  | Albuquerque Restaurants where Booze Served AlbuquerqueThe nickel slots are bright, noisy: Bien Shur is subdued, quiet, tasteful. The dining room is classy and beautiful but still comfortable, leaving diners to contemplate the wonderful contemporary cuisine and stunning views of the city and Sandia mountains. After your meal, you can head back downstairs into the casino scuffle for some live jazz in the Tlur P’a Lounge and a hand of video poker. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 1 ] El Bruno's Restaurante Y CantinaMonday-Wednesday 11 am -9 pm
Thursday-Saturday 11 am-10 pm
Sunday 9 am-9 pm (subject to change) $$ • Vegetarian Available • Booze Served • Full Bar • Catering • Take Out / To-Go • Live Music • Outdoor Patio • Lounge
New Mexican food in the Garduño’s vein—plus burgers and booze—in a bucolic valley setting. In fact, El Bruno’s does indeed occupy the site (and, one might assume, the demographic) of the former North Valley Garduño’s. (Alibi Staff, April 10, 2013) Add a Review  Flying Star CaféSun-Thurs: 6am-10pm
Fri-Sat: 6am-11pm (subject to change)
Winner of Best Casual Dining, Best Veggie Burger, Best Toast, Best Healthy Breakfast and Best Desserts in our restaurant polls. Sure, you go in thinking you’ll be good and get a skinny latte, scrambled egg whites and a side of turkey and green chile sausage, but five minutes later somebody’s saying “eclair” and the voice is coming from your mouth. But, boy, do they taste good. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review
There’s plenty of vegetable-based and vegetarian choices—golden lentil soup is a standout, and don’t pass on the paneer dishes. For meat eaters, the goat curry (made with local, kosher meat) is as decadent as any dish you’ll find anywhere, served in a brown gravy that’s full of disintegrated potatoes and the occasional green fleck of fresh herbs. Mmmm ... goat gravy. (Alibi Staff, June 21, 2012) Add a Review Albuquerque - DowntownDim sum and sushi under the same roof? It's like a dream come true. The beautiful interior of the antique filling station just east of the federal courthouse is a marked change from the cozy home interior of where AmerAsia used to reside near the University. Hyangami Yi's food is just as good as ever. Expect her familiar dim sum plates and buns, and feel free to order sushi like you've never had in this town from her brother Woo Youn. He's got all the usual sashimi and nigiri in his adjoining restaurant, but it's the original, creative rolls that really set Sumo apart—that, and the adorable little train that ferries your pickled ginger around the sushi bar. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 2 ] Artichoke Café and Wine BarLunch:
Mon-Fri: 11am-2:30pm
Dinner:
Mon-Sat 5:30pm-10pm
Sun 5pm-9pm
Happy Hour:
Mon-Fri: 3pm-6:30pm (subject to change)
Once your lunch or dinner at the upscale Artichoke Café has concluded, you’ve got to adjourn to the sexy new Wine Bar next door. The wine list is actually a leather-bound tome with a massive assortment of wines. Prices start at a decent $28 or $30 a bottle and zoom up into the upper stratospheres of frivolity, but you can also order select vintages by the half-bottle or glass. You'll love the front-facing "big city" windows, curvy wooden bar and comfortable seats. It’s open until 11 p.m. on the weekends, but beware: The kitchen stops serving at 10 p.m. No matter. It’s got one hell of a breadbasket, and, as our server once suggested, "You can fill up on the wine!" Don't mind if we do! (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review Asian Noodle BarMon-Thurs: 11am-9pm
Fri&Sat: 11am-11pm
Closed Sunday (subject to change)
This is the spot for a satisfying pre- or post-movie bowl of noodles, with a menu that stretches across the Asian continent. Think pho and pad Thai with a side of Japanese cold sesame noodles. The warming Thai soup is restorative on chilly days. Inside, it’s clean, classy and calm, and open until 11 p.m. on the weekends. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 5 ]  Blackbird BuvetteMon-Fri: 11am-2am
Sat: noon-2am
Sun: noon-midnight (subject to change) $$ • Vegetarian Available • Booze Served • Full Bar • Craft Beer • NM Beer • Live Music • DJ • Karaoke • Dancing • Outdoor Patio • Wireless Internet • Dog-Friendly
The old home of Pearl's Dive has a new lease on life. Brainchild of local band The Dirty Novels, the Blackbird has been appropriately rock ’n’ rolled with excellent music, black-clad waitresses and a cool look. There are an impressive number of draft and bottled beers, and a few nice wines by the glass, which are fan-freaking-tastic on the back patio. By the way, "buvette" (boo-vet) is a loose French translation for "refreshment bar." Now you’re really in the know. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 22 ] Chicharroneria OrozcoMon-Thu 7 am - 8 pm
Fri-Sat 7 am - 9 pm
Sun 8 am - 3 pm (subject to change) Cuisine: Mexican
 Farina Pizzeria and Wine BarMon: 11am-9pm
Tues-Fri: 11am-10pm
Sat: 5-10pm
Sun: 5-9pm (subject to change) Full review: Seriously sexy food (12/25/2008)
Across Edith from the Artichoke Café, Farina’s proximity to some of the most established fine dining in Albuquerque isn't an accident. Farina is the punked-up younger sibling of jazzy Artichoke Café, and it brings a tantalizingly direct message to the neighborhood: pizza, beer and wine, and all of it damn good. Sharp, concise and to the point, with 20 superb choices offered by the glass or bottle. Farina’s wine list is straightforward and focused. The bar is comfortable and every wine is perfectly matched to the kitchen’s chic pizzeria offerings. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 2 ] Winner of Best Casual Dining, Best Veggie Burger, Best Toast, Best Healthy Breakfast and Best Desserts in our 2008 restaurant poll. Sure, you go in thinking you’ll be good and get a skinny latte, scrambled egg whites and a side of turkey and green chile sausage, but five minutes later somebody’s saying “eclair” and the voice is coming from your mouth. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 8 ] Gold Street CaffèMon 7 am-4 pm.
Tue-Sat 7 am-9 pm
Sun 7 am-4 pm (subject to change)
Gold Street was cool before Downtown was cool, but now that Downtown is cool, Gold Street is even cooler. Open for breakfast and lunch (and now dinner service on the weekends!), this charming café has pet-friendly sidewalk seating and serves up a menu of homey breakfast favorites like waffles and sophisticated lunches. It shouldn’t surprise you that the place with the Best Bacon in our restaurant poll also makes a memorable BLT. If you’re really lucky, they’ll have freshly baked cupcakes or a slice of flourless chocolate cake waiting for dessert. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 5 ]  The Grove Café and MarketTues-Sat: 7am-4pm
Sun: 8am-3pm
Closed Monday (subject to change) $$$ • Vegetarian Available • Booze Served • Wine Bar • Catering • Outdoor Patio • Wireless Internet • Dog-Friendly Full review: Twenty more years (9/21/2006)
This ray of sunshine in Huning Highland serves gourmet breakfast and lunch, sells house-made English muffins, and has a mini-shop filled with goodies like honey, jams, mustards and vinegars, not to mention non-edibles like cook books, serving vessels and cards. A tiny wine list is just as chic—five reds and five whites are marked on a chalkboard, and all are constantly changing. This list is extremely well thought-out and offers a sampling of some of the most esoteric varietals and brands available in Albuquerque. There’s also a large, shaded patio, incredible house-made cupcakes and too-cute French
macarons. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 5 ] Offers small plates, artisan pizzas and desserts to go along with your cocktails. (Alibi Staff, October 10, 2012) Add a Review JC’s New York Pizza DepartmentSun-Thu: 11am-midnight
Fri-Sat: 11am-2:30am (subject to change) Cuisine: Pizza
Get your late-night pizza fix and a pint on Downtown’s favorite patio. It makes a perfect vantage point for people-watching until 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 4 ]  La Esquina Restauranté and CantinaLunch: Mon–Thurs: 11am–2:30pm Fri: 11am-8:30pm
Happy hour: Thurs: 4–7pm (subject to change) Cuisine: New Mexican Full review: Pretend it’s not in the mall (8/10/2006)
Everybody has salsa in New Mexico. It’s in restaurants, sold by the pint or glass jar, and your neighbor’s mom makes it, too. La Esquina’s salsa stands out from the crowd because it just tastes so darn fresh—so fresh, you’d have trouble believing it’s not sold at a roadside stand. But owner Roy Venaglia makes it every morning, and he must be an all right guy because his staff has been working for him since the ’80s. Go for the salsa, stay for the flan, and don’t be frightened that it’s in the Galleria. Oh yeah—and happy hour rocks. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review The Library began as a concept bar a few years ago in Tempe, Ariz., catering to the lunch and dinner crowd, transforming in the later hours of the evening into a nightclub. The food is pretty standard bar fare with burgers and the like—but at least in this case you’ll be served by Catholic schoolgirl-attired waitresses, who, at prescribed times during the night, will dance on the bar mere inches from your taco plate. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review We like Lindy’s for their retro-ish décor, Downtown convenience and $5 pitchers of beer. The food here is pretty typical diner fare with a good amount of New Mexican and Greek specialties thrown into the mix, served in hefty portions. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review If jocked-out Humphrey Bogart and sorority-girl Lauren Bacall had to pick a spot in this town to stare dreamily into each other’s eyes, and then polish off a plate of sliders, they’d probably do it at Maloney’s. Located smack in the center of Downtown, this pub and eatery boasts a movie star-themed menu, rock-star music and one of the the most popular patios in the Burque. Check out their Sierra Nevada-battered onion rings with chipotle ranch dressing or their signature “spuds Maloney” loaded potato skins. And with no cover charge, even Sinatra’s limo driver can afford to roll on in. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 10 ] Marble Brewery opened its doors in the spring of 2008, and since then it’s become a favorite haunt of Burque beer fans. Go in for a flight—10 little glasses of every beer on tap—and taste the meticulously brewed rainbow, each beer distinct and complex. Six-packs, bombers, growlers and kegs are good to go. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 2 ] | 
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