The best of everything in Taos — as decided by Taos News readers
By Josephine Ashton
If you want a recommendation that’s legit, ask a local. For more than 20 years, the Taos News has been asking its readers to vote on the best food, drinks, entertainment, shopping and services, and publishing the results in a yearly roundup called The Best of Taos.
Now we want to share those rankings with visitors like you. We hope the (condensed 2023) list will help you find the very best Taos has to offer — as decided by our readers.
Best Restaurant
First Place:
Medley 100 NM 150, El Prado 575-776-8787 medleytaos.com
Medley just keeps on winning ‘Best of…” Could it be because elite chefs Colleen and Wilkes Medley are hands-on operators of the restaurant they opened in Taos? Their kitchen skills plus their wine shop’s specially curated wines and craft beers, and the contribution of their partners-in-menu — Tea.o.graphy, Taos Agora Gardens, High Desert Farms, Whispering Bean Coffee Roasters and Colorado-based Red Bird Farms — guarantee both happy hour fun and an awesome selection of small plates or full dinners.
Second Place:
Lambert’s of Taos 123 Bent Street, Taos 575-758-1009 lambertsoftaos.com
Best Breakfast
First Place:
Michael’s Kitchen Restaurant & Bakery 304-C Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-4178 michaelskitchen.com
Looking for the biggest, brawniest breakfast in town? The iconic building and bakery business, acquired by Michael Ninneman in 1974, is still a family business. Best buy your bakery goodies — éclairs, empanadas, honey buns, scones, raisin breads — before you have breakfast. Then, relax with an endless mug of coffee, and choose from some 20-plus breakfast offerings — huevos rancheros, a build-your-own omelet, a stack of cowpoke sized flapjacks. Arrive hungry!
Second Place:
Gutiz 812B Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-1226 gutiztaos.com
Best Breakfast Burrito
First Place:
Mante’s Chow Cart 1402 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos 575-758-4855 manteschowcart.com
While the Mante family creates your breakfast burrito from about 20 different stuffings, you might like to know that long ago, hungry rural folks, needing to fold anything edible into a tortilla, closed up the ends to keep the “little donkey” package from spilling out. Mante opened his first Chow Cart in 1973 in an old bread truck. Two convenient locations are still family-operated with a menu that includes Mante’s iconic New Mexico breakfast — choice of fillings burrito — and burgers too.
Second Place:
Mary Jane’s Home Cooking 616 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos 575-770-1170
Best Place to Eat Vegetarian
First Place:
Taos Café 106 Des Georges Pl, Taos 575-224-3240, plantbasecafe.com
The formerly all-vegetarian Plant Base Café has been renamed Taos Café and has added meat-based items to its menu. Owner and head chef Frankie Valdez wanted to create “a more inclusive menu” that now includes bison and fish alongside vegetarian options like roasted marinated red and golden beets, a scrumptious grain-based taco salad, and Italian or Mexican lasagna or a fill-you-up vegetable stew.
Second Place:
Cid’s Food Market 623 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-1148 cidsfoodmarket.com
Best New Mexican Food
First Place:
Orlando’s New Mexican Café 1115 Don Juan Valdez Lane, El Prado 575-751-1450 orlandostaos.com
If you check out Orlando’s Facebook page; you’ll get hungry watching the videos: a chile relleno Taos burger being grilled or hot skillets of steaming fajitas. The family-run restaurant owner Yvette Ortega said “Our recipes have been a gift from Orlando’s grandmother and mother. We truly appreciate the support you have given us throughout the last 27 years, and we look forward to continuing to share with you the love for our culture and cuisine.” Seating outside around a fire-pit while you wait. A great place for special meetups.
Second Place:
Ranchos Plaza Grill 6 Street Francis Court, Ranchos de Taos 575-758-5788 Find on Facebook
Best Traditional Mexican Food
First Place:
Guadalajara Grill, Southside: 1384 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos 575-751-0063 Northside: 822 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-737-0816 guadalajaragrilltaos.com
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Why stand in an airport line when you can experience Guadalajara here in Taos? After almost 30 years, the eatery is still family-owned and operated. Limes and cilantro prevail! Dining is casual, but the menu is elegant: ceviche (mixed sea foods), oysters on the half-shell or campechana (octopus, squid, mussels, shrimp); menudo (beef tips with hominy & red chile), or posole (with pork, not goat). Sweet tooth? Flan or Buenelo with ice cream. Thirsty? Iced Horchata (rice cinnamon drink) or Jamaica (Hibiscus), plus Mexican and other imported beers. Eat in or take out at the Grill’s two locations. |
Second Place:
Azteca Mexican Grill 122 Dona Luz St, Taos 575-758-3251 azteca-mexican-grill-mexican-restaurant.business.site
Best Red Chile
First Place:
Orlando’s New Mexican Café 1115 Don Juan Valdez Lane, El Prado 575-751-1450 orlandosonmain.com
Visiting? You’ve seen these red Chimayo chiles, dried and strung together to create decorative ristras. Whether visiting or N.M. resident, you’ll want to at least dip a chip or two (trying stopping) into Orlando’s red chile. This family-run café has inherited recipes from Orlando’s mother and grandmother. Enjoy their “comfort food” soon!
Second Place:
Ranchos Plaza Grill 6 Street Francis Court, Ranchos de Taos 575-758-5788 Find on Facebook
Best Green Chile
First Place:
Orlando’s New Mexican Café 1115 Don Juan Valdez Lane, El Prado 575-751-1450 orlandosonmain.com
Red, green, or Christmas? A standard question when eating New Mexican. Orlando’s uses traditional green chiles grown in Hatch, N.M., with roots in that soil all the way back to 1894. Orlando’s recipe will be kept a secret, but visitors and locals alike love this green chile.
Second Place:
Ranchos Plaza Grill 6 Street Francis Court, Ranchos de Taos 575-758-5788 Find on Facebook
Best Pizza
First Place:
Pizaños 23 NM 150, El Prado 575-776-1050 taospizza.com
“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…” It’s Pizaños? The old Dean Martin song hit “That’s Amore” describes the way you will, or have, felt about this “Best of Taos” award winner. “Pizan,” gleaned from an adaption of the Americanized paisan, means countryman, friend, brother, buddy. That’s the way you’ll feel about Pizaños’ pizza-makers when you’re gobbling down a Specialty Pie about the size of the moon, named the Rio Grande. Salads, pastas, too, and entrees like eggplant parmesan, and New York-style cheesecake!
Second Place:
Taos Pizza Outback 712 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-3112 taospizzaoutback.com
Best Burger
First Place:
5 Star Burgers 1032 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos 575-758-8484 5starburgers.com
The genesis of the hamburger was probably in 1800s Hamburg, an area in Germany known for its exporting of beef to America. But the American hamburger was popularized when the burgers-on-buns got tasted by the thousands attending the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Here in Taos, 5 Star Burgers’ all-natural beef burgers are winning choices. So are entrees like burger steaks with caramelized onions, salads and fish & chips. There’s a kids’ menu, and tap beers and house wines.
Second Place:
The Burger Stand @ Taos Ale House 401 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-5522 taosburgersandbeer.com
Best Roadside Food Cart
First Place:
Mary Jane’s Home Cooking 616 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos 575-770-1170
A consistent winner with 32 years in the business of providing traditional New Mexican breakfasts and lunches to both locals and visitors. Quick take-aways or outdoor seating in warm summer weather. A breakfast burrito? Of course, but don’t settle for ordinary — choose bacon, sausage, chorizo, cheese and extra meat or chile. Lunch? Burgers on buns or tortillas. Extra hungry? Try a quesadilla with extras.
Second Place:
Mante’s Chow Cart 1402 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos 575-758-4855 manteschowcart.com
Best Bar
First Place:
The Alley Cantina 121 Teresina Lane, Taos 575-758-2121 alleycantina.com
Since 1997, The Alley Cantina, inside what is known as the oldest building in Taos, has been a favorite meeting place for both locals and visitors. Music nightly, so dance your boots off (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays) with featured entertainer Christine Autumn on Sunday eves, and karaoke fun on Thursdays. The chef says his fish ’n chips is the best thing on the menu for lunch or dinner. A great selection of beers, wines, spirits and specialty drinks from friendly bartenders, at the bar or your table.
Second Place:
Medley
100 NM 150, El Prado
575-776-8787
medleytaos.com
Best Brewery
First Place:
Taos Mesa Brewing 20 ABC Mesa Road, El Prado 575-758-1900 taosmesabrewing.com
Even before this nation’s founding, brewing beer was a common enterprise. Taos Mesa Brewing opened its doors 11 years ago with the intention of creating an authentic Taos vibe. Choose from a number of special brews — strong scotch ale, lightly toasted malt, a crisp pilsner or a dark amber — and a menu that includes stuffed mushrooms, the Taproom Italian sandwich, a dozen or so personal pizzas and non-alcoholic drinks. It’s a locals’ meet-up. So raise your glass, with a Cheers! ¡Salud! 0r Voici pour vous!
Second Place:
Red River Brewing Company 217 W. Main Street, Red River 575-754-4422 redriverbrewing.com
Best Patio
First Place:
Medley 100 NM 150, El Prado 575-776-8787 medleytaos.com
Patios in New Mexico 0we their lineage to Spain, where it was common in Latin American architecture to have a courtyard. Also winning the “Best of Taos” Restaurant award this year, Medley’s patio is a big part of that. While reservations are taken for dinners, it’s first-come first-served at the inside cozy wine bar, as well as outside on the patio with its open-pit fire, the Mexico-New Mexico adobe wall, curved, gated doorway, and the view you may wish you had outside your own casita.
Second Place:
The Gorge Bar and Grill 103 E Plaza, Taos 575-758-8866 thegorgebarandgrill.com
Best Margarita
First Place:
Adobe Bar at the Historic Taos Inn 125 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-1977 taosinn.com
Did the tequila-based drink really originate in Tijuana, in 1938? Whatever its origin, Taos aficionados continue to vote that the best margarita in town will be found at the famed 1937-established Adobe Bar in the historic Taos Inn. Live music — Grammy-winners, folk, jazz, country, and First American — and dancing, with food service in the Doc Martin dining room. The Adobe Bar and its margaritas attract locals to ‘the living room of Taos’ for lively get-togethers.
Second Place:
Medley 100 NM 150, El Prado 575-776-8787 medleytaos.com
Best Coffee Shop
First Place:
Elevation Coffee
1110 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, El Prado
575-758-3068
Find on Facebook
Just north of Taos, El Prado hosts the famed Millicent Rogers Museum, the KTAOS radio station and many food purveyors and shops. Keeping good company with these, Elevation Coffee serves up espresso, a variety of coffees, a selection of more than 75 teas, and edibles like gelato, pastries, sandwiches and burritos. Plus Wi-Fi. Coffee’s history dates back to Ethiopia, where, it’s said, a shepherd noticed strange behaviors in his sheep after eating beans from a tree. He brewed up the beans and voila — coffee was born! Whether chilling or meeting with friends, the scene and the beverages will elevate you.
Second Place:
World Cup 102-A Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-737-5299 Find on Facebook
Best Baked Goods
First Place:
Michael’s Kitchen 304-C Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-4178 michaelskitchen.com
Anyone who’s shopped bakeries in New York, Paris or Mexico will want to run, not walk, to Michael’s Kitchen in Taos to get a basket full of baked goodies. Some 50 breads and pastries are offered fresh daily. In N.M., do as the locals do: eat chiles — red or green — when baked in bread, too. Ever since Michael Ninneman opened in 1974 what would become the iconic Michael’s Kitchen, folks have lined up mornings to buy freshly-baked breads and holiday pies. Great with an early afternoon coffee, too.
Second Place:
KOKO Coffee/Deli/Carry-Out 1033 Paseo del Pueblo Sur #H 575-758-9448 kokotaos.com
Best Place for Sweet Treats
First Place:
Chokolá Bean to Bar 106-B Juan Largo Lane, Taos Plaza 575-779-6163 chokolabeantobar.com
From The Beatles’ hit “Savoy Truffle” to Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” or the Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche film “Chocolat” — there is something about giving chocolates to friends and loved ones on holidays! Chokolá Bean to Bar brings the world of cacao bean concoctions to Taos, again winning Best Place for Sweet Treats votes. Relax in this dessert café and enjoy pastries, mouse, ice cream, milkshakes and truffles, while sipping chocolate, coffee or cold drinks. Be sure to fill a bag with scrumptious chocolates for the road.
Second Place:
A Salty Little Sweet Shop 105-B Quesnel, Taos 575-741-6844 @asaltylittlesweetshop