El Moreno Restaurante y Paleteria — Restaurant in New Mexico

Walked into Moreno's around 1:10 pm. I made it to the counter where I was told I could sit where I wanted. Not a long wait to be served. Coffee was a bit old. Had been sitting on the hot plate for 4 hours.

Ordered the most popular item: enchiladas. I got them Christmas style. Food came out within 8 minutes. Not a lot of evidence for traffic here. Tables and chairs, even the floor was clear. Looks like lunch happens late here as the place filled up by 1:45 pm. Place looks like it gets cleaned regularly.

Lighting fixtures and fans are dust free, look recently installed but are much older than they appear.only the ceiling vent has evidence of dust. The high windows have dust all over them.

The server did not waste any time. I was not left alone for anything longer than 6 minutes; and is bilingual: Spanish and English.

Enchiladas were hotter in the green chili than the red. Salsa is not as hot as I thought. The beans are a bit on the brighter side here. And the food is great.

Now for constructive criticism. Refresh the coffee every 3 hours. When the pot has been sitting you can taste the burnt coffee too much. Just refresh it.

The plates are great. But add in a little more on the meats for the enchiladas. Maybe about a spoon full more for each one. The mix with the chicken is a little bit too much. Don't add anymore spice to the ratio on the meat. It will balance itself out.

Otherwise this place is just fine. I will be...

Update 2024- Today, I asked for just about every customizable alteration to my lunch that is possible. They made every change. It was perfect.

Update 2022- Just as delicious as before but they currently close at 5 pm. Not 6 pm. So, go early and notice that prices went up a little too.

Original post: Omg this is so delicious!

I had shredded beef tacos (on soft corn tortillas of course). My husband had chicken flautas (or you can call them taquitos). The creamy refried beans are perfect. The rice isn't gross. Even the red chile sauce for the chips and salsa is tasty and just a tiny bit hot.

We will come again. How have I lived on the westside so long and never been here? Yummy!

And the staff are smiling and friendly too! Just go. Stop reading reviews and get some of...

We happened upon El Moreno in Albuquerque New Mexico on a recent trip. The restaurant is very authentic, the specials were listed on a menu board were in Spanish. The menu was good sized, many standard dishes. The food tasted as though it was made from scratch, the refried beans were the best I have ever eaten. The avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes tasted as though they came from a garden in the backyard. It was also featured in multiple episodes of...