Church Street Café

The secret garden out back is adorable! So peaceful and cool, even in the summer. We enjoyed the cheeseburger and a fajita salad. And guess what? The patio is pet-​friendly!
Our server was very sweet and attentive. I feel like we found a gem here in Old Town ABQ. I definitely recommend this place!

Copieux, bon et service rapide dans un cadre agréable dans l’arrière salle.
Très bon rapport qualité prix.
Je le recommande vivement

I have lived in Albuquerque my whole life and hadn’t ever tried Church Street Café until today. We had some guests in from Texas and they wanted to visit Old Town. For lunch, my hubby suggested Church Street. I was a little reluctant because I’d been to Hacienda and liked that place a lot. Well, we tried out Church Street, and I’m bummed that our friends will be left with the impression of New Mexico’s restaurants based on our experience.
When we met our friends and sat down, at one point it took the server nearly 20 minutes to bring us some drink refills. There was water and tea on a nearby cart so I went ahead and refilled their drinks since we were eating hot salsa. The server finally came over and took our order. He was not apologetic or very nice at all, actually. It took about thirty minutes for us to get our food. I was pretty disappointed when I heard that they don’t have refritos. What New Mexican restaurant doesn’t offer refried beans?
I understand that it was June and 96 degrees of pure New Mexican dry heat today, but this restaurant was scorching. We were sitting there sweating and it was very uncomfortable. When we got our food, I was very pleased with the queso and chips and my cheese enchiladas. The red chile was seasoned perfectly and I loved it. The green chile was good as well. The salsa didn’t taste good to me at all. It seemed too acidic. I also didn’t like the squash because the texture when steamed was slimy. I didn’t like the pinto beans, well because I don’t like pinto beans. My hubby said that his huevos rancheros was tasty, but he ordered his eggs over medium and they were runny and slimy and almost not cooked. He didn’t sent them back because he said the huevos itself still had great flavor.
My friends didn’t complain about their food so I’m sure they enjoyed the flavors also. My 2 year old ate a little of his fried chicken nuggets, but I was surprised that they don’t offer a kid’s burrito or taco.
Though there was some tasty food involved, I was definitely not impressed with my overall experience. This place seems to have great potential with their flavor, but don’t quite hit the nail on the head.
Cheers!

The food was decent, but not extraordinary. I had a Duke City Philly with potato salad. The service however, was incredibly slow. It took us about an hour to receive our food, and even then some of it had to be sent back. They seemed understaffed; it looked like one waiter was covering an incredibly crowded room. Not bad, but there are much better restaurants nearby.

We had an excellent dinner at Church Street Café, in the garden! We split an order of Chile Rellanos, with soft pinto beans and spinach. Both the salsas colorado e cedes were superb. Had a local cervesa, Alien. The service was varied — she brought me the wrong beer, but I enjoyed it anyway. She forgot to bring the salsas, but that was corrected with a smile.
We will definitely go back.

If you have a group larger than four, be prepared for an excessively long wait for drinks and food. I can’t tell you how well the food is prepared, because after an hour, we are still waiting for it.

Mediocre food. Really mellow atmosphere and friendly service. Just wish the food was a bit more tasty. Their diced potatoes were way too soft and mushy rather than crisp.

This was my first time to eat here although my sister knew it well. It was a GORGEOUS day on Memorial day and I was all for eating outside. As we walked further and further to the back of the restaurant my hopes of outdoor dining were waning, then I see this wonderful sight… a large back patio that was just PERFECT! Our waiter was a cute young Hispanic who took very good care of us. I ordered the chili rellenos and split that with my partner who had the chicken enchiladas. Both were outstanding! Their green chili sauce was a little more mild than I’ve grown accustomed and the red chili sauce was FULL of flavor.

Good food in a quaint Mexican atmosphere. The service was excellent.

Outstanding food and service. We had a blast! Chips and salsa were excellent con queso was the best I have ever had. Christmas enchiladas (green and red chilies) was fantastic!

Beautiful setting, friendly staff. Inexcusably slow. Order time to finishing our meal was notably over 2 hours, and despite the food being good, there was no special edge that made my $ 18 meal special.

We decided to go against the Unilocaling masses and followed the recommendation of a local artist. We were generally happy with our decision.
The salsa is excellent. We ordered Chili Rellenos, Adovada al Horno and Tamales. Everyone enjoyed their meal. The sopapillas were delicious.
It is not a 5-​star by any measure, but it was a good experience. The ambiance is first rate.

Great Mexican food! We ate out on the beautiful back patio. I judge a Mexican restaurant by the quality of its chips and salsa. They did not dissapoint. The salsa was spicy and full of flavor. The chips were thick and warm. My husband ordered the combination plate. It came with a pork tamale, beef enchilada, and chile relleno. Great beans, rice just ok. The sopapillas for dessert are light and airy. I had the posole with green chile and Marion ’ s vegetarian sandwich. I put salsa on the sandwich because I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. Friendly staff and fun atmosphere.

Been here many times before always loved it but an unengaged, selectively inattentive server can make all the difference. One of those times where you watch him check on other tables, refill water glasses but ignore your table. Perhaps he had designs on the ladies in that group?
I explained to him over my half eaten meal that when a tourist asks if the green Chili is hot you might say some people find it so. Dismissive attitude especially irritating resulting in half my normal tip.
I’ll likely be back but will steer clear of this guy if he’s still around.

Disappointed. Service was most of the issue. Average tasting food and «wine-​based» margaritas an honorable 2^nd. We were brought here by a local couple who told us they won’t ever come back, which is a bummer because the atmosphere was a 5 (funky & trendy).
Good points: chips & salsa and the non-​traditional sopapilla (Puffed dough dessert).
We ordered 3 margaritas, 2 were good but one (we all tasted it) was «off» we mentioned to server about it not tasting right (explaining maybe the bartender used too much sour mix or similar-(in essence giving him an «out”-not HIS fault)) and he got offended and said «well, she liked it» pointing to one of the 3 of us. He seemed angry he had to bring us another «wine based» margarita. (This was only the beginning of the bad service and attitude that continued by «Gavino» according to the receipt).
Add to that: Food was average. The best thing we ordered (party of 7) was NOT «Mexican» the fruit salad was exceptionally fresh and the spinach salad was a 10 too (see pics). Tamales, burrito, fajita, chilies relleños were not «awful» I’d say «ok».
Every other restaurant in this area was PACKED –should have been a warning that a party of 7 on a Friday night in the center of a «hot spot» didn’t need a reservation (we had one) but it was empty.
Anyhow, stop in for guacamole and chips and maybe share a fruit salad otherwise you are passing up some really good places nearby.

We were actually heading to another place in Old Town that we had been to a bunch and then decided to call an audible and try something new. So to Church Street Café we went!
The atmosphere is really cool. I do not remember exactly but the building was from the 1700s. That’s crazy! It felt mostly cozy and nice. The only exception is that their frozen margarita machine was SO LOUD. It was seriously driving us crazy by the end. I would ask to be seated as far away as possible from that in the future.
We were really impressed with the food. First the salsa was oddly satisfying to eat. It has less heat than I like and less bite than others, but it was really easy to eat and flavorful. My sister got the vegetable fajitas and they were exceptional. Truly surprisingly good. My combination plate and my wife’s Huevos Rancheros were also really good (except the potatoes which looked amazing and really weren’t…but that wasn’t the main thing).
Now, the service. Our server was really good… until the end… I asked for the check and she literally forgot about us. We were waiting for 10 minutes, and my wife was going nuts from the noise of the machine so she waited outside and saw our server sitting in the other room folding napkins and silverware. I eventually had to get up and go ask her (again) for the check. Until that point, she was great.
Overall, we do not go out for New Mexican food too often but when we have people visiting, I will certainly take them here (Except again, sitting away from the machine in back)

I’ve been going here for years. The food is always great. It can be difficult to find the first time as it is behind San Felipe church in old town. It looks tiny from the front but is surprising how large it actually is. The out door patio is absolutely lovely.

Looks small from the outside but is quite large on the inside, housed in a beautiful historic building. The inside is nicely decorated, with lots of Chimayo style pillows.
The cheese enchiladas and salad I ordered were wonderful, and arrived in a timely manner. My waitress seemed exhausted and stressed (hey, she’s only human) but was so courteous and attentive despite it. I had to tip her extra for being such a trooper. I look forward to returning.

I have spent a week in Old Town, trying many different restaurants. Church Street Café was my biggest letdown. It truly felt touristy. Chips and salsa were cold and standard. Food was mediocre. There are many other places in Old Town much more worth trying out than this place, I feel like this place just can’t keep up with the new generation of fresh Mexican restaurants popping up in the area. This place is dated and your money is spent elsewhere (Backstreet Grill, Cocina Azul, Golden Panaderia, etc).

This is a great place and a friend favorite in Albuquerque. It’s becoming a go-​to for celebration dinners. They have great margaritas which can be ordered by the pitcher. They also have yummy food and the staff are knowledgeable about what has gluten in it. I’ve enjoyed the taco plate before, and last time I ordered taquitos off the appetizer menu which were really nice. Definitely recommend for a good meal in Old Town!

The food here is mediocre at best. The décor is awesome, and so are their sopapillas (drizzle a little honey on them). I had their green chili menudo and green chili chicken soups. Both had very little green chili, and had a ton of filler. I found about 4 pieces of tripe in my green chili menudo, and about a million pieces of hominy. The Enchiladas were okay, but nothing spectacular. Almost on the dry side. This place does not do hatch green chili justice!

We live in ABQ, but had heard this was one of the better places to eat in Old Town.
The interior is very nice — a beautiful and comfortable place to dine with friends or family.
However, both the food and service were hit or miss. I ordered the taco plate with ground beef and it was inedible: the meat was tasteless, soggy with grease, and reminded me of something you’d get on a cafeteria line. I nibbled on about ½ of one of the 3 tacos and left the rest on my plate. The pinto beans were flavorless — they just tasted like beans in water. The rice was also so mild it reminded me of something you’d get at a fast food tex-​mex place.
My dining companion had the pork burrito and enjoyed it. The green chile was flavorful and had a good spice — the red was downright hot. They enjoyed their sides, which included buttery squash and corn as well as spinach.
SO — it seems you might get lucky and get good food.
The service was confusing — not terrible, but not very good. She kept drinks full but told us we «didn’t need more chips and salsa» rather than asking if we wanted more (we did, but did not push). She didn’t seem to notice that the food on my plate was mostly untouched (a good opportunity to ask if anything is wrong — if a server cares).
It wasn’t as bad as some other experiences I have had in Old Town, but the experience was not great by any stretch. For $ 40 for two plates and two sodas, I will eat elsewhere next time.

Great portions of tasty Mexican food but a tad on the pricy side. 4 people with tip was nearly $ 80

We’ve been here on two separate occasions. Once going west on Route 66 and the other time going East. Both visits were excellent!
My first visit, I was with my teen daughter and we were stuck in Albuquerque because my car was throwing a fit along Route 66, but that’s another story. So the hotel owner told us we needed to try Church Street café, so we did just that. So happy we took his suggestion!
My daughter has never been a fan of Mexican food, not like her mama, who loves it. I was surprised when she finished her whole plate and she was a super fan of the chips and salsa! As for me… Well of course, I loved it! The flavors were very different from the Mexican food on the West coast. It almost had a smokiness to it. The peppers they use in their dishes, I feel sets it apart from what I have been used to. Excellent!
On our second visit (traveling east), we brought the husband whose favorite food is Mexican. His go to dish is chile relleno, which he ordered. He really enjoyed it because of the sauce. For him, it’s all about the sauce. My daughter kept looking at his expressions and asking «it’s good, right? It’s good, huh.»
We love the interior too, I’ve always been a fan of Spanish design. It is bigger than it looks when you go inside.
I plan on visiting Albuquerque in a couple years and you know where I will be Unilocaling from :)

Absolutely delicious! Been coming to Old Town Albuquerque for years. First time here, and we’ve been missing out. The enchiladas & tamales were first rate. The sopapillas are some of the best I’ve eaten.
Don’t miss it!

I’m updating my previous review since the owner follows up and personally offered the credit the overcharging. She also said that they would use the review for service coaching.
Church Street Café is usually delicious and while the service is hit or miss, I appreciate their dedication to their community and their patrons. We will try them again in the future. Thank you.

In a cute area called «old town» surrounded by small boutiques and shops and overall southwest culture. The food is good and the happy hour and half off apps is a pretty good deal. The set up in general is cool and I wish I wash there during warmer weather periods because of their front and back patio. so cool
Everyone in the restaurant including the customers were super friendly and social.
The portions here are big as well and they give complimentary post dessert (fried bread with honey) pretty Delish.

Yeah, this place is a shocker. From the outside, it looks as big as a studio apartment. The inside goes on and on and on. Nothing else was open, surprisingly, at 10 am in Old Town. It took us forever to find this place, so we were grateful. We sat out on the back patio, drank margaritas and had a nice breakfast with some sopapillas. Service was ok. Our check wasn’t as prompt as we would have liked, but to be fair to the waitress, my partner and I were yakking away, so she might have felt it was intrusive to jump in with check. Good hearty breakfast food. It might not be gourmet, and maybe a couple of steps above IHOP, but filling. The margaritas– A+

We stopped in for Friday brunch and were pleasantly surprised. Despite being located in the touristy area of Oldtowne Albuquerque, I felt like I was dining inside a well established, family operated restaurant. (I don’t actually know the true history)
I had some amazing Enchilladas!!! Yum Yum

We went there because we only had a couple hours in Albuquerque and wanted to go to a hot spot to eat. It was cute, it’s popular so it’s a bit of a wait, but they give you a light-​up pinger thing so you can walk around the area while waiting.
The margarita was delicious, the food came quick, the prices are average, it’s a really nice outdoor space in the back.
Cute place, good food.
It is very possible that it’s a tourist trap — I was a tourist and I enjoyed it.

Update: I did bring my parents back here and they loved it! We got a pitcher of the Sunrise Margaritas (Tequila Sunrise? Something along the lines of that). It was delish. And I was able to try the green sauce a little better this time. AMAZING. My mom bought a jar of it before we left the restaurant and I’m sad she took it with her back to California. I guess I will just have to buy my own next time.

This place is bigger than it looks on the outside. Seeing the storefront, I thought it was like a hole in the wall. When the hostess walked us in to be seated, it turned into a giant maze of rooms, each with its own character. Finally, we were seated in this giant 2 level dining room with live entertainment, in the form of a guy on the guitar =)))!
–Chile relleno: Whatever their batter is, it’s so good! It’s a bit lighter than other batters I’ve had and definitely held on to its crunch a lot longer.
–Cheese enchiladas with red sauce: Mmmmm I’m really loving the smoky red sauce I keep encountering in this area. It has a good kick to it.
–Strawberry margarita: Not bad and packed a bigger punch than it tasted. Server didn’t ask me if I wanted it blended or on the rocks, he just made the decision for me =T At least he asked if I wanted salt or sugar o. o;;
If everything was so delicious, why not 5 stars? The server. Don’t really know what his problem was but he just didn’t want to be serving us. Usually when you’re near the end of your drink, you’re asked if another is to be had. He didn’t. He was hard to flag down too. When he finally came around, to give us our check… heyyyyy I didn’t ask for that =(I was able to order another drink. After I got my drink, before I even got halfway down, he dropped off the check again… way to make us feel welcome =(
ps…people were ordering fajitas left and right, looked DELICIOUS.

Came here for a late dinner. Honestly, it isn’t a real tasty dine in place. However, the ambiance makes it kind of cool to be here. A lady had fallen when we were going in. Beware it’s kind of dark going in and the floor kind of shaky. The city itself is nice. Lots of history and walking spots when around the restaurant. Just don’t expect much from the food. It’s average tasting food nothing like fireworks in your mouth. It’s about a 2.5

We picked this restaurant to spend a quiet afternoon with an out-​of-​town visitor coming to a conference and staying at a hotel in Old Town. We studied many possibilities, looking for a place with a nice courtyard for having a couple of drinks and enjoying New Mexico style.
We picked Church St Café. The ambiance was wonderful, the food quite good, and the server attentive.
The margaritas were only so-​so however. That was a disappointment. I think the waiter said that they can’t serve tequila due the proximity to the church nearby. That caused our guest to ask us whether in New Mexico they can’t serve hard liquor next to an Ashram, or whether the rule applies only to certain types of churches.

This is a perfect place for tourists looking for a true New Mexico feel. All of the typical NM food is here: burritos, huevos rancheros, green chile rellenos, and on. They also have some tasty margaritas and a beautiful back patio. My only complaint is that the service isn’t always perfect but understandably these guys get very busy.

The ambiance here is about all that is worth writing or raving about, but you should be warned. I had to send back my Carne Adovado, because it was quite cold on the plate edges. They must take the pork out of some bin, and then throw it under the salamander to re-​warm with the Chile sauce over it. Even the cheese was barely warmed. The kitchen clearly rushed that. The waitress never came back to check on us. That’s a big no-​no. Staff in general does nothing to help each other out. No manager could be seen on the floor at any time, and this is a large operation.
I could give it one extra star for the relatively decent red salsa that came with dark brown chips. But…
the $ 3+ run of the mill iced tea and one realizes that this is one money collection system that favors the owner. What does ice tea cost to make? Sure I understand drinks are a big profit maker for owners, but really, let’s be a little cognizant of the presentation. I was being served in a cafeteria style glass here.
At least I was smart to steer clear of the wine based margaritas. As other have noted that too will be something you won’t find top of the mark either.
As Rudy H. said in his review not much is inspired here, most importantly the critical staff.
Too bad, because the history here is amazing, and could be exceptional. It felt like a tourist trap.

So, I just had lunch at this nice little café in Old Town with some co-​workers. Little is an understatement because from the outside it looks like a little quint café. But once you walk inside it opens up to good size restaurant.
I really like the adobe look of the outside of the restaurant and the southwestern feel and décor was a nice touch.
Church St Café is your typical New Mexican style restaurant serving up some typical New Mexican/​Mexico style foods. Since I live near Old Town, I’ve been up and down that area plenty of times and I usually haven’t eaten at any of the restaurants there because I feel they cater to tourists and I’m afraid the flavors and types of food served in those restaurants could be considered «safe» and not really «authentic».
My fears were realized my friends! Although the «Pollo De Ruiz» (Chicken breast sandwich with green chile and cheese wrapped in a flour tortillas) I had was good, the green chile– I’m very sorry to say– was very plain and very mild, with no kick or flavor what’s so ever. I kind of like my roasted green chile on the medium to hot side. Like I said what I ate was very good but man, hotter, roasted green chile would have kick it up a bit. Add some garlic and a little bit of salt to waken it up and BAM!!! Home run!
All in all, Church St Café is a wonderful eatery and worth your time if your in the old town are and you want to grab a bit to eat!

We came here after being recommended by our hotel. At first glance it looks like a tiny place but my looks can be deceiving. We sat in one of the back patios by the water fountain and it was extremely pleasant.
I ordered the vegetarian fajitas. Others at my table ordered the chicken and beef fajitas and beef enchiladas.
The vegetarian fajitas were amazing! The mushrooms were so flavorful. You get a lot of food with this dish. My fellow diners said that their chicken and steak fajitas were really good. The meat was tender and veggies cooked to perfection. It had a nice spice that she liked that was not to strong. My other fellow dinner said that his only complaint was that the corn tortilla with his beef enchiladas was a poor choice, a flour tortilla would have been better.
We also got a pitcher of agave Margaritas 23 dollars for a pitcher a good price for the number of drinks we got out of it. They were very good!
Lastly the sopapillas were flakey and buttery and a good finish.

I’ve seriously considered giving this local mainstay a two-​star review following my most recent visit, and if they don’t get their act together soon, that’s where they’ll be for me. I’ll give ‘em one more shot, but man, I’m currently not a fan. But let me preface by stating that over many, many years I’ve enjoyed some decent meals, and service, on the absolutely gorgeous patio out back, which is strewn with lots of trumpet vine, potted plants and wooden coverings shielding the harsh New Mexico sun.
It was a Saturday, a little after noon, obviously Tourist Central time for the place, and I expected a short wait. We were given one of those vibrating beepers and told we could wait 10 or 15 minutes, which was fine. Oh, and we waited at the front dest a good five minutes before we found the host. Anyway, when we were finally led through the restaurant, I put on my waiter goggles. In college I worked in more restaurants than I’d care to recall, and so I have a sort of automatic radar for service, and that thing started hollering when we toured the interior. Less than half of the tables were occupied. The large main room towards the back was virtually empty, maybe three parties. And the patio? Again, half full.
Our waitress was out of her mind busy, which explains why our water and ice tea were never refilled. Food took the better part of forever to arrive. The plates themselves were really haphazard, slapped together. I had to get up and ask for the check. My wife said, «Honey, this is one of those times when you don’t tip 20 percent. You just don’t.» And I didn’t. (This is crazy rare for me.) I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt, because hey, every business has a bad day or five. But I really don’t come here for the food. The service, ambiance and occasional hint of an Old Town ghost is my motivation. Right now, I’m much more motivated to grab New Mexican eats at Monica’s El Portal, across the street.