Guava Tree Cafe — Restaurant in Albuquerque

I ordered food to go from the new Tin Can Alley location. I placed my order at 11am when they opened, and was given a pickup time of 11:40. They told me to go to the back door pickup area. I arrived at the back door pickup area right at 11:40. There was no signage anywhere in the back indicating which door was which business, and no signage about how to get my food. I spent between 5 and 10 minutes trying to call Guava Tree and was not able to get through. I went inside and ended up having to wait an additional half hour for my food - apparently they hadn't made parts of my order (I say parts because the arepas I ordered were quite soggy, I'm guessing from sitting around waiting for the other items). So from the point of ordering my food, it was almost an hour and half wait.

A person who I assume was the owner or manager was bringing food out to customers, who he was high-fiving. He was wearing gloves that it appeared he was not changing between high-fiving and returning to food prep and packaging. That's a major health risk. He also had opted for a plastic face shield, which have practically no effect unless combined with a face mask, which he was not wearing.

On the food: I ordered two vegetarian arepas which were, like I said, quite soggy, but they were very tasty and would have been top-notch if not for the sogginess. I also ordered the vegetarian sandwich, which I think was the item that didn't get made initially - the bread was freshly toasted and it and I really enjoyed it. I had sides as well: yucca fries, which were tasty but I was expecting more than 3 fries. Also a side of rice and beans - the beans weren't particularly flavorful. The food was served with a couple sauces, a flavored crema and a red pepper sauce which were both great and helped improve the beans.

I was a big fan of this restaurant while they were in their original location and was excited to try it again but was overall disappointed, mostly because of the service. I also felt very unsafe being inside Tin Can Alley because I think they have not taken the necessary pandemic precautions for such a large and complicated opening. I would consider coming back if the to-go/carryout services were more usable, but until that happens I am going...

My first time there was a four.The Guva Pollito was fantastic and the service and atmosphere was ok.

I liked the Guava Pollito so much that I craved to eat it once again. Unfortunately, the experience this time wasn't great. I called in my order but when I got there they had given my order to someone else by accident. I payed and waited for 5 before I started asking where my order was. Then the cashier spilled the beans and said sorry. I finally got my food after spending 15-20 minutes waiting for it. When I got back to work to finally eat my food they gave me the wrong order. After all of the hassle I didn't even get to enjoy what I was craving.

Overall, the experience was quite disappointing. I know quite often these things happen when a restaurant is busy but I was the only customer waiting while a handful were eating.

With all that said will I be back? It'll probably be a while until I go back to the Nob hill location. I do plan give Guava Tree at Tin Can alley a try in hopes that it'll be better. I probably wouldn't even bother with Guava Cafe in general but that chicken sandwich...

Only one word comes to mind when describing this place: Authentic. This is my absolute favorite place to eat and my first go-to when showing people around the city of Albuquerque. Nothing, and I really mean nothing, beats the taste of their food. I've tried just about everything on the menu, and every choice is gold. Their sandwiches, arepas, smoothies, sides, and COFFEE, is all completely crafted in such a fresh and authentic style, you won't find this food anywhere else. My favorites are the Pernil, Caribe, either sandwich with a side of fried yucca (think of french fries but not as salty and greasy), a jugo (Spanish for "juice" - a smoothie) de mango vainilla, and if you're a coffee fan like me, you'll love a "Bon Bon," which is a double shot of espresso with sweetened condensed milk, aka "Lechera." I could go on and on about how amazing this place is; everything from the food and drinks, to the friendly and helpful, hard-working staff, to the furniture and music. Everything about Guava Tree...