Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Rita's New Mexican Restaurant

    3.5 (25 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 2:00 pm

    Rita's New Mexican Restaurant Photos

    RITA'S NEW MEXICAN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

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

    You might also consider

    More like Rita's New Mexican Restaurant

    Recommended Reviews - Rita's New Mexican Restaurant

    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

    the dining area
    Liz A.

    First time coming here and I'm sad that it took me this long to find this nice place to get breakfast. Came here for a meeting with friends and the service was good and the food was delicious. Plenty of tables and nice places to sit. It did get a little noisy at times but, it was ok. Waitress was attentive and food was brought quickly. Place was clean. Bad thing...they don't allow service dogs, except for blind patrons. To me, a service dog is a service dog and they should not be discriminated.

    Combination plate with a tamale
    Genieen G.

    Had the pleasure of going to Rita's for the first time and really disappointed in myself for waiting so long. The dining area is filled with art for sale which is all different and lovely to look at. Our waitress was amazingly friendly and helpful. The food came out fast, hot, and delicious. The chile had a great flavor but was not too hot. I got the combo plate and the cheese enchilada was packed with a ton of cheese. The beef enchilada was filled with a lot of beef, and the tamale was my absolute favorite part. They put cheese on top and the spice in the tamale itself was superb! My husband loved his chicken chimichanga and we both had leftovers for dinner!

    Menu
    Timmy S.

    Busy today inside this restaurant in Belen. We were seated pretty fast and then we waited...Finally our waitress came to our table and apologized for being so busy, no biggie. She brought our drinks and chips and salsa and then I didn't see her again til it was time to leave. Another woman brought the food and we never got a soda refill or extra napkins. We asked for a side of guacamole and it never came. Besides that, the food was really good. My burger was good size and tasted well seasoned. The green chile on the burger was good but the red chile on my fries seemed not fully blended. And the portion of red chile cheese fries was really small. I would mention the waitress more but she's still missing lol. I think I caught them at a really busy time so I'm looking forward to coming back again and trying some other items on the menu. While I was paying the clerk said the brownies were complimentary after the meal so we took some and it was delicious. I usually tip well but I left 20% because the service was pretty bad. I'll post an update next time I come back...

    Tamale plate with red Chile.
    Amber L.

    For a small town, this is a nice restaurant to have in the area. They have an assortment of mexican dishes and a daily special. Ever hear of a green cheese philly on a tortilla? This place had it. Chip and salsa are available and sopapillas with honey seemed to be standard. I love sopapillas and was thrilled to see these popped up on the table. Food overall was good. Much better than food I had out in eastern New Mexico. The restaurant seemed like a local staple with many people greeting each other. Decoration is old fashioned but it's a family restaurant. Not everything needs to be hip. Bathrooms are a bit outdated, but they were clean. Service was friendly and attentive. I will definitely be back again!

    Large portion Navajo taco. Very tender fry bread.
    Rok J.

    PRO'S: - Inexpensive, even cheap. - Flavorful food. - Both green & red chile sauces were quite hot. Nice kick!! - Generous size Navajo taco. Flavor & texture were very good. Special note of extremely tender fry bread. - Flavorful coffee. Creamer cups came in both French vanilla and half-&-half. Nice to have the choice. - Overall clean premises. Exception noted below. - Bright & light dining room. - Friendly waitress. Welcoming feeling. CON'S: - Dining partner ordered eggs over easy. They arrived over cooked. Pretty much medium hard. - *SLOW!!!!* That is S-L-O-W in a major way. As in over 75 minutes to order, receive, & consume two on-the-menu, not-complex breakfast orders (a Navajo taco and two eggs with toast). The tables were pretty sparsely populated, so not a crunch load on the kitchen. The food appeared to be made to order, which would explain some degree of time needed for prepping & cooking, but the waiting grew painful as it stretched on & on & on. - Waitresses, while friendly, took very long times to get back to table to take food order or check on us. They seemed to be somewhat aimlessly wandering about enough of the time to not be focused on the customers. Requested extra napkins took about a half hour to be delivered. In that time waitress passed close to our table a few times servicing other customers, but forgetting the napkins. She did bring them. Eventually. - Dining partner grew exasperated enough waiting to flag waitress for waters that they simply went up front & got the waters for us. (Credit to waitress for getting our coffees quickly when first seating us.) - While premises appeared clean overall, there were dirty tables that remained unbussed (i.e. not cleared off) for extended periods of time. I believe one table of dirty dishes I noted on our exit had been in that condition when we arrived an hour and a quarter before. - Service was so slow we eventually walked up to the front counter without our tickets to pay our bills. BOTTOM LINE: I may eat at Rita's New Mexican Restaurant again for the flavorful food & inexpensive prices, but will have my expectations adjusted for a long term visit. This is not a quick place to eat.

    The sign.

    See all

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 2
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 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

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    The Chili Rellenos were amazing and my husbands chicken fried steak sandwich was delicious.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Leah B.
    56
    10
    2

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Rita's New Mexican Restaurant

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Pete's Cafe - Flan

    Pete's Cafe

    3.9(123 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    I grew up in New Mexico, and have fond memories of eating delicious food from Pete's Cafe. Amazing…read moreenchiladas with the BEST homemade red chile sauce, topped with a fried egg, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and onions... I'm drooling as I type this review. We took my family here for lunch and I was not disappointed, not in the least! The food was just as amazing as I remembered. I had to get an extra order of those soft, fluffy sopapillas to take with me, since it's impossible to find a restaurant in California that serves them. The waitstaff was attentive and we received everything quickly. If you're in the mood for some incredible and authentic New Mexican cuisine, you MUST try Pete's-you won't regret it!!

    This was our first time trying this restaurant out, while taking the train from Albuquerque to…read morevisit The Harvey House Muesum. It is right across the street. So glad we decided to stop in. There were 7 of us and even our pickiest eater was happy. The food was delicious! It is fresh products and homemade. Not food and worth waiting for, although it didn't take long either. The portions were generous, the prices were fair, the service was great, and there were many regular customers. Our entire group highly recommends Pete's Cafe. My aunt said to note thay we are now "valued customers" and we will be returning when in the area.

    Photos
    Pete's Cafe - Big dining room

    Big dining room

    Pete's Cafe - Coconut cream pie. Warming it up caused it to collapse & spread out some.

    Coconut cream pie. Warming it up caused it to collapse & spread out some.

    Pete's Cafe - Dining room

    See all

    Dining room

    Montano's Restaurant - This is the quesadilla de desebrada with green chile!

    Montano's Restaurant

    4.0(106 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $

    The food was amazing, well needed after a long hike! The waitress was super friendly and everything…read morewas brought out quickly, including chips and salsa (which was amazing, perfect amount of spice) when we got there. Also accommodated our six people by putting two tables together for us. Such a nice restaurant, the music was quiet enough for conversations and it was nice and cool indoors. Would absolutely go again!

    The food is fresh and absolutely delicious-huge portions as well. The refried beans were a little…read morerunnier than I prefer, but the flavor was good. I ordered the shredded beef enchiladas with a fried egg on top, garnished with tomatoes, onions, lettuce and sour cream. I'm from California, and don't get to have sopapillas at home-unless I make them-so I of course had to order half a dozen to go. They were nice enough to give me a portion cup of honey to go with them. They have wonderful red chile sauce on their enchiladas. So good in fact, that my mouth is watering as I write this review. My aunt had the chile rellenos ala carte, and she commented on how good it was and how they stuffed it with quite a bit of melty and gooey cheese. I definitely want to eat here again before I head back to California! I miss all of the good food here in New Mexico that I devoured as a child. Montano's really hit the spot!

    Photos
    Montano's Restaurant - Adobada stuffed sopapilla

    Adobada stuffed sopapilla

    Montano's Restaurant - Beef burrito, smothered with red chili and garnish

    Beef burrito, smothered with red chili and garnish

    Montano's Restaurant - Chili Rellano plate.  Always tasty!

    See all

    Chili Rellano plate. Always tasty!

    Rita's New Mexican Restaurant - newmexican - Updated September 2026

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