Guicho’s

Love this place.
Frothy horchata, thick chips + awesome salsa, tricolor enchiladas. Recipe for success.
Of course, they have a lot of other good items on the menu.
Small place, lively mural paintings on all the walls, and half the menu is in Spanish. Usually me and my companion are the only gringos there. The service has been great whenever I go and they’ve gladly explained the items if need be.
One of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Albuquerque.

Guicho’s is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. It is not New Mexican which I like because there are so many of those restaurants here.
I am not a guru of the menu because I order the same couple of things every time I go. I like them so much, that I can’t pass them up. But, there are a whole lot of things to choose from. Very different items, so I will have to try to branch out.
They start you off with some chips and salsa. Sometimes it is red and sometimes green. They will even bring you both ifyou ask. I prefer the green b/​c the red has a lot of cilantro, but it is good too. The green is a tomatillo salsa and is very good and a little spicy.
They also have a good selection of licuados or aguas frescas. The horchata is good (my favorite is still at El Norteno), but I really like the mixta (I think that is what it is called). It is a mixture of watermelon, strawberries and other fruits. It is not from a mix. It has chunks of fruit in there that get stuck in your straw.
My very favorite menu item is the chile rellenos. They are not your usual bready pods. There is one that is a large poblano pepper and the other is a jalapeño. They are lightly breaded and fried (I think, but so not greasy maybe they are baked?). But, what makes them so great is the filling. I get the meat filling and it is ground beef that has almonds and pomegranates and other ingredients/​spices that give it such a good flavor. This is served with refried beans (good) and rice (really good). I usually don’t go for spanish rice. I am a double-​beans and no rice kinda girl. But, here it is SO good, I always get the rice. There are 3 flavors of the rice. I don’t know what is in them exactly, but one is more of the traditional orange, then the others are green and white. They have some veggies in there too. And, they have a delicious buttery flavor.
My second favorite dish (used to be my first until I ordered the rellenos) is the enchiladas en salsa verde or the enchiladas en mole. I get chicken as the filling. They are so good. Now, they sort of make me a combo plate. I get the chile rellenos plate and add one of each of these enchiladas. I just can’t help it. And, I eat every last drop! The green enchiladas are topped with mexican cheese and avocado. And, the mole is very good
The service is very good. Attentive and friendly. It is such a family run place. They are so nice. When I went there and was pregnant, I wasn’t supposed to have the mexican soft cheese. So, the waiter said he had some of his own cheese that he just bought in the back that he would have them use it for the chile rellenos. How nice is that? And, it was very good. The atmosphere is relaxed and it is nice to look at the murals painted all over the walls. Very colorful.
I totally recommend this place and hope everyone will give it a try.