   | 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 ]  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 Albuquerque - Downtown 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 • Credit Cards
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 ] AmerAsia & Sumo SushiMonday - Saturday
11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Friday - Saturday
5 - 9:30 p.m. (subject to change)
Dim 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: 5:30-9pm
Tues-Sat: 5:30-10pm
Sun: 5-9pm
Happy Hour: Mon-Fri: 3-6pm (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 ]  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 ]  The Grove Café and MarketTues-Sat: 7am-4pm
Sun: 8am-3pm
Closed Monday (subject to change) $$$ • Vegetarian Available • Booze Served • Wine Bar • Outdoor Patio • Wireless Internet • Dog-Friendly • Credit Cards Full review: Twenty more years (9/21/2006)
This ray of sunshine in Huning Highlands 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 ] JC’s New York Pizza DepartmentMon-Thurs, Sun: 11am-midnight
Fri-Sat: 11am-3am (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 on the weekends. The back room is stocked with vintage ’80s tabletop arcade games, several beers on tap, flat-screen TVs and a discreet outdoor patio. Just wander back through the parking lot to the north of the existing NYPD, or spread out in the expanded front room. (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 Open until 3 a.m. on the weekends! 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) View/Add Reviews [ 1 ] 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 ] Despite the massive reconstruction work that's been done on the inside of this second-story restaurant-lounge, you won’t be able to keep your eyes off the epic views of the Sunrise Bank building and Route 66 one story below. Up front, there's a curved black-and-gold granite bar that’s custom-built for fabulous cocktails—One Up infuses several of its liquors and hand-muddles fresh fruits and vegetables. Leather lounge settees are staggered throughout the wide-open space, staging several opulent but comfortable conversation zones. Top-of-the-line professional pool tables line the back the room. On the food side, a large menu of tapas (kobe sliders and fried goat cheese among them) and more substantial entrées rounds out your evening. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 1 ]  Slate Street CaféMon-Fri: 7:30am-3pm
Tue-Thu: 7:30am-3pm, 5pm-9pm; Fri: 7:30am-3pm, 5pm-10pm
Sat-Sun: 9am-2pm, 5pm-10pm (subject to change) $$$ • Vegetarian Available • Booze Served • Wine Bar • Craft Beer • Outdoor Patio • Credit Cards • Lounge Full review: This ain’t your mama’s meatloaf (1/3/2008)
Modeled after a New York loft, Slate Street’s wine bar has an ultra-hip, modern, minimalist feel. This wine list is rhythmic, flowing and poetic, and it’s the most pleasurable to read and easiest to comprehend in Albuquerque. The wines are listed by style—“just a little sweet,” “ABC: Anything But Chardonnay” or “sexy, elegant, austere”—not varietal or region. Demystifying the label like this makes it easy for patrons to pair wine and food. The listings are simple, but not simplistic. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 2 ] Forget everything you know about typical diners. Add class, upscale furnishings and a larger price tag, and then you’ll have the Standard Diner. They have oysters, fine wines and homemade desserts, and some interesting twists on ordinary fare like meatloaf and mac and cheese. The service is doting, the view of our beloved Huning Highland is representative and if you need a restaurant to take your boss to, try kissing his rings while downing a nice glass of Port. It might make it a little easier. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 3 ]  Sushi HanaMon-Fri: 11:30am-2:30pm, 4-9pm
Sat: noon-9:30pm
Closed Sunday (subject to change) Full review: Another fish in the pond? (8/21/2008)
Downtown’s circle of Asian restaurants widens with Sushi Hana, a straight-shooting sushi joint with some Korean influences (it’s from the former owner of Yen Ching). Small and boldly decked in red and black, you’ll find affordable, familiar rolls in a contemporary atmosphere. Great for a quick lunch or a half-price sushi happy-hour trip (served from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. weekdays). (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 2 ]
Sushi King is a small, hip, casual spot located a few doors up from the Century 14 Downtown movie theater. They serve fresh nigiri, sashimi and sushi rolls, plus an interesting assortment of seafood salads and noodle dishes. We love the variety and convenience this place offers when you’ve got a case of the Downtown ho-hums. They’ve also got excellent sake, so be sure to split a bottle with your sushi chef. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review  Thai CrystalMon-Thurs: 11:30am-9:30pm
Fri-Sat: 10:30am-11pm
Sun: 5-9:30pm (subject to change) Read more: The Dish: Two restaurants reach the decade mark (1/26/2012)
Located on the back side of the Century 14 Downtown theater complex, Thai Crystal is an obvious choice for a dinner-and-a-movie date. Our favorite dishes include big noodles with soy sauce (which sounds less exciting than it is) and the wide array of soups that arrive in a tall, steaming pot. Then cool yourself down with a Thai iced tea. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 3 ] |   
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