Smiling Faces Restaurant — Restaurant in Las Vegas

The original plan was to eat at Perea's, one of our favorite restaurants in Albuquerque. They don't open until 8 in the morning, and we didn't feel like hanging around for an hour (plus whatever wait that may have been in store for us), so we bolted for home, with a planned stop a couple of hours north in Las Vegas to have brunch. We arrived at the chosen breakfast location, only to find out they were closed on Sunday (despite what it said online). A quick scan of Google Maps lead us to another place - that was closed for good. Obviously Las Vegas, New Mexico's Google Maps can use an update! While figuring out where to eat, Mrs. RJG noticed Smiling Faces right next door to where we were. Sounding more like a dentist office than a restaurant, I did some prompt research, and the reviews were excellent. And it's New Mexican food - which is what we were seeking. Awesome!

We walked into a very spacious restaurant and were promptly seated. Our waitress came by and took our order right away. We were both starving, so this was working out great. And we did get our chips promptly, which curbed the appetite a bit. The salsa was excellent BTW.

Then we waited...

Waited....

Waited...

Waited....

At least we got to know the environs better than normal - while our stomachs were growling. It's very much a New Mexico styled place with painted concrete, brick floors, and wooden beams. And very Christian. Not a place for atheists and pagans that's for sure. Fine with us being of the faithful, and refreshing to see a public restaurant wear Christianity on their sleeve like this. And we needed all of God's strength from going bananas awaiting for our food. Every time the squeaky swinging door had a waitress emerge, we anticipated it was ours, only to see them deliver to another table. We presume everyone who comes here expects this wait - or they were starving like us.

45 minutes later, our breakfast emerges. Hallelujah! Amen!

I ordered the Ultimate Breakfast burrito, loaded with eggs, bacon and smothered in Christmas. And the unusual twist of putting the hash browns inside the burrito. Once again, the green proved hotter on this visit (must be the season), and the red was delicious. Mrs. RJG had the Huevos Rancheros also smothered in red/green and asked for rice, which was also excellent.

Was it worth the wait? That's a tough one to answer. The food was delicious, but sometimes you just got to eat! Problem for us on judging, is that we've only been once, so it could have been they were shorthanded that morning. Keep in mind, the lockdown restrictions had just been lifted in New Mexico, whereas other states have been partially open for months, including Colorado. We're willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now. So if you happen to be in Las Vegas, New Mexico - give it a shot! Maybe bring a snack with you...

This restaurant was recommended to me by a local. Upon entering, the waitress was friendly, yet obviously a bit stressed.

Our party of 3 was seated at a large family table in the center of the hustle and bustle by the kitchen, candy machine and clean up area. We asked to be moved after just a few minutes due to the commotion and direct sunlight on our table which was attracting flys.

We ordered and waited patiently anticipating our food would be delivered within a reasonable amount of time.

After refills and eating all the chips and salsa , which aren't complimentary, we asked about the status of our food. The waitress said they were very busy and it would be out soon.

We WAITED WELL OVER AN HOUR for our order which was as described by other reviewers.

Beans and rice were bland not worth the calories.

The Tacos and Chile rellanos were quite good, although I expected something other than cheddar cheese as the filling for the Chile Rellano.

Enchiladas were only filled with cheese. I do not recall if that was standard for the #1 and #2 Combo plates, but I believe that there was an option when ordering of Beef, Chicken or Cheese. The waitress who moved us and took our order said she was going on break, so that's likely why we the attention to details was overlooked.

Sopapillas were AMAZING!

Refills had to be asked for.

We ate and left after attempting to use the restroom. The bathroom was very clean, but there was no toilet paper or paper towels AND the toilet seat was about to fall off in the ladies room.

I notified a waitress who was apologetic and quickly remedied the problem while the friendly owner/cashier was busy taking payment for the subpar service and meal.

Unfortunately, I regret suggesting going there, but we wanted to try some place new.

If we had known it would have been such a long wait, we would have gone elsewhere.

We...

Never was a restaurant more inappropriately named than Smiley's. We were visiting Las Vegas from out-of-state, typically enjoying small towns and places like Charlie’s. We entered Smiley's restaurant around 6:25 PM. A kind hostess warmly greeted us, smiled, and encouraged us to take a seat wherever we liked. The dining room was sparsely populated, so my wife, our children, and I chose our seats.

Almost immediately, a waitress approached us hastily, explaining that they would likely be unable to serve us. She was brusque, utterly inconsiderate of the children, and loud enough to be heard by all other patrons. "Let me check with the chef to see if he can cook for you because we’re going to close in about 30 minutes, and I think he can’t serve more," she said. She quickly disappeared behind a door and returned almost instantly, announcing to the whole dining room, "Yeah, he can’t serve you. He’s already got too many covers lined up."

We felt embarrassed, as if we had been humiliated and scolded in front of an entire room of strangers. I seriously wondered if they were discriminating against us because we appeared as a “religious” or conservative family. We quietly left, with all eyes on us, and I thought to myself: I’ve been in the restaurant business for years, experienced all kinds of “hospitality” around the world on one continent, and I have never been treated with so little hospitality, respect, or decorum. This is an awful place—not because of the food, but because of the terrible, self-absorbed staff that run it.

We drove by more than an hour later, and customers were still filing in and eating; they hadn't closed at 7...