Los Ranchos Bakery — Restaurant in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque

Possibly one of the best places for coffee and food in ABQ since moving here over a year ago. It's the one place that's got me coming back for more. Everyone behind the counter is friendly, warm, welcoming and from your first time there, you'll notice lots of people are regulars and I have slowly started becoming one myself. You'll see all kinds drop by this warm little happy place, from seniors, to hipsters to Gen X-ers like me.

Their cafe latte is always done to my satisfaction, just the right temperature, creamy and the prices are pretty decent. I'm not the kind to add syrups or flavorings to my coffee so I can't comment on that.

The food is definitely pleasing, but if you don't go early enough, you'll miss some of the yummiest pastries. I personally love the ham and cheese. Dear God! How I love that ham and cheese pastry. It invades my mind and taste buds at the most inopportune moments, causing cravings that I sometimes can't satisfy since they're sold out by the time I get there. But they're worth it.

I've also had the tuna sandwich for lunch, which comes with a bag of chips (I chose the malted vinegar chips), and the sandwich is stupidly tasty. It's not fancy, it's not complicated, it's a simple tuna sandwich with deliciously tart pickles on the side and just the right amount of filling, lettuce and tomato.

The seating area is a colorful collective of clothing and art for sale and a room full of records which I haven't gone into yet but I surmise they are for sale too.

The restroom is absolutely clean and spacious so they're definitely wheelchair friendly, just don't get thrown off because of the two sinks. The one in the corner is the one to use.

It's nestled in a tiny little lot along 4th Street where the speed limit is 25 so don't try to come by thinking you can do a quick pick up. The cafe itself is efficient and fast, but the traffic and finding a parking space isn't.

Whoever you are, whenever you go, I hope you'll enjoy your experience here as much as I...

Let me start by saying that my chai latte was very good, and I may just go back in for another, which is why this review is 2 stars and not 1. Unfortunately this review covers nearly $40 of pastry that could not be eaten. Food safety is extremely important.

While the COVID-19 virus was not a food-borne pathogen, we had assumed that the extra effort required during the heart of the shutdowns would translate to continued vigilance by everyone in the food service industry. Our visit to the Los Ranchos Bakery today sadly destroyed that assumption.

Way back in the 1990s, when I got my first job in food service, my employer at the time read us the riot act about not touching the food we were serving if we were handling payments. Eons later, when I went through nursing school, my microbilogy and pathology courses taught me all the ways that I could have killed people if I hadn't paid attention to my first employer's rule about not touching the food I was about to serve.

When the lovely young lady at the counter today punched up our order on the register tablet, I didn't really think about it. But when she reached into the bakery display and grabbed each item with her bare hands, not having washed them between the tablet and the pastries, I was surprised into speechlessness. When she went on to turn the tablet (that we had touched to confirm price and tip before our order was packaged) and rang up the next sale without washing her hands or the tablet, we were completely shocked.

The barista who made the chai latte wasn't handling payments or touching the foodstuffs, so we felt safe enough to enjoy that. Unfortunately, because it was the only safely handled item on our order, that makes it the single most expensive latte I've ever had.

Every item in the bakery counter looked and smelled amazing, but that means nothing if I'm too afraid of unsafe...

Tried this place 3 times. Their baked goods are so incredibly dry. Cupcakes : dry and bland. Chocolate cookies: coughed on the dryness.. my sweets-loving kiddos didn’t even ask for a second bite. And the bread… oh, the bread. It just crumbles bc of the dryness. I’ve tried 3 different loaves. One time I asked for it sliced, girl at counter said they don’t have a slicer, that they just slice by hand… alright BUT she then recommended not to slice until eating it bc it gets dry quickly. So.. they seem to be aware of this issue but aren’t changing it. I’ve gone in before and waited over 15 minutes for one party ahead of me to order because the owner was just chatting them up. I did say when they moved along “oh is it finally my turn?” And the owner said (offering no apology) “was that too long for you to wait?” Yes, it was. I was by myself and needed to go pick up my kid. Have the conversations at a more appropriate time once all customers have ordered.

TLDR: tasteless, dry and unfortunately inedible baked goods/bread. I recommend spending...