Garduno’s

Fun place! Really nice waitress. Great tequila selection– over 100 to choose from. Crazy Mexican décor. Great salsas. Salsa verde was real deal.

I love the coconut margarita, it’s delicious. As far as the food goes, for NM, it was average. Got tacos and the favaritos, which I remembered as having more flavor. Friday night, and it was pretty busy. We had a great server, very friendly. Their prices have increased a bit, but everything else seems the same– not sure if it was a justifiable increase!
Noticed the manager milling about, while everyone else was busting their butt. This place has had a bad wrap for a while, hopefully they get it together soon. I don’t like their new credit card swipey thing– the server asks you to fill out the bill/​tip while she is hovering, and it makes me nervous. I want my tip to be a pleasant surprise, like a Christmas gift I leave on the table after the meal. Technology is great, but give me some space!

Jeepers! I had avoided Garduno’s for a long time because it was too commercialized and, well, for New Mexican food it was bland. However, about 2 years ago I went back and OMG!!! I ‘m not sure if the menu changed or the recipes changed or if I changed, but dang this is some of the VERY BEST New Mexican food in the state!
They never lost their ambiance, which is really cool. You really do feel you are dining in a large room at a hacienda in old Mexico. Fantastic! And the salsa? WOW! It’s one of those salsas that starts out tasting very mild, but the more you eat the hotter (Spicier) it gets! It’s AWESOME! I always get a pint to go; it is really delicious! Btw, the salsa they sell in the jar is NOT the same. Get the pint and some chips to-​go.
I’ve never had their buffet so I can’t tell you if it’s good or bad. The tacos however, DOUBLE WOW! NOT THE CRISPY TACOS, the flat, street-​like tacos are A LOT like my grandmother made. They are delicious, but you have to ask for them – the food servers seem to get confused when I ask for the flat tacos. In one instance they still brought me the crispy tacos because the server said they had no idea what I was talking about. Be persistent; they will get you the DELICIOUS flat, street-​like tacos with ground beef. Speak with a manager if you have to, they usually know.
The tamales taste homemade too. They usually smother them with red or green chile, whichever you want. The rice and beans also taste homemade. YOU DEFINITELY HAVE TO TRY THE TABLE SIDE GUACAMOLE! Guacamole made right at your table; fresh as can be!
The service is really good too. I’ve never had a bad experience here. All and all it’s one of the best New Mexican restaurants in the state. I eat here as often as I can now. I am a native New Mexican and I love this food!

Hands down some of the best NMFOOD in the west!
Tuesday in the bar they a Taco bar not some cheap thrown at ya slop for the drunks, but spot on chicken green chili seasoned ground and the Fixins. My favorite is the red chili chicken bowl. Come one come all eat up and shut up !

This is my guilty pleasure restaurant in Albuquerque. Yes, there may be better New Mexican/​Mexican restaurants out there, but what I always tell people is that you can go to Gardunos on any day and you can always expect it to taste the same – aka delicious. The salsa at this place is extremely addictive and super spicy. I also love it because you can order just one of any margarita on the menu and it’s enough to feel good!
My go-​to order is any of their combination plates. The green chile stew was super spicy but so tasty… I think I was crying at one point but I couldn’t stop eating it. You also can’t go wrong with the enchiladas and the carne molida burrito.
I’ve only had one negative experience here out of the many times I’ve eaten here… And I feel it was because we had a large party. I mainly just go with my husband as a nice dinner before a movie at Winrock.

Went there on sunday to try there nachos and I wasn’t dissapointed. The nachos were great paired with a Corona beer! yum! My wife had a biscochito Margarita and she said it was awesome. My server Carmen was one of the friendliest people I’ve met in Albuquerque since moving from El Paso 10 yrs ago. I love the new Tequila area as well being from El Paso taught me how to appreciate good Tequila and good food. Overall Gardunos has improved their food and atmosphere along with the service and drinks!

I’ve dined here at Gardunos many, many, MANY times and have never had an issue with service or food until tonight. Me and my friend decided to come here for lunch since he was visiting from Salt Lake City, Utah and was craving something with green chile in it. During the course of our meal, service was great, food was great and drinks were great as well. Well, surprisingly, I just HAD to ask for another refill of iced tea and to my surprise comes out a wad of hair off my tongue from the straw where I took a sip of the iced tea that was brought back to me. Yes, a WAD of dark black hair. Don’t get me wrong the waitress was super nice and I do want to see this business succeed, but thanks to that wad of hair, I am now feeling very sick and it almost seems like I still have hair stuck in the back of my throat that doesn’t want to come out. It’s disgusting. I told the manager about it and he removed half the tab, which was my meal and drink, but that’s not the point. I’m not sure if I’ll be coming back anytime soon as I now feel like a cat with a hairball.

Meeting up with some friends. Great place to do such a thing. So many things to look at. A hodge podge décor that my eye could wander when the conversation was in a lull. Our server was friendly and prompt.
I’m TRYING to make better health choices so I order from the «Light Fare» menu. I had the grilled chicken with mango salsa. It was an odd version of salsa; giant chinks of mango with onions, cilantro and jalapeños. It was good, but the salsa could have been better (i say that because I’ve had better). It was served with a jalapeño rice and a corn cake which were delicious.
Overall…I will definitely be returning. It’s a nice choice if you want some variety in your Mexican food choices.
It’s smidge expensive, but worth the price.

Terrific service and some of the spiciest queso and salsa I’ve had in a long time! Someone told me «we like our chile hot in New Mexico» and while I think that’s true, it’s also true that most of the Mexican restaurants I’ve visited in The Land of Enchantment serve just mediocre & rather bland salsa. But Garduno’s kicks it up a notch. I took a big ‘olé heaping chip-​full of salsa as soon as it arrived at the table and, girl-​howdy, I was screaming for the water! But it’s addictive and oh, so, good.
The restaurant itself is pretty kitschy — a little over-​kill if you ask me. However, the service was excellent. The assistant manager made sure we had the right margarita (none of that sweet & sour mix for me, thank you very much) and kept bringing me sample after sample of different salsas to try. I really appreciate that level of service.
One glitch we had was our table-​side guacamole was forgotten. I ordered a chile relleno and beef enchilada; both with queso sauce and green chile. As I mentioned, that green chile (& the queso made with said green chile) is nice and spicey. Overall nothing too special about the food — your standard Mexican fare — but a decent place to kick back over a margarita.

Really, really good Mexican food. Not being from NM, I found all of the restaurants we ate at in Albuquerque to be a little on the spicy side… Garduno’s was no different! We had a huge party of people who came in at different times (all arriving from out of town) but the server did an outstanding job of getting us all taken care of in a timely manner. My hubby and I split the Pick 4 and it was a great way to try different things. And we had not one, not two, but THREE birthdays in our group! The restaurant made them all feel really special. Definitely on my list to come back when we visit ALB again.

Everything in Albuquerque is super chill, friendly, and at it’s own pace. It was super to find a restaurant that kept that vibe but also moved efficiently to get your drink, get your order, get you fed, and on your way. They had an excellent selection of food (I got the beef tacos) and drinks, it was also nice that children were in the restaurant and things were arranged so they could enjoy themselves and not disrupt other diners. I would definitely come back here if I’m in New Mexico again.

My wife and I split a pick four. The food and service was excellent! I would definitely go back again!

Last few weeks have been coming here for happy hour. Very happy. Where else in town can you get a margarita and a good salad for 10 dollars total? Love having the Zia salad with ranch and house margarita. The staff is always nice too. They sometimes have free treats to happy hour too. Best happy hour in town!

Easy to find place next to a shopping mall with lots of parking.
Happy hour is pretty good with a nice selection of beers, wines, margaritas and mixed drinks. I recommend the Grand Gold margarita, personally. They are not too sweet and pack a good amount of tequila to help you forget your day.
The chips and salsa that came out while we waited for our meals were fresh and very flavorful. Nothing tasted like it came from a can, which is a big plus for me.
I ordered the beef fajitas which come in ½lb or 1lb portions. I opted for the ½lb version as I wanted to save room for my ultimate test of a Mexican restaurant, the Tres Leches cake!
The fajitas were delicious, as expected, based on my margaritas and chips/​salsa experiences thus far. Again, all was fresh, flavorful and filling. I almost didn’t have room left for the cake… but I made I work! haha.
The Tres Leches cake here was phenomenal! So moist, flavorful and light. Absolutely perfect. All the food was great but I’d recommend this place on it’s Tres Leches cake alone.
I gave this place 4 stars because I felt the service was a bit slow but this place is definitely worth checking out!

I first have to say that the food is good and had the right amount of spice to it. When it comes to customer service they do a very bad job. I came in alone for lunch and was constantly ignored. All the other tables the server had two to four other people and we’re getting serviced consistently. I was left with empty glasses throughout the meal and was never checked on till the bill was brought to the table.

The food was rather ordinary. Slightly bland and schlopped on the plate. But the servings were HUGE. I only ate half of my «kids plate.» Which made me a very cheap date. So, while the food didn’t excite me, it was at least a great value.
It’s a little dark and the place has that kind of sticky dingy feeling, but the décor somehow accompanied it in a positive way. That fun old western décor in a big open room gives you a million things to look at, and somehow makes the dingy seem desired and fun.
Our waiter was fantastic. Just phenomenal. He seemed excited about the dishes and excited to share them with you. He raved about the sopas which, haha made them taste better.

I can here for dinner when visiting a friend in ABQ to experience «new mexican food», but I was disappointed.
After waiting 10 mins, our server finally came to give us water and take our order. We ordered the steak fajitas, carne asada enchilada (chile sauce on the side), and chicken pizaadilla (no jalapenos).
When the food came, the steak fajitas were fine, the carne asada had the sauce all mixed in, and pizzadilla had jalapenos. The server noticed the pizzadilla was wrong, but no the enchiladas, and started apologizing. He had to submit a new order and that took 10 extra minutes. Once we got the pizzadilla back, and started eating, everything was decent.
I’d rate the food 3.5 stars, but the service was so bad I can only rate this place as 2 stars. The server apologized so much as if that’s his main job description.

I liked this place until just now. I came in to place a take out order and the stupid waitress at the front said «you’ll have to call a different number». WHAT? I asked if I can just place an order to go inside and she goes, «um, I don’t think so». REALLY?
I’m at the bar now and the bartender told me that it’s faster to go next door to order takeout.
Now I’m pissed and asked to speak to a manager and all of a sudden it’s okay to order inside, it won’t be any slower here and three people wants to take my order.
I’m getting shrimp tacos and hubby’s favorite is ground beef soft taco combo. And the sopaipillas! I learned that it’s a New Mexico thing and I loooooove it. For those who haven’t been exposed to it (must be a new comer to NM), it’s like a fry bread and you eat it with little honey and it’s DEEEEEELICIOUS! I usually eat it as a dessert but today being hubby’s birthday, I’m gonna take home some desserts. We never made it to desert when we ate here…
Okay… I like the food and the atmosphere already… just work on your customer service okay?
Okay.
I WILL re-​review so PLEASE behave next time. Thank you.

Came for lunch and ordered the happy hour green chile sliders ($ 5) and a 4 item combo plate (for 2 of us). The combo plate had carne adovada, a chile relleno, a cheese enchilada with red sauce and a matchaca burrito with queso.
Everything on the combo plate was great and we really enjoyed all of it. The food is a bit on the spicy side but at a pretty good level.
The green chile sliders were kinda bland and overdone but they weren’t horrible.
If you sit in the bar area they put out a free appetizer. They had out cheese enchiladas (but our server didn’t tell us about the free appetizers until after we ordered enchiladas)
The food is a bit expensive but if you get a combo plate with 4 items it is MORE than enough for 2 people.
Would come back for sure.

My wife and I are still new to New Mexico and the ABQ food scene. We’ve driven by Garduno’s a few times and I read up on it so we decided to check it out last Friday night.
I didn’t really know what to expect but it ended up being a very nice meal. Our server was very helpful (and she seemed to relax when she realized that we’re pretty easy going). She was able to answer our menu questions easily.
I ordered a combination-​type platter with carne adovada and my wife ordered one of the chicken things. We were a bit hesitant on the chicken since it was kind of pricey but, when we saw the shear amount of food, the price made sense and was justified. I was surprised when she got that since she doesn’t usually order or like chicken but she ended up really liking it. Including the extra 2 meals she got out of the leftovers.
My food was also pretty good. I liked the taco in my dinner and I ordered extra tortillas to taco the carne adovada. My only complaint with the food was that I had some fatty pieces of pork in the carne adovada. Now, I recognize that is not necessarily a bad thing but I don’t like it. There weren’t too many and it was easy to eat the rest.
I will say that there was one major, major downside and why I took away a star: the draught beer list. It was moderately sized but with the exception of a single local Marble beer, it was nothing but mediocre national brands. I may be new to ABQ but I know about the amazing beer scene and for a local restaurant to so underrepresent it, I thought was a major omission and missed opportunity. Oh well.
Anyway, we’ll be back but will probably skip the drinks.