Bella’s Mexican Grill

Nice ambience with very pretty hollyhocks growing in outdoor courtyard with fountain. We ordered the enchiladas with a sunny side egg on top and it was very flavorful sauces in the Christmas blend. The margarita on rocks was very refreshing.

Felt overrated. The food was interesting. But not really all that great. And spicy! We aren’t hot food wimps. But wow! Watch out. This place is more about the atmosphere and experience then the food. Maybe we just ordered the wrong thing.

We stopped here during a family vacation on our way back from Durango. Wanting to visit Taos and experience some good local Southwest fare we found this on Unilocal (already highly rated) and were not disappointed. First of all, the service is top-​notch (which was important considering we had 10 including 2 kids under 7 and 2 kids under 2). It isn’t the kind of place I would have expected to have the chef’s menu run-​down speech, highlighting the specialties and ingredients, but not only was this treatment appreciated, it led to discoveries that would have been overlooked left on our own to peruse the menu. The first of these was the Elote, a corn on the cob dish with chili spice and a creamy sauce that will render bland all future corn on the cob.
The description of the three sauces (green, red, and mole) made me want to try all three (green for the heat, red for the chili flavor, and mole for the complex fusion of ingredients). Unfortunately I had to choose and went with the red. I therefore can’t speak for the others, but the red will not disappoint. It had a freshness that made it possible to experience the individual flavors of the chilis within. Our server (and chef?) noted that it was a recipe from his 92 year old mother passed down from her mother before her. The red sauce was covering enchiladas filled with cochinita pibil (Mayan marinated pork), which was also excellent.
Wash it down with a Mexican lager or Sante Fe IPA on draught, and you have an extremely satisfying road trip meal. We also had the Mahi-​Mahi ceviche as an appetizer, which was also very good.
We’re from Texas, and in our home town we could literally eat at a different Tex-​Mex restaurant every day for two weeks and still have restaurants left untouched. We’re no stranger to Mexican fare. Even with having it on a regular basis, however, this place was still very impressive, possibly our best meal of the trip. You could tell they had great pride in their dishes and ingredients, and if you are in need of good Mexican in Taos in the plaza area, I would highly recommend a stop at Bella’s.

Had the shredded chicken tortilla soup for my entrée and a blush sangria. The soup could have had more protein in it, but otherwise spicy and delicious.
They did not have traditional «queso» to the disappointment of my friends, but we tried their Mexican version. It definitely wasn’t meant for dipping or dunking your fresh chips into, but it wasn’t bad at all, just different.
Staff was friendly, thoughtful, and knowledgeable about the surrounding area.

I love Bella’s. I’d eat there every day if it wasn’t for wanting to fit into my pants. The sopapillas (NM fry bread) are amazing (and spicy) and the chimichangas are, too. When it’s warm enough, sit in the courtyard and listen to the fountain. The servers are great, the owners are warm and friendly, and like Taos, Bella’s is a one of a kind treat!

In town for vacation and we know it is spring break… after all that is why we are here. According to staff, you must make reservations, or as the hostess/​manager said. «We aren’t going to talk to you if you don’t have reservations. You do know it is spring break». It is the worst experience my family has had in this great town. Unfortunately we were treated with pure disrespect when trying to grab dinner for the family. Big thanks to Doc Martins for fitting our group of 8 in without reservations and having probably the best meal of our trip. Definitely recommend Doc Martins and the Irish band for Saint Patrick’s day was great. I typically don’t review places but this experience called for it.

Blue Corn Enchiladas and Verde Chimichanga for my husband. Food was AMAZING. Being from CA and moving to TX we were really missing great Mexican food. This was exactly what we needed.
I am not sure but it looked as though there were only 2 servers for whole restaurant (I think) but they did a fantastic job. Every table. Every refill. Suggested items… Excellent, hard working servers.

Amazing! The food was incredibly fresh and the staff was super friendly. We ordered the table side guac and the corn appetizer. We aren’t sure how we had enough room for the shrimp fajitas and shrimp enchiladas, but they were both that good we made room to finish it!
We will probably eat there again!

We ate here on our first night in Taos after a long drive from Dallas. Our party was exhausted so we were a little punchy, but the food, service, and atmosphere was lovely! We enjoyed shrimp fajitas, enchiladas, and chile en nogada (amazing)! Our waiter, originally from Arizona, was so knowledgeable about each dish, preparation, ingredients used, etc. They seated us right by the fireplace on a chilly night, and that (along with a few cocktails) warmed us right up!

Enjoyed a wonderful lunch by the fire place. Enjoyed fresh walk a moly tableside with very fresh and warm chips. The chili granules were excellent with the tacos of the day. The artwork and ambience is very nice. The service was excellent and so are the margaritas. We will come here more often.

Warm atmosphere, friendly service and delicious food. The guacamole appetizer is made table side and absolutely savory and hit the spot. The wait staff was incredibly attentive and even started a fire in the fireplace at our request. If you’re looking for a cozy place to relax, eat yummy authentic Mexican food then look no further. Will definitely return when in Taos again.

We had a horrible experience here on NYE. We were never offered chips and salsa, and had to ask 3 times for it. The chips were stale. We ordered table side guacamole and it took over 30 minutes to arrive. We were told the girl works slower now since she was demoted. Are you kidding me? The guacamole wasn’t very good anyway. One of our orders was ‘sold out’, but we weren’t told until about 20 minutes after we ordered it. My enchilada with shredded beef had no flavor. I’ve had a better burrito at Chipotle. There were old dirty cups left on a windowsill next to our table. Overall, horrible experience. I would avoid at all costs!

If you’re in Santa Fe, this restaurant is worth the drive! Take the high road and come enjoy some amazing food. Definitely get the table side guacamole and the grilled corn! Delish. I opted for the Carne Deshabrada tacos. Ahhhhmazing. Fresh farm to table ingredients. Oh, and don’t forget to order a margarita to wash it all down!

Trotsky. He’s the best waiter as in, ever. The food? Best in Taos. Bella’s is a must visit experience every time we are in Taos which is every other weekend.

Visiting Taos from California I was craving some good regional food. Bella did not disappoint.
Beginning with the warm crisp chips and the handmade guacamole freshly made table side from 1 ½ avocados.
The chili relleno platter was delicious and huge. I often get this at other places and this was one of the finest.
Service was efficient and courteous. Bella’s aims to please and certainly fulfills the goal big time.

Great service and it was fast we ordered the special it was two steak mendelians and a cheese enchiladas the enchiladas was great the steak was very tuff and under cooked and the hole plate was over priced

A great place right off the square. They use local ingredients when they can. I had the chicken tamales Christmas style. They were delicious. A little bite but not too spicy. Staff über friendly including the owners who stopped to speak with us.

This is a lovely place to while away the evening after a long day of traveling. Let me start by saying — this is probably a tourist place… but, let’s face it, it’s in the old town area, so everything is going to be a tourist place. This review/​rating is with that in mind — you’re traveling and you want to feel like you’re having a southwest experience.
We came in around 6:30, the patio was full and it looked like they were a bit in over their heads. Somehow though we lucked out on a table for two on the patio but under an overhang so we were able to stay when the other tables moved inside… a bit of rain is a perfect side dish for a romantic dinner! The patio was pretty, the hollyhocks were blooming and there seems to be lovely clouds in the sky throughout monsoon season. The service was well intentioned… but pretty scattered, so I was a bit proactive and that seemed to help.
We started with Blood Orange margaritas and the rest of the evening was rosy — they were good and medium strong. Then (lucky us) we got service right away. I asked the waiter for a recommendation and one of the items was the chile en nogada. This is usually done around the holidays — and I’d never had it before so I tried it. Very good! The mix of the nuts, pomegranate and the crème sauce is really good. My husband got enchiladas and (my recommendation) went with ½ and ½ red and green sauce. It’s a great way to try their approach to chilis.
Overall, it’s a nice way to spend an evening, then you can take a leisurely walk through the old town area and enjoy your vacation.

Lovely little restaurant in Taos. Our server, Trotsky (funny name for a guy from Peru), was attentive friendly and efficient. We had the pork enchiladas and Chile rellenos. Both were superb.
A small thing, but a marker of a good restaurant was the ice tea: it was perfectly brewed.
If you are in Taos, check them out!

Let me start by saying the food was good. I had the steak fajitas which were very tasty. The steak was seasoned well and cooked perfectly for my tastes. I ordered the table side guacamole ($ 9) which was also delicious. Also, we had a large group and were able to have a reservation, which made things very convenient.
But, all of these positives are negated by the table service. None of our group ordered drinks, other than water, in spite of the waiter’s multiple hard-​sell attempts. After it was evident none of us were ordering drinks, the atmosphere literally became adversarial with the waiter. In addition to the $ 9 guacamole, we also ordered a cheese dip and asked to have the mushrooms withheld. The waiter’s response was they are big they can just not eat them. When I suggested a better idea was to simply leave the mushrooms out he agreed. When the cheese dip came — it had mushrooms. We sent it back. There were several other small issues that simply ruined the entire experience. I wish I could say it was a bad night for one disappointed waiter but it seems to be a business culture issue.
We were not the only guests who experienced less than professional treatment from other staff. One other large group was led to their table by a hostess and forced to stand in the middle of the dinning room, while the waitress prepared the table. The waitress ultimately told the group to simply go back out front and she would come and get them when she was finished.
The sad part is the food really was okay but I found myself just wanting to leave as soon as possible. A visit from the Restaurant Impossible guy could really work wonders.
If we come back to Taos, NM, we will not eat at Bella’s. (2 stars simply because the food was good).