Several years ago my husband and I moved from Albuquerque to Kansas. Every time we visit Albuquerque we can't wait to head to Monica's for a superb New Mexican meal. The food is always excellent (we especially love the red enchilada sauce), the service is timely, and the prices very reasonable. It can be a little noisy, but the food is well worth it. Monica's is also convenient to Old Town for those who like to see and shop in historic sites.
As we luxuriate over steamy mugs of freshly ground coffee on lazy Sunday mornings before church, my Kim and I tune in eagerly to New Mexico True, an invigorating half-hour of adventure and travel that feeds the soul and captures the imagination. Hearts swelled with pride, we live vicariously through host Michael Newman as he treks throughout our breathtaking home state. We don’t even change the channel during commercials. Why would we? The commercials depict even more of the Land of Enchantment.
Excellent. Truly authentic cooking. Great flavor n textures. Hot is REALLY hot!
Whoa, damn that was good food!!!
If there are Monica's sopapias in Heaven,,,,take me now. Everything was very good.
Great service and good food. The sopapillas are amazing!!!
Every time I've eaten here it's always a great experience. Fast service, good size portions, and always satisfied with the food.
OH MY GOD. The food was delightful. If you were looking for a great New Mexican reaturant then this is the best place. I had the enchilada plate and I was blown away. The chili was so amazing the, green chili was just how my mom used to make it. The service is so friendly and the boss is so nice. The food comes out in just miniutes. The prices are so amazing for the amount of food they give you. I will be coming back with more people to try the incredible homemade food.
For a NM restaurant it's unusual to charge for chips & salsa, especially with your prices The food was ok. Would have liked a little more chile on the enchiladas & less breading on relllenos.
I loved this place!! They have an awesome breakfast!! Great red and green chili!! Loved the salsa and very good service!! I'll be back!!
Hot & Tasty!. I ate here for the first time the other night and man was I impressed. The green chile was hot and delicious! I had been worried it would be tame for the tourist traffic. Not the case. My chicharroni's were fantastic, the beers cold and service was friendly, knowledgeable, and quick. I'll be back very soon!
I only ate here once during a spring break road trip. I ordered the vegetarian combo plate and a Negra Modelo. The beer was frosty cold. The meal was served homestyle and tasted wonderful. It was so good that we tried to go back on our way home. Sadly this did not happen but when I return to Albuquerque I will go here again. I suggest you try this place. The service is not the best but the food makes up for it.
After 22 years still love it. After reading the negative review about the arizona folks, I had to write this. Firstly, this is a NEW MEXICAN restaurant. Secondly it is a shame that a person would go to what they think is a MEXICAN place & order a grilled cheese with fries. So, that being said, after 22 years of this fine NEW MEXICAN cuisine, my family has grown from just us to kids & grand kids & we still LOVE it. All three generations of native New Mexicans.
Came Back. Small place outside main old town area. The food was very good. I had a stew and my friend had a plate. Had to order a second plate of rice...it was that good.
We came back for breakfast the next day. It was good too.
Fresh and Filling. Great restaurant in Old Town! We were visiting from out of town and had spent the morning at the zoo, and stopped by for a late lunch. A lot of food for a great price, very fresh tasting and homemade. The sopapillas were delicious! They come free with every entree. AND, You can eat outside on the patio if you have your dog with you. (I thought this was cool) We really enjoyed our meal here.
Another great Old Town spot. The food here is fresh and plentiful - I love their tostadas with beans and guac. Their papas are excellent. I find their service to be good and the restaurant to be clean and well taken care of, but occasionally during a lunch rush, things can be a little hectic. The prices here are very reasonable for Old Town and for the quality of the food you receive.
Had a great experience! Friendly and quick service. Food and margaritas were delicious! Definitely would recommend to anyone who is in town!!!
Good red sauce. Obnoxious FM radio. Decent service. And those fried puffy things accompany most dishes. Not a bad place.
Don't go there right before closing (3pm on Sundays) because you will be rushed out the door but the food was Delicious. I got the Carne Adovado. And my girlfriend got the chicken enchiladas. The tortillas were thick and tasty and the sopaidillas were great. Home made and fresh!
EXcellent food, nice atmosphere,very nice staff. Highly recommend.
Linda Percival Williams Tate
+4.5
Tasted fresh and homemade. We are so happy that urbaspoon directed us there.
Delicious ! Had cheese enchiladas with green chili sauce and a fried egg on top. Real New Mexico family cooking. Very friendly staff.
The food was 👌🏻 we all finished our plates and didn’t have to eat again for the rest of the day! Sopapillas we’re maybe the best I’ve ever had and the chile relleno batter was perfect. I’d skip the margaritas, but everything else was fantastic.
I'm always on the hunt for local New Mexican restaurants, and I've found another 👍
Our first visit and we were sat quickly and our food came out even quicker, which is a plus when your starving. I was impressed with the red chile since it had a bite, and it was flavorful as well. My India taco hit the spot since I hadn't had one in a long time, as well as the chile relleno. The oozing cheese is my fav.
Rachel “ABQBirdLady” Scates
+5
A beauty of a gem. Great food, wonderful staff, nice patio and interior. We will most certainly be back. The Blanco queso was delicious. Their green chile was so on. Everything was fresh and just what we needed.
Food that satisfied body and spirit. I came in not knowing what to expect and am now a fan . This will be my stop for food , whenever visiting New Mexico. Menudo , green chili and tortillas 🤤🔥
Tasty traditional NM dishes specializing in breakfast and lunch. Friendly service and good coffee.
The burrito was enormous although not too much once my friend got started on it. I had the breakfast enchilada from the light menu and I was stuffed half way through. Bottom line you won’t leave hungry!
Pro move: Get the red and green sauce. Life is too short to choose just one ;)
My wife & I like trying new restaurants and Monica's El Portal is one of them. The food was delicious, the green Chile gravy on my chicken fried steak was off the wall. Come to find out that Monica has been making her food homemade for 45 years. Well like they say "if it ain't broken don't fix it". Good job you guys we'll definitely will be coming back, Thank you
Whenever we travel through Albuquerque, we plan a meal there. This trip through we decided to try Monica's. We were traveling with our dog, so the covered outdoor patio was the deciding factor for us. Everything was delicious and our server was personable and attentive. Definitely on our list of places to go back to.
Food was good, but the spice level in red and green sauces was through the roof! Some of our group wisely got sauce "on the side" which was a good idea. If they have to post a warning that there are no refunds for food being too spicy, maybe they should reconsider the level of heat.
A great local restaurant. We went during prime lunch time and waited about 10 min for a table for 4. The food is fresh and fast. There is a variety of beers and margaritas in addition to soda. Try the Indian Taco as it was our favorite dish. The salsa are HOT!
The food was delicious! The carne adovada plate was incredible and the sopapillas were fresh and warm. My son in law ordered the chili rellenos and he said they were perfect. The margarita wasn’t great but everything else was wonderful.
We enjoyed an authentic New Mexican breakfast at Monica's El Portal Restaurant near Old Town in Albuquerque. We ordered the delicious huevos rancheros, breakfast burger, breakfast burrito, and breakfast stuffes sopapilla. The home made tortillas was a nice touch. We finished our meal with fresh sopapillas and honey. The service was good and the price was reasonable. They also have plenty of parking.
My aunt was not kidding me about how good the food is. I had the Indian taco with red chile. It was fantastic!!! My mom had the combination plate with the tamale. I had one bite of the tamale and had to order a dozen. Delicious!!!
Food and service were great.
Monica's food and waitstaff are always great. The lobby is small and hostess takes a while to sit waiting customers. That means a tight space for people waiting to be seated.
Eat here rather than places in Old Town as lunch is always great. New Mexico cuisine, so spiced and tasty. Charming atmosphere, quick service.
What a charming and wonderful dining experience. I highly encourage eating breakfast here. This was our first time to New Mexico and they taught us the practice of putting honey onto warm, fresh tortilla chips as the appetizer. And that right there described my visit. Warm, fresh, safe, clean, and entirely content. oh, and the sopapillas with honey were a must! (We were driving to see Smokey the Bear park later that day so he often made an appearance in our photos haha)
I ordered the omelet and got the red sauce with it. Next time I might order the sauce on the side because I thought it was a little extensive for me, but we REALLY enjoyed our visit. By the time we were leaving, the place was really starting to pack it in and we could tell it was a popular spot!
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