The ORIGINAL Cocina Azul at 12th & Mountain Rd — Restaurant in Albuquerque

According to many Cocina Azul is an Albuquerque staple. It was raved over and over again by online foodies, locals and non-locals alike. Unfortunately it missed the mark with me. At least for 5 stars.

My mother ordered the popular Brisket Enchiladas (slow-cooked brisket, three flat corn tortillas, filled with a blend of cheddar and Monterrey jack cheese, melted and smothered with your choice of Frank Sr.'s red or green chile, $15.95). Holy hell these were absolutely amazing!!! A crazy amount of flavor and the brisket was cooked to perfection. It came with a side of rice and refried beans which I found kind of flavorless but they were yummy combined with the enchiladas.

I should have gotten the damn enchiladas but my burger-loving heart wanted one last green chile burger before returning home so that’s what I got. Alicia’s Green Chile Burger (fresh Angus, chuck ground steak, served with two melted slices of American cheese, New Mexico Hatch green chi/e, roasted and peeled and prepared "caribe style" by hand with salt and garlic, served on a golden, buttery toasted, specialty roll, $12.95). What i got only matched half that description. I got a clearly frozen, supermarket hamburger, paper thin, the kind you get at your local drive-thru and would be yummy if that’s what you wanted, but I expected a lot more. Also, the “specialty roll” is just a regular grocery store hamburger bun. The taste was subpar, there weren’t many green chiles and what was there lacked flavor of any kind. Overall, it was not good.

Service was not great. Servers were slow, not friendly one bit and inattentive. I had to hunt the guy down to take my credit card so I could just pay and leave.

Overall it’s a good place for a delicious Tex-Mex meal, but you definitely have to get the right thing. I highly suggest those...

This restaurant is for people who know and appreciates New Mexican food which is a distinct subset of Mexican food, not for people whose idea of Mexican food comes from a chain restaurant in the midwest.. The first thing I noticed in the parking lot was no out of state plates aside from our Arizona plate. This place caters to locals.

I had greenchili stew, made with Hatch chilis, this was the best green chili I've ever had. It was quite hot, as it should be but not just hot but flavorful as well. My partner had chili relleno filled with beef. This was also made with Hatch chilis but not as hot as my stew. Chilis vary greatly in heat so ask you server. Ours told us the chilis in the rellene we not that hot on the day we ate there. They were perfect with just a hint of heat, but again just what they should be.

Sometimes side dishes are a bit of an after thought, but not here. The biggest surprise was the Calabacitas, which is a sort of stew made with zucchini, yellow squash and corn in a chicken broth. If you can make zucchini worth eating, which they did that is a real trick. I had beans as well, served New Mexican style as individual beans, my partner had refried beans which were not as good, but refried beans are not typical of New Mexico style food.

The service was very pleasant and fast and our server gave us accurate spiciness reports on the chilis.

I've searched all over New Mexico for the holy grail of New Mexico style food and I've...

My friend and I were in Albuquerque and asked about lunch options in the downtown/Plaza area. We were given a recommendation for Cucina Azul; it was a marvelous meal! We arrived close to 2 pm, so it was after the lunch rush and not too busy. From the moment we stepped inside, we felt welcomed and comfortable. The restaurant has a small footprint, but with high ceilings and an open counter in front of the kitchen area, it feels spacious. Our server, Luis, was fabulous! He called out a greeting as we entered, showed us to our table, and was consistently friendly, attentive, and efficient. He helped us navigate the menu when we told him it was our first time eating there. We shared an order of the shrimp street tacos, which were absolutely delicious; our two sides were a squash casserole, which was tasty, and papas (cubed fried potatoes). We each had iced tea brewed with leaves from the New Mexico Tea Company; jasmine for my friend and blood orange for me. They were refreshing and delicious. The service was fast, and Luis checked back with us several times to ensure we had everything we needed.

It was a delightful meal! We only wished we were staying in the city longer, to be able to return to Cucina Azul. I’ve already given it as a recommendation to two other friends traveling through Albuquerque. Definitely the best, authentic Mexican food I’ve had in...