The Alley Cantina — Restaurant in Taos

Over Memorial Day we visited Taos and ended up at Alley Cantina for some light refreshment. Had a terrible experience there because of one server..a middle aged lady whose name I didnt get as iur receipt mentioned the other server,Jason, who also came to our table to specifically ask us: " did you guys order nachos?". We have dietry restrctions to follow so veggie nachos were a safe bet for us. The lady server seated us, took our order and then ignored us for a good 30 minutes except giving us hostile looks whenever she passed our table. After 30 minutes, as we were on our way to Santa Fe and were getting late and needed to get going, I dared to ask her how much more we will have to wait for a plate of nachos ( veggie, no meat). She looked at me derisively and then in an overly loud and angry tone, she shouted at me " it takes time, we are not McDonalds that you can expect your order ASAP." The whole room heard her rude diatribe. I was taken aback. In hindsight i feel we should have left righ then. And she was rude to us not because she was flustered about something at work, because she was nice to all the other customers who were all white skinned. And we were the only brown skinned customers and she being a racist felt she could insult us. We could have stooped to her level and shouted back at her, but that is not what we stand for. We tried to ignore her rudeness, ate some of the nachos when we finally got them but our mood and appetite both were ruined. The nachos, by the way, were stone cold and tasted stale. Will never go to this...

Thank goodness daughter did research and found this incredible eatery! First! It's off the beaten path. You walk in and it's SO enchanting! The dark wood, huge central skylight and Mexican motif is astounding! Second! Beware of the pom pom margarita! Daughter ordered one and wow! It's boozy and delicious! I opted for the traditional and it was WAY less intoxicating. She orders the blue corn enchiladas and I have the shredded beef tacos. We also have the guacamole which is chunky and flavorful with cilantro! YUM! The salsa is divine! It's a replica of the salsa I enjoyed at a restaurant I loved called "Cilantro" in homewood, Illinois. Cilantro flavors with a tomato and garlic push and a small bite of jalapeño! YES! Daughters enchiladas make my eyes widen in amazement as they embody the most tasty fillings ever! Seriously! No cheese overflow and no enchilada sauce burying the entire dish. Bean side dish was a mirror of what The Pantry served: whole beans in a mushy sauce that melted in your mouth and wasn't "al dente". My shredded beef tacos were so tender! Literally I cut the beef with my fork. Served on flour tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese, they were flavorful and beefy. Service was fast and answered all my questions about the food and drink. No room for dessert and as we lumbered toward the exit I still am amazed we didn't curl up on an outside bench and take a nap. Excellent experience! Find this place when you visit! You won't be...

This was our first time here. It had good reviews but we were disappointed. The atmosphere is good but the food and service were not. Fitz, our waiter, was unprofessional, curt, and a smart aleck from the start. After ordering, we asked about chips and salsa we saw on another table. He said this "wasn't an 80's strip mall kind of restaurant" so they would cost extra. We were shocked at the comment but said fine. Now we're from South Texas so we have had lots of amazing, FREE chips and salsa that are homemade and delicious. There was absolutely nothing special about these from The Alley Cantina so don't waste your money. We ordered the green stew and chile relleno platter. The green stew was lukewarm and bland. The chile rellenos were good but also lukewarm. We LOVE posole and order it everywhere but the side of posole that came with the platter was also very bland and cold. When we ordered the chile rellenos, we asked if we could get one green and one red and Mr. Fitz once again said "yeah, that's called Christmas". Yes, Fitz, we know that and most places, it is an option on the menu but it wasn't here and that's why we were asking. Overall, this was mediocre at best. I'm glad others had a great experience but this was the worst food and hospitality we've experienced in our trips to New Mexico. We...