   | Upper Nob Hill Albuquerque Restaurants Albuquerque - Upper Nob Hill Cosmo TapasMon-Fri 5-10pm
Sat-Sun: 5pm-midnight
Open every day at 3pm for Happy Hour (subject to change) Full review: An international trip, right down to the exchange rate (10/29/2009)
With an ambitious menu of tapas from around the world, the crowd here (especially when there’s live music) is young and diverse. There are bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese, lollipop lamb chops with olive tapenade and scallops
al pil-pil
. The mixed drinks are interesting (try the Samba), and the flan will surprise you. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review  Desert FishMonday Closed
Tuesday–Sunday 11AM – 11PM (subject to change) Full review: So fresh, you’ll feel the sand between your toes (1/27/2011)
An outpost of the Pacific Northwest, you enter Desert Fish to a front-and-center refrigerated glass display case, in which oysters and Dungeness crab sections are bedded down on crushed ice. You’ll catch onto a wet, salty vibe before you know it. Connoisseurs in search of marine
terroir
will have plenty to obsess about. There’s a rotating menu of oysters on the half-shell; fluffy and crisp crab cakes; seafood-studded cioppino; juicy, charred scallops; giant slabs of Atlantic salmon; one hell of a wine list and a whole lot more. It’ll cost ya, but it’s worth every penny. Open until 11 p.m. every night except Monday (when it’s closed). (Alibi Staff, May 5, 2011) Add a Review Besides having the Best Pizza, according to past Best of Burque Restaurants polls, Dion's also has a wonderful selection of salads (particularly the Greek or any of the “gourmet” salads with spring-mix greens) and sandwiches (the pastrami is especially good). The pizza is made fresh and you can see them rolling and tossing the dough. Dine in or order takeout until 11 p.m. on weekends. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review This place is the “it” spot for inexpensive plates of grilled sirloin, chicken, shrimp and fried fish tacos. A family of four can eat and drink, complete with an unlimited salsa bar, for 27 clams. And the hot
papotas
piled high with meat are calling out to the lumberjack in all of us. Answer the call—it’s your stomach, not the collection agency for once. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 1 ] Stop! Before you go for a routine Taco Bell trip, drive on through La Hacienda Express and get some real Mexican food for the same price. Going to La Hacienda is almost like eating at a thugged-out Garduño's. Sure, the outside is a little sketchy and all the windows are covered with bars—but, man, it makes one hell of an enchilada! To-go orders only. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 1 ] Kasbah Mediterranean CuisineLunch hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday
Dinner hours: 5 to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday (but call ahead, it sometimes closes early) (subject to change)
Ridha Bouajila (late of Marrakech and the Mediterranean Café) is the chef behind this small, Moroccan- and Tunisian-focused eatery. It’s perhaps the only place in town offering king’s
bastilla
(a savory chicken pie dusted with sugar and splashed with rosewater) and a host of cousous-packed tagines. But the more traditional Mediterranean dish shouldn’t get ignored. The fabulous moussaka is almost soufflé-like. Dill permeats the spinach filling in the spanakopita. And the lamb/beef gyro sandwich is incredibly tasty and, at six bucks, a damn good deal (Alibi Staff, March 29, 2012) Add a Review Los EquipalesTues-Thurs, Sat: 11am-9pm
Fri: 11am-9:30pm
Sun: noon-8pm
Closed Monday (subject to change)
What’s the best thing about the ocean? The food it contains. And the seafaring mateys at Los Equipales make a fine, fine bowl of soup. The fish tacos will make you forget you live inland, and the seviche will have you screaming “here, fishy, fishy!” So forget the lobster bites and have some authentic Mexican seafood, voted the best in Albuquerque in our restaurant poll. While you’re at it, the glass jars of house-made
horchata
are so huge, you could practically swim in them. If you prefer to stay dry, try the flan instead. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 2 ] If you spend just one Saturday morning at Loyola’s, we swear you’ll leave feeling like a regular. And at that point, you probably will be. The food is down-home good and the service is friendly and fast. Wander in for the awesome late ’60s diner atmosphere and stay for the pancakes—they’re made fresh to order and heaped up with genuine love. But you can’t go after 2 p.m. or on Mondays. They’ll be closed. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review
O'Niell's is comforting, a little cheeky and unapologetically Irish-American. All the old standouts like the “Burger in Paradise” and fish and chips are still there, as is live music on weekend nights. The huge patio is gorgeous, and Tractor Brewing's O'Niell's Irish Red is a perfectly balanced beer drunk by itself or with everything from chicken wings to chocolate cake. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 1 ] The Orchid has a fantastic atmosphere, there’s no question about it. Elaborate murals line the walls and the dimness is punctuated by pools of light just where you need them—on the tables. The service can be weak, but the enormous menu has something delicious for everyone. From basic pad Thai to much more exotic fare, the Orchid is one of the tastiest flowers in Albuquerque’s blossoming garden of Thai restaurants—its Best Thai and Best Tofu Dish awards in our 2007 Best of Burque Restaurants poll prove it. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review One of the few places in this city where you can get seven kinds of beef in one sitting. Or if you aren’t in a beefy
mooood
, try another authentic Vietnamese dish from the huge menu, like fresh spring rolls, wonton egg noodle soup or cashew tofu. Pair it up with a fresh coconut milk shake and you’ve got yourself a meal. This is a great hidden jewel of a date spot, so show your man or woman that you’ve got class—and lemongrass (try some wrapped around the beef ball appetizer). (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) Add a Review In the old Hacienda Express, on the corner of Central and Washington, Piggy’s is a drive-through and walk-up restaurant with some of the best dogs in town. The menu isn’t fussy—dogs, brats, burgers, chicken, fish and grilled cheese sandwiches. Grilled chopped onions and the usual fixings dress up the grilled, buns and meat just fine. Brandy mans the windows while Robert handles the grill, charring dogs and sausages to perfection. Their “pig tail”—mild andouille sausage rolled on a stick—gets its crispy skin from a dip in the fryer. A few carefully selected sides includes thin, lightly battered fries. (Alibi Staff, March 29, 2012) Add a Review  Route 66 Malt ShopMon 11am-8pm
Tues 8am-8pm
Wed/Thurs 8am-9pm
Fri/Sat 8am-10pmSun 8am- 3pm (subject to change) $ • Vegetarian Available • Delivery • Outdoor Patio • Smoking Permitted • Wireless Internet • Credit Cards Read more: Food for Thought: The most sustainable fish on the market (6/16/2011) Read more: Mina's Dish: Dance studio and diner combo comes out swinging (6/16/2011)
This standby malt shop recently hopped in a Chevy and motored its way up from Old Town to a lovely new space in upper Nob Hill. Fantastic burgers, Frito pie, hot and meaty sandwiches, and all kinds of old-fashioned soda fountain beverages are waiting for you in this beautifully built-out mom ’n’ pop diner. We love the bleu cheese green chile burger, salmon burger, fresh crab cake sandwich and homemade potato salad. (Alibi Staff, September 16, 2010) Add a Review Salathai11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Saturday; 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday (subject to change)
A sign outside Salathai advertises vegetarian specialties, and perhaps the most special of them all is the eggplant delight. It’s like a Thai version of ratatouille, with purple eggplant, onions, garlic, basil, and red and green pepper. The menu is strong from end to end, but the seafood dishes are the strongest, especially the fish dishes. A sweet piece of tilapia is batter-fried to a light-brown crisp and smothered in a floral green curry. Decadently greasy catfish gracefully absorbs a shredded salad in a sweet, tangy sauce.
Thom kha talay,
a coconut seafood soup, is aromatic and packed with proteins. The mussels and herbs are a simple bowl of comfort, delivering the distilled essence of the ocean. (Alibi Staff, September 3, 2010) Add a Review  Thai Cuisine IIMon-Sat: 11am-10pm
Sun: 5-9pm (subject to change) Full review: A garden of surprises (4/29/2010)
Sure, it looks like an old Dairy Queen on the outside—but inside, it’s totally Thailand (just check out the caddy of housemade condiments). The menu’s large selection of salads is a strong suit, including crispy, delicate green papaya and a not-to-be-missed tempura-fried piece trout salad (sop up the tamarind dressing with a side of sticky rice). The
tom yum
soup is perhaps the best in town, and you can choose between chicken and veggie broth in some of the other good soups here. Most dishes—like
pad cha
vegetable stir-fry and creamy, fragrant red curry—can be ordered vegetarian, too. There’s also a small sushi menu that offers big, adequate rolls. (Alibi Staff, August 11, 2010) View/Add Reviews [ 3 ] |   
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![What’s the difference between a pub and a bar? O’Niell says, “Its not about making more money by serving people more [alcohol]. It's about somebody having a burger and a couple beers, enjoying themselves and going home safe.”](http://images.alibi.com/image/pix_id/8311/Whats-the-difference-between-a-pub-and-a-bar-ON.jpg?image_height=94&image_width=94&orig_crop_left=108&orig_crop_right=109)
