Nice dinner in Albuquerque?

May 8, 2011 4:35 PM

Thinwoman and I are in Albuquerque for the evening, and we'd like to get a nice meal. We've never been here before. Where should we eat? (It is our anniversary, so while I'm sure a green chili burger is super fine, we're hoping for something a little fancier. Unless green chili burgers are real fancy burgers. What do I know.)
posted by thinman to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Best answer: Whenever I'm in a weird town, I'll usually do a Yelp search for all restaurants, sorted by highest rating first, and pick from one of the top 5-10 in whatever cuisine I feel like eating. This technique has worked in dozens of cities for me and I've always gotten a great meal.
posted by mathowie at 4:44 PM on May 8, 2011

Best answer: If you're looking for something regional and somewhat nice that might not be a great deal more of a hassle than a burger, I recommend some place where you can get some nice drinks and maybe something substantial. Los Cuates (Nob Hill, East of Downtown) on Lomas, El Pinto out on the NW side of town (beautiful location, great service), and Sadies (Both on the East and West side) are great places for that.
posted by hellslinger at 5:03 PM on May 8, 2011

I like El Patio (I think on Harvard near UNM). It isn't fancy but the food is good and it has a nice patio, of course. It is in a little house which I always like.

Other than that, hellslinger is right that you can find something nice on Nob Hill certainly. I would be trying to consume as much New Mexican food as possible whilst there though.
posted by fieldtrip at 6:43 PM on May 8, 2011

Rudy's bbq at carlisle at i40 is really, really good. It is not really formal or anything but the best bbq i have ever had. And yes it is texas/new mexico bbq with lots of green chile and it is mostly beef not pork. But really, really good. Did i say it was good?

I have always liked Sadie's, i think on river road near corrales. Pretty good stuff, authentic new mexican food and really, really hot. Like make you sweat through your clothes hot (spicy).

Sorry the rest escape me. The last time I lived in albuqerque was 10 years ago. I also think there is a place in old town in a 500 year old hacienda, but I can't remember the name.
posted by bartonlong at 6:46 PM on May 8, 2011

I ate at El Patio several times when I was last in ABQ. It's not fancy, but it is good.
posted by gingerbeer at 6:52 PM on May 8, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks all. We took #1's advice and rolled the Yelp dice. We're in a place in Old Town called Restaurant Antiquity. Looks charming.
posted by thinman at 6:56 PM on May 8, 2011

Good choice, Antiquity is awesome.
posted by signalnine at 7:12 PM on May 8, 2011