Village Inn — Restaurant in Rio Rancho

I haven't been to a Village Inn in years. It's an understatement to say pre-pandemic. More like pre-adulthood. I remember going to them when I was a teenager and stayed up till 4 AM drinking coffee and hanging out with friends.

The place hasn't changed since then, and it shows here. I forgot there are places that still have coffee pots and piles of different jam flavors right at the table. It comes complete with ugly 60s wall decor, tables that are uncomfortably way too close, especially post pandemic, and nice ugly brown and orange mismatched furniture. Great Aunt Carol and Uncle Lenny probably feel right home here, but I could tell anyone under the age of 40 wanted to be anywhere else.

The staff... as wholesome as most of them seem, still yell back orders to the kitchen, even though there aren't cute windows to do it through, and as busy as this place gets, feels like there's an army of bussers constantly hovering around you. You also still get a check at the table, but then have to make an awkward stand in line to pay and leave action. I guess this is an effort to get you to stare at pies while the old couple in front of you wants their ticket explained in detail.

My food was... boring, tasteless, and made exactly like someone who doesn't know what seasoning is, would cook like. My hash browns were literally someone grabbing a pile of unseasoned potato shreds, grilling them on one side, flipping them, grilling the other side, and serving. My biscuits were normal biscuits with a surprisingly large sausage patty covered in normal country gravy. I couldnt finish them. The flovor got old, really fast. My eggs were cooked correctly to their credit, I always order over-medium to see if the staff are paying attention and know how to cook, its the easiest to mess up and something I'm totally fine with eating if they get it wrong. Village Imn got my eggs right.

TL:DR -Food is bland, boring but correct. -Staff screamed in my ear where I was sitting. -This place is hideous and uncomfortably back to pre-pandamic...

Visited this Village Inn location (Rio Rancho NM) TWICE (to dine-in) during the last two weeks. Previously, I had only dropped by to pick up one of the delicious signature 'Village Inn' pies.

We were warmly greeted by Ms. Vitalia. Very charming, polite and professional. Our Server, Ms. Lisa, is a serving marvel! I sat and watched this woman serve 6 different tables of customers by her lonesome! Amazing, to say the least! She's menu-knowledgeable, customer-focused and really down-to-earth! Our ordered meals and beverages were 100% perfect..right down to the straws and (extra) napkins! Note: When I'm asked by a Server, "Can I get you anything else?", I like to ask for something 'small', like extra napkins or honey for my hot tea, just to see if the Server will remember to bring it to my table. I couldn't trip Ms. Lisa up. She remembered and returned with my 'extras' quickly! High-fives to her!

We ordered the "Your Way Omelette" and the "2-2-2 Breakfast". Delicious! The ONLY drawback was the TIME it took for the food to arrive. The food took a while to hit the table. Maybe, there's a shortage of COOKS in the kitchen. I don't know. But, expect a bit of a wait for your meal. Don't go there exremely hungry or the 'wait' may be a turn-off! Also, you order the food at your table via your smartphone by scanning the QR barcode provided at your table. They DO have traditional menus available, but you have to ASK your Server to provide one for you! Probably an attempt at a contact-free (COVID-19) 'precaution'.

Thanks to Ms. 'Sheila' for answering my phone call and providing the names of the Greeter and Server for...

I ordered a club sandwich and an iced tea. My beverage arrived at the same time as my sandwich. The bread was warm but not toasted, with about half a slice of bacon, and a small squirt of mayo directly in the center. The fries were undercooked. I would have told all of this to the server or really anyone that would have come to check on me — particularly the other server that saw me attempt to contact my server as she walked away after dropping off my plate and I discovered the lack of mayo on my dry sandwich. Needless to say, I also never got a refill of my tea until the server came to bring me my check. I also would have expected a good server to question why half my fries and a stack of bread remained on my plate but that didn’t happen so it seemed pointless to complain given the lack of attention I had gotten the entire visit. Despite this restaurant being next door to my regular ABQ hotel where I stay 3 times a year, I’ll stick to other area restaurants in future trips. EDIT: went ahead and kicked them up a star since when I was going to pay the person at the counter asked how my meal was and I relayed essentially what was in this review (I wrote it while sitting at the table waiting for the check). He comp’d the meal which was appreciated so I might give them one more shot before I...