Fresh guacamole made tableside at Garduño’s in Albuquerque

I can’t imagine guacamole any better than the guacamole made tableside at Garduño’s in Albuquerque. Garduño’s offers many tempting Mexican/New Mexican dishes, but the real draw for me is the tableside guacamole. The server brings all the ingredients to your table, peels and mashes fresh avocados, and makes the guacamole to your specifications. I love knowing that the guacamole is fresh, and that we get to decide what goes in it!

Hot appetizers and cold margaritas at Garduño’s

In addition to tableside guacamole, Garduño’s serves piquant (hot) red salsa with crisp warm tortilla chips. The queso blanco is highly recommended, too – creamy and cheesy with the proper amount of chile flavor. And the margaritas! Sixteen different flavors appear on the menu! We enjoyed the coconut and pineapple margaritas and plan to return often to sample the other 14.

Garduño’s tasty Mexican/New Mexican dishes

The appetizers and margaritas are plenty filling, and next time I will probably stop right there. It’s tempting to fill up on the appetizers, but it would be a shame to miss out on some pretty good food. The Santa Fe Blue Enchiladas I requested – stacked chicken enchiladas with blue corn tortillas and green chile, with a side of charro beans and a sweet corn cake – were flavorful and satisfying.

The Mesilla - thin chicken breast lightly breaded and pan seared, topped with diced green chile and queso blanco sauce was another favorite at our table. My husband ordered a lunch portion of the tacos. He found that he was still hungry and proceeded to fill up on Garduño’s light and fluffy sopaipillas. He pronounced them “excellent.”

My friends gave high marks to the Carne Asada Burrito — tender and juicy inside, and smothered with the perfect amount of cheese.

Most portions are large — you might consider sharing an entrée with someone else, especially if you fill up on chips, queso, Garduño’s tableside guacamole and salsa before the main course arrives. For the uninitiated, you need to know the salsa is fairly hot.

Festive atmosphere at Garduño’s in Albuquerque

Garduño’s festive chile farm decor is a bit over-the-top for me, but I have to admit it adds to the overall experience. This isn’t the place for a quiet dinner, although the booths along the wall are a slightly more intimate. If you enjoy dining al fresco, ask to be seated in the patio area. Servers are friendly, but be prepared to wait a while for your food.

So many margaritas…so little time

We plan to return to Garduño’s to work our way through that impressive list of margaritas. There’s much to enjoy at Garduño’s in Albuquerque – not to mention the fresh guacamole prepared tableside!

Garduño’s
2100 Louisiana Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
505-880-0055