The farm-fresh cuisine in New Mexico's largest city might surprise you. You'll find trendy farm-to-table restaurants in Albuquerque plus specialty food makers like craft breweries and organic chocolatiers. Dig into this delicious list of Albuquerque's 10 best restaurants and experiences featuring local-focused food!
1. CAMPO
Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm grow their own lavender, green peppers, jujubes, herbs, and figs for use in their on-site restaurant, CAMPO. Beyond their own produce and eggs, they focus on serving organic and locally sourced fruits, vegetables, and meats. The restaurant also hand-kneads and bakes its own bread daily. Did I mention the farm raises bees for their own honey?
Los Poblanos is happy to accommodate diners with all sorts of food preferences and allergies. For gluten-sensitive and celiac eaters, they offer some gluten-free dishes and baked goods, too. This casual fine-dining restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
2. The Grove Café and Market
Lauren Green, who co-owns The Grove Cafe & Market with her husband, said, “We're crazy about being at the forefront of good food in Albuquerque.” This farm-to-table restaurant dishes out yummy, sustainable breakfasts and brunches to crowds of hungry fans.
“We're crazy about being at the forefront of good food in Albuquerque.”
Lauren Green, The Grove Café & Market Co-owner
If you're sick of ordering a side of fruit and getting a tired slice of cantaloupe, then you'll love The Grove. They don't offer cantaloupe, because that's what most other restaurants do. Green boasted, “We will never do what everyone else does!”
The most popular item on their menu? Thin crepe-like pancakes topped with a rainbow of fresh fruits.
The onsite farm shop is packed with goodies like small-batch hot sauce, sweets for sale, cookbooks, and more. Be sure to pick up a bag of their homemade gluten-free granola to go!
3. El Pinto Restaurant and Cantina
Go to El Pinto Restaurant & Cantina for fresh and tasty traditional New Mexican food. This massive eatery boasts 1,200 seats indoors and across five patios. The outdoor dining space is heated with wood-burning fireplaces.
Everything at El Pinto is made from family recipes, using organic and locally raised products as much as possible. Conscientious diners will be happy to know they only serve pasture-raised, animal-welfare-approved eggs — many of which are laid by the 300 hens they keep on the property.
Hatch chiles are the star of New Mexican cuisine as well as El Pinto's menu. Try your enchiladas Christmas-style, with both green and red sauce. Then you can answer New Mexico's Official State Question: Red or green?
Before you leave, buy a jar of their amazing salsa. It's made with Hatch chiles, of course. Or purchase El Pinto's handmade salsa online now!
4. Farm and Table
Local and mostly organic ingredients star in the brunch and dinner dishes at Farm & Table. Expect changing seasonal menus with made-from-scratch plates. Save room for dessert because they make their own pastries, ice cream, and hand-ground chocolate creations.
Start your day with Breakfast Tacos with carne adovada, mashed potatoes, farm eggs, green chile, avocado, and cheese. For dinner, you might choose Cherry Molasses Glazed Pork Belly to start, followed by a Rustic Quinoa Salad or Buttermilk Fried Chicken.
5. Sixty-Six Acres
Using products sourced from Albuquerque and the rest of New Mexico when available, Sixty-Six Acres serves an interesting mix of farm-to-table healthy food and decadent dishes. When the weather is nice, expect a dog party on the patio with local pups happily joining their human companions.
Locally produced craft beers and spirits are their jam, with 14 Albuquerque breweries and eight distillers represented. They also make their own shrubs for cocktails using fresh fruit, sugar, and vinegar.
As for food, everything our group ordered was delicious, but the appetizers reigned supreme. With goodies like Parmesan Zucchini Ribbons with lemon aioli or Crispy Brussels with green chile glaze and white balsamic reduction — how can you resist?
6. Eldora Craft Chocolate
Owner and Craft Chocolate Maker Steve Prickett turned his passion for chocolate into this sweet business. This bean-to-bar chocolatier roasts its own cocoa beans to draw out specific flavors.
Stop by Eldora Craft Chocolate to pick up your choice of dark chocolate confections like Peanut Butter or Blood Orange Truffles. Eldora also makes candy bars in flavors like Tart Cherry or Pumpkin Pie Spice.
Everything at Eldora Craft Chocolate is organic, fair trade, and compostable (except for their plastic candy trays, for which you get a small credit when brought back to refill).
Contact Eldora Craft Chocolate directly in advance to set up a chocolate tasting for a fee.
7. Seasons Rotisserie and Grill
With a seasonal menu based on food from local farmers and businesses, Seasons Rotisserie & Grill lives up to its name. Depending on the time of year, you may find dishes like Coffee & Citrus Rubbed Pork Tenderloin or Oak Fired Jumbo Sea Scallops served in a tarragon butter sauce.
This fine dining restaurant is a great spot to celebrate a special occasion in Albuquerque. It features American-style cuisine served in a classy yet casual dining room. Choose a seat on the outdoor patio to enjoy a lovely view of historic Old Town Albuquerque.
8. Slate Street Café
Located in downtown Albuquerque, Slate Street Cafe is a sleek farm-to-table brunch and lunch time café. The menu is created from the freshest ingredients, and everything is made from scratch.
For breakfast, try their Breakfast Burrito, smothered in red or green chile sauce. Get a salad, sandwich, or burger for lunch or splurge on Chicken Fried Steak with green chile country gravy. Gluten-free and vegetarian dishes are available, too.
Don't miss the award-winning Slate Street Café Wine Loft, open on Thursday evenings. Choose from many local wines by the glass, bottle, or flight.
Enjoy a second restaurant location inside the Albuquerque Museum. Before or after visiting the interactive displays and sculpture garden highlighting Albuquerque and New Mexico culture, grab a tasty bite to eat at Slate at the Museum.
9. La Finca Bowls
La Finca Bowls focuses on sourcing fresh ingredients locally and turning them into healthy bowls to satisfy any craving. As many vegetables as possible are sourced from local farms. Plus, the Native Beef skirt steak is from a program that sources only from native ranchers in the Southwest. Further, all the food scraps and waste go to a compost company.
With an all-gluten-free kitchen, celiac and sensitive eaters will feel comfortable eating at La Finca Bowls. The signature La Finca Bowl is made with herbed chicken, tri-color quinoa, nut/dairy-free pesto, and a rainbow of vegetables.
This popular Albuquerque spot serves a variety of dishes for lunch or early dinner. Vegan and vegetarian diners will be pleased to find plenty of options, too, like the Vegan Poke Bowl.
You can also build a custom bowl. With over 1700 ingredient combinations, you're sure to find something to tempt your tastebuds at La Finca Bowls.
10. Farm to Table Albuquerque Food Tours
To taste an array of Albuquerque's best restaurants and food offerings, sign up for a tour with Routes Bicycle Tours & Rentals. Choose from food tours that focus on chile peppers, craft beer, wine, tacos, or Flavors of Albuquerque.
During my group ride, we stopped by Sidetrack Brewing Company for sips of their own cask beers and other brews. This small brewery and cask room also pours gluten-free ciders from the Albuquerque-based Tractor Brewing Company, as well as non-alcoholic beverages for the kids. To accompany your suds, get a bag of addictive flavored popcorn, made by New Mexico company, The Cornivore.
Why Eat Farm to Table Food in Albuquerque
Farm-to-table food is better for you, the animals, and the planet. It's also better tasting. So, book your trip to Albuquerque and dig into some fabulous farm-to-fork cuisine in this appetizing New Mexico City!
Experience More of the Southwest
Hungry to learn more about Albuquerque? Take a look at these enchanting things to do in Albuquerque with kids!
Enjoy the finer things with this list of the best resort spas in Scottsdale.
Explore Utah, Arizona, and Nevada with this exciting Southwest road trip itinerary.
Get a taste of glitz and glamour with these tips for planning a trip to Las Vegas with girlfriends.
Save These Albuquerque Restaurants and Shops
Considering a trip to New Mexico? Be sure to save these tips for exploring fresh foods and farm-to-table restaurants in Albuquerque. Just pin the image above to Pinterest. Go ahead and follow Travel Mamas on Pinterest while you're at it!
Which of these Albuquerque farm-to-table foods and drinks sound tastiest to you? Let us know in the comments below.
A Note from The Travel Mama: Visit Albuquerque hosted my delicious trip to Albuquerque. I did not receive any monetary compensation related to this article. All opinions are mine, as always.
About Colleen Lanin, The Travel Mama
So many great places in ABQ and you caught some of them. Next time, don’t miss M’tucci’s Restaurants. Their Italian Market & Pizzeria has the only NM license for selling cured meats retail (pastrami, capicola, pancetta, etc) and makes four breads from 100-year-old sourdough starter, house made mozzarella and burrata and an assortment of cookies, pastries and pasta. They introduced Shrub cocktails at M’tucci’s Italian in 2014, and make all of their shrubs in house. La Dolce Vita is alive and well in New Mexico.
Oh my…M’tucci’s sounds fabulous! Definitely will keep in mind for my next trip to Albuquerque!
This looks awesome. Thanks for sharing.
All looks delicious!! ❤️❤️
And it WAS! :-)-
I love that more places are focusing on farm to table. I think it does a wonderful thing for the economy.
Yay! Local foods! I’m not very familiar with Albuquerque, are local produce and farm to table concept not common? I’m actually doing research for a food talk on the local movement and I’m curious to know what made the region embrace it … and if there are any disadvantages of it.
Hi Daniela – The farm to table concept seemed to be quite prevalent in Albuquerque. I would suggest reaching out to any of the restaurants/food makers in this story to see if you can interview any of the owners for your food talk. Good luck!
Something about this is somewhat a very special eating experience. It’s like catching fish then cooking it to eat. :0)
Exactly! Fresh food is so much tastier!
One of my favorite experiences is to visit a farm-to-table farm. Many St. Louis restaurants are farming their own food now, which is super exciting!
I love that farm to table is becoming so popular! It’s so important for good health, a happy Earth and delicious food!
The food looks amazing! And the place is amazing! Farm to table is so important. I’m glad you had a wonderful time there. Thanks for sharing your experience with us 🙂
I loved Albuquerque and the food was one of the very best parts!
I have an ABQ layover coming up so I’ll keep this most in mind. That piñon coffee sounds good!
That piñon coffee really was delish — a nice delicate flavor!
This is so interesting to read. I love that they are pushing getting things from farm to table quickly. And helping support more local produce!
It was amazing to see how many restaurants and companies really focuses on locally produced food. It’s great for the local community AND it makes everything taste better!
The food looks extremely delicious and healthy. A combo hard to find these days. ??
It’s THE BEST combo, too!
This is so great! I love the farm to table movement. It’s the closest thing you can have to fresh from the garden unless you actually HAVE a garden.
And I’m not much of a gardener so…farm to table it is for me! 🙂