El Modelo Mexican Foods — Restaurant in Albuquerque

El Modelo 💯 POOR SERVICE TAMALES ARE DRY, Not Tasty

When I arrived at El Modelo, I called in to order food like I do every week. The girl who answered the phone about an hour ago was very rude. She said how can I help you? I said hi, I'd like to place an order, she said are you in the parking lot? I said yes, she said I can't take your order if your not in the parking lot (for the 2nd time) I said: I'm in the Parking Lot, she said are you sure your in the parking lot?! If not I'm NOT taking your order. (For the 3rd time I said: yes I'm in the Parking Lot, she said are you sure?! I was shocked/upset at this point! I said if you want to come outside and look for my Car.. your more then welcome to. She said what are you driving? I told her what I was driving. She then took my order. I asked her why she was being so Rude, she said we'll take out your order when it's ready and hung up on me. My Family & I order from here 2-3 times a week and spend over $50.00. After today's experience, I won't be Coming back ! Very Disappointing. 😠 The tone of her Voice was disturbing. Employee's need to leave their Personal Problems @ home.. DON'T bring them to Work. And/or if that's their Personality, they need serious TRAINING IN CUST SERV.. Or work in the back, DO NOT DEAL w/Customers! This Experience impacts everyone. I LOVE Friendly Environments! This girl working at El Modelo really impacted the Restaurant El Modelo with my Ratings & Business today.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS...

I would have given 5 stars all around but this year!?!?! Yes I treat myself to El Modelo but once a year. New Years Eve. I buy 1 Bean burrito, 6 tamales and 6 stuffed sopapillas. That usually last almost a week! But this year I noticed the stuffed sopapillas dough had a buttery taste? Change in the recipe or ingredients? I don't know!?!?! Wasn't bad! Just different. Tamales not as hot and had a sweeter, not alot but a sweeter tomatoey taste. Bean burrito big and filling and awesome as usual. Is it just me or has the tamales and stuffed sopapillas gotten smaller and the price is higher. I use to brag about how big and filling El Modelo's tamales are/were. Same goes for the stuffed sopapillas. The online menu is old I guess because according to the menu, their menu posted online. My order would have been around $45.00-$50.00 but in reality is/was $75.00-$80.00! I WAS SHOCKED! Doesn't help when you're financially strapped and on a budget. But I figured it's once a year so? And lastly!?!?! I know a lot of tamale makers roll the corn husk into the tamales? Sometimes that makes it hard to unwrap and you lose the steamed masa unwrapping. 😔

But all in all? I love love love El Modelo's food and as busy and stressed out the crew seems to be at times. They still treat their customers with...

This place was rated high for its tamales. I ordered a dozen green chicken tamales and a taco plate. The tamales were very disappointing!! The tamale masa was very bland and seemed to be missing any seasoning. The chicken filling had a green sauce which was also missing any profound flavor. The tacos had the same tamale filling and I would have considered them bland. But the guacamole was well made and made the tacos much better. So I enjoyed the tacos. The frijoles were good. Better than expected as I ate them last. The service was EXCELLENT!! I called in my order and spoke with Leslie to make my order. She was very nice and helpful. I brought back my order of a dozen tamales. I asked to speak with a manager or Assistant manager but both were absent. I had to speak with a nice cashier who listed to my complaint. He wrote down my name and number. The tamales were pricey. ($45+ per dozen). I didn’t ask for refund so they would understand how important it was to accept my constructive criticism. At least there was that. I believe it’s important to give your opinion in case it will help a business. I was on a trip from California to ack home to Texas and stopped to specifically get these tamales. I unfortunately would not be taking these New Mexico acclaimed tamales back...