El Parasol — Restaurant in New Mexico

I routinely drive 6 hours from Denver to Santa Fe just for a meal (or two or three) at El Parasol, particularly at the Pojoaque location. They make the best chicken taco on planet Earth, period. It is a secret homemade recipe, like a juicy but tomato-less chicken tinga or stew, stuffed into a homemade crispy shell and topped with just a touch of cheddar and guacamole (be sure to ask for it) and shredded lettuce. Add their drool-worthy red chili on top (again, be sure to ask for it) and there you have one of planet Earth's most perfect foods, virtually unimprovable.

For whatever reason, from my dozens of visits, the same taco is not quite as good at the other Parasol locations around Santa Fe and Espanola, but the shredded beef taco is almost just as good. Also bordering on perfection is their chicharron burrito, which features perfect cubes of crispy and chewy pork, beans, cheddar, and again, I'd go with the red chili.

Not to be overlooked is their green chili stew, which is made to order, and is about as good as it gets. It is not thickened, like many other places, but rather made with a simple broth with loads of pork, green chili, carrots, and potatoes. They sell it by the pint and the quart, and I often order TWO extra quarts to freeze and take home to Denver.

Lastly, their biscochitos, when they have them, are some of the tastiest and crumbliest cookies in all of NM.

To Alicia and Jose and all the friendly employees, particularly at the Pojoaque location, keep up the great work, and please consider coming up north opening a...

I grew up in Pojoaque and have been eating parasol my entire life. I have gotten to the point where I dread ordering food over the phone. This makes me sad because I love the food - but the service has gotten horrible. Today I ordered lunch and the minute I gave the young lady on the phone my order, she hung up on me. No total, no review of the order, nothing. I get there and pay for my food and it was missing the soda I ordered. I told the lady at the front, “I think you guys forgot my soda.” They looked at each other and said, “no we didn’t.” I told her again, “yes, I ordered a soda.” They looked at the receipt and said “no” again. I looked at my receipt and sure enough, she never put my soda on the order. I told her that I was rushed on the phone. Then the lady at the front said “here, just take one. You don’t have to get so worked up.” I couldn’t believe it. I just kept my mouth shut and waited for the extra food my dad asked for. Then the young lady called my name and slammed my food on the counter and stared me down with a hateful look. I am so disappointed in this place and it’s a real bummer customer service has...

Probably one of the worst experiences we've ever had at an El parasol the front end staff was absolutely rude it took forever to get our food and when we did it was these really sad pathetic tasteless mushy sweaty tamales that my daughter paid five bucks each for not worth the money I wouldn't have even fed them to my dog. These are the worst tamales I've ever had in New Mexico and I've lived here in my entire life. If you're cruising through and need to stop to eat don't stop at this location move your way down to Espanola and stop at that one or better yet stop at one of the locations in Santa Fe you'll actually get good service there. And it won't smell like flypaper and dirty cigarettes when you walk in the door. Should have been the first indicator not to eat there if you don't believe me just take a look at these pictures of their atrocious tamale they need to get themselves a new cook. My daughter spent $39 for a tortilla Burger two drinks two french fries and the sad tamales. And can you believe they charge 5 bucks each for these skinny little mushy...