure we had a great lunch. Service was great: attentive and welcoming yet unobtrusive. Your drink does not sit empty, and the food comes out MUCH faster than we expected. There were plenty of comfortable places to sit and our larger party was given a table in a more secluded area off to one side. The food (I had a chicharron burrito, Christmas) was much better than what the Garcia's name on the sign led me to expect: tasty, fresh, and plentiful - clearly prepared by someone who knew what she was doing and who was happy doing it. This particular restaurant is really clear across town from us (we live east of Tramway), but my wife and I are pretty determined to visit it again soon - even though doing so will entail a twenty-five-minute drive in each direction.

    Combination plate. Tamale, beef taco and enchilada. So good and so filling.
    Lorelei P.

    This is our first time visiting this location. I must say that when we tried to visit the location off Coors, it was closed and we were a little disappointed. But that's okay, times are tough these days. This one seems to be hidden, since it is behind Mariposa park and I never knew of the place. Now, that I do. I'm happy to come back in the future with my family. We were able to sit where we wanted to. Staff was friendly and we were served right away. Looks like only half the seating was open, but thankfully we were able to dine in. I loved the menu, because it says that you can get breakfast all day. How awesome is that? I totally love breakfast. But today, I wanted enchiladas. And the menu is so big I couldn't decide. Neither could my family, I love the variety that they offer. And the green/red chili... delicious. Had to order more sopapillas because those are the bomb! We will be visiting again, hopefully on a day when it's not too busy. Thank you!

    Chile relleno plate with rice and papas covered with green chile
    Debbie D.

    Visiting from out of town. Family suggested this place. We were warmly greeted as we walked in. It wasn't busy so we were tended to as soon as we sat down. Great variety of food to choose from and reasonable prices. I ordered the Chile relleno plate with rice and papas covered with green chile. My food was flavorful, chile was not spicy. My cousin ordered red Chile chicken enchiladas with rice and beans. The red Chile was really tasty , she said her food was good and usually is as she has eaten there several times before. The sopaipillas were disappointing but the waitress did inform us that she wasn't pleased with them as the oil that they were fried in smelled burnt and asked the cook to change it. She offered an alternative, but I ate mine. It was ok but not as good as I know they can be. Overall very welcoming and friendly service and location. It was clean, food was good.

    Soggy green Chile chicken enchiladas

    This is my go to place to eat breakfast. Been eating here for 14 years. This morning I was extremely disappointed to find hair in my food. The waitress was so embarrassed and also disappointed. She compt our meal and sincerely asked us to come back again. Second chance perhaps...

    Sopapillas
    Michelle C.

    Garcia's is intensely New Mexican. I recommend all of my friends and family who visit from out of town to come and try some of the food. I had the Thursday Special for Beef Enchiladas with Red Chili, Papas, and Beans. My food was good, but 2 bites In I realized "Where's the beef?" So I called the server who came and brought me a side of beef and potatoes. I guess that was an ok fix. The chili was nice and hot! My kids had Burgers, one with Guac and the other with Bacon. Their exact words were that the burgers were intimidating, but so delicious. My Husband has the Fajitas with Fries. His Fajitas were perfect. Overall, the staff was friendly and attentive. We were very pleased with this visit!

    Leftovers after Christmas Day...green chile pork tamale & biscochito
    Jaime C.

    My grown up Christmas wish is pretty simple. Tamales, posole, and biscochitos. Throw a couple of cappuccinos in there, and a bourbon or two, and I'm glowing like a farolito on chilly December night. Garcia's saved my tushie this past Christmas...my schedule was overflowing with events, and peformances, and holiday to-do's, and since I don't have a stunt double on staff, there simply wasn't enough time to be all and do all. So, I picked up that smartphone, dialed up the Taylor Ranch location, and ordered up 2 dozen Tamales (1 dozen green chile chicken, 1 dozen red chile pork) to be picked up on Christmas Eve. But then there were a few friends I had been meaning to drop off some goodies to, so, heck, throw in a few dozen more to be picked up earlier, and now that I think about it, do I really have time to bake biscochitos??? No, no Sir, I don't. So while you're at it, how about 7 dozen of those bad boys, 5 dozen for drop offs, 2 dozen to be picked up Christmas Day..... *Bada Bing * Bada Boom,* done! The staff was so friendly and accommodating, talked me through the re-heat process for Christmas Day, gave me a few tips for serving. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Guys, the tamales were bomb diggity perfection. The meat so well seasoned, the tamales were moist and melted in your mouth. I even snuck a few away for leftovers the day after (see pic) - when I picked up my order, the process was painless, the restaurant was jamming pumping out the goods for their breakfast shift, and while I waited for my order to be packaged, I couldn't resist ordering a chile relleno to go, christmas chile smothered on top (but of course) to treat myself for all the hard work it took driving over there to pick things up *hehe* - Merry Christmas to me.

    Rice Pudding, but apparently NOT available at Taylor Ranch location which wasn't addressed when this was posted. Bummer.
    Courtney T.

    Update: we saw this photo on FB, and our daughter loves rice pudding so of course we went to get some!! What we got was a sad sad sad version of some rice with milk & spices, and it was very dissatisfying. The staff at the Taylor Ranch location said "we don't usually have this here" and it wasn't on the menu. I posted a comment on FB on the ad, and this is what I received: "We do greatly apologize for the inconvenience however Taylor Ranch is an affiliate location and they do not follow the same recipes as The Original Garcia's Kitchen. Generally our 6 other locations should always carry Arroz con Leche. Please try us out again at one of our other locations! Again we are sorry for the inconvenience we hope your next visit with us is nothing less than stellar!!" Disappointing "customer service", & I'm reducing my rating for that reason, and for false advertising. *************************************** Hands down better than Sadie's! The food was soooo good, portions were hearty but not over the top gut busting, and the second was great! At this location there's one kid, I can't remember his name (Isaac...) who was so friendly and funny, we loved it! The place is clean and the prices are just right.

    Huevos Rancheros

    See all

    14 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of D C.
    3
    206
    277

    9 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    11 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 1

    10 months ago

    Eat there once or twice a week. Food is always great! Staff are friendly and always check to make sure we are happy.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Debbie D.
    23
    129
    251

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Laurel W.
    25
    115
    2

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Mom M.
    0
    90
    10

    4 years ago

    We keep coming back on our visits! Always good and never disappoints! Service is fantastic and friendly

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Mike A.
    55
    24
    0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Teresa D.
    113
    57
    211

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Nancy L.
    20
    187
    1

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Super slow service. They cook everything in butter. Even the beans. Impossible for someone with a dairy allergy to eat there safely.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Garcia's Kitchen Express

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Mexican 13,144 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Frontier - Mexican Combo ($11) w/ Christmas enchiladas, rice, beans and a crunchy taco

    Frontier

    4.2(2.7k reviews)
    7.2 miMidtown/University
    $$

    Well priced! Awesome customer service! Well flavored food! Daily specials! Free chile/beans for…read moredine in (not sure as I didn't eat there)! Spacious! Free parking! It's a hit for me. I ordered the cinnamon roll, frozen horchata, green chile stew (comes with a warm tortilla), and adovada taco. The total comes out to less than $20! In this economy?! That's amazing. The most expensive item of my item was the iced horchata, which was good. The food still takes the spotlight though. The cinnamon roll could use a TINY bit more cinnamon and brown sugar, but is still pretty good. I'd definitely come back here.

    It seems like this place has been around forever. I remember passing by this restaurant as a kid…read moreand seeing the wagon wheel chandeliers from the road. Directly across the street from University of New Mexico's main entrance, this place is packed when school is in session. This place is huge, but not at first glance. Walk into the retro-looking, Western themed dining room, and you'll see a huge menu board above the order counter. There is are several freestyle soda machines in the middle of the room. There are little digital screens in the corner where you watch for your order number and a counter in the corner where you go pick up your food. It's not until you go into the next room that you discover there is another "next room," and then another. There is a lot of art on the walls, including several John Wayne pictures. The girl at the counter who took our order was an absolute ray of sunshine--so friendly and sweet. We ordered the green chili cheeseburger with onion rings and the daily special which is the "green pile-up" (beans, hash browns, scrambled egg, and green chili beef). The good came our talented quickly, and was quite yummy. Frontier is an Albuquerque classic. If it old? Yes, but it has a huge faithful following, not including the things of UNM students that pack this giant diner during the school year. It may not be a "must try" for some, but if you want Albuquerque nostalgia, this is your place. Btw--it's pretty darn cheap,!

    Photos
    Frontier - Interior

    Interior

    Frontier - Complimentary Sopapillas ($0)

    Complimentary Sopapillas ($0)

    Frontier - Mexican Combo ($11) w/ Christmas enchiladas, rice, beans and a crunchy taco

    See all

    Mexican Combo ($11) w/ Christmas enchiladas, rice, beans and a crunchy taco

    Herencia - Crab Enchiladas

    Herencia

    4.5(133 reviews)
    10.6 miEastside

    We were traveling from North Carolina to our home in San Diego…read more We looked up places to eat and were tired of "road trip food". We found Herencia and took a chance. We know good Mexican food, as we are from San Diego, and wanted to try the southwest fare. WHAT AN AMAZING CHOICE! The lovely hostess was charming, engaging and sweet (wish i had her name) and our waiter (Edgar) was authentic, personable and fun to chat with. We had been at a movie and had eaten a bit too much popcorn so we did not order a lot. The three of us shared the free blue corn (not fried) chips with three salsa samples. We then shared a salad and the amazingly good four taco sampler. Thank you Herencia (Enrique the owner, and staff) for this wonderful evening.

    Very expensive Mexican food with small portions. Food was good but not worth the price. They took…read morethe food too artsy and shrinked the sizes too much. Service did not match the price. Server didn't check on us too often and let someone at the table run out of water for 5 minutes until we asked for more. I had the pork al pastor ($26). It was cooked well and seasoned really nicely. Lobster enchiladas were nice but unique just to be unique. I asked for recommendations and all of the options were the most expensive on the menu which was odd to me. If they have a cheaper lunch menu it might be worth trying, but I think the dinner isn't worth it for the price. Four entrees and a soda was $130 plus tip.

    Photos
    Herencia
    Herencia - Tacos

    Tacos

    Herencia - Costilla de Rez

    See all

    Costilla de Rez

    El Patio De Albuquerque - An oldy, but a goody. Been loving this place for over 25 years.

    El Patio De Albuquerque

    4.0(902 reviews)
    7.3 miMidtown/University
    $$

    My favorite meal this year. Very friendly staff and comfortable seating outside underneath a tree,…read morewith fairy lights above. We had the guacamole and salsa, I recommend mixing them together, they pair surprisingly well. A little pricey at $9.60 for the plate. For entrees, we had the green chile chicken enchiladas and carne adovada Christmas style. The latter is one of the most distinct and delicious regional dishes I've had. All entrees had really nice pairings with pinto beans, potato hash, and freshly cooked sopapillas. We chose to have the sopapillas with honey as a dessert, but there's the option to stuff them with the entree.

    This place is like a Mom and Pop hole in the wall gem. The restaurant is small. Parking is a bit of…read morea challenge. There are parking meters along the street and they are free after 6 pm. We stuck a few quarters into the meter that couldn't be read, and we walked into the restaurant. We were greeted at the door and given several options for seating including outdoor seating. We took a table in the entry way, not in the main restaurant. It was a quaint spot overlooking the patio section out front of the restaurant. A server met us, took our drink order, and we placed a few appetizer orders. We got some chile con queso, and the chicharron. They initially brought out the queso in two small plastic to-go containers. I was not very thrilled with that. Then, when we polished them off, they brought out some more in a small serving dish. Why we didn't get the dish in the first place is beyond me. The queso was good, but I didn't think much of the chicharron. My husband like it though. The server did an excellent job keeping our drinks filled. We placed our order, and it wasn't too long that our orders came out. I got the combination plate, red sauce, ground beef taco. My husband thought he ordered the enchilada plate, but the chile relleno plate came out instead. He told them that was fine. The ground beef taco was so delicious. The chile relleno was pretty good, and the cheese enchiladas were okay, even though it was like they were barely there. The pinto beans, not refried beans, were also enjoyed. What really set them apart was their papas - those potatoes were soft and super flavorful. Their red sauce was spicy and flavorful. The server brought out two fresh and hot sopapillas. We poured honey on those things bite by bite. I honestly think those were the best sopapillas I've had. I also used the restroom before we left. It might need a little updating, but it was certainly clean.

    Photos
    El Patio De Albuquerque - Nice conversion of old house

    Nice conversion of old house

    El Patio De Albuquerque - Chips and salsa were fair. $4.00 for a very small serving of salsa. I would not recommend the salsa and chips for the money you are paying.

    Chips and salsa were fair. $4.00 for a very small serving of salsa. I would not recommend the salsa and chips for the money you are paying.

    El Patio De Albuquerque - Patio seating.

    See all

    Patio seating.

    El Pinto - Fresh Guacamole

    El Pinto

    3.4(1.9k reviews)
    5.5 miBusiness Parkway/Academy Acres
    $$

    Late lunch/ early dinner today. Hotter than heck outside so decided to hide at El Pinto for…read moreawhile. Ordered cold beer and cocktails after we were seated inside Lotsa flies.....we get it....pretty much an open-air restaurant this time of year They did set a spinner on our table which helped. Was decently cool inside too I have been wanting to try their Kizer beef and pork offerings so i threw down on a cheeseburger (hard to not order New Mexican food here) But that burger was perfect! Delicious I recommend and was plenty big Of course i dropped a big spoonful of green chile on it And the green chile strip appetizer was outstanding Summer at El Pinto. Enjoy!

    Overall, the restaurant is quite remarkable. The location is unique and the interior and exterior…read morespaces are beautiful. My parents lived in ABQ for years and always thought that the atmosphere was great, but the food was so-so. However, on this instance, we all thought the food was quite good. Flavorful carne adovada, although it was a bit tough. Red chile sauce was spicy but had great flavor. The green chile sauce was hot and tasty. Posole was also good. The gold margaritas were also good - to anyone complaining about the price - at $14.50, the price is very fair considering the cost of ingredients. If you want a cheap junk margarita that is more sugar than anything else, go somewhere else! Our gripe... The place is huge and has an abundance of great places to seat guests. We had a pretty large group - 7 people celebrating a family reunion of sorts. However, they sat us right next to the bussing station that had noisy carts, dishwashers, and other distractions. It was so loud, it was hard to hear the person across the table. There were at least 10 other tables that they could have seated us at! It seems to me that this area should be used only when the restaurant is completely full. This seems to be a poor management decision rather than the fault of the servers or hosts.

    Photos
    El Pinto - Come on in!

    Come on in!

    El Pinto - Hatch Chile and Chicharrones

    Hatch Chile and Chicharrones

    El Pinto - Interior entrance

    See all

    Interior entrance

    Garcia's Kitchen Express - mexican - Updated August 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...