Hillcrest Restaurant

There must have been some hungry travelers to give this restaurant four stars. The service was good, the food was average at least for lunch. However I don’t understand all the rave reviews. As a highway stop, it was way better than a chain. We had a green chili hamburger. The green chile was too mild. The red chile was good, but not the best in the state. Burritos were of adequate size. The tacos were good but not great. Lettuce for the burger was more white than green. The restaurant was clean and homey and the staff was friendly.

We were passing through heading home to Phoenix and this place had the best rating. The staff were very nice but that is where good stuff ends. We ask to sit on the patio then we were lead through the Kitchen, into a dark hallway, through a decrepit door which opened into the bar. Passing through the whole bar and finally to a very plain Jane covered area where smoking was allowed. The bar tender waited on us and I must admit he was very nice. I order a chicken enchilada with red chili. My wife ordered a quesadilla that came with French frys which we thought to be strange but as it turned out the frys were the best part of both meals. They were tasty but very both were very greasy. We tend to lean toward heather food and this town doesn’t seem offer much of that if any. So if your passing through town… just keep on driving.

Despite the Unilocal review reporting that this place was good for kids, we found that to not really be the case. We got there about an hour prior to closing time and the staff made it clear that they were ready to go home. The food was so-​so, it took quite a while to get it served, and by the time we were done (although there were other tables still dining) the restaurant had closed their doors and were turning away guests. When dining in Las Vegas, there are better choices. We won’t be back.

Traveling north on I-​25, we again consulted Unilocal for a meal recommendation. Hilltop looked like the place. I had the cheese enchilada breakfast. Two enchiladas, topped with the BEST red chili I’ve ever had. On top of that, two fried eggs. The was enough chili to enjoy with the hash browns. The red beans were a nice finish for the meal. My wife had the Las Vegas omelet, also delicious.
Our waitress was delightful, giving my wife am iced tea to go.

Amazing food, fantastic service and wonderful atmosphere! As an «out of towner,» I can definitely recommend this place to anyone for a lovely stop. The steak sandwich was delicious as well as the pecan pie and ice cream!

Great food and very very nice people

Burnt cheese tacos were good and savory. Waitress was very kind. Cute place with a history.

Cozy and relaxing feel of the place and quality food make up for slow service. (Staff was friendly and well-​intended but a little neglectful.) Obviously a popular mainstay in the community.
The smothered burrito has a beautiful presentation and tastes just like homemade!
An order for a cheeseburger was slow to arrive, possibly to cook sweet potato fries, which are an expensive substitution at $ 1.00. (Overall nice value for the portions.) Everything tasted nice and fresh.
Save room for pie! The slice of coconut cream pie I ordered was easily shared by three.

Large menu featuring American and Mexican dishes. Good family restaurant! Servers were friendly while doing a great job. Reasonable prices!!!

After an interesting morning touring the railroad district in town, we went to lunch at the Hillcrest. The restaurant has the diner feel to it, which is okay. Since we have a banquet tonight we shared a grilled ham and cheese with French fries. Good lunch. For dessert, we shared a piece of good coconut cream pie. Service was very good.

Here we go New Mexicans! Local Unilocaler here. I was in Las Vegas needling lunch. No way was I to eat at a national chain… Blakes yes but not McGross. So, driving on the main drag, Grand Ave, I spotted this restaurant, slowed down, and noticed a full parking lot. THIS IS IT I SCREAMED TO MYSELF… when I travel I try to experience the unique. So, here’s this place, almost the same since 1947, beckoning me as it did travellers along the highway… before there was an Interstate. This place survived all these years and is a gem itself. There’s even a Flamingo Dining Room in the rear…“for special occasions”. I bet every city had a «Flamingo» something from yesteryear. So, I was seated and taken care of by The Energizer Bunny Carly (?)…I even called her that. She wasn’t too amused. The menu here is simply American classics and of course New Mexico plates, all priced reasonably. There’s no quinoa, kale, sushi, or tofu any where in the historic diner. I ordered «burnt cheese tacos»…another calorie explosion in my gut. They were pretty good even though I got ground beef instead of chicken. But this place is all about the history, dining the way we did many decades ago, a survivor against the chains at the freeway exits.

I ate at this place quite a bit while working in the area. It has such a cool Diner vibe and the food is great! It has little mind bender games at the table and you used to be able to control the juke box from the table as I recall. Cool place will stop again when I’m back in Vegas!

Wow an amazing chorizo omelette the best flavor. One of the best Mexican omelet yes we have ever had. it’s an older place. But food was great. looks like all the locals come here. Prices are very fare. Don’t second guess it. just come here and eat. you won’t be sorry.

After all the great reviews we decided to go to the restaurant. We had a corndog for the kid, the burnt cheese tacos, the rusty burger, and the chicken fried steak. As desert my kid had the pumpkin pie. Most food was fair to average, solid diner food. The burnt cheese tacos were a very nice touch and well prepared. The salsa that came with the tacos was fresh. The pumpkin pie with ice cream as the desert was very good. The waitstaff was slow with the drink refills but friendly.

Stopped for breakfast on the way to Colorado. Fresh ingredients, fast service, friendly staff. Glad we went here rather than one of the typical road stops. I had the veggie skillet. Coffee could use some improvement. Great price.

We stopped here on the way home from taos. We were greeted with all smiles and have a nice cozy booth. The wait staff is very friendly and the restaurant is clean. They accommodated all of our needs. Fried chicken is incredible hand battered and fresh. The pancakes and sausage or excellent as well. The burnt cheese tacos are a must. I would recommend this restaurant to any of my friends.

The wait staff was nice but very uninvolved. The décor was cute and homey, but everything else was pretty average. First we got out milkshakes which were great and you could tell they were made with real ice cream! The soup of the day was the French onion soup and my fiancé and I thought it was way too salty and when you finished there was a huge lump of cheese in the bottom. I got the chicken strip dinner. The chicken strips were very freezer burned. The mashed potatoes and gravy that came on the side were good, but nothing special. My fiancé got the chicken breast dinner. The French fries were nice and crispy, but the chicken itself was average. I think if you wanted a place to grab fries and a shake this would be good, but it’s not great for a whole meal like we had.

Tasty food & small-​town vibe. We got it to-​go and it was hot and ready for us when we arrived.
I recommend the Burned Chez tacos — delicious! Also the New Mexico burger, which is served open faced and smothered in the chili of your choice. (we also got the tostadas … They weren’t quite as good as the others … Kind of bland)

Excellent food we were on our way back to Colorado from Albuquerque and stopped for dinner. Every meal we ordered were great. Our server was super nice and the service was great. I had the burnt cheese tacos wonderful ate every bite. We would stop here again.

I’ve been to this place a few times now in my various trips to this portion of NM. And always have I been intrigued by the «burnt cheese tacos». I mean, WTF! What’s a burnt cheese taco. Well, when in Rome!
So I ordered them one night. And HOLY COW! Really good AND really guilt inducing. It’s essentially a regular corn tortilla taco but with like a pound of burned on cheese stuck to the outside of it! One pound (+/​– 15oz.) of burned, crispy/​gooey oily cheese! They’re SO good! You just can’t stop eating them even though each one removes 6 months of life and adds 2 pounds of «fatty fatty boom ba latty» to you.
Come and play some Merle/​Toto/​Journey on the old school juke and marvel at the modern wonders of formica tables! You may or may not want to start bucking broncos after eating here!