I first heard about this place after seeing the owner share a video asking the community to come support the restaurant. My husband and I intentionally waited a bit before going because we figured the initial rush would be overwhelming and we wanted to support them once things settled down. When we walked in, she greeted us right away, told us to sit anywhere we liked, and said she'd be by shortly to take our order. The restaurant has a bit of a hole-in-the-wall vibe, which I personally enjoy in a neighborhood taco spot. I have celiac disease, so eating out can be tricky. She was really helpful answering my questions about gluten and explaining what I should avoid. She let me know the fryer isn't dedicated. They fry their tortilla chips in it, but it's also used for chicken fingers and churros, so she recommended avoiding fried items if you're gluten free. She also mentioned the creamy chicken enchiladas and carne adovada contain gluten, but the chile itself is gluten free. I ordered the al pastor tacos with a horchata. The tacos come with pineapple and were served with both red and green salsa. The red one definitely had more heat. My plate came with four street-size tacos. They were good, but I wish they came with a little more filling on a couple of them. The horchata was huge and delicious, and she mentioned they make both the horchata and aguas frescas in house. The taco plate felt pretty in line with the value of other taco spots. My husband ordered a barbacoa burrito smothered in red chile, which is a $2 upcharge, and he added beans and rice on the side for another $2. The burrito itself was massive and he said it was good and a decent value. The beans and rice didn't make it onto the plate, but by the time our food came out, about 15 to 20 minutes after ordering, we were tight on time for our lunch break so he didn't mention it or ask for it to be fixed. They're open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., so it's a good option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If the chips were fried in a dedicated fryer, I'd absolutely come back for breakfast and order the chilaquiles. I love those. Overall it was a decent lunch and I appreciated how transparent she was about gluten questions. It's a good neighborhood option for anyone who lives or works in Uptown. read more

See all

I went in to go support them after I saw their heartfelt post online and I was pleased to see a lot of other people also supporting them. It was really busy so it took some time to get my food but I don't fault them on that. The food was delicious! The nachos, burrito, and my kids loved the French fries. We'll definitely be going back. I would highly recommend trying them out. FYI, If you do plan on going soon, please show patience as they are extremely busy because our awesome community is showing our love and support. While I was there, I saw a gentleman angry at the owner because she went to do an interview (an interview that would bring lots of business to them) and he had to wait an extra 15 minutes. Being impatient is a flaw on the customer, not the restaurant so don't give bad ratings for having to wait. These ratings matter to small businesses read more

After watching their interview on KRQE we decided to give it a try. We waited 5 minutes to place the order .. the lady was on the phone arguing in Spanish... After waiting 5 minutes to place the order, we finally ordered one red Chile pork tamale. It took 10 minutes to prepare... It was garnished, but dry... Just okay. It didn't have a lot of meat.. I don't think I'll go back. read more

Juani’s Kitchen - Res pork tamale alacarte - Mexican Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Food delicious. Service was good. Definitely a place to try for a good Mexican meal.

Went to Juani's and the restaurant said it was open at 8am. The open light was on. The door was locked. It sucks to drive thinking your getting food and its closed. I guess Einsteins next door it is. read more

Juani’s Kitchen - Mexican Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

First time trying Juani's tonight and without hesitation I will say the food is great! We ordered the chile relleno plate, loaded carne asada fries, and two carne asada tacos because you always have to try the tacos. Everything was better than expected. It's clear they use good ingredients. The carne asada was some of the best I've had in Albuquerque. The winning dish tonight were the loaded carne asada fries. One thing we also noticed when we walked in, the place is very clean. We also had the good fortune of receiving wonderful service from the owner. Extremely friendly and gracious. Make sure this place is on your must try list. read more

Oh if only my phone was working so I could have taken a picture! It's been a minute since hubby and I ventured out (I must have attracted local attention ) , but yesterday, we stopped on over to Juani's kitchen. He wanted a burrito and i opted for a quesadilla (which I'll get to enjoy leftovers of for breakfast!). (Well reasonably priced for the amount of food!). The restaurant (bathroom included) was very clean and the ambiance reminded me of my island childhood ... bright, vibrant and as bubbly as Juanis herself. 5/5 will return! read more

Good food, good family-type atmosphere, people trying very hard to keep their place open.

We saw their segment on KOB and went there today for lunch. We were promptly greeted and waited on right away. We ordered the creamy green chile chicken enchiladas, ground beef enchiladas with red chile and a pork tamale. The enchiladas were delicious and the tamale, which we split, was the best tamale I have ever had. The masa was delicious and the filling was plentiful. My husband doesn't care for tamales and he enjoyed this one. We will definitely be back. read more

Tamales were small hardly any meat. Rice and beans tasteless way overpriced there at 12:30 one other customer should have gone elsewhere

Fantastic, as usual! Very friendly, fast and delicious. Tamales and green chili stew are our favorites no matter the season.

I had a chance to stop by Juani's Kitchen for dinner after a long work day...and actually liked their tacos (I had their barbacoa tacos!). The food tasted fresh and very tasty. They didn't seem oily and was worth a price of $10.95 per plate to me (for 4 soft tacos). The only one star was...I had a diet coke can along with it..and didn't realize I was charged $3.45 for a can! After my meal, I saw in my receipt, it listed Large Mexcan coke in it. It could have been a genuine, unintentional mistake..and after all..probably just a few dollars different. But I wish I was charged correctly (I believed that large mexican coke was meant to be for a bottled coke product that they also had..rather than a regular diet coke can that I got). Other than that...great food though! read more

Juani’s Kitchen - Barbacoa Street Tacos ($10.95) - Mexican Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Great breakfast burrito! And he made it the way I asked Very nice guy, and polite. Restaurant has cool art and is clean. I'll go again. Want to try the cheeseburger next read more

The posole was amazing. Family run business means service is very personal. Decor is simple, but the food is stellar so... read more

Juani’s Kitchen - Posole with onion and cilantro, toasted bread, and a Fruit punch Jarritos. - Mexican Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

If Juani wants to get and keep support from community, she must have adequate help, we were were there on Sunday, waited 1 hour for our meals. It was good, but no better than anywhere else - NOT worth the wait. Apologies were given, but I want to eat today, not manana! read more

My girlfriend and I went in tonight, she had Tacos de Barbacoa & I opted for a green chile cheeseburger. We also shared an order of flautas. Everything was served hot and fresh and was delicious. Highly recommend this restaurant. read more

I really enjoyed their menudo! Got to go back to try other items from the menu. They serve BOTH pozole and Menudo!!

This is my 3rd visit, and my only complaint is that the pork red chile tamales are a teeny bit cumin forward. The burritos, the posole(is great good flavor and texture, comes kinda mild, but they bring a shaker of oregeno and pepper flakes, so you can shake a little heat into it. And since its already great tasting it blends in well. Ive not seen this method before of offering dry red pepper flakes. It worked better than i thought.) . This is a great little hole in the wall spot. read more

Juani’s Kitchen - Dining room area and counter - Mexican Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Always a pleasure. Great food, fast service, and such a great staff. Thank you again!

Thoroughly enjoyed the carne asada burrito smothered with green chili sauce! Breakfast burritos also really good

Popped into this place looking for a spot to eat and to get out of the heat. I'm the mood for tamales and they had a deal that could not be beat! We ordered half a dozen tamales and the waitress said that would be more than enough. We paid the extra dollar and had it "smothered" which just meant sauce and some cheese on it. Had it smothered half in red and half in green. Yum! It was good! The cornmeal was just the right amount and a decent amount of filling made it the perfect combo. We also ordered a watermelon fresca that was huge! Appreciated the free chips and salsa and the fact that she told us it would be enough versus having us order more food. Would stop in again if I was craving mexican food and lived in the area! read more

See all

Wow.This place is incredible. Great hospitality and great food. I felt right at home.

Tacos were the worst; dry chicken with no flavor; not even salt and the rice and beans had a really odd taste. How can you mess up tacos so bad at a Mexican restaurant? Inedible. read more

Restaurant is always closed no matter what the time says on the door or on Google or yelp idk how they're still "open"

The first time we went there the proprietor was attentive and sweet. Juani refilled our glasses as soon as they before emptied. The food is simple; but, extremely good. You can't go wrong eating at Juani's. It's a small place, very clean, and the service is excellent. We returned today after not eating there for a couple years. She employs foster kids and is very committed to helping them. A+ read more

Feeling busy after some Uptown shopping? Stop on by! This family owned business has reasonable prices and the service is fast. Try their carne asada or Al pastor tacos/burritos. Their horchata is on point too. Even their beans are good! Great place for a quick bite after a day of shopping. read more

Juani’s Kitchen - Carne Asada Taco - Mexican Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

The food was delicious and the portions were so generous. The owners spent time and visited with us and made us feel welcome. I highly recommend this place read more

Was treated rudely and cussed out for not wanting to sit down and wait for my order. It was paid for but because I didn't want to sit down. Jauni told the cook I was rude and stopped the sale. Told me she didn't like Native Americans in her store. Told me to get the F'*k out of her store. If you don't like living in a country that has over 560 tribes in North America, South America and Canada. You don't need to be in America. I am warning Indigenous Native Americans don't do business with these Mexicans. read more

Juani’s Kitchen - Mexican Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Food was amazing drinks were also good but service was kind of slow ambiance was good but the reason this is a 1 star is because There were disgusting horrifying big long cockroaches on the floor next to the kitchen so we took the food and left read more

The food and service is amazing. The food is absolutely delicious!! It's family owned and operated and they take pride in their food and hospitality. Great place for delicious food!! read more

I stopped in after golfing on a hot day looking for some good chile smothered food. I ordered the green chile chicken and red chile pork tamales smothered. There was the "real" Coke, that is from Mexico where real sugar is still used. I was seated by a friendly face and started sipping the very refreshing Coke. My tamales arrived in short order exactly as I ordered them. They were both bursting with the chicken or pork accordingly. I took a bite of the green chile chicken and was transported to a blissful state of happiness as the masa was a perfect holder of the tasty green chile chicken with just the right amount of kick. The red chile pork tamale was just as good. If you want to taste really good tamales just stop by Juani's Kitchen. read more

I bought a coupon for this restaurant off of restraunt.com. We went in and sat down and ordered food. They redeemed the coupon no problem. The food was not bad, maybe a bit pricey. The location is very conveniently located to our house so I bought another coupon for them on Restaurant.com. We ordered our food, but when I went to redeem the coupon this time they would not accept it. They said I had been conned & they had never heard of these coupons. I asked them why they had accepted the previous coupon & they said they had just been doing me a favor. They certainly did not tell me that otherwise I would have not bought a second coupon. So, I will definitely not be returning after that weird incident. read more

I came in today for the first time and got myself a burrito and a coke. I try to find anything to love at most restaurants I go to and the place has an abundance of charm. The staff is friendly as heck and the restaurant is a small place at the San Mateo pavilions. Since I walk a lot, it's not too hard to get to but it might be a bit of navigating to reach the parking lot. Digressions aside, my burrito was perfectly good. Breakfast burritos are my litmus test for pretty much every restaurant and getting a 1lb monster of a burrito for the price of a handheld little doodle at the good twisters? Pretty rad. Don't let my like of twisters dissuade you from my tastes, because to say nothing of the food they are some of the nicest people I've met in the food service industry. I'll definitely come back regularly for lunch! read more

Juani’s Kitchen - Breakfast Burrito Bacon - Mexican Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

I love supporting local; it has always been my thing. But when I see a menu item description that doesn't jibe with the actual offering I feel it's my obligation to say something. I had the opportunity to try a bacon breakfast burrito, I've tried many across the state so although I'm certainly no expert, I know the ones that are worth the money. On the menu, it clearly states "4 strips" of bacon. Unless each strip is the size of a stick of Juicy Fruit, that's not what I received. The bacon was diced too. I understand food costs and inflation nowadays but please at least change the menu to reflect that it's not slices it's dices. That seems to be the unfortunate trend for bacon breakfast burritos. I'm willing to try the tamales because they look really delicious, but for burritos, I'll go to the other place that gives me a "Lota" more bacon in strips read more

If you have a hankering for Mexican and can't get to Abuela's, come here. So far, I've tried their Tamales, Tacos & Posole, which have all been satisfactory for this native New Mexican. It's just like the food your abuelita would make & can't help but hold close to your heart. They are family & locally owned, so go support local! read more

The food was soooo good! I got the tamales and they were perfection. The people are so nice and welcoming, overall great service.

Since moving to NM, I have sought after both great Sushi and great Tamales. I ordered two tamales, one chicken and one pork. The tamales were individually wrapped, and placed in a bag to go. Unfortunately, they were not paired with any sauce, nor was any offered. The tamales were a bit dry both on the interior of the tamale. The exterior corn breading flaked and separated corn on the tamale. I had a lot of crumbs of corn. The flavors were ok but the interior shredded chicken was dry both visually and physically and hard to easily cut on each bite. The pork was ok, not unique or overly flavorful bit ok. I often buy frozen tamales because I love them so much and my frozen ones have more flavor and were better wrapped, more moist, and had more tender meat than these bought at this store. In the interest of fairness, I ordered them to go so I may go back to order off the menu to see how they are dresses. And...take it out to sit and eat nearby. With the mask mandate lifted, I'm just not not comfortable sitting in such a small, closed spaced restaurant. I will order and see how the food is prepared and served and report here again. read more

The service was great and the food was delicious. The tamales were huge. Y salieron bien ch****s!!!!!

Stopped in on a road trip, service was excellent and they have the most amazing asada tacos. The meat was so flavorful. I'll be thinking about those tacos, would highly recommend. read more

Came in from out of town, paid for an uber, arrived to find the place closed hours before they were scheduled to be. A sign on the door sent us away. read more