Murphy’s Mule Barn

Huuuuuge chicken fried steak. So delicious! Great attentive service and the environment is straight outta the ranch. I love it!

Ok, this place is a volume provider/​diner for a great price. It took a minute for them to come help us but that was ok. We were enjoying the real diner atmosphere. Real people. Real food. Real Prices. I got the country fried steak. It was 2 whole pieces and the eggs and hashbrowns were huge too. The steak could have been slightly more tender but I took home over half of it and it actually warmed up nicely and was juicier after the microwave.
We tried the pancakes, the french toast, the waffle. The coffee is old school and good. I was pleased and would go back.

It’s a bit run down, dirty, and service can be a bit slow at times, but that doesn’t take away from how much I love this place. The food is good, the «old timey» atmosphere is cool, and I’ve seen people pull up in tractors to get a bite to eat. Big portions, and good prices. Been coming here for years and will keep coming back.

Murphys used to be a go-​to place for one of the best breakfasts in Albuquerque. Well, no more. The service was slow and inattentive, the restaurant was freezing and the food was awful. The hash browns were undercooked which they resolved by microwaving rather than remaking them, and the sawdust gravy on my chicken fried steak tasted mostly of flour. Simply terrible, such a shame as this happened to one of the best.

Worst food and service EVER… thinking with an open mind going in, this was one of the worst places I’ve ever stopped.

Had the Green Chile Omelette. Very good green chile flavor and consistency. It came with biscuit and gravy also. I’m not usually a gravy person. A lot of places make their gravy too pasty. Not here. Very good gravy.
Planning on coming back.

One of the few remaining restaurants left from the 40’s
It’s is a dated restaurant but with the new owners bringing it to speed real fast, it’s a place to be. Talks of WiFi and new furniture, and with the new owners greeting you with a smile and a kind word, it is a new favorite hang out for us. True New Mexicans know this place and will be better than in the past. Fast food service and so dang TASTY it’s worth a little drive.
It’s a piece of Americana that’s rapidly becoming lost among the chain restaurants. It’s the kind of place where if you go often, everybody knows your name.
Remember Albuquerque SMILE IT GIVES YOUR FACE SOMETHING TO DO!

The worst hot turkey sandwich I’ve ever had. The chicken fried steak was huge, full of grease & not crispy at all. Pounded super thin. Not what we had hoped for. & the staff didn’t know anything about the specials. They had to ask the chef, I guess.

I feel like I stepped back into the past and it’s not a bad thing. I ate at diners like this growing up in the Midwest and really like the atmosphere here. The old sloping ceilings, painted cinder block walls, the tread on carpet, old tables and chairs in other situations would make me cringe but here it all fits.
Bring me a thick layer of sausage gravy to coat the buttery biscuits, add in some eggs and bacon on the side and I’ll relive breakfast in middle America the way farmers and ranchers ate before a hard day outside.
Ok, enough nostalgia. The biscuits were very good. The Gravy didn’t have as much sausage as it should, but I like a a very thick sausage gravy which is rarely available at a restaurant. The eggs and bacon were cooked well and tasted good. The bacon in particular was nice and crispy without being burnt which is my favorite. I will be back which means the place did its job.

This is such a great dive. The breakfast was great and it had a real small town country feel to it.
The French toast was good and did the job but the side of bacon was awesome. 5 pieces. I’m a huge bacon fan and anytime I can get just straight bacon on a plate I’m won over.
The meal was a great hangover cure and the atmosphere was low key. The place was incredibly busy on a Sunday morning but I didn’t feel like we were being ignored. The parking could be better but I drive a super-​sized SUV, so some of that is my problem.

This place is the essence of the North Valley — home cooked comfort food! I had the SW Roast Beef sandwich and it was delish. Definitely a spot for the locals but they greet and serve you like part of the family if it’s your first time. Nothing fancy about the interiors — a mix of tables and booths. I’ll be back because their breakfast is calling my name.

I had a great brunch.
Typical American diner.
Had the hot turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes.
Great prices.
Love the atmosphere, dive like with vintage décor.
Finished it off with a huge cherry pie slice a la mode.

What they lack in service they make up for it in the flavor of their food. Manager very apologetic and sincere. If your by yourself make sure to get a table instead of sitting at the bar or you’ll regret it and it will ruin your experience. Trust me I eat here all the time…

I wish I could tell you what the food tasted like. However when I took my wife and two boys out for a late breakfast we never got service. We sat for 15 minutes and watched as others that came in after and sat down were waited on. So i will not be going back to a place that can’t even figure out how do day hello and may I get you something to drink!

Really enjoy visiting Murphy’s Mule Barn whenever we’re in the Albuquerque area. As other reviewers have mentioned, this place is dive material and is not for those looking for a «fine dining» experience. I mean, how cool is it to walk into a restaurant for breakfast and hear Lynyrd Skynyrd playing over the speakers? The tables and booths are rustic (some tables are particle board), none of the mugs or flatware match, and the *artwork* hanging on the walls is second hand… but those are some of the features that make this place so cool.
The biggest feature of coolness, however, are the breakfasts (have not been for lunch). I’ve enjoyed every meal I’ve had here, but have limited my selections to the huevos rancheros and the bacon breakfast burrito. Both are tasty and worthy of New Mexico presentation. The chile (have had only the green here) is not too hot, staying more in the mild to medium range. I tend to like chile to be flavorful rather than tongue scalding spicy hot. The burrito, on my last visit, was not piping hot (wasn’t cold, just could have been hotter), but was still loaded with flavor. Was also loaded with bacon — nice to see, as some places just sprinkle a bit of bacon here and there in their burritos. Love how they spread the green chile sauce over the burrito and then douse it with melted cheese.
Serving sizes are huge and you won’t walk away hungry.
The servers we’ve had have been very friendly and attentive. The coffee is so-​so (which, imo, is what you find in 90% of the restaurants out there). The patrons are down-​to-​earth working class folk who know where to get a good, inexpensive meal (breakfast burrito is only $ 5.80, and like $ 6.95 if you add meat).

Random whole in the wall. I always get the sunrise chicken fried steak, which is green chile and cheese on top of the chicken friend steak. Comes eggs and biscuits and gravy. Very reasonably priced, very low key, and ALWAYS delicious!

I have been hunting around Albuquerque for a real chicken-​fried steak for a couple of years. So far, this is the only place that has one. And it’s a doozy. It comes out on a 12-​inch platter and it’s still hanging over the sides. They pound it out really thin, so it’s not quite as scary as it sounds at first. Took me three tries to conquer one of the things though, and I’m no small guy. If you don’t want a hunk of down-​home, greasy, breaded, griddle-​fried beef, then this may not be the item for you. I have no idea what the rest of the menu is like, though the burgers look good when they come out. I had a piece of lemon meringue pie after dinner one trip. It was tasty and didn’t taste like it was made from Jell-​O.
On my last trip, the waiter got a little defensive when I tried to point the eggs the eggs were a little under cooked for having requested «well» scrambled. The kitchen manager came out, and we had a nice chat. She knew exactly what I meant with regard to the eggs. They wound up comping my coffee, which is acceptable, since the eggs were edible, if just barely. So my advice to the wait staff, there is a difference between a complaint and feedback. Learn it. Use it.
There is lots of parking for the size of the restaurant. Inside it’s a bit… rustic. Usually there’s canned/​radio music, but the sound system is rather decrepit and jerry-​rigged. Very casual. Staff is friendly. This is not fine dining. Don’t come here expecting anything fancy. Do expect good, cheap food.
Consider bringing a fly-​swatter if you come in summer. Flies are always a problem in the summer months in New Mexico, but I was barely able to eat my food for the flies this last time. I would have given an extra star if it weren’t for the flies because the CFS is soooo damn good.

Murphy’s Mule Barn holds a special place in my heart like most people who live and breath the valley air.
My father would take our giant family here on saturday or sunday mornings for breakfast. It was a place he could feed a family of 7on a budget. I have very many memories of time spent with my family, stuffing our faces with giant portions, and being loud obnoxious children with my siblings. It’s a great atmosphere for families, especially those with young children. It is decorated in old western memorabilia that takes you back to a time when things were much simpler.
When I was younger I would eat just about anything. I was the opposite of a picky kid. Brie, mushrooms, dirt, whatever, I would eat it. So, Murphy’s was a great place for me. My parents could feed my bottomless stomach and still find something for my picky siblings to eat. However, as I grew into a blossoming teenager and my tastebuds developed a bit, Murphy’s stopped being my favorite place.
Their New Mexican food is all tomato based versions of any New Mexican flair. It’s runny, murky, spiceless, and flavorless. Their plates are ginormous, but it’s mostly because you have to eat as much as possible in hopes that the next bite might contain some flavor. It’s bland, it’s awful, and it’s bad for you.
Now, I would give Murphy’s one star, but I can’t. It holds too much sentimental value to be given anything less than two. So, if you have to take out a large family and you’re on a budget Murphy’s is great. If you aren’t pinching penny’s and you want something substantial to eat Murphy’s is just not the place for you.

This place is difficult to review — how do you determine which pros and which cons are more important? And doesn’t that kinda make it so interesting that it nixes the cons anyway? Or should it just tell you that you are in the wrong place…
It’s such a dive, truly, deeply, at it’s core. Rickety old tables, which may or may not be clean even after they wipe it down for you. You get the impression of old, sweaty diner from the moment you walk in the door, but it also makes you feel good, because you know it’s a place you will love. The mugs for your coffee are already on the table, and they are a truly random collection that either came from a thrift shop or were simply left behind in sketchy rental properties and got appropriated for use here. Lots of Christmas mugs — because who DOESN’T have extra useless Christmas mugs to hand over? Random business mugs, and not all local. Some boring plain ones — and it’s really annoying when you get one of those, because you know, you want a weird one. But all come with endless refills — and what could be better than that? (Well, other than better coffee…)
Good food, seriously good pancakes, but also some disgusting choices (pizza-​sized chicken fried steak). However, since you can order whatever you want — I’d say that’s a wash, wouldn’t you? And who am I to say that the stuff I find disgusting isn’t someone else’s idea of heaven? They certainly seem to sell a LOT of that chicken-​fried steak!
The service is — well, interesting. We have had everything from total lack of interest in our presence to a smiling Flo-​like persona, and everything in between. But they have all been willing to answer my ever-​present question: of these two items, which would you order? (I can never seem to pick just ONE thing from any menu — drives my husband nuts.)
It’s a huge space, but often gets packed. Testament to the food, the service or the ability of the average person to overlook certain things for lower prices? In any case, it makes for some awesome people watching.
There is a lot to look at in this place, inside and out. It’s been around quite a while, and history tends to make it’s mark. It’s fun to sit and take a good gander while you sip your coffee.
Overall, while this is not going to make anyone’s top ten food list in the city, this is a fun, decent place to eat with great prices and a truly unique atmosphere. It is surely one of a kind, and exactly the type of place we love to support. Hard working folks run this place, and you should definitely show them your support! It’s worth it!

The chicken fried steak is made from scratch and is about the size of a small pizza (see posted pic). Their prices are dirt cheap and the waitstaff is unfailingly friendly.
No further commentary necessary.
EDIT: Here’s a scan of their menu: