7 New Mexico food halls you’ll want to visit

In recent years, the nationwide food hall trend has gotten a foothold in New Mexico. A half dozen hotbeds of specialty cuisines have moved into historic buildings as well as new structures fashioned from metal shipping containers.

The food hall concept is much like a shopping mall food court: fast-casual dining outlets arranged around communal seating. But unlike food courts, you won’t find chains like Panda Express or Cinnabon. Today’s food halls are the domain of local restaurateurs offering a taste of a city’s varied cuisines all under one roof.

From Albuquerque to Taos, we’ve rounded up 6 New Mexico food halls and a preview of a seventh that’s coming soon.  

Opened in 2020, the state’s biggest and busiest food hall inhabits a converted 1958 Paxton Lumber Company warehouse and showroom once dubbed the “Home of Beautiful Woods.” Today, the 34,000-square-foot hub of grub is home to 29 artisanal food and drink stalls.

Foods include fall-off-the-bone rotisserie chicken (Roti N.M.), Venezuelan pork-stuffed cachapas (Cacho’s Latin Flavor), and green chile jam–filled doughnuts (Blue Door Patisserie). At the center of the market, Paxton’s Taproom pours upwards of 30 New Mexico–made beers, wines, and hard ciders.

Feast in hand, find a table inside the market building, where floor-to-ceiling windows fill the industrial-chic space with natural light. Or head outdoors to the expansive dining patio named The Yard. Inside or out, you’ll rub elbows with a diverse crowd ranging from foodie hipsters Instagramming their falafel (Meso Grill) to families grabbing burgers and dogs (Dr. Field Goods) after visiting nearby Old Town or the ABQ BioPark.  

New to Sawmill in 2022 is Hiro Sushi, run by the family who founded gone-but-not-forgotten Santa Fe favorite Shohko Café (shuttered in 2019). The Hiro stall’s tiny size limits the menu to sushi rolls, but no one’s complaining when even a simple California or spicy tuna roll tastes this good. Tops is the Chef Special Roll with spicy salmon and shrimp tempura.

On the food side of the cavernous hall, micro kitchens turn out burgers (Meateor Burgers), deep-dish pies (Thicc Pizza Company), and steamy noodles (Naruto Ramen). The first Friday of each month, 505 hosts arts and crafts vendors as part of the downtown Albuquerque Artwalk.

Nashville hot chicken with a fiery Pakistani twist ignites your mouth at Kūkri, where the motto is “Hot means hot.” And they’re not foolin’. Of the 5 chicken spice levels ranging from “mild” to “insane hot,” the “hot” may cause even seasoned New Mexico chile freaks to break into a painful-but-worth-it sweat. Try the “medium” spiced fried chicken tenders meal, with 2 generously breaded chicken pieces, Texas toast, a cool slide of tangy slaw, and Tikka dipping sauce.

You can’t go wrong with food from any of the 11 vendors. Grab a juicy, fully loaded green chile cheeseburger from Rustic on the Green, or anything on the menu at Fusion Tacos (don’t miss the al pastor tacos). A Santa Fe Brewing Company taproom is in the house to quench your thirst, as well as Baby Bar, a new place for sampling spirits. Your belly stuffed and thirst slated, browse the Brotique 505 shop for New Mexico–themed knickknacks and apparel.

With its handmade, simply delicious Margherita pies, Amore Neapolitan Pizzeria transports you to coastal Italy. Of specialty pizzas, try the signature ABQ Duke topped with juicy sausage and Hatch green chile.

If you’ve got kiddos in tow, turn ’em loose in Tesoro Arcade. The tiny space features air hockey, pinball, and video games like Minecraft. On the way out, don’t forget a luscious Boston cream cupcake from hall newcomer Cake Fetish.   

S-A BBQ smokes its incredibly tender brisket, pulled pork, chicken, and house-made hot links on-site, low and slow as the barbecue gods command. Best is the brisket, either on a sandwich or in a combo plate with slaw and bread.

Santa Fe welcomed its first food hall in 2021. Inspired by Napa’s Oxbow Public Market, local businessman and owner Ken Joseph invested in the food hall concept. He believed “Santa Fe had an open niche for reasonably priced, high-quality food, and a great place for people to gather.”

In a modest 6,100-square-foot space on the southwest side of downtown, Joseph has curated an intriguing collection of 7 outlets helmed by local entrepreneurs, including Nath’s Inspired Khmer Cuisine (superb Pan-Asian fare), Pedro’s Pizza (wood-fired pies), and Bottega del Vino (an extensive wine and spirits bar). The lunchtime vibe is typical Santa Fe chill with fellow diners overheard discussing their chakras and Subarus.  

Chef Randy Tapia (formerly of Santa Fe’s La Fonda hotel restaurant) brought his popular Poki Tako food truck menu to a stall at Chomp in late 2022. Among Tapia’s poke bowl concoctions, consider the ‘ono Hawaiian bowl with ahi tuna. In the mood for something warm? Opt for the fish-and-chips with flaky rockfish fried in a spicy-crunchy tempura batter.

Enthusiastic hall owner and Mondo Italiano chef Jennifer DeBow plans to fill vacancies with Blue Deer BBQ and a Middle Eastern grab-n-go stand, poised to open in January 2023.

The numero uno dish at casual, cozy Mondo Italiano is the creamy, dreamy fettuccine Alfredo.  

Roy Solomon, the brains and bucks behind Albuquerque’s Green Jeans and Tin Can Alley food halls, has broken ground on a new grub hub named Margarita Hill. Nine vendors are planned for the hall, tentatively set to open in the Rio Rancho neighborhood in late 2023. 

Eli Ellison is a Santa Fe-based writer who, after researching this article, needs to go on a diet.