The food was “just ok” tonight, but the atmosphere is great and they have a giant outdoor patio. If you’re brave enough to sit inside, there’s a beautiful little kiva fireplace in the corner… I really love their chili Rihanna‘s but I’m not able to have them anymore so I had just a plain taco and again it just wasn’t great. The margarita was fabulous though! ;-)

Hate to write this as always have had wonderful experiences and food at Original location. This time tried the Rio Grande location. Took over hour to get our food as we ordered at 430 in afternoon and food arrived at table at 530. The portions on entree were much smaller (see photo literally 20 whole pinto beans and 4 bites of potato?) than received at other location and food itself was just not that good as compared to previous meals we have enjoyed at other location Does have a great patio and live guitarist was nice touch though

BEST MARGARITAS EVER! An awesome place for locals. Have family who live in ABQ and they took us here. Great service too!

We went to El Patio for dinner last night. We could see they were short staffed, so we were prepared to give them some grace. We were seated without being given menus, and it took 10 minutes for a waiter to even stop by our table. He brought chips and salsa and said he’d be back with water. We never saw him again, we still had no menus. A waitress for other tables around us gave great service to them, but we were totally ignored. After 40 minutes or so, a waitress stopped by and said our waiter had quit and walked off the job. She said she would be right back with menus. We never saw her again, so after another 15 minutes, we walked out. The table next to us also walked out. I guess you can get lucky and get some service there but that wasn’t the case for us. Definitely a management issue.

This is a quaint, almost rustic neighborhood restaurant. Local art on the walls, friendly staff/servers with a laid-back New Mexico vibe. I ordered the chili con queso with chips and I didn't go wrong. The queso was creamy with just the right heat to make it enjoyable. For my entree I had the green chili chicken enchiladas with beans, and a side of sour cream. Dee-lish! It also came with a heavenly fluffy sopapilla made to perfection. Honey was already on the table and made for a perfect palette cleanser and dessert. My only critique is they didn't have any light/low-carb cerveza. Just a minor hitch though. My bill was $32 for the above. I will be returning but not frequently.

This was my first time at El Patio. We walked in and there's a sign that said "please wait to be seated". So we waited about 5 minutes, till a customer that was leaving told us we need to go inside because she waited for awhile before just going inside. The restaurant has an insane amount of flies. The food was not great. I ordered enchiladas without onions. It had onions. The waiter did apologize and asked if I wanted a to go plate. I asked if he can take the enchiladas off, and I'm OK with paying for the potatoes and beans since I ate those. At the time we placed our order, the waiter asked if blue corn tortillas were OK, I said that was fine. He didn't mention there was an extra charge for blue corn. Overrated and overpriced.

Management Needs an Overhaul This restaurant certainly has potential however, under the current ownership it will not be in business for much longer. We went on a Tuesday early evening to have dinner before an engagement we had. First, we waited at the patio entrance along with others for a very long time and no one ever came to seat anyone. So, we just walked in and sat at the Bar Top. Well, there we sat with no one attending the Bar and there were others seated there as well waiting for any service. Finally, after about 15 minutes of waiting we received our beverages but no food service. We waited again for another 20 minutes for any potential of asking to order. Meanwhile, several other people were coming up to the Bar asking to please be seated as there was no one around to do this. The workers are great however, the Owners do not care about them at all, and this is very evident of having very minimal staffing to do every job, it just does not work. Some other customers that were there mentioned that the Owners fired a very good crew of workers and purposely put the staff short to save money. People were actually walking out because the lack of service and we almost did as well as we ended up late to our engagement. I ordered 2, Al-La Carte Tacos and my Husband the Taco Platter which was supposed to come with beans and rice. Well, the beans came in this very small probably about a 2" solo cup with a lid and a tablespoon of potatoes. I have never seen a "platter" plated this way; this was totally ridiculous. This locations business opportunity is extremely limited and with so many unhappy customers unfortunately it will be no longer, unless the Owners decide to value their employees and help out themselves that is.... if they really want to maintain the restaurant.

Food and service was amazing. Angelo was very personable and attentive. Would give 5 stars if the music was appropriate for food/decor. Would suggest Mexican music, Spanish acoustic guitar, etc

Relaxed outdoors dining that allows one to feast on New Mexican foods that are consistent, full of flavor and reasonably priced. Weekend evenings tend to be busy with a standing wait outside, not a big ordeal. Weekday feasting has a minimal wait. Highly recommend just going to try everything. Three thumbs up.

Chris the bartender makes the BEST margaritas. Seriously. We are from Dallas and actually write up about margaritas and these were unlike any we have had. After 2 you will feel amazing ;) not to mention the food is outstanding.

I have eaten at this restaurant several times. The staff is always friendly and the food has always been good. I have been there with small groups and large parties and there was never a difference in service or food quality. On my last visit, I was it once again excited to enjoy what I have come to trust as great tasting food. I was, however, a little disappointed. The staff continues to be great, but the food came out cold. A couple people in our party requested to have their food sent back to be a warmed because it seemed as though it had been served right out of the refrigerator. I’m willing to go back, but I hope I don’t have the same experience next time or it may be my last visit.

Tourists! Go here, not El Pinto. Adorable atmosphere, good food and service! I had fish tacos (Friday only). Yummy fried or sautéed cod! Salsa was good for me. Prices little high, but reasonable.

Excellent New Mexican food and the location is prime! Very similar menu as the University location but this location has a much better Green Chile cheese burger. They chop the chile at this location and it’s so authentic and mouth watering… especially with the melted cheese. Their Green Chile Cheese Enchiladas are a classic as well. The staff is very accommodating and nice. We were there in the winter and ate inside, but they have outdoor seating with heaters as well. If we lived closer we would be here more often, but are regulars to the University location.

Food is really good. Patio was lovely. Missed 5 stars because I kept having to either hunt our waiter down or do things myself. But if you have a little extra time you'll get a lovely meal at a good value.

Great authentic Mexican food!! Good portions too. Very happy with the service, waiter did a great job, even though place may have been a bit understaffed.

I love it here during the winter when it's mostly locals. During the summer/early fall, though the patio is nice, the tourists often make it an unpleasant experience for me, so I visit less frequently. But I imagine that's an important time for the restaurant, business wise; so I'm glad that season exists. The staff is almost always friendly, albeit sometimes a little slow. But who cares. Have a margarita. Relax. The food has always been good, and they have my favorite sopas in town. I also love that the honeybees 🐝 rule the patio roost all summer long. I know it "bugs" some of the guests, but it just makes me so happy that there are still honeybees in town, and that they don't give a care who's sitting where. They're just going to do their thing, regardless.

A really cute outdoor cafe-ish patio vibe. Small tables and chairs. I had the Green Chili Stew w/ Tortilla but I substituted the tortilla with a sopapilla. Soup was good, a little too much green chili but not too bad. I was disappointed in the sopapilla, I wanted a little more fluffiness inside. But overall, a really good spot. Good vibes. Good location. I'd say a 3.5/5. If the Green Chili Stew maybe has less green chili and a better sopapilla, I'd switch this to my number one green chili stew spot!

The best authentic NM food in town. If you want fast food go to Chipotle. This is the real deal NM food with amazing ambiance, service, drinks, and food! We appreciate the bartender Chris and the dog friendly patio. The atmosphere here is laid back and unhurried. They have the best margaritas and use top notch fresh ingredients. We always bring our out of town friends here and love it for a date night.

Great food, excellent staff. We didn't realize they closed at 8 we arrived a little before 8. We weren't given attitude or bad service, the young lady waiting on us was pleasant and all smiles, the flavor of the food was on point (steak fajitas for me) you could tell the steak had been on the grill. Everyone else in our party of 6 raved about their food as well. Once we realized they closed at 8 we rushed to eat & left her a great tip. Well visit again when we are back in ABQ. NM

Food was good. There are some options for gluten free served with corn tortillas. They also have a gluten free green chile, must be the right time of the year for it to have some spice, I really liked it. They have a good selection of beers & drinks. El Patio (like, the actual outside patio seating area) has a nice vibe, there were heaters, umbrellas on the tables outside the overhang, greenery, etc. Really relaxing when we were there. The service was pretty okay, nothing stellar but not bad.

We are vacationing in NM for a week and wanted to find some great Mexican food during our visit. After scanning the web for great Mexican restaurants in the Albuquerque area El Patio looked unique and interesting. We tried it and we were NOT disappointed. Our waitress, Amanda, recommended the filled sopapia which was awesome. The pork filling was tasty and the Christmas sauce was nice and spicy hot. Our experience and food exceeded our expectations and highly recommend it for the food and ambiance. Thanks Amanda - you were awesome regardless if it was only your 3rd day.

Food always great! Stuffed Sopa (xmas) Chicken... would have given 5th star but the margaritas were a little off and normally are very good! Cheers

Being originally from Southern NM I'm often nervous trying Northern NM cuisine.. Really glad I found this place. Service was great, food was delicious and loved the super laid back environment..

Exceptional service and food. The wait staff was very kind and friendly. Even with the labor shortage being felt everywhere, the staff here maintains a positive and helpful attitude. Plus the food is wonderful. Love the smothered breakfast burrito!