Padilla's Mexican Kitchen

Felt very homey, we had a great waitress. The food tasted very good (I took a few bites before taking a picture🌚) and it came out hot! (Which is always good) the red chile was out of this world! Please remember they do not take cards they are a cash only business. 10/10

I was referred to this restaurant by a client, and I met my brother here for lunch. First and foremost, it's cash only! The restaurant has an authentic New Mexico ambiance. Their chips and salsa come in very small portions, but you can get free refills. I ordered the combination plate with green chile on the side, which I ended up pouring all over my food to add some flavor. The rice was dry, but the beans were delicious. The taco and tamale lacked flavor, while the cheese enchiladas were very good. Our server was nice, attentive, and friendly. Although we were there during the lunch rush and the place was quite busy, we managed to be served promptly. However, parking can be difficult to find since they share the lot with a laundromat and other businesses. All in all, I would rate this establishment a 5 out of 10.

We did not notice it was cash only--we lucked out and had some cash (not always a given). The service was excellent. Our main server came over right away and advised us to order quickly ahead of a huge table next to us that would have delayed our meal, and at least two other servers came by regularly to offer water refills and ask if we needed anything. The food was very good, BUT as a vegetarian, noticing there was meat in the red sauce, without warning, was disconcerting. Rather than complain, we kind of scraped it off, but yikes. The sopapillas were terrific.

Its a solid New Mexican food staple that we all love. The quality and authentic taste is makes us locals always go back.

No parking People talking very loud Guacamole was delicious, chips tasted out of a bag no fresh. Taco plate delicious and sopapilla were one of my top 5. 5/10 overall

Good food, not too much I didn't leave feeling stuffed and sick. I got the GC chicken enchiladas, certain days they don't have carne adovada. They only take cash or check, come prepared. We got there on a weekday, right when doors opened and within 20 minutes the place was packed. They're doing something right.

The food is absolutely amazing. The red chili is spectacular and the flavor is just incredible. The burrito with green chilies was 10/10

No frills, comfort New Mexican food. Tastes like your grandma cooked it, works well for a daily meal. We like both the Chili Relleno Plate and Blue Enchiladas plate. I'm not sure if adding beef was worth it for the enchiladas, I think the cheese enchilada would probably have had a bit more flavor. The favors here are simple but robust, and the price is right. The portions are good, you won't leave hungry. We appreciated that the fried options didn't taste overly oily or fatty, this may even be a healthy as far as restos go. I will stop buy again next time I visit.

Should you go? This one is a big fat YES Always a great meal at Padilla's!! Cash/check only-- so be prepared when you come, no debit or credit (or Apple Pay lol!) great service, and consistently amazing food!! This place is soooo busy and gets pretty packed in its smaller dining room! We will be back again and again!

I've been coming here for over 20 years and my favorite thing is it's consistency! 20 years later and the food is the same, service is always great and the prices are still extremely reasonable. We got the beef taco plate and the cheese enchilada plate. Each plate typically comes with rice, beans, and two sopapillas. The chili is great if you can handle spice and the sopapillas are some of the best I've ever had. It's a very casual neighborhood spot where locals are known by name. It's also a cash only restaurant so make sure you stop by an ATM first!

Best place in town!!!!! Friendly staff. The food is always the same. Big portions. Been going here for over 25 years

What a great find!! This mom & pop place was packed with regulars and travelers. The parking lot was filled. The people kept coming in so we knew this place must have been great. We were seated in one of the last tables. Service was really fast with beverages and free chips and salsa before our order. We saw the size of the plate dishes. They were huge. We went a la carte ordering one beef and one chicken enchilada no onions. Both dishes come with Sopaipillas. The orders came super quick. Both were smothered with cheese and a special homemade green sauce e came with it. The sauce was delicious as were the enchiladas. Loved the Sopaipillas too! Our new favorite place in Albuquerque! They open Monday thru Friday 11am-7pm. With all the business they get, there is no need for them to be open on the weekends.

The food was excellent, at first the tamale plate looked kind of small but it did fill me up! And on a big guy! The workers in there really bust ass to get food out. It feels like you were dining in a food Hall. Very crowded and very loud. This is a cash only place.

I've been eating here for years, it's been a family favorite. The food is always delicious and the people who work there are awesome. Every time we go back to Albuquerque to visit, we plan our trip around being able to go here. If you want the real New Mexican food, this is the place! My all time favorite place for Mexican food.

Everything! The service, the menu, the speed of taking our order, bringing our food, refilling drinks, asking if we needed anything else, bringing our check! Everything, particularly the food, was excellent.

The real deal. And really good. Located in a small strip center, Padilla's may not look like much--but looks can be so misleading. Best place in the city. Real deal northern New Mexican cooking. The carne adovada is beyond tender and the red chile sauce is even better. Love that spicy potatoes are aside rather than run of the mill Spanish rice. The pintos are cooked or so perfect--family recipes rule! As do the sopapillas--just the best around, not just in ABQ but Santa Fe too. Light, crunchy not chewy. And the beer rules--because it is COLD. And the service rules too. This place can get very busy but the staff keeps it humming, some how. It is cash only--keeps the riff raff out.

Finally made it here. Super good red chile, love a place that can actually make rice. Sopapillas were wonderful. Only downside is cash only. I would go way more often if I could pay electronically.

Updated: It's not my favorite New Mexican in Albuquerque, but it's not bad; actually, it's very good. I've been going here for well over 30 years (started going while attending law school nearby) and it's certainly been line-out-the-door popular the whole time. Small, fairly crowded rooms, but it's friendly like family and neighbors and they will find room for you pretty quick. Major downside is that it's still cash ONLY (or check - but no credit/debit). Giant PITA that generally keeps me from visiting and keeps Padilla's from the fifth star on this review. Not very large portions, but we could all use a little less, right? Beer and (awful) wine only. Prices are up, as they are everywhere: an additional hassle with the cash-only nonsense. They appear to once again be making their red from pods and the quality of the red is once-again top-notch. I know Norteños in their nineties who still come often; Padilla's is solid enough to attract clientele who know chile. Flat-out FANTASTIC service. And their sopaipillas are the most consistently best in town. Get in early to beat the lines.

The best food in Albuquerque! Can't recommend it highly enough. I don't get there often but love it.

Wanted to try something different so we chose Padillas on Girard. Walked in it smelled amazing. Well it was short lived. They only accept paper checks and cash. No debit or credit cards. What????!!!! Yes you heard me right. Well we walked right out. Come on Padillas get with the times. What a disappointment

great food, excellent service, very friendly, and easy on the pocket book. Very busy and we found out why.

Excellent food. Some of the best New Mexican food I've had. The enchiladas were fantastic. Everyone we visit New Mexico we make it a point to go there

Padilla's has been around for decades. Off the beaten path on Girard south of Indian School this place has a devoted following. Open at 1100 hours we arrived at 1110 and there were only 3 tables still available. By 1130 there was a wait line forming outside. The Juevos were cooked perfectly but the Chile was absolutely the focal point of the meal. But the green and the red had this unmistakable 'just got roasted' taste that's hard to describe. Suffice it to say Padilla's chile is the BOMB! And what a nice touch each meal came with 2 hot fresh Sopapillas. No question we'll be back sooner than later, that's for sure.

We don't get here as often as I'd like. But here we are today. They're busy the parking lot is crazy and almost full. One recent addition to parking lot is an ATM. Great for those who forget to bring cash. Fortunately the restaurant wasn't as busy and seats were available. Our service was excellent, I ordered the bean & meat burrito. Came loaded with meat and fresh refried beans. The tamale plate came with 2 tamales, well seasoned meat without being being covered in too much masa. The food was delicious and keeps us coming back for more.

I found this spot good enough to visit twice on this trip. The red chile is very good. The sopapillas are outstanding and I was so happy that they made a Carne Adovado sopapilla with red on the side. Then I tossed in a relleno and a cup of Green Chile posole to round out my meal. My first bowl of posole was devine but the second visit it was mediocre, not consistent. The carnitas were very good on Thursday. The service is quick and the ladies may be a tad forgetful but are so darn cute they get a pass. Tables are full at 5 pm so be ready to wait. CASH ONLY! Average table is $20 per person.

First time here yesterday for lunch. Quite a popular place, as it was packed and we waited about 20 minutes for our food. I ordered the red chile bowl with beans and sopapilla. Delicious, spicy and hot but good! Will return to try their enchiladas. This place is legit!

The food was delicious and serves was good and quick and very friendly workers very clean. Michael G.

Staff made you feel like family. I walked in 5 minutes before they closed and they were so nice about serving me. The food was wonderful! It's in a strip mall but it's worth stopping in.

Repeat customer; bringing all the family and friends! Going at different times it is almost always packed. However, I don't mind because it is delicious. The staff is fast and the wait is pleasant. Again, it's like being at the Grandmas house! I love it

This is my favorite spot in Albuquerque. I absolutely love the carne adovada, which is available only Monday through Wednesday. My family has been coming here for decades, and I return every year to enjoy the best New Mexican cuisine. There's nothing quite like it anywhere else in the country. Be careful, closed weekends and maybe some holidays. Plus, it's a cash-only place but don't worry, it's very reasonably priced. It might look like a "hole in the wall", but it's the best new mexican food in ABQ.

Phillip our waiter was friendly, quick, & informative. We got there about 130, (Place was still busy), but seated quickly. Salsa was good, chips a little hard but tasty. We ordered Chicken Enchiladas Dinner with Sopaipillas. Food was great, hot, & just the right amount. Parking is interesting, with no room for RVs. Restaurant wasn't a fancy place, more the you feel right at home or at grandma's vibe. All of the staff were friendly & efficient. Lots of locals & seniors, who know the right place to eat. We will go back. **Only cash is excepted** go prepared.

Absolutely the best chili relleno I've ever had. My fiancé and I loved the food here and now compare every Mexican restaurant we eat at to Padilla's. So far none has won out. Padilla's has now set the bar for us and it's a very difficult bar to beat. I couldn't recommend this place enough! If you are in ABQ go eat here, you won't be disappointed. NOTE: BRING CASH! (They didn't take cards when we were there. 04/2024)

Had a wonderful meal at Padillas and great service as well!! We really appreciate it so much! Thank you so much.

Excellent food and service. Best place in Albuquerque to eat New Mexican food. The food is always consistent on delicious. Very good red chili.

So, we just went and had lunch over at Padilla's. I guess the food was okay, and it is a major pain in the butt that it is cash only. But that is not why I am writing this post. When we left the restaurant, the vehicle that had parked next to mine while we were eating had a small dog in it. The windows were cracked but only barely, and it was already 90 out, which means the temp in that truck would likely reach over 100. I went in and said something to the staff, but they did not seem to care. So I asked the patrons sitting at their tables who owned that vehicle, and I was finally told that it was an older guy that had just sat down to order. I went back to my car expecting the staff to do something, but no one came out to address the issue. So I went back in and confronted the man and told him that if he didn't get his dog that I was calling the police. I was told that I needed to mind my own business, and then asked by staff to leave. I went and sat in my vehicle and proceeded to call 242-cops and 311, but who knows if they were able to get there to do anything about it. While I was on hold, the man came out and proceeded to swear at my husband and I. He got out and they yelled back and forth to each other for a few, and the man then implied that we better not steal anything out of his car because he was rolling his windows down a little more, then threatened my husband that he was going to shoot him with a gun. We didn't actually see the weapon though, so it was perhaps an empty threat. A small older woman came over and spoke with us, and we told her what was happening. She became very concerned for the dog as well and said she was going to say something to staff. Again, nothing was done by staff the entire time we were sitting there. Shame on Padilla's staff for not doing something! If this man feels that it is appropriate to go into a restaurant and sit down to eat while his dog is in the car, I guarantee that he is doing it at other businesses and seeing nothing wrong with his actions. Shame on Padilla's. Needless to say, we will never be back.

Not bad for a Ma and Pa New Mexican restaurant. Prices for the quality are a bit over too much though. Good if your local but there's much better "New Mexican". Btw it's not Mexican food.

One of the best places in town for some of the bestest New Mexican food. The service is wonderful and the ambience is fantastic. It is cash only I believe.

Simple, straight ahead New Mexican food. Loved the Salsa Rosa they brought with the chips. For lunch I ordered a Bean & Cheese Tostada and Tamal with Beans and Rice. I've noticed that in New Mexico most restaurants serve whole pinto beans whereas in Arizona it Frijoles Fritas. I like both. The food was simple but very good. My server was friendly and efficient. The prices were very, very reasonable. I walked out paying just $16. I'll go back again when I'm in Albuquerque. Sorry, no pictures as I was starving and my food was gone with the wave of the fork.

Still the best new Mexican food in the whole state. Which means in the whole world. They'll even put your Christmas on the dishes you want Christmas on. I had green on my enchilada and red on my chili r elleno. We at The Shed in Santa Fe yesterday. It was almost as good as Padilla's.

Food was average tasting; portions were small. Sopa's were not greasy, thank goodness. They were fluffy and light. Yum! Service was adequate. No real ambiance, per say.

Great find as an out of towner! This is a must try while in Albuquerque! Cleaned our plates and were very pleased with all of the items we picked off the menu. Very busy and tight seating inside - but go for the food and friendly service.

Very nice and attentive staff! Food for five of us was mostly much-enjoyed. Rellenos had more breading than expected and the chiles were not particularly tasty. That was the only disappointment! Enchiladas-red-were really great! We will definitely return!!

My first visit to this Mexican kitchen. I went on Friday, just before noon. The place was packed, and deservedly so. The wait staff is friendly and very efficient, the atmosphere is relaxed, the decor is simple and unpretentious. The menu is a list of various Mexican style dishes. I had the combination plate that included a beef taco, enchilada, tamale, Mexican rice, and beans. The food came out very first considering how busy the place is. As I looked around, I saw smiling faces, and a sense that the restaurant is filled with incredible positive energy. It seems to me that there are many loyal regulars who come here. Everything was absolutely delicious. The sopapillas were a special treat, and I would describe it as like trying to bite into a cloud. Yum! Prices are very low, I'll be back.

The best Mexican in Albuquerque! The blue corn stacked enchiladas with green chili and sour cream. nothing better! servers have been working there decades. The local art lends its charm. don't miss Padilla's

Another gorgeous New Mexico Wednesday morning finds Tom Neiman and Jim Tritten at a long-time local favorite eating establishment - Padilla's Mexican Kitchen. We've both been going here for years and plan to return many more times. Just click on the following YouTube link and see our latest report. https://youtu.be/KlyrLD3PzLo

The food was the best we have found in New Mexico and we travel here often. The staff was extremely attentive. Great dining experience, we will be back for sure.

As someone who grew up on homecooked meals in south texas. I was disappointed. Nothing had authentic flavor. Todo sin sabor. No fajitas or guiso or anything of the sort. Very limited options. Tostada soggy as soon as it came out. Customer service great.

They do not accept credit cards. A cash only place!!! Parking was not good, as there are other shops in the area and in that tiny shopping mall.

Good and consistent. Very reasonable prices. The service is good what to be expected in a old fashion restaurant. Semper Fi

Haven't been in years! It's as wonderful as it ever was. Red Chile enchilada with an egg! Yummy

I absolutely love "New Mexico" Mexican food. Green Chili! Sopaipalla!!! Yum. Luckily my first stop after landing in Albuquerque was at this gem of a restaurant and it was amazing. Fresh, well seasoned, wonderful friendly service, great price. I'm bummed I can't eat here every day! Bring cash! They don't take credit cards.

Overall: Padilla's is worthy of its fame as an Albuquerque staple Food: 5 Enchiladas de Carne: These beef enchiladas come stuffed and topped with cheesy ground beef. They were juicy and flavorful. The rice was tasty but the grains of rice themselves were a little mushy/broken. Sopapillas: Hands down the best sopapillas I've had in town. It isn't thick and doughy like other places. It's light but crispy with a slight chew. Service: 5 The man that took my order was super nice. It only took about 10 mins for my to go order, so it was ready as soon as I drove to the restaurant.

Was recommended this place from a happy patron, however my experience was not on par sadly to say. Service was rushed, no introduction made to start service. Had the #8 blue corn enchiladas with red chile. Taste was ok but chile was runny and not much heat at all. My date had #1 combo plate and tamale seemed disintegrated, was very mealy and couldn't tell what it was. Taco and cheese enchilada were ok as were the whole pinto beans. Spanish rice was not tasty at all, even salt couldn't help out the lack of seasoning. Nice to be offered very small bowl of chips and salsa, again issue with runny food, the thin watery salsa! The restaurant wasn't too busy, was easy to be seated right away. Probably came at a good time after 1pm past lunch rush. Place was average looking, nothing fancy which works for them. Other servers seemed quite nice and friendly observing their interactions with patrons who were obviously regulars. To end our meal, I will admit their sopapillas are made extremely well, fresh and hot from the kitchen, delicious! Right size and not too thick nor greasy, perfection! Overall I'd have to be in the area to try this again and check out the carne adovada. With regret I would not drive from the Westside just to eat here as there are many other good spots with better red chile and salsa.

In my humble opinion this place has the best sopapillas in town. As for food, it' a slimmed down menu, but what they do make is excellent. My favorite is the green chile enchilada dinner. I've eaten here too many times to count and gotten takeout equally as much. When I had my baby, this was the first place that we took him for a dining out experience and the staff fawned over him (pre-COVID times). The one disappointing part of this place is that they are closed on the weekends, but after producing inexpensive, tasty food all week, they do deserve a break. Also, if you're looking for fast takeout, food here is ready in 5 min from your phone call.

Passing through so we Yelped a place to eat! This place did not disappoint! We arrived around 1, place was packed and people just kept coming! Food was delicious and very flavorful! Staff was so friendly and busser was amazing! Highly recommend!

This is a restaurant that has a great following in the community. It is a basic place with good Mexican food , generous portions and excellent value. Do not miss the sopapillas!

The food was amazing !!!! Fast service and clean inside . Get there early it gets busy..