Garcia's Kitchen - The Original

Garcia’s Kitchen was my very first stop after arriving in Albuquerque and what a perfect welcome to New Mexico! This local, family-owned gem gave me an incredible first taste of New Mexican cuisine. Loved the carne adovada. The food was spicy, flavorful, and comforting in the best way possible. The service was also top-notch, Lesly super fast and incredibly attentive. You can tell this restaurant is run with heart and pride. I’m so glad I started my trip here and I’ll definitely be coming back next time I’m in town. Highly recommend for anyone wanting an authentic local experience!

Garcia’s kitchen was recommended to us by a local shop merchant in old town. Plenty of seating, the service was prompt, breakfast was the best we’ve had in Albuquerque. Coffee was mild to strong, Pint of chili without beans add carne adovada with tortilla, outstanding. I also had Garcia’s famous breakfast with Christmas sauce it was Fabulous, amazing, and just the right amount of plate. Not too spicy, very flavorful. Four people, four waters, one coffee, four meals added up to $54.60 before tip.

First time here today and I really enjoyed my meal. Both the red and green chile were tasty, had it on eggs and potatoes with beans and a tortilla. The restaurant was mostly empty as I arrived before 11 on a Friday, so service was fast and it was quiet. It did get busy as I was leaving. This is another one of those places that charges for chips and salsa. I still don’t get why they do this. My server was efficient but not all that friendly. Probably not a big deal for most but I prefer places that make me feel welcome.

Best quesadilla I have had in a very long time and large serving size for an appetizer. The queso and guacamole were delicious. Very casual atmosphere. Great for lunch.

Very nice and professional staff serving delicious food. Spectacular chile all the time, fresh tortillas, and the green chile is aromatic and wonderful. Good potatoes too.

Gina our sevice was great...she was polite and kept our drinks full. The young man who came and checked on us was great also. Give this a 10 star for great food and awesome customer service. I recommend this place

​I always have a great experience coming here. The service is always so good, whether I'm ordering ahead for a quick pickup or sitting down to eat. And with breakfast served all day, it’s my absolute favorite spot for some delicious, New Mexican comfort food.

I stopped by Garcia’s while in town for Balloon Fiesta since it seemed like a local staple everyone talks about. The place definitely has that classic New Mexican vibe. Colorful decor, busy morning crowd, and the smell of chile in the air. The food was good, not great. The breakfast burrito and red chile had nice flavor, but the potatoes were a bit dry and the service was on the slower side (understandable with how packed it was). Prices were reasonable, and it felt like a true local experience. Overall, it’s worth trying if you’re visiting for Fiesta and want a taste of Albuquerque tradition, just don’t expect anything fancy or fast.

I have been coming to Garcia' since the mid 70s. Goodies always consistent. Our family each has their favorite meal; no need to look at the menu. They used to be open for dinner every day and we miss that! For special occasions the catering is good withe fair prices. I love Garcia's and for a NM diner it is just perfect! So my go to is the refried special, green, extra crispy potatoes and the sopapilla. For lunch it is the green Chile stew w tortilla and dinner is the telleno plate. But that is just me.

We decided to try this place because my husband remembered eating here when he was younger. I was a bit skeptical at first since I wasn't sure they would have gluten-free options, but to my surprise, they had a gluten-friendly menu online. When we arrived, I asked plenty of questions. Our waitress was very nice and seemed fairly knowledgeable. I ordered the Huevos Rancheros with easy green chile and corn tortillas. The food was good, though I was still a little concerned about possible cross-contamination. Overall, the experience was okay.

I ordered a green chili stew xl and they gave me a bowl of beans and lettuce. I simply said it's not what I wanted and he insisted that's what I ordered. Then the man just stared me down. He refused to make me any thing else to eat and told me to leave. I did not cause a scene or ask to speak to a manager. But they sent the biggest and tallest man they could find to ask me to leave when all I wanted was to re order my food the correct way. The vibe there is racist. It's like they don't want any tourists or outsiders there. Not a fan of this location. They only want New Mexicans to eat there. DO NOT GO. THEY WILL GET YOUR FOOD WRONG AND DO NOTHING TO HELP YOU.

Excellent authentic New Mexican cuisine in the local chains original location with excellent service. Out of town we here, a local recommended this and one other New Mexican spot- we will be hitting that tomorrow! Good freshly cooked food, large portions, a cool place with great service - what more could you ask for?! Any of the Garcia's Cafe is awesome, gotta try it!

This place was absolutely yummy! We tried the stuffed sopaphilia, the carne avado, and green chili stew! In my opinion the stew was the best dish followed by the avado! The service was so amazing, our server Maria was a delight and I am happy we got sat her in section! It's a very cute establishment and I loved the ambience!

I had my first visit on Jan. 24, 2025. There is plenty of parking; I went just past noon, and it was clear from the lot that this is a popular spot. The decor is friendly and colorful, helpful and friendly staff. I was seated immediately. The tabletops display very colorful art. The menu offers many New Mexico food items; I went with tacos, beans and rice. The tacos were delicious and I had corn hardshell tortillas. The shells had a nice crunch and held together well. (ever have a taco shell break into Tinkerbell's fairy dust with one bite?). The salsa has just a hint of heat. Refried beans were perfect. The Mexican rice was fluffy and had subtle flavors. I just moved into this neighborhood and will be a regular here

I think what makes this place so great are the people who work here. It's genuinely warm people and that really makes or breaks an experience for me. We are visiting NM and came here for brunch. The server recommended the Indian Taco with green Chile and it did not disappoint. I've never had one before but it hit the spot for a savory meal which is my jam. Casual vibes for sure and lots history on the walls. We enjoyed our time here and were all so stuffed but hopefully we can make it back one more time before we head back to California!

Ok, so being in New Mexico you have such a variety of places included Mexican restaurants, however if you want great food and that homey feel this is the place for you. You get greeted at the door and the wait staff and amazing and very friendly. I love menudo and miss my grandparents but this place has it and it just warms you from the inside and out. I have been back to Garcia's now 3x and I am never disappointed with anything I have ordered. This place is a must.

Great mom and pop local restaurants, the food is classic New Mexican food. I had the Alicia Breakfast 2eggs over easy green/red chili with refried beans, hash browns and sopopillas. It was delicious. The chili was medium in heat and the sopopillas were fresh. The service was good and our waiter was attentive. The restaurant was open concept nothing out of the ordinary. I recommend this place if you are in the neighborhood. I will be visiting again.

Always stop here when pass through. Carne adovada and biscochitos among the many highlights and the kids (me included) love the decorations

I was pretty impressed with this restaurant. Staff was helpful, attentive and friendly. Atmosphere was nice and food was excellent. I thought the price was very reasonable for the amount of food I received. I ordered the combination plate with a taco, tamale, enchilada, rice, beans and soppapillas. Everything was excellent. The menu has other items that were also tempting such as the nachos, tostadas and burritos which I will try next time.

Holy moly red chile! Had the red chile enchiladas con Chicharrones. Been to Garcia many times and I don't know why I've never tried this particular dish. Amazing!

poor service , rude people not worth your money! Don't waste your time they are rude.

Solid New Mexican food in a large portion. My favorites are sopapillas baskets (4ea in a basket). Eating those fried, soft pillows with honey...yum!! (Even for my meals the next day!). We also got enchiladas and flautas plates. You get to choose your sides. I thought the food was quite good. Huge portion though! We got pretty good service when we dined in. Ok service when we ordered to pick it up. I guess it depends on how busy their staff are, etc. P.S. they close early at 3pm on Thurs! We stopped by once to have dinner and it looked like ghost town in a parking lot. I thought it was strange to end Thursday (not Mon or tue) service early when it's starting to be peak dining out towards weekend!

Good food, good service, clean, bright, beautiful place with great art. We went for breakfast and weren't disappointed. Highly recommend.

Stopped in for a quick bite and the green chili stew hit the spot. Spicy but not too much. Great service too with a real hometown feel.

Great place for nuevo mexicano food. We were there for brunch and the bfast burrito, chiles and sopapillas did not disappoint.

Service was great and food average! I ordered my favorite Huevos Rancheros and the eggs were slathered in a canned red salsa. Not home made salsa? Overall we wouldn't visit again! Our server was great and friendly!

The service was very good, and the place was super clean. But the food was yuk. I ordered a Combo plate to go, and I just couldn't eat the food. Sad. Will never go back. //// Update: Within a few hours, I had more than a casual acquaintance with my bathroom, if you get my drift, and I'm sure you do. Lasted approx 12 hours. NOW I am angry too.

Service was absolutely unavailable. It took so long for someone to greet me. I wanted a glass of cold water so desperately it was painful. Not so soon after a drink I was searching for chips and salsa- no luck. Starvation set in. Food was good. I just wish the service was better. I had heard great things and gotten several recommendations, I wish I had a better experience.

The Original is where it's at! I've never been let down, except by ART construction with this location. I'm always sat fast with friendly service but that's not why I go. I always start with a bowl of red chile with beans and some tortillas as an appetizer. Forget the chips and salsa! My go-to is the rolled red chile enchiladas with onions, side of papas (potato's) and whole beans (not refried). Never has this combo failed me. The boyfriend got a bean & cheese burrito with green chile both inside and smothering: he LOVED it! Top it all off with warm sopapillas with honey and you'll be nice and full for the rest of the day! I'll be frank, I've gone to other locations, they just aren't the same. I'll stick with the Original.

I haven't been to this Garcia's location in a while. We got here at about 9 pm they close at 10. They had a few customers when we arrived. When we entered we were not greeted and just decided to seat ourselves. We ordered breakfast plates. Our papa'a and beans were COLD. The eggs were hot as they had to be cooked to order. The plates were hotter than our food because the salamander was used to melt the cheese. This was very disappointing as Garcia's usually has been pretty consistent in their food quality. I understand that they only had an hour before close but, come on they should still be serving HOT food. Very disappointed and don't know when I'll be back.

The food was excellent. Service was on point. My only gripe would be that there was no complimentary chips & salsa. We went for dinner and returned the next morning for breakfast before we left Albuquerque. We know where to eat on our next visit.

To pay $3.40 for a 20oz cup of ice tea if the many ounces and to be rushed out without getting a chance at a refill is unacceptable and we ordered 2 of them. $6.80 for 2 small teas and I ordered the carne adovada plate which had 3 small pieces of meat along with bland chili along with 2 extra sopapillas at$1.40 each which were hard as I expected soft and fluffy and airy. This will be my last encounter at this place as they need to pack it up if they cannot provide the quality my father introduced me to as a kid. Dont mind paying prices if if wirth it but this was a horrible time on today at 11:00 am appr as total was $37+- on central location as I was in a walker device. Horrible service, food, and prices to pay $6.80 for 2 drinks without a refill. PRICE gouging at its finest.

Enjoyed lunch at this classic restaurant. The ice tea was great. Liked the guacamole but it needed a little kick added. Ordered a single chili reyeno with green chili sauce.

Oh my gosh!! This place was highly recommended and it didn't look 5 star from the outside but baaabbbby when I tell you I will forever stop on to eat here when I'm ABQ! Food was spectacular! Service was exceptional and the price was better than RIGHT! The New Mexico green chili is second to none! Red chili was fantastic too! Jeremy was our server and took excellent care of us. Others checked in too! I legit love this place!!! Oh and our appetizer was chips with the trio combo (guacamole ) queso and salsa!!! So delicious!!!

Outstanding! Our hostel recommended we check out Garcia's for breakfast one morning while staying in between Old Town and New Town Albuquerque. We walked in to an absolutely full establishment! That's a good sign. Our server poured us a couple of big coffee mugs and kept them full. Also good. On recommendation, I tried the breakfast tacos with 3 different meats. All were so delicious that I had a hard time not finishing my plate, and I left way too full! My bf also enjoyed his meal and we were both very pleased with the friendly service. Like a typical tourist, we asked for some to-do suggestions, and ended up with a couple more activities planned for our day. Our entire meal including drinks came to under $20 before tip. Delicious food at low prices! Yes!!

(I allowed almost 44 hours to get a reply to my 'contact us' request via the website at Garcia's Kitchen before writing this review. I have not heard from Joshy, the manager.) I placed my Garcia's Kitchen order on-line via DoorDash for the Central location. When I pulled up to pick up my order, someone took my name and said my food would be right out. After maybe 15 minutes of waiting, I went inside and found my order sitting on a table. How long it had been there; who knows? I took the order home to discover it was cold. Additionally, instead of getting the two combo fajita plates I requested, I got one combo fajita plate and one combo plate. I called and spoke with Laura, who said they were very busy and understaffed. She said I had to address the messed-up order with DoorDash. To be fair, the fajita meat (both the chicken and beef) was very tender. However, I had to discard about a quarter of the papas because they were burned and inedible. Did I get the scrapings from the bottom of the fryer? During this time, where restaurants are struggling to stay in business, isn't it important to offer excellent service? This was my first visit to Garcia's. With this level of service, I cannot see myself visiting Garcia's again. I will spend my money where the customer is appreciated.

Yum. Best nachos my husband unit has had in a long while. My cheese enchiladas were cheese my goodness in corn tortillas. Lettuce and tomatoes on one side. Beans and rice in the other. Beans were really good. Whole beans on nachos. By the way. Diamond was our server. Dang, that girl can move! She was very attentive. Thumbs up for her. Tip your wait staff, people! Floor under our table was in need of attention, but that was the only drawback.

What happened to the tacos? We were served premade (store bought) taco shells! Very disappointing. The tacos never used to be served this way. Garcia's you can do better! Go back to frying fresh tortillas for your tacos.

What a gem! This was my favorite dining experience during my recent New Mexico trip. The food was amazing. I had the red chili cheese fries and cheese enchiladas. Everything was fresh, hot, and fast. The restaurant is full of fun memorabilia. The tres leches cake was perfect. I can't wait to return!

This is my grandma's favorite spot when she comes to Albuquerque. So we came here for breakfast and had a good meal with an ambiance to match. For myself I know a meal will be good if the chips and salsa are.

Our first night visiting ABQ we were looking for a place for dinner. Surprised to find many restaurants close at 8pm but Garcia's closes at 9. Big parking lot. Informal vibe. Friendly waiters. They have daily specials for $8 so I had to ask if you get the same amount of food as the regular price. Yeah, so people think it's a dumb question but I've been places where you get less. Yes you do so it's the beef enchilada special for me. New Mexicans love their chilis so the enchiladas were spicy for my wimpy California palette but oh so good. Rice and beans were good too. The soapadillas were a pleasant surprise. Solid good, great service, reasonable prices.

Not sure how this place has good reviews. Maybe I am spoiled with so much amazing Mexican food in California but lets start by saying the brisket had no flavor. Seriously - as if there was no seasoning at all.The taco shells looked like they came out of a box like you buy at the grocery store. The guacamole was also flavorless. Taquitos were also a disappointment. No cheese, and more flavorless meat. At least it was fried so there was some flavor. Is this the style here? I have eaten better Mexican food in Florida. Seriously. Go somewhere else if you are considering eating here.

For the first time in 25 years the tortillas were horrible, they should of bought them at Walmart. The ham was poorly cooked (fried) slow service

Best chips and salsa in town. The staff is very friendly, fun colorful atmosphere. Some of the best chicharones and brisket tacos

So, this is going to be a difficult review to write. I am a long time and regular customer of Garcia's. But on this occasion at the restaurant on Central Ave. my experience was not so great. I took my family for breakfast, it was a Sunday morning. I had a few issues at Garcia's this morning. First, when my Juevos Rancheros were brought to our table they were just barely warm. I was so disappointed, but in all fairness, I did not report it to our server, so she was not able to correct the issue. Second, when our server would refill our coffees, it would make our coffees almost cold. My friend that was with me brought it to our servers attention and she gladly brought us two fresh hot cups of coffee. My friend ordered a breakfast burrito with sausage and green chile. She enjoyed her breakfast and almost polished off her burrito. My son ordered the carne adovada plate and once he started eating we didn't hear from him again. In all fairness, Garcia's is one of my go to places here in Albuquerque and of course I will be returning, after all these years, I'm not about to stop now.

I love, love Garcias food! However, I just called in an order and nearly fell off my chair!!!!! I ordered Menudo and my total is $18.50!!! No drink included! Ive been eating there very regularly for at least 25 years but after my very last order I remember telling myself that I wasn't going to eat there anymore due to how high the prices have gotten, unfortunately, I forgot about that. Very sad because Garcias has ALWAYS been my most favorite restaurant I rate the food & atmosphere a 10/10 but the prices 4/10

I coveted my both of my friends breakfasts. Their eggs, something I never order, were floating in a New Mexican Chili sauce. L's was served with a very tasty Carne Adovada and K had sasuage with his eggs I am not sure what possed me to have mini pancakes with strawberry's and cream. I did enjoy my breakfast and yet even as I as eating, I was trying to figure if chili sauce would improve it and if the sauce and would blend will with the syrup that I had put on my pancakes Garcia's is roadside diner and and it's quite spacious. Although this is listed as a Mexican restaurant it is really New Mexican food which I think is very different than Mexican food.

We sat here and saw 4 people get served next to us without even a greeting!! We are locals and it is a crying shame that they don't take care or their locals! But it's ok! The tourists Visit ONCE!! We would have came back but not now!! Try a different local favorite like the CHURCH STREET CAFE! they are down the road and Happily served us!! If I could have have less than one star I would have!! DO NOT VISIT THIS RESTAURANT!!

We had driven by several times, but outside never seemed appealing to me. Today we decided to check them out for brunch. I ordered the menudo, which to my surprise HIT THE SPOT. It's hard finding white menudo (parents are from Nayarit) but I still get excited when menudo has GRANOS (hominy) since a LOT of places don't add it even if it is red. Atmosphere was super friendly and it seemed they got a lot of Regulars since several times the waitstaff greeted people entering by their names. Their breakfast food also looked good. Will be going back to try other items on menu.

We liked this restaurant . Service was quick and friendly Breakfast burritos were yummy ...good potatoes Brisket plate was a 5 for sure A true new Mexico experience Great for late breakfast

Perfectly cute, local, and freaking delicious. I first came to a Garcia's in 2009 and had dreamt of the sopapillas since. Coming back, they are EVERY bit as good as I hyped them up to be in my memory. Crisp, chewy, and perfectly sweet with a squeeze of honey. The adovada here is fantastic. Pop some antacid first because you won't want to miss out on this. Every chance you get, order something with adovada or Christmas-style with both red and green sauces... perfect for indecisive people like me. Yes, you can have it all... only at Garcia's! (Except maybe the rice. The rice was kinda wet and boo boo, but everything else was like biting into some spirit fingers filled with Disney magic.) Friendly service, a true local population, and flavorful food in a super cute place.

I only come here every once in awhile and they never disappoint!! The food is always delicious!! It's a 'Seat Yourself' place so idk why the others were making a big deal out of it. We sat down and ordered our drinks, it was dead for a Saturday afternoon but we four our drinks right away. After our drinks we ordered our meals. We didn't wait too long for our meals as well, we waited for about 15 mins. It was super delicious!! I had a combination plate, which had a tamale, enchilada, taco, rice, beans, and shredded lettuce for toppings and also a sopapilla. Oh yes, I had RED CHILI! My sister and father had beef enchiladas one had red and the other had green. Then my mother had carne adasada. All of our meals were sooo delicious, we finished our plates. I love New Mexico Chili!!! This is one place I highly recommend!! Our waitress was super nice and kept checking up on us and also kept our drinks full. I had water because it was such a hot day and their water is good!! I had 4 or 5 cups!! Chips and Salsa was good as well, chips taste homemade.

A great breakfast option! I had the Garcia's Refried special and it was delicious with red chili. The customer service is outstanding.

For as many years I have been in ABQ it's crazy to think I have never eaten at Garcia's! I always pass by them throughout ABQ and mean to stop and try it but never do. So when my friend told me they were going there I was excited! We ended up ordering some chips and salsa and guacamole. The salsa was nice and spicy and so was the guacamole with the jalapeños. I ended up ordering the stuffed sopapilla with chicharrones. The sopapilla was delicious but the chicharrones were overcooked and took for ever to chew. They did taste good but my jaw def got a workout. Next time I will probably order it with carne adovada or beef. Will def stop by again just because of the salsa and the sopapillas!

Fantastic ! Loved it. I mean, totally awesome. Great food, great service. I'm quite a fan of Mexican food. This place is the bomb. It came highly recommended and did not disappoint. Good job Garcia's.

You gotta love a Monday weekly $7.99 special of brisket tacos, rice, papas... with salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo. Every single thing was good and the price made it that much better! I almost gave this place 3 stars...because our waitress wasn't the best. However, she was kind & other wait staff stepped in to assist her. P.S... grab some yummy biscochitos!

The daily specials are amazingly priced. I think it was $7.75 for Xmas Chile Relleno with rice, beans and two sopapillas on a Wednesday. I was served an insane amount of food for the price. Note: Restaurant is a block from where Lomas and Central converge, and around the corner from Old Town