Blackbird Coffee House — Restaurant in Albuquerque

My daughter and her husband took me there over the Labor Day weekend. Now I gave a one-star review but perhaps I should have given it two stars because one of the employees behind the counter was very nice and helpful. We placed our order and the woman who took our order was that nice and helpful employee. Then comes the problem. My son-in-law went outside to get a patio table and I waited at the end of the counter for our 3 drinks and the danish we were sharing. It was very slow but it was pretty busy so I understood. The girl preparing the drinks was busy trying to catch up and I got the feeling she was fairly new. After about 5 min or so my daughters coffee was ready as well as the danish. I run it out to her in the patio. Within another minute my coffee was ready. I thought, well its a bit slow but hey now they are catching up. I'm sure it wont be much longer as only one more coffee to prepare. I went to ruin my coffee with half and half but they were out. I asked the girl preparing the drinks if she could fill the half-and-half for me. Yes, she responded. And then she went back to making the coffee drinks. I'm literally leaning toward her holding the half and half container waiting for her her to fill it as soon as she finishes preparing the drink she was working on. Nope. She just keeps preparing coffee. Now my son-in-laws coffee must be next as we all ordered at the same time. Nope. She makes another and places it on the counter next to my elbow where I am holding the container. She doesn't make eye contact. I wait. She makes 3 more drinks. My daughter comes in to find me and asks the problem. So I ask the girl, "Do you have a Roadrunner Coffee for Brandon? Yes, it will be next after I get this one prepared. Still no Half and half ( I should have asked earlier but after she ignored me for at least 5 minutes I was curious if she would ever look up at me and ask for the container.) I see the woman at the cash register is now free of customers so I quickly ask her for the creamer. "You bet" she says and fills it. I make my coffee and go back and wait. I have no idea what the person ahead of my son-in- law ordered but it takes forever (4 min?)for her to finish it. Another couple of minutes and ...I finally have the finished order! Yay. 25 minutes have passed! I go out to the patio to join my family and they have finished the danish, and my daughter is finished with her drink. My son-in-law finishes his coffee pretty quickly so I drink my now cold coffee as they kind of stare at me. I had hoped to enjoy sharing coffee with my family instead I missed most of the conversation while I am waiting for the order. By this time our cheerful mood has disappeared. So after a few minutes, I suggest we leave. Admittedly I may be too harsh on the girl preparing the coffee. Like I said, she might have been new. But we had been looking forward to a nice chat, coffee, and dessert and it was so slow, my coffee was lukewarm and I missed most of my time with my family, thus the bad review. I do not plan on visiting...

Another Reason to Visit the Old Town Plaza

Who doesn't love a good cup of coffee? On my most recent trip to the area, I found BlackBird Coffee House, completely by fluke. I was staying at the El Vado Motel right down the road and it just happened so that their on-site coffee shop had recently departed the Food Pod area. I was left with in-room coffee, which was okay but needing my daily Red-eye, I had to make a trip to a local Starbucks. When I got back to my room I googled local independent coffee shops and saw that the BlackBird was located at my next destination, the Old Town Plaza.

The Blackbird is a quaint little coffee shop located in an alleyway just off the Plaza at Old Town Plaza. They use organic coffees and make classic coffee variations, and their own BlackBird featured coffee creations as well. There is seating inside the BlackBird and outside in the alleyway, I took my coffee to the Plaza and enjoyed while I was exploring. The Shop is on the smaller side but has enough room for souvenirs, and coffee displays and they also have free wifi onsite. My coffee that day was the Honey-Bear, made with a dash of honey, cinnamon and milk. It was a nice coffee. The back of the Coffee Shop has a large mural on the wall of well, you guessed it...a BlackBird. Overall this is a great little coffee shop and a great addition to the Old Town Plaza. If you're ever at the Plaza for a visit and need a coffee you know...

Blackbird offers a steeply priced hot chocolate which holds its own. It contained milk that tasted like 2%, but may have been whole, just warmed but not frothed fully. It was topped with whipped cream and garnish which made the first few sips rich. Near the end of the cup, the chocolate flavor began to subside. I liked the environment, warm bricky hues with neutral splashes of color here and there.

The chocolate chip crossiant they have is incredibly rich and delicious compared to other cafés offerings. It needed a little bit of extra time in the oven to warm in the middle. It was hard to cut with just the fork and I'd recommend knives to be provided as well, and I wound up using my fingers which brought shards of buttery pastry all over their table and cozy green bench (im sorry!) I cleaned it the best I could.

Would definitely return! If you are hungry for something substantial to munch on, I would recommend a sit down place for hungry tourists and burquenos alike. I ended up paying $11 for the pastry and hot chocolate alone, but there are several breakfast places in that 13-20 per plate and drink range that offer that...