La Placita Dining Rooms

La Placita is a tradition in Albuquerque. The last time I ate there, in May of 2013, I ordered Chile Rellenos. When my plate arrived, the batter on the rellenos was tough and cold. I told the waiter it seemed as though the chiles had been fried over an hour earlier. He told me that all the rellenos are fried at once in the morning. Not believing my ears I asked if he meant that the rellenos are not cooked to order. The reply was ""No"". This shocked me. For the first time in my life I had to send a plate back (I'm 57). Chicken enchiladas were substituted, but they weren't really any better. I quietly paid the bill and my friend and I left, sad and embarrassed, as my friend was a visitor from out of town. I will never go back, unless I hear of a real revival in pride at La Placita.\r \r more

I ate at La Placita today. I'm a long-time resident of Albuquerque who doesn't get to Old Town very often. I chose this restaurant to meet a friend for lunch because I'd come in for a cold drink in the past and was impressed with the decor. Today, the stereo was way too loud. There was a boisterous party in another room, the food was poorly prepared and the staff was inept, rude, and dismissive of complaints. In other words, don't let the decor fool you. La Placita is the quintessence of a tourist trap. They don't care what you think of their food or service because the odds are they'll never see you again. They certainly won't see me again. Pros: Decor Cons: atmosphere, food, staff more

After reading these reviews i am extremely disgusted. I am a local New Mexican and have been eating at La Placita for over 20 years. My parents and grand parents started this family tradition. I have personally been present during similar complaints as stated in previous reviews. Please understand people, if you are not used to new mexican chili it can cause extreme bowel movements, as is typical with any other new mexican restaurant in albuquerque. I have contacted the proper authorities in Albuquerque and found that since its opening in 1931, La Placita has never been shut down due to health code violations. La Placita is one of the oldest restaurants in Albuquerque, which speaks for itself. If it were as horrible as these tourists make it sound, i highly doubt they would still be open. As a true New Mexican iI highly suggest La Placita as one of the top restaurants in the city. Taking into account the food, the ambiance, the service, and the history, this restaurant is hard to beat. Decide for yourself, but I would definately recommend this restaurant as one of the best restaurants in the city. Please post any comments whether you agree or disagree with this posting. more

While doing some christmas shopping, decided to stop into La Placita, a restaurant that used to be good. Chips and Salsa for 1.99 were old stale cold chips, and not that many but that was okay considering. Then the food literally was delivered in less than 5 minutes. Well the beef and chicken taco I recieved were cold, including the shells. The beef taco had multiple raw pink bits throughout, and the chicken was ice cold from the refrigerator and had dry crusties on many pieces. My son's chicken taco was the same. The rice was the grossest I have ever had. It was red mush, but still hard bits of instant rice. I wouldn't even think that was possible. The beans were okay, but cold too. My husband got 3 enchiladas and the cheese wasn't even melted, and chicken was cold and gross too. The waitress when she delivered the plates said we could have gotten burned on them, Yeah right!!! The staff there seemed ambivalent and seemed like they knew the food was bad. But the waitress asked if we wanted to go boxes after sitting there for 20 minutes with full plates of food. I guess I could never go back knowing how there food is prepared now. I'm sure they just forgot to nuke all of it. For $30 for two adults and a child getting no dessert and just chips and salsa as an appetizer, I feel taken advantage of completely. I ate there two years ago and found the food to be totally different. They shredded the chicken and put something on it like green chile, and of course all of the food was hot. I should have known though, after we left I thought about how close we were seated to the service area and there was no smells of any kind coming out of there. Definitely just a microwave joint and for the prices it's embarassing. Pros: It still has the tree, neat artwork, and brick floors, so ambience. Cons: They don't cook the food, just microwave, and they forget to do that too! more

On the night before Christmas Eve (a southwestern big holiday) La Placita was terribly understaffed. After waiting over 40 minutes for a table, we were seated in a corner where we were all but forgotten. The restaurant seemed under-staffed but more than that the waiter was rude, abrupt and did not deliver either our food or our drinks in a timely fashion. I could not help but notice that our table, a table of four women, was not waited on with the same expediency as the table of several men next to ours. The margaritas are sugary and the beef entrees are tough. The waiter was only speedy in delivering and retrieving the tab....unbelievable. Go to Seasons or La Hacienda, the price difference is worth it! We were celebrating my aunt's birthday but the service almost got in the way! Pros: chile con queso Cons: service, syrupy margaritas more

I ate at this restaurant many years ago and was very impressed by the food, ambience , and service. My husband had heard me speak of it many many times and as we went through Albuquerque one summer, he insisted that we stop and eat lunch there. WOW what a disappointment! Perhaps dinner meals are better but the lunch meal I had was like a TV dinner to me...I had my first Chili Relleno there years ago and have loved them ever since. If I had one on this trip, I don't even remember it...however, it still looked the same,,,just older. I would still give it a thumbs up to visit. Pros: ambience good Cons: disappointed in the lunch food from years past...not sure about dinner time more

This was my favorite while in Albuquerque! The service was good, the atmosphere was nice especially considering its history! The food was really good! Pros: good food, atmosphere good more

I've been stopping in here for 30 years when in the area and La Placita remains one of the real bargains in the US . Not to be missed . Yes the food is uneven but it is always worth the $ Pros: inexpensive, great ambience, interesting Cons: can be crowded more