Website: https://www.elpinto.com/
Type: Iconic giant old house come restaurant serving fresh New Mexican dishes with gluten-free and vegan changes available
Go for: Special, casual dining experience any time of day
Click here for their full Dinner Menu
Click here for their Gluten Free menu
El Pinto is the ultimate New Mexican experience! It is a famous spot that has been visited by many celebrities and politicians. They has been serving the same authentic New Mexican food since they opened in 1962, and they use their own organically grown fresh produce. They even sell their very own (vegan friendly) salsa and locally sourced raw honey!
El Pinto is an basically a mini-estate with a factory, greenhouse and garden on site. They have turned a huge old house into a giant restaurant with many areas for different dining experiences. You can easily get lost in their winding hallways and many rooms.
Every dish is made fresh from scratch, so the food is very light and fragrant. Their ‘Health Conscious Plates’ section and Gluten-Free menu has real stand-out dishes. It is quite easy to make dishes vegan friendly and eat lighter because of this. They were more than happy to cater for all of our dietary requirements and guided us through their vast menu. The staff’ were super friendly and professional.
The complimentary freshly-made vegan-friendly Tortilla Chips and Salsa/Chile kept flowing. They are so good you cannot stop yourself from finishing the bowl every time it is refilled! And their Fresh Guacamole is famous for a reason! It is so smooth and creamy – we highly recommend having it with your never ending bowl of tortilla chips. We ordered a folded corn Taco Plate with pinto beans and no cheese to make it vegan friendly. But if you want a bit of meat then go for the organic pulled beef. The dish comes with a side of pinto beans, guacamole, rice (which you can ask to be swopped for veggies) and cooked peppers.
The food comes out fairly quickly in huge portions, yet you leave feeling light. For the full foodie experience, try their Sopapillas (traditional fried bread) with their raw honey.
El Pinto is a pumping New Mexican food production that you will thoroughly enough! This historic landmark is an absolute must in Albuquerque.
Vegan Route 66 