Sands Restaurant

Really a good value, relaxed vibes, home made authentic food. Inexpensive, convenient, good food served well. Love the frosty glasses for our beers, and the festive dining room. Worth a stop when you are rolling down the road. The Sands restaurant has been open since May 25, 2006. They are a family restaurant, operated by Mauricio Lemus. He created his own cuisine, which is a mix of Mexican, New Mexican, an American favorites.

Little slow for a Tuesday evening, the Mexican food was pretty decent, had a beef tamale and beef enchilada. Took about 25 minutes to get food after placing the order, but overall it was a decent dining experience

Chile relleno and enchiladas rancheras were very tasty. Definitely recommend! Shrimp basket and (kraft) mac n’ cheese were mediocre and salad bar was disappointing. A bit pricey, $ 50 for 3 entrees and a kid’s meal. Only non-​fast food option we could find open in Raton on a Sunday evening. Service was a bit slow, but very friendly. Worth a stop if you are hungry and driving through this small town.

Good food for a town that doesn’t have many options. Waitress was friendly and service was prompt. Inside of restaurant is clean and well decorated. It’s more Mexican food than American. I had the mushroom quesadillas and was not disappointed.

Solid breakfast. Decent coffee. Pancakes hearty though syrup was nothing special. Everything else is best described as «fine.» Waitress was efficient though only one there and help wanted sign is up. Kiddo had buenos rancheros and said they were good though sauce had little kick to it. Also they’re a bit pricey for what they are.

Yummy Mexican food! I had the tacos al carbon and they were really good. My 8yo liked the enchiladas with the ranchero sauce and my 6yo liked the quesadillas (except the part that touched the beans but he’s still a picky eater). My hubby had the burrito al carbon with the green chile sauce. He likes spicy foods so the green sauce was perfect.

This place was surprisingly really good. We were passing through town and chose this place because it was literally the only place to eat other than fast food. The service wasn’t the greatest but everything else was pretty awesome. The tortilla chips and salsa are house made. I had the carnitas buorito and highly recommend it. The carnitas were probably the best carnitas I’ve ever had.

This restaurant is listed as American traditional food but I would say it is more Mexican food.
The salsa is great. The chips are too thick for my liking but were good.
I ordered veggie fajitas with no cheese, no dairy for my vegan diet. They were quite generous with the veggies. Bell pepper, onion, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes and mushrooms. Along with beans, rice, and guacamole. Tasty and filling.
We are just traveling through. We drove all around town looking for a restaurant that looked interesting. Didn’t appear to be much to choose from. The food we got here appeared to be fresh, made to order and tasty.
Service was a little slow. Maybe they were short staffed. Our waitress was super nice.
I would definitely return if in the area.

Had supper — #68. Two cheese enchiladas with beans, sour cream, and guacamole. Decent food and plenty of it. Service was excellent.

After searching for a local Mexican restaurant in Raton, I decided to try this place. I wanted to try La Cosina, but they were closed. They had other food like burgers, salad bar, and sandwiches, but mostly Mexican food filled up the menu. It was pretty good Mexican food, but not the best I’ve had, especially in New Mexico. The salsa was fresh and the chips were crispy, but the rice reminded me of the kind you make from a box. The chicken enchilada and refried beans were average, and I really didn’t like the enchilada sauce too much. It was also a little more expensive than what it was worth. $ 8.99 for just one enchilada, rice & beans.

This is not an American restaurant. This is Mexican. They had a burger on the menu but 99% of the menu is Mexican. It wasn’t even good Mexican. The refrained beans were runny and flavorless. The rice was bland too. I gave it two stars only because the spinach enchiladas had a lot of flavor. This may be the best place in town but this town is dying if not already dead. Most of the town is boarded up. Sad to see but if this place is the best place to eat I can see why the town is boarded up.

Excellent service, food and prices. Homemade fresh beans, green chili soup, delish. I wish this restaurant was in my state. I would eat her once a week. Great!

Road Trip Notable Nosh #5 (See Lists)
Good Diner-​esque Food
We got the Green Chili Burger with Fries
Chicken Enchildadas
I’d heard a lot about the famous green chilis in the Southwest, and for some reason, I was expecting a flavorful relish. Instead, I got two large green chilis that had been fire roasted, placed on top of my burger. Don’t get me wrong; it was delicious and the burger was the epitome of what a burger is supposed to be, generous portion of meat, well seasoned, fresh and hot off the grill. The bun was soft and soaked up just the right amount of grease from the meat. The fries were yummy, too. Not too thick and not too thin cut, crispy and not cloying from old oil.
The chicken enchiladas were kind of messy, but in a good way. The portion was very generous and we couldn’t finish it all. I couldn’t distinguish between protein, beans and cheese, but sometimes that is a-​ok.

Let me begin by saying, try the Mexican. Everyone else had it and it looked pretty good. We thought it was too expensive. Considering we are from TX, paying $ 17 for carne asada seemed too much. Nevertheless, we sure wish we had tried it instead of what we had.
So, we settled on this place after the restaurant we wanted to go to was closed. Looked like plenty of people were there, and we’d been traveling awhile. Our server was young and seemed new, but he was nice. The menu is a little disorganized (with the appetizers being on the last page). Everything seemed pricey to us… we paid$ 7.50 for a 6″ kids cheese pizza (with a side of spaghetti – weird?) that we’re pretty sure was just a frozen Totinos individual deep dish pizza. The kids burger ($ 7.99) was the same size as the regular burgers. My husband’s burger cost $ 10 bucks and was average. He was really hoping it was going to be great since it had the hatch chiles on it… he said it was good, not great. And I just had the salad bar. Not super extensive, but sufficient for the price ($ 6 for all-​you-​can-​eat). The best thing was the soup off the salad bar, a hearty chicken and vegetable.
We were bummed on this stop.

Compared to the other options in town it’s ok. It’s better than fast food which is why we stopped here. The service was excellent, which is why I have it three stars. My meal wasn’t impressive, but my mom’s enchiladas were pretty tasty. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I ordered something else. That said don’t order the veggie fajitas. It was frozen veggies that had been sautéed until burnt.

Great food! Don’t want anybody underestimating the culinary abilities of small and local restaurants. Definitely give it a shot if you’re passing through.

Got a tip when i stopped for fuel this place would be good. Very solid breakfast! Piping hot, decent coffee and fabulous service. Perfect road trip stop!

Great place to stop in the middle of nowhere. Was starving on a trip to CO and needed food. Was more than pleasantly surprised at the awesome food and solid service. The chicken quesadillas were a delight for my tired, hungry body. Skip the nasty fast food nearby and come here!

Texas big city Tex Mex is better, but this is decent for small town fare.
Main problem is wife asked for ground beef in her taco (as opposed to shredded beef), and it came out overcooked and too clumpy, almost as if she got a seasoned, torn up, recooked hamburger patty. Other than that, the food was decent.

As others have mentioned, there isn’t a lot to choose from in Raton, and this is a solid choice.
The service was excellent, and the food was good. The guacamole was really good. The salsa a bit watery. The rest was just fine.
The menu is really missing a bowl of green chile though. For anyone passing through Raton, a bit of New Mexico green chile would be welcome. I’m always sad to go through NM without getting some.
I might stop here again if the timing was right, but I wouldn’t make it a destination.