Eat in Downtown, Albuquerque

Pueblo Harvest Cafe ★ 4.4

Pueblo Harvest Cafe at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on 12th Street is the modern Pueblo Indian room with buffalo posole, frybread and blue corn dishes.

Signature: Buffalo short rib posole, Indian taco frybread

Cocina Azul ★ 4.4

Cocina Azul on Mountain Road since 2009 is a modern New Mexican kitchen by Frank Barela, with stacked blue corn enchiladas and carne adovada.

Signature: Blue corn enchiladas, Carne adovada

Pueblo Harvest Cafe ★ 4.4

Pueblo Harvest Cafe at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on 12th Street in Albuquerque is the modern Pueblo Indian room with buffalo posole.

Signature: Buffalo short rib posole, Indian taco frybread

Cocina Azul ★ 4.4

Cocina Azul on Mountain Road in downtown Albuquerque is a modern New Mexican kitchen with stacked blue corn enchiladas, carne adovada and house margaritas.

Signature: Blue corn enchiladas, Carne adovada

Slate Street Cafe ★ 4.4

Slate Street Cafe on Slate Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the breakfast and lunch cafe with cocktails, a wine cellar and a private dining room upstairs.

Signature drink: Cortado and biscuits

Java Joe's ★ 4.3

Java Joe's on Park Avenue SW in downtown Albuquerque is the Breaking Bad filming cafe known to locals as the Tuco Salamanca dramatic showdown scene.

Signature drink: Chai and breakfast burrito

Zendo Coffee ★ 4.5

Zendo Coffee on Second Street SW in downtown Albuquerque is the specialty single-origin cafe with pour-overs, espresso flights and a house pastry counter.

Signature drink: Single origin pour over

Espresso Fino ★ 4.4

Espresso Fino on Gold Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the barista-owned specialty cafe with cortados, pour-overs and a small breakfast pastry selection.

Signature drink: Cortado and chai

Bosque Baking Company ★ 4.8

Bosque Baking Company on Coal Avenue in Albuquerque's Barelas is the artisan bakery since 2011, with sourdough loaves and empanadas Wednesday to Saturday.

Worth the queue: Sourdough loaves and cookies

Golden Crown Panaderia ★ 4.7

Golden Crown Panaderia on Mountain Road in Albuquerque is the heritage panaderia since 1972, baking green chile bread and New Mexican biscochitos.

Worth the queue: Green chile bread and biscochitos

Zendo Coffee ★ 4.5

Zendo Coffee on Second Street SW in downtown Albuquerque is the speciality single origin roaster cafe with pour overs, open seven days from early morning.

Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil

How they serve: Espresso, Pour over, Whole bean retail

Anodyne Pool Hall ★ 4.4

Anodyne Pool Hall on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the longtime upstairs dive bar pool hall, with whiskey shots poured nightly from 16:00.

Signature drink: Whiskey shots and PBR

Food: No kitchen, pretzels and bar nuts

Marble Brewery Downtown ★ 4.5

Marble Brewery Downtown on Marble Avenue in Albuquerque is the brewery's flagship taproom with Marble IPA, the patio beer garden and rotating seasonal beers.

Signature drink: Marble IPA

Food: Food trucks on patio

Ibiza Rooftop Lounge ★ 4.4

Ibiza Rooftop Lounge atop Hotel Andaluz on Second Street NW in downtown Albuquerque is the rooftop tapas bar with sunset views over the Sandia Mountains.

Signature drink: Spanish gin and tonics

Food: Tapas plates

Bosendorfer Lounge at Hyatt Regency ★ 4.2

Bosendorfer Lounge at the Hyatt Regency on Tijeras Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the hotel lobby bar with classic cocktails and live piano on weekends.

Signature drink: Classic Old Fashioned

Food: Hotel bar plates

The Library Bar and Grill ★ 4.0

The Library Bar and Grill on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the late night bar grill with margarita pitchers, open daily from 11:00 to 02:00.

Signature drink: Margarita pitchers

Food: Bar burgers and wings

Sister Bar ★ 4.4

Sister Bar on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the indie live music bar with local beers, house cocktails and a stage that runs touring acts.

Signature drink: Local beer and house cocktails

Food: Bar plates

Rustic on the Green Food Truck ★ 4.3

Rustic on the Green wood fired pizza truck on rotation at Bow and Arrow Brewing in Albuquerque is the brewery yard pizza window, Thursday to Sunday.

Try: Wood fired pizza

Bow and Arrow Brewing Co ★ 4.7

Bow and Arrow Brewing on McKnight Avenue in Albuquerque is the Indigenous owned brewery since 2016, founded by Shyla Sheppard and Missy Begay.

Marble Brewery Downtown ★ 4.6

Marble Brewery Downtown on Marble Avenue in Albuquerque is the brewery's flagship taproom with Marble IPA, the patio beer garden and rotating seasonal beers.

Tractor Brewing Wells Park ★ 4.6

Tractor Brewing on Fourth Street in Albuquerque's Wells Park is the brewery's flagship taproom, with the Mustache Ride Rye on tap every afternoon.

Boese Brothers Brewery ★ 4.1

Boese Brothers Brewery on Gold Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the family run brewery taproom, with rotating IPAs poured Wednesday to Saturday evenings.

Ponderosa Brewing ★ 4.0

Ponderosa Brewing on Bellamah Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the family friendly brewery taproom, with rotating IPAs poured from 11:30 every day.

Downtown Growers' Market ★ 4.8

The Downtown Growers' Market at Robinson Park on Eighth Street in Albuquerque runs Saturdays from April to November with 70 vendors, produce.

Pueblo Revolt Day ★ 4.5

Pueblo Revolt Day at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on August 10 commemorates the 1680 Pueblo Revolt with Pueblo Indian frybread.

Globalquerque World Music Festival ★ 4.3

Globalquerque on Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerque each September is the world music and culture festival with international food booths.

Albuquerque Restaurant Week ★ 4.3

Albuquerque Restaurant Week each April is the citywide prix fixe event with three course menus at $33, $44, $66 and $77 price points across participating.

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Cooking Workshops ★ 4.4

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center cooking workshops on 12th Street in Albuquerque cover Pueblo Indian techniques with rotating Indigenous chefs.

Pueblo Harvest Cafe ★ 4.4

Pueblo Harvest Cafe at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on 12th Street in Albuquerque serves the Indian taco frybread under $14 and posole at the modern.

Try: Indian taco frybread

Pueblo Harvest Cafe ★ 4.1

Pueblo Harvest Cafe at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on 12th Street in Albuquerque is the only modern Pueblo Indian restaurant, missed by museum skippers.

Why locals love it: Inside the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center museum, missed by most visitors but the only modern Pueblo Indian restaurant in the city.

Tip: Visit at lunch when the Pueblo dancing performances run on the courtyard, then order the buffalo posole and Indian taco.

Golden Crown Panaderia ★ 4.8

Golden Crown Panaderia on Mountain Road in Albuquerque is the heritage panaderia since 1972, baking green chile bread and biscochitos in a wood fired oven.

Why locals love it: Mountain Road heritage panaderia bakes biscochitos and green chile bread in a wood fired oven, with a back patio few find.

Tip: Buy a green chile bread loaf to go, then take the biscochitos to the back garden patio for coffee under the cottonwoods.

Java Joe's ★ 4.0

Java Joe's on Park Avenue SW in downtown Albuquerque is the Breaking Bad Tuco Salamanca filming cafe, with chai and breakfast burritos tourists often miss.

Why locals love it: Downtown Park Avenue cafe where Breaking Bad's Tuco Salamanca scene was shot, missed by tourists chasing the Walter White house.

Tip: Order the chai and breakfast burrito, ask the staff to point out the Tuco scene location in the front room before you sit down.

Slate Street Cafe ★ 4.5

Slate Street Cafe in downtown Albuquerque is Myra Ghattas's modern brunch cafe, open since 2005, with breakfast and brunch Tuesday to Sunday until 2pm.

Order: Sausage sliders: green chile chicken sausage on green chile cheddar biscuits with green chile gravy

Java Joe's ★ 4.3

Java Joe's on Park Avenue SW in downtown Albuquerque is the Breaking Bad filming cafe with chai, breakfast burritos and the morning brunch line on weekends.

Order: Breakfast burrito Christmas and the chai

Anodyne Pool Hall ★ 4.3

Anodyne Pool Hall on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the late night upstairs dive with pool tables, retro jukebox and pinball machines until 02:00.

Try: Whiskey shots and bar pretzels

Sister Bar ★ 4.1

Sister Bar on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the indie live music bar open until 02:00, with local beers poured every night except Monday.

Try: House cocktails and live music sets

Marble Brewery Downtown ★ 4.5

Marble Brewery Downtown on Marble Avenue in Albuquerque runs the late night taproom until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and until 22:00 midweek.

Try: Marble IPA and food truck plates

Effex Nightclub ★ 4.3

Effex Nightclub on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the city's LGBTQ dance club with three rooms, drag shows and DJ sets on weekends until 02:00.

Sister Bar ★ 4.4

Sister Bar on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the indie live music bar with local beers, cocktails and a stage that runs touring acts.

El Rey Theater ★ 4.4

El Rey Theater on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the historic concert venue with touring rock.

Ibiza Rooftop Lounge ★ 4.4

Ibiza Rooftop Lounge atop Hotel Andaluz on Second Street NW in downtown Albuquerque is the rooftop tapas bar with Spanish gin and tonics over Civic Plaza.

Effex Nightclub ★ 4.3

Effex Nightclub on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the city's LGBTQ dance club with three rooms.

Anodyne Pool Hall ★ 4.4

Anodyne Pool Hall on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque is the upstairs dive bar pool hall, with whiskey shots.