Unfortunately, this is one of our favorite New Mexican restaurants in Albuquerque, and they are no longer allowing customers to come into their restaurant space to order food. Their space is a take-out one, and the line usually moves along quite rapidly in spite of the high volume of customers. Now they only allow customers to CALL IN FROM THEIR CARS in the parking lot to order. People who posted good reviews in the last year must have been lucky to have someone answer the phone to put in their order. I think they only have one phone line, and it is always busy. We've tried to drive up several times and have only had the phone answered once in the last year. Then it took 1/2 hour to bring out the food. When you try to order on line, it has been repeatedly a busy signal every time lately.......Sadly, we won't be going back to El Modelo any time soon. They could at least post this information on their website so people aren't so angry and disappointed

I called to place an order and apparently you can’t do that unless you are already in the parking lot. So defeats the purpose of calling in an order. So I looked at the menu online and the prices do not reflect the correct price. It was literally $4+ more per item that I ordered which is ridiculous. They wouldn’t do anything about it because on their website it says subject to change. But isn’t this a business? Like how hard is it to update the website? Crazy. Just be aware of prices being way higher than what is

It's always a great time eating at the El Modelo restaurant. This cuisine has been served since 1929 with this new upgraded future building towering over the old traditional style Adobe restaurant that started this great classic traditional Mexican food.

Definitely recommend stopping by. I would call ahead if you’re in a hurry, they are pretty popular and usually have a little bit of a wait. But it is well worth it. The tacos Nuevos plate are a really good, classic taco, with beef and potato. My husband got the Mexican plate which has a bit of everything. It was a lot of food, but he enjoyed everything on it. Their red chile sauce is super good which smothers pretty much everything. Highly recommend either plate. Has a really nice outdoor area to eat.

Great food! Recommend the Mexican Plate if you have trouble to decide. Big portion can easily feed two people, stop by every time if you pass Albuquerque! The desert comes with honey, which also tasty just eat it along ! The ribs and enchiladas are also great! Phone in to order make sure you tell them your parking spot number, then they deliver to your car. Super easy!

We had the green chile meat burrito, tacos, a tostada, a stuffed sopaipilla, and red meat tamales. All tasted fine, though not the spectacular flavor we were told they have. Friendly staff. No dine out; must pre-order by phone and receive in the parking lot.

While El Modelo is still very good and its prices are still pretty fair I have noticed a slight downgrade in quality and service every time I've been there since the start of the pandemic. Main thing is how long it takes to get your order now, it always takes at least 20 minutes for me to get 1 small item because of how they do pick up orders now. No way to avoid long waits by calling in ahead either because you have to be in one of their numbered parking spots for them to take your order. Waiting that long always makes it taste worse because the meat dries out and grease or cheese will all collect on the same part of the food as it sits there waiting to be taken to your car. The portions seem to be a little smaller too but I could be wrong about that. Also prices have slightly increased but that's common for the majority of places now. Overall El Modelo is still pretty good with fair prices but it used to be great all around and unfortunately hasn't been up to its previous standards the last few times I visited.

The longest wait in history!!! We ordered 3 plates and walked in literally at 2:06 pm and waited over 45 min for food. I am beyond disappointed. For a fast food place there is never a reason good enough to wait this long for food. I use to come to this place all the time as a teenager and never remember it like this. I would not recommend this place and I honestly would never come back again. If you have time to wait and think the food is worth it then plan accordingly otherwise don’t even bother.

You walk into this place and instantly you are taken back to the way things used to be...but in a really good way. I got the breakfast sopapilla and tamales. All were delicious. The staff was very friendly and went over the menu. Definitely recommend 👌 👍

El Modelo is one of Albuquerque's top Mexican food locations to eat. It is almost always busy due to the high volume of customers placing orders. The most common item It is known for is the tamales. Which is highly recommended. Be prepared to wait as others do so as well. But it will be worth it. There is no sit-down formal dining as customers place orders and take it to their vehicles and eat or use the on-site picnic tables. Must try!!

I wound not had mind the price of the tamales (4.50 e.) IF only IF they would have been the bomb BUT let me tell you. The tamales had too much manteca stuck on the hoja, made sloppy, no flavor, way too spicy. I want to enjoy my tamales but couldn’t because it was too spicy. It wasn’t the hype everyone raves about. It was Mediocre tamales. NOW the sopapillas were warm and delicious and reasonably priced. The Menudo was alright. Nothing to rave about. Has people simply lost their taste buds??? I will never buy tamales from here again.

The red chicken enchiladas were amazing. Some of the best I've ever had anywhere. I definitely recommend those. The chille rellenos were not that good and more new Mexican with yellow nacho cheese on top. The sides were good but the chips will not make it home crunchy. If you eat there I bet they're nice. All in all I recommend you come try it. P.S. we came here because the reviews said that had caldo de res and the do not. Just FYI.

El Modelo was my second "must eat" recommendation from local friends. I stopped in for a late breakfast and after a moment with the menu, chose the Huevos Rancheros. The ordering system and the wait for your order is a little chaotic. Just be patient and if you're unsure, ask. Everyone's friendly here! My food only took about ten minutes until my number was called. There is no dining room here. A picnic table outside might be used by some, but I brought my meal into the van and dug in. Eggs over medium, spicy beans, delicious tortilla and all of it was a great flavor. A little bit messy but absolutely tasty. And this is about as local as you can possibly get. El Modelo is coming up to 100 years and it's awesome. ¡Salud to another 100 years!

Best tamales and rice in town. This is NOT a sit down restaurant. It’s a grab and go. They have picnic tables outside by the parking lot. You can see the employees making tamales in the very large industrial kitchen.

So Much History! Giant portions - we could have shared the Mexican Plate between the 2 of us. Caution- HOTTER than Tex-Mex!

Been a customer for over 20 years but the food is really awful now. sauce for the stuff Sophia's had jalapenos in them and it was really hot. My tamales weren't even cooked it was mostly raw Mesa. Prices are really high I guess I won't be eating there anymore what a shame used to be such a wonderful place to eat

Wow what a value. Everything we had was very good, but their red sauce can be overpowering. Next time I'll request lite on the red sauce. Their current way to do business is strictly through phone ordering so it can be a little awkward for first timers but manageable. Only a few places for outdoor seating, so it's either that or take home which a lot of people do.

I tried this place here with my daughter and wife. I've heard about Modelos it was OK im not going to lie it was lacking salt and lots of spices to give it that flavor im looking for.

“Time is money” I want to love this place so much, but they have no sense of organization, customer service, or service industry etiquette. Three times now, they’ve either not put our order in, forgotten items, or made the order incorrectly and the orders we’ve placed aren’t large or complicated. The kids working the registers don’t seem to have a system or flow to their work, which allows the lobby to pile up and customers to wait for much longer than needed often rushing to the registers to ask about their order sitting on the shelf behind them. Kudos to the workers slinging tamales on the back, but if you learned to function like a team maybe they wouldn’t have to work as crazy. Great location, quaint store front and building, decent food. So hooray for that.

I ordered the chicken enchiladas and they were empty. No chicken or cheese. Just sauce? The red Chile is really good at least.

I was very disappointed, I grew up in New Mexico and the food was always amazing but it’s different now. They put so much cheese in the stuffed sopapillas you couldn’t tell there were bean and they never did that before. That tacos use to be my favorite but now the meat taste like imitation meat. Sadly after almost 30 years of eating here I don’t think I’ll be back or recommending it to anyone. I wish they never messed with it.

Delicious food and massive quantities. I ordered the Mexican play just to keep it simple and there must have been four or five pounds of food. In three different containers. $13, amazing

FOOD The green chili chicken tamales are amazing! The tamales are a bit pricey but they are the only show in town that makes a green chili chicken tamales. SERVCIE • Make sure you absolutely check your order before you get home. One time I got home and they gave me red chili pork tamales. Another time I got out to my car and opened up my order and again they were red chili pork tamales. Before I took my order this time I had the guy look in the wrapper and make sure it was correct and guess what was there, red chili pork tamales! • As for service it has gotten a lot better than what it used to be. • All of the guys that take and deliver your order (counter or call in) are extremely helpful and friendly. All of the girls I have come into contact with are kind of rude and not very pleasant and seem to have a lot of attitude. I am not sure why it is like this. It's kind of odd. ATMOSPHERE • The place is always packed and always busy. El Modelo has a very dedicated customer base. I'm sure he's probably because the food is very good and very New Mexico authentic.

Excellent authentic New Mexican food Portions are huge, taste is great, and very filling. We got mexican plate #1 and could not finish it between the two of us. All for less than 25$ When you look around and see that the clientele are all locals you know you’re in the right place

I have been going to this place since I was a kid and I'm 38 now and still loving it. The food is great prices and better then most everything is handmade and the staff is so friendly and fast... if you've never been you gotta go!!! Absolutely reccomend!!!

Hello, this place the food is excellent. Service is always very spot on. It's a to go restaurant place you order in advance. Or just go there and pick it and and pick it up or just go there. In order it's fairly quick you're in and out and enjoying some excellent food

This place is amazing, the food is incredible. I can’t eat like this everyday, but treat yourself to a true New Mexican meal. My favorite is the stuffed sopappillas!

Place was packed but that's the usual vibe in this place. Sopapilla is the same as always , wish they offered a different take on it but it's good for what it is. I had called in but the gentleman who answered said it was going faster on ordering inside. I don't know why I believed that it was a bold face lie. If you can call it in make your life easier.

The food is amazing but the service is so so. It takes like an hour to get your food and sometimes they don't answer the phone to take your order. I once waited in line for an hour and watched them get food out to everyone else but never called my order, only to find out mine was the first one up but no one called it. But they have some of the best tamales I've ever had from a restaurant.

Unique establishment with incredible New Mexican food. Some of the best carne adovada I have ever had and the tortillas are delicious. The brisket was also wonderful- tender and flavorful. I would imagine everything here is great. A true gem.

Their tamales and ribs are amazing! A favorite of locals. The place is small and almost everyone orders take out. There is a seating area outside. Expect a line during lunchtime. Good staff. Orders are always accurate and packaged with care.