Bandelier Grill

Very tasty and a pleasant surprise!
We were staying at the RV park across the street and this is one of the only choices is White Rock. It has reopened as Don Villas but the sign still says Bandelier Grill.
I took a look at Unilocal and seriously considered just eating food from Smiths. But we decided to roll the dice and try it. My wife and I both had the southwest steak burrito smothered in green chile. It was really good! Far better than I expected based on the other Unilocal reviews. In fairness, there aren’t many reviews of the new Don Villas and are instead for the old Bandelier Grill.
We came in just before 5pm on a Monday and the place was completely empty. The décor is nice, more than I expected.
We got the food to go.
Portions were large. The burrito was very tasty with good beef and the green chile is quite good. Beans and rice accompanied the burrito. The beans were whole and not refried.
One comment — no liquor license so no cerveza to wash down the food.
I would totally go back. In fact, I probably will go back before I move on down the road.

I should have gone to Smiths and just gotten a TV dinner. At least I could have had it hot. Someone also needs to learn the difference between head lettuce and cabbage. I have to admit it was different. I had the chile rellenos. One scrawny chile, a pile of beans and rice. The rice was the best thing on the plate. Not worth the price.

Currently the signboard still say bandallier, however the restaurant has changed chefs and will now be called DonVillas. All i can say– it has turned 180. Great Mexican food and great service. Excited to see where it goes.

We wanted to give this place a try when it reopened however we were very disappointed in the food we both had enchiladas they just weren’t made very well unfortunately I don’t believe this restaurant will stay open very long I think the chef needs to go and check out other restaurants in Los Alamos and see how they make their food

The food was awful. Just awful. Chile rellenos with Panko? No cheese. Beans had a weird taste.

Food was good and the service adequate. We had the roast beef sandwich and it came out quickly and hot.

I happened across this place since there are only a total of three places to eat in White Rock. This place is mediocre at best.
I got the burrito. To their credit, it is large. The rice is alright. The burrito itself is nothing to brag about.
I should have just driven to Santa Fe.

I ordered lasagna and my boyfriend had the tamales, both were excellent. I mean, excellent, this was food my mom would make. The lasagna came with a wonderfully fresh salad and garlic toast… it was chock full of beef for only $ 12. The tamales were $ 12 as well. I am unsure why people say this place is expensive? He also ordered a very yummy blackberry margarita that knocked him on his a$$ :) After a long day of hiking, this was the best place to be. The people who say this place is expensive must eat at mcdonalds or live on .99 cent tacos.

I have this rule: I don’t eat barbecue in blue states. It never, ever works out well. But this time, I knew that between the red chile sauce and the ribs, it would be different. I just knew it!
It wasn’t. Instead of smoked ribs, these appeared to be hastily baked. It was kind of like a bony, chewy pork chop with layers of fat on top. The sauce was delicious, but couldn’t salvage the greasy undercooked pork ribs.
Don’t eat barbecue in blue states. It won’t be good.

My wife and I like to go here for breakfast on the weekends. Bandelier Grill makes, what I consider, the best Huevos Ranchos in Los Alamos County. (Viola’s in Los Alamos also makes an excellent Huevos Ranchos plate and I go there a lot too.)
What is amazing about Bandelier Grill for breakfast is that the community of White Rock doesn’t support it vary well. Each time we have gone to breakfast there, it’s completely empty. This place should be packing them in at breakfast. The quality and service are that good.
What is wrong with the folks in White Rock? Do they not go out to breakfast? Are they saving their bucks? Is this why there are so many millionaires here? Live a little folks, you can’t take it with you when you finally croak.
Anyway, if you are in Los Alamos and need breakfast, give them a try and you will be hooked too. See you there!!!
My one gripe would be that they don’t open till about 9:30 AM on Saturday. (They may open at 8:30 on Sunday … but check on that.) We usually are ready for breakfast earlier. Maybe if a few more people discover this place, they can justify opening up earlier on weekends for breakfast.

This local restaurant in White Rock is definitely a local, dive spot. I came here for lunch with a few co-​workers. The restaurant is definitely a New Mexican themed place, but has sandwiches and stuff as well. Since we were in New Mexico, I went with the Chile Rellenos and wasn’t disappointed. They were really tasty and had a nice batter to them. The rice and beans that came on the side were pretty blah and I didn’t eat those. The service was great. Our drinks were always full and he didn’t complain when we asked for our bill to be split.

I am a White Rock resident and I am happy we have the Bandelier Grill. I like the chile rellenos especially, but there are a variety of menu options for lunch and dinner. At breakfast I like the huevos rancheros best. There is a small but pleasant bar in the back. An older review complained that there was no beer. This was true when that review was written but is not true now. I have always had friendly service, sometimes a little slow, but always friendly.

One of the very few options in White Rock. Once the new owner took over, the food, although pricey, was pretty good… for several months. Hamburgers were very good. Tried the Italian food (lasagna) one time — the sauce was so awful that I couldn’t eat it and I sent it back. This was the first time I have ever sent a meal back. We tried it for breakfast one time. My husband ordered biscuits and gravy. The biscuits were so hard that he couldn’t even cut them with a knife! That meal went back. Chicken fried steak was good the first 3 times we tried it. Prime rib was ok. Now… just like almost all other restaurants in the Los Alamos area, the quality of food has dramatically dropped. We went for dinner last week. My husband ordered the chicken fried steak and it was overcooked and less than ½ of the size the last time we went. I ordered the Big Bacon Burger with green chile (very pricey but used to be good). The patty was a relatively thin pre made pressed patty (used to be fresh, thick and handmade), the green chile (extra cost) was a single thin piece with parts of peel still on it. The lettuce that was served with it was very limp and black/​brown along the edges. The sliced tomatoes were a sickly pale color and were completely hard and yellow in the center. Sadly, we won’t return. I would rather go pick up a sandwich at the Smith’s deli (right across the parking lot).
The good news — and the reason for 2 stars rather than just 1: Every waitress we have had at this restaurant has been very pleasant and attentive. Mary is the best!

Sadly, my most recent experience was less than satisfactory. We ordered the Nachos Appetizer, which came fairly promptly and was pretty good. However, our main order, the Reuben Sandwich was delivered after we’d barely had our first bite of the nachos. Very bad form! By the time we were ready for our sandwich, it was cold — and soggy from absorbing the sour kraut juice that had not been drained properly. They need to learn some of the basic elements of proper food service.

I wanted to really like this place because Mary makes you feel right at home when you arrive. I also love the atmosphere inside. Simple and relaxing. My only complaint and the reason for the three stars were the chicken fajitas were very salty. They were not better than what I can get back in Florida. Also, no chips and salsa with dinner. This is New Mexico and no chips and salsa with Mexican food?
The good thing about this place is the menu has a little of everything on it, and it is only one of two places to eat in Whiterock.

Quick lunch until shuttle bus comes for Bandelier — food was better than we thought — overpriced but no other options here.

It’s really pretty good considering white rock NM doesn’t have many options. My wife who usually shies away from burgers in general and when she does order one she eats half. Not this time the avalanche avacado burger was devoured. I barely got a bite. I’d go back.

Let me start with, I really wanted to like this place!
Here’s the setting: It’s sunday early afternoon, I heard that there is a grill in White Rock with pool tables. I’m thinking beer, pool, lunch, and some sunday afternoon football. How could you go wrong?
SO…the Bandelier Grill has neither booze nor TV’s. The waitress said that they were «still working on the liquor liscence.» Where I come from, that means that you lost it because of a mistake. I do not know the actual story. So my football sunday was out of the question. I figured it’s my own fault for not calling, so I moved on and hoped for some good food.
The waitress (attractive female in her mid 20’s) was very attentive and helpful. She was the best thing about the restaurant. Service was good, and reasonably quick.
The food was uninspired and over-​priced. I got their equivalent of a french dip (on the waitresses suggestion) with a side salad with raspberry vinaigrette. The dip had good ingredients; the meat was fresh and juicy, the bread seemed fresh, and the cheese was plentiful. Unfortunately the bread was soggy because the meat was not dripped before placing on the bun, and it was overall lacking flavor. Adding some salt helped. The lettuce on the salad was average (not particularly fresh and inviting), but the berry vinagrette (I honestly am not sure which berry… raspberry I think) was honestly the best I’ve ever had. It was thicker than most vinaigrettes, I’m guessing it had a yogurt base. Overall, my meal was OKAY, but with a soda and tip the tab came out just over 20 bucks, which is too much for an «okay» lunch. There are very good lunch options in Los Alamos for under 15.
The buddy that I was with got some kind of mushroom burger with fries. He said that his burger was okay in taste, very large, and with an unusually dense burger patty (not sure if that is good or bad). I am sad to say that the fries were TERRIBLE. Some of the worst I’ve had. They were substantially over-​fried, rendering half of them inedible and the other half mediocre at best. I don’t think I have ever left fries on a plate in my life; we left a pile of them today.
As for décor, etc… the diner is fine. It has an adobe type theme, simple diner décor, and was clean and orderly. Nothing inspired, but nothing problematic either. OH, I almost forgot; the entire time we were eating, we had a fly bugging us. Not an abundance of them, but one annoying fly. Not sure if this is a trend or a singular occurrence.
Overall, I am sad to say that I would not go back, nor would I recommend the place. I am big on customer service, and a good experience with the waitress will go a long way in my book, but mediocre food+expensive price is just too much to overcome with good service. If this café was 30% less expensive, served beer, and fixed their kitchen issues (Bad fries? Really?!?) it could really be a place worth going.

The food is mediocre at best and is terribly overpriced. The only reason they survive is because they are located directly across the street from the Bandolier National Monument Visitor Center.
Don’t waste your time and money.

I was a bit hesitant when we first walked in because there are two pool tables in the middle of the dining area, and nobody else was there. We sat down and a young waitress came to our table. Young waitresses (teens) usually bug me with their attitudes; however this girl was very friendly and attentive.
They were able to offer my boyfriend some gluten-​free options and they have vegan charro beans! I haven’t had vegan charro beans in a restaurant in years. Most have bits of ham floating in them. yuck.
The waitress suggested the special chile relleno (vegetarian style) for me. It was excellent. I think they used Panko or something similar to coat the chile and then baked it. Very good and crispy without all the grease of usual rellenos.
As we sat there, the place filled up and most of the customers were locals. A good sign…
On the way out I took a piece of chocolate cake to go. When I opened it back at camp I found the hugest piece of to-​go cake ever. Chocolate dessert for two days! Perfect!