Michael's Kitchen Restaurant & Bakery — Restaurant in Taos

Imagine waking up in the enchanting town of Taos, heart full of hope and stomach growling like a feral raccoon in a dumpster behind a Waffle House. You seek refuge in the legendary halls of Michael’s, where breakfast dreams either soar gloriously or gently deflate like a poorly folded omelet.

We began our culinary adventure with the cinnamon roll—a pastry so enormous it could’ve doubled as a flotation device in a flood. This thing was the size of a toddler’s face and had real potential. Unfortunately, it suffered from what I call frosting neglect. When you commit to that much pastry, you better bring the icing like it’s the final round of The Great British Bake Off. A drizzle won’t do—it needed frosting by the ladle. It was good, but not quite the life-altering sugar bomb I was hoping for.

My wife ordered the “Something Different” omelet, which basically translates to “add green chiles and suddenly it’s brunch with a kick.” And kick it did—flavorful, zesty, and enough to make her do that slow, satisfied nod that says, “Yes. This is my truth now.”

Now, my order—the breakfast enchiladas—deserve their own mariachi soundtrack. Tortillas? Perfect. Sauce? A savory waterfall of joy. Eggs, cheese, meat, and spice all holding hands in breakfast harmony. And just when I thought the meal had peaked…

Out came the sopapilla.

Let me tell you, this wasn’t just a side item. This was a profound culinary event. I imagine it was made by an ancient New Mexican grandmother who only appears during moments of pure breakfast righteousness. Light, airy, golden perfection. If angels made pastries, they’d taste like this. It didn’t just compliment the meal—it completed it. A true sleeper hit that came out of nowhere and stole the show like a breakout star in a 90s rom-com.

And let’s not forget the service, which was excellent from start to finish. Friendly, attentive, and genuinely happy to see us—not the fake “hostess-at-the-chain-restaurant” smile, but real people being awesome. We were seated quickly, served warmly, and left feeling like beloved breakfast royalty.

All in all? A solid 4 out of 5 stars. Would I return? Absolutely. Will I be bringing my own emergency supply of frosting next...

I'm giving a 1 star for each category and I'll explain why.

Atmosphere: As soon as I walked in, it immediately felt inhospitable. Signs everywhere letting you know what they WONT do for you and not like just general statements like "all parties must be present to be seated", it's more so expands to say how there's no exception and that it's not fair to others who were there on time, etc. Then I saw another sign right next to it that said something to the effect of, "dont mess with me, I'm old - management". Didnt seem like it was meant as a funny statement, more like sincere a warning that certain behaviors wouldn't be tolerated. Mood of the host and servers were mediocre as if they were doing you a favor for being open to the public.

Service: In addition to the dreary mood of the employees, not all of us at the table received water, then when the water server came by again to refill, I noticed she.moved on from our table not noticing that 2 out of the six of us didnt have water cups. I caught her attention to resolve the issue. Then we were rushed to make decisions on what to order. We were probably sat like 3 minutes.

Food: Basic breakfast and lunch items with additional options for spanish dishes and pasteries. But it was pretty basic or in some cases didnt look appetizing. For example, in lieu of chicken and waffles, they offered bacon and waffles. You would expect 2 or 3 of strips of bacon to sit atop a waffles but inatead, they served crushed bacon, probably one strip worth n atop of a pretty good size waffle.

Likewise, I ordered eggs Benedict and thought I knew what to expect, but this plate spilling over with chile slop came out and couldn't even find the single "egg" (not eggS), benedict under it so after digging, found it with the eggs not cooked to order. I let the server know, and she immediately let me know that they would still charge for it. No apology or offer to fix the issue. I couldn't bring myself to eat it, it was very unappetizing but I paid for it.

I should have known what I was going to get as soon as I walked in.

Overall,...

We finally made it here for brunch after trying on a Monday but it's closed so check their hours before you come as we came from Santa Fe. Got seated pretty quickly as it was around 10:20a on a Thursday ( when we left a little over an hour later there was a bit of a line). This place is known for their baked goods and their green chile hash browns.. apparently they sell out all the time so when we saw there were only 2 of their giant cinnamon rolls left we snapped those up. We also got a fritter, a pine cone looking raised donut, a cheese chile twist to go. For breakfast we tried their hash browns, breakfast burrito, blueberry waffle and omelet. Portions are pretty generous. The waffle was covered in sweet blueberry sauce like pie filling and tons of whip cream so it was too much sugar and sweetness for my mom and it made the waffle soggy. My omelet was filling and flavorful with Christmas sauce on top and I opted for a side of pancakes. It came with hash browns and 3 pancakes so I couldn't quite finish it all. The green chile hash browns were ok but kind of overhyped as it was just cheese and chile but not super interesting to us. Breakfast burrito was also filling and tasty. The fritter, raised donut and pastry was good but we felt the rolls were way too bready with not enough cinnamon and frosting for the amount of bread. We did learn that that is why people like them because their bready texture. So I think it would be good if you sliced these cinnamon rolls, toasted them then ate them with butter...so just a matter of preference. All in all it seems to be a very popular diner/bakery and we are glad we went but not sure we would drive an hour plus each way again just for...