Tiwa Kitchen Restaurant

A favorite of ours. We had lots of great meals in NM, from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, to Taos and points in between. There were some real standouts, but one Tiwa Kitchen was top of the heap.
The food is simple, flavorful, unpretentious, and unique. What more could a traveler, seeking new and authentic understandings of people and cultures — AND a great meal — ask for?
As if all that weren’t enough, the people were friendly, relaxed and welcoming, and were very eager to share knowledge with us.
We’ll be back.

I love this place. The interior design is unique and reminiscent of traditional New Mexican architecture. As a family-​owned restaurant, it is a pleasure to meet with and talk to the family who owns it. Debbie, the mother and wife, also sells baked goods at the Taos Pueblo so don’t forget to stop by the Pueblo and say hi. (Hint: try her piñón prune-​apple pie.)
I only stopped by once but the food I had was delicious. I tried the vegetarian blue corn enchiladas with chokecherry lemonade. For any chokecherry fans out there, the lemonade is a must try. As for the enchiladas… they were so yummy I snapped them right up.
The menu generally consists of food with meat, blue corn, squash, chili, fry bread, and other traditional New Mexican/​Native American foods. All the food is organic and sustainable, while the buffalo meat is grass-​fed and honored in the Taos Indian tradition.
Menu Items (from what I can remember):
Buffalo Burger
Vegetarian Blue Corn Enchiladas
Phientye (Fry bread filled with buffalo meat and topped with chili sauce)
Appetizers:
Fried Squash
Fry bread Sticks
Drinks:
Atole (a hot blue corn beverage)
Indian Tea
Chokecherry Lemonade
Iced Tea
Usual Soda (Coke, Pepsi)
Note: Reposting an old review on a new account.

I would love to Unilocal the food, but we have been down twice, an hour drive, and they have been closed both times despite website and Unilocal saying they were open. Won’t be making this mistake again.

If you are interested in having a tasty, authentic Pueblo Indian meal, this is the place to go. The food is simple, but done very nicely, and the ingredients appear to be grown and prepared locally. The breads are delicious, and come in a couple of varieties — fried and baked. I enjoyed a small loaf stuffed with ground buffalo meat, accompanied by cooked vegetables, and an appetizer of fried bread dipped in their chokecherry sauce. My friends enjoyed their dishes as well, and we are in agreement that this was the best meal we had during our vacation.

Honestly, this is one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in a while. It was so good for lunch that I came back the next day for breakfast. The menu was totally different but they delivered completely on both meals.
For lunch, I ate grilled buffalo meat. It was excellent, full of juiciness, succulent. I had some of my mom’s Phien-​tye, a frybread stuffed with ground buffalo meat. It was also excellent! The blue corn frybread was deliciously prepared as well and was surprisingly un-​oily, a major bonus for me.
For breakfast, I had the blue corn pancakes. They were absolutely delicious! The chokecherry syrup was also great, and I enjoyed the pancakes both with and without it. I ordered buffalo sausage, and I have to say that it was some of the best sausage patty I’ve ever had. The buffalo meat has so much flavor in it! I also had a chance to try the stew, which was so flavorful! I only wish that my stomach were larger so that I could eat another meal of theirs immediately after.
Also, you need to try their tea. Just do it. It’s amazing!
As a side note, my parents and I couldn’t help admiring the red willow baskets on display in the restaurant. We asked Debbie Sandoval, the chef, and she told us that she had made them. They’re really beautiful!
Honestly, I can’t wait to go back to Taos just to eat at Tiwa Kitchen again! Kudos to the owners for creating something truly wonderful to experience.

This place is fantastic. We walked in and were greeted in a prompt and friendly manner by a man who turned out to be the owner. Since we visited at an off hour for dining, he was able to talk to us not only about the food but also about the way of life in the Taos Pueblo. Fascinating. Then when the food came it was fresh, skillfully made, and delicious. When in Taos, this place is a must visit.

This was said to be home style Taos Pueblo fare. It lived up to it’s description. We tried traditional food and drink and we weren’t disappointed. Foodies remember this is cultural cuisine.

Our family spent Christmas Eve at the Pueblo with our holiday meal at Tiwa Kitchen. This was an authentic Native American meal and was crazy delicious! We enjoyed a meal of buffalo squash stew, red chili stew, beans, potato salad, fried bread, cookies and choke cherry lemon aid. So amazing! While in Taos stop by… you won’t be disappointed! If you’re there Christmas Eve make it a family tradition… I know we will!

If you want some delicious, inexpensive, quality food, visit Tiwa Kitchen while in or traveling near Taos, New Mexico. We’re from California and spent three days and two nights in Taos. The owners of Tiwa Kitchen are genuine, kind, and generous. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. We preferred the food at Tiwa Kitchen to the overpriced local restaurants. Their blue corn pancakes, Indian tea, breakfast burritos, choke-​cherry lemonade, choke-​cherry syrup, and fry bread are amazing. If we had more time, we would have tried everything on the menu, but we had to head home. I hear the burgers with chiles is awesome. That will be what we try next time we visit.

Glad we stopped in. The restaurant is quaint and rustic. But offers some really unique and good food. The owner is very friendly quick. Will def be back!