I had the cheese enchiladas for lunch today with papitas on the side it was the best new Mexican cuisine I've had in New Mexico in the three years I've lived here. Everyone there was extremely friendly and helpful and attentive read more

Delicious food and great service. We ordered fajitas and posole. Portions were huge and the kids meals were adult size portions. What a great find... Don't let the look of the building outside deter you from a great meal! read more

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I grew up in Las Vegas and every time I visit this is my go-to restaurant. The food is great, you can pre-order over the phone and pick up at the drive-thru window. It's perfect. Eating in the restaurant is quaint and the service is great. Chicken tacos, sopapillas y posole por vida! read more

I decided to eat here because of the great reviews. I am not from town and was traveling south so I decided to check it out. I was pretty disappointed. I ordered the chicken enchiladas with rice and beans but I did not like it. The chicken had no flavor and they drowned the green sauce all over my plate. (Not a good sauce) the tortilla was hard. The rice was ok and the beans were good. It was not what I expected. I didn't even eat 2/3 of my plate and didn't want to eat anymore. The reason I'm giving it a couple of stars is because the lady who took care of us was very sweet and attentive. read more

I ordered the burnt cheese tacos, a side of guacamole and a melon to drink. The tacos sounded interesting and boy were they filling. They take your basic taco shell and wrap it in a cheese "tortilla" created by frying cheese on the flat top. The side of passole was very good and the guac was fresh and home made. Service was friendly and prompt. A plus on creativity, b on flavor for the tacos. read more

Kocina De Raphael - Burnt cheese pork tacos with pasole and fresh home made guacamole. - Mexican Near Me - Las Vegas, New Mexico

Ok. Stopped by on the way to las cruces. The green chill is awesome and not for wimps. Friendly service, family owned, HUGE portions and all very very tasty!!!! Definitely worth the stop! read more

Great Food very friendly staff,best sopapillas in town...will return.. want to try the breakfast someday.

Yum! Stopped on the way from Colorado Springs to Santa Fe for a quick bite. Great, spicy salsa, quick food. Delicious enchilada sauces and clean atmosphere. Try the flautas and the enchiladas with Christmas sauce. read more

Overpriced. No customer service. I have not and will not eat here or recommend it... I was charged like 1.00 for a side of sour cream, i know its only a dollar but i could have went to the grocery store behinde the restraunt and bought a whole bown of sour cream for near that price... read more

Enjoyed best Mexican lunch with friendly service Great pork enchiladas !! Come here whenever we drive through..it's that good!

We love this place. We often go through Las Vegas on our way to Angel Fire and have never really found a decent restaurant to stop at. Thankfully, Yelp to the rescue! We tried Kocina de Raphael based on the reviews and were not disappointed. Well, let me back up, the first time we tried, they were closed and ended up at one of the worst Mexican/New Mexican restaurants I've ever eaten in. Maybe not as bad as the one in North Texas that served queso made from condensed cheese soup with bell pepper chunks in it. Anyway, Kocina de Raphael is usually busy around dinner, and sometimes it may take a while to get your food but, it's worth the wait. It's a local kind of place, everyone knows everyone and no one is really in a hurry. They have good chips and salsa so you aren't going to starve. read more

Great food. They were slammed so it took a little longer but, the food was great. Had the chicken fajitas and the plate was full! More chicken than vegetables. Will return read more

Tried the menudo with pozole and green chilies. Not like what my MIL from Larrdo, Texas made, but I know that it is different depending on the part of the country. It was good, and had a good amount of spice. The corn tortillas were greasy but the menudo made up for it. A bit oricier than in Texas but I will have it again befor I leave New Mexico. read more

Disappointing.... was hoping to find a Mexican restaurant between TX and Taos. Service was a disappointment and the food selection was less than offered on the menu. read more

Yummy red chili cheese enchiladas along with sopapias for dessert. It was a bit of a wait for the food but it was very good. Very pleasant staff and friendly atmosphere. read more

Kocina De Raphael - Red chili cheese enchiladas. - Mexican Near Me - Las Vegas, New Mexico

Wonderful service, and I really enjoyed the food! The salsa was very spicy but went well with the chicken Taquitos that I ordered. I will definitely be stopping by here again. read more

Kocina De Raphael - I got the flautas and they were awesome! Next time I'm going through Las Vegas, I will be eating here again. - Mexican Near Me - Las Vegas, New Mexico

Went to this place after a camping trip hoping for some good food and was left disappointed. Not so much with the food, that was good but the service and atmosphere was less then satisfactory. But again the food was good so I didn't complain too much, then went to pay for mine and my family's meal and was hit with an 18% gratuity, and for 6 of us it really added onto the bill. So I would not recommend this place to anyone. read more

This is definitely were the locals eat and I really liked every moment of it. Somewhat stuck out like a sore thumb, but my table neighbors and waiter and busser were all welcoming....forgot the title of what i ordered, but what i didn't forget was hefty portions, i mean you hands down, will get your monies worth! Oh and FYI, due to there being a church attached to the restaurant, they don't sell alcohol!! *bursts into tears* sooooo pregame before?? read more

Horrible. Where do I even begin? While stopping by on a road trip west, we found the place in a dusty parking lot and looked more like a dive bar than a restaurant. This should have been a sign to turn away but we figured we'd give it a shot. When we entered we were asked to seat ourselves. The place was big but empty. Again, should have been a sign to turn away. It took maybe 10 minutes for anyone to ask for our drinks. We put in an order of chicken nuggets sub white rice for our 3 year old daughter while we browsed the menu. We ordered chips and salsa to start. Yes, we ORDERED it. Weird to eat at a mexican place that doesn't just hand you chips and salsa for free. The salsa was clearly from a can with maybe a pepper chopped up and added. About 20 minutes later our daughter's chicken and rice came. The rice was not white rice but Spanish rice, and it looked like it had been sitting in a 1/3 Pan all day long. Barely edible. She wouldn't touch it, and I can't blame her. I ordered the Beef enchiladas with green chili and my wife ordered the "softy" filled with shredded beef and beans with green chili. Both plates came out looking identical. Big turn off. To top that, both plates came out piping hot as if they had been under the lights all day, and the food was on fire too, but looked dead. These plates of food were clearly microwaved and the leftover microwaved taste shined throughout. The beef wasn't seasoned even a little and the green chili left my whole meal floating in a puddle of liquid. After about two bites in my wife found a long black hair in her food. Both of us immediately lost our appetites. It took about twenty minutes for our waitress to come check on us and realize that we were not eating, though there was only one other table in there. As we were paying our bill, six Las Vegas police officers rolled in together, followed by two more, which made the environment even more awkward than it already was. If you are a foodie in any way whatsoever, do not even waste your time here. I would have rather had Taco Bell. Live Mas, avoid this food. read more

If you want a lot of food then perhaps this is your place. If you want food that's freshly prepared and not straight out of a can then I would keep looking. About the only thing that seems to be fresh here is the green chili sauce, the rest of our meal came straight out of cans all of us can buy from Wal-Mart. This includes the cheese sauce they put on their chips, the beans they sprinkle on their dishes, and pozole which still tasted like the tin. Seriously, you'll be happier at Taco Bell. read more

We can usually trust the reviews on Yelp but felt this one was way off. Yes, portion sizes were large (in case you might want to eat a lot of this). French fries were good. I got the ground round ranchero. Frozen meat patty, more green chilies than you could see (everything was swimming), canned diced tomatoes and grated cheese. It was a great idea and would have been tasty if the meat had any taste at all. The burnt cheese pork tacos were a little better - at least they had some flavor. Waitress was nice enough a pretty attentive. Experience was a bummer. read more

Let me start by saying I'm the least pickiest person ever! But this place sucks!!! I'm not sure how it has gotten such good reviews, it took forever for our order to be taken, then the order was wrong , and then the food was just bad, the only positive thing I can say is the waitress was really nice. I'll never come again! read more

From the outside appearance, I honestly thought we'd encounter wild bikers or drunken cowboys in a noisy bar inside. No! It was a warm, friendly family style restaurant. The service was great. I doubled my tip. The food was authentic and the prices very reasonable. My $10 plate contained enough food for two meals. I must say I didn't care for their Spanish rice, but I'm unreasonably picky over Spanish rice. read more

While it tends to be somewhat hit and miss on the service, it is usually a hit when it comes to portion size. I usually take half of almost anything I order home. The food quality is usually good. It is mostly New Mexican food with a few select non chile smothered American options thrown in. When my mom needs a cooking break this is one of two places we visit. I usually order anything that comes smotherd with red AND green since I can never decide which one I really like there. I can choose from posole, papitas, rice or beans,t hose are options I like. If you are just going for posole you can go red, green, both or none of the above. And if you go for the Menudo you can choose not only the chile but if you just want the Menudo minus the posole...I take that option when I am low-carbing...lol. Unless they have changed it, don't do the nachos, they come with cheese sauce and not melted cheese...unless you are into that. Woohoo let's go to Kocina...as the locals call it. Good food, great value... read more

I was in search for some authentic mexican food while I was passing through New Mexico. Naturally, I Yelped to see what was around. The reviews are spot on. Huge portions of delicious food for people on a beer budget! Definitely recommend it! read more

This where the locals go. Heads up good food here. If you stumble in at dinner time you might have a wait because they are busy. The red is very good and the green is ok. You can mess it up but they don't. People were nice and took care of us. I'd go here again. To much food though, portions are big had to take some with us. read more

The best place to eat in Las Vegas. Very reasonable prices. Very large portions are served. One entree turns into dinner and lunch the next day. Staff is very welcoming. read more

We found this place by accident while passing through Las Vegas, NM. It appeared on the vehicles navigation while searching for places to eat. Almost did not see it, as it was dark. Made a U-turn and parked in a dirt parking lot. OMG!! Best find ever!! As another review had mentioned, it appeared to be patronized by locals...which we love! It was welcoming, relaxing, and the prices were insultingly cheap. Yes, you do pay extra for chips and salsa...but it's cheap...and worth it!!! The service is slow, but super friendly!! The food was fantastic, fresh, and humongous portions!! It was a no rush relaxing dinner for us. We are going to drive back down from Denver on a getaway, and eat here again for sure! read more

We stopped by here because of the positive yelp review. Honestly, eating the dish was painful. They made Spanish rice, actually just rice with tomato paste, and beans, pinto beans from a can, taste horrible. Guacamole was tasteless, green Chile french fries were soggy. Also, they don't serve margaritas... I won't be back. read more

My husband and I stopped in a while back on a trip back to Texas and were thrilled with our meals. The place was clean, the service was terrific, and the food was outstanding! I ate chicken tacos and my husband had red stacked enchiladas with an egg on top. I could've eaten the delicious posole alone... it was so tasty. New Mexican food is much different from Tex-Mex, and Kocina De Raphael was a real treat for these Texans! read more

I've yet to try all of the New Mexican restaurants in town, but this place is my favorite so far. They actually use spices to flavor things, instead of letting their chile do the talking, like a lot of restaurants around here (but their chile is still great). Too bad they don't have a beer license. Huge portions for cheap, which is nice for the student population... read more

This was my 3rd choice of restaurants to try when I was driving through. The other 2 places were closed. I was still pretty happy with this place. I had the stuffed sopapilla with roast beef which was good. Have to agree with another reviewer's opinion on the rice but the saving grace was the food was piping hot, flavorful (for the most part) & quite plentiful, for a good price. Although it was clear that my server was tired & the restaurant was a little understaffed, she was still attentive and cheerful. I did miss the typical chips and salsa before my dinner arrived but the size of the entree more than made up for that. read more

Yes they do have large portions but they literally put so much sauce on the food that I had no clue what I was eating. The beans tasted good but that was about it. The enchilada was hard as a rock. We ordered chips and salsa for an extra fee. We got some really stale old corn chips and frozen salsa that's was insanely hot. Too hot to even eat. If you go here tell them to go easy on the sauce. I got so much it was pouring off the plate onto the table. The only plus side was the very friendly staff. read more

Its a little greasy spoon, but they have the BEST fajitas I've EVER had!

I eat there every chance I get. The plate is always heaped with food. Great New Mexican style food. I am particularly fond of the pulled pork stuffy!! The salsa is a bit hotter than any other in town. The staff is very friendly. They have a great take out drive through as well. read more

We found this restaurant when we were traveling through 2 years ago and made a special trip at meal time to be sure we could eat here again this time through. People are friendly nothing is rushed. Green chili salsa wonderful. read more

We were visiting Las Vegas, NM on a school tour and wanted to try the local flavor. I'm giving it 4 stars based on service, because the food was amazing. Tons of flavor and spice, and big portions! I got the chile relleno, another in my party got the shredded chicken burrito, and the other two ordered enchiladas. all of them came with Mexican style rice and beans, as well as sopapillas for dessert. Everything was fresh and spicy, and the chips and salsa were great! The service was just so-so. We had to ask several times for water, and then refills were scarce when we needed them. One of my party also received the wrong plate, which I understand, does happen, but it was the attitude when we asked the server back to the table that got me. She seemed more intent on serving local police officers sitting at the table next to ours, so we got ignored just a bit. It's a good thing the food more than made up for it! read more

I have been to this place quite a few times and never had a bad experience. Their Chile is hot but amazing!! After living in this town and falling in love with New Mexican food this is by far the place I miss the most. Check it out if you are passing through. read more

It kind of looks sketchy from the outside sitting in the middle of a rough parking lot, but the inside is bright and cheerful. The food is quite good New Mexican. It's worth the trip from the center of town to have a meal here. read more

I went through drive thru and ordered two chili bowls with green chili and beans and a order of Chicharones. When I got back to the office, the chili did not have any beans in it and the side of chicharones which were almost $5.00 was about two teaspoons. Very disappointing!! read more