Put your taste buds on notice, Albuquerque foodies. Downtown is set to welcome a new restaurant this summer – Cantina Real. Chef Yolanda Torres said she’s working on a menu that will feel familiar to those who enjoy New Mexican touches, but that will also raise some eyebrows.
“I want people to feel like they’ve traveled outside of New Mexico, too,” Torres, who oversees the food at the adjacent Villa Myriam Coffee, said.
Cantina Real was ready for a debut in 2020, but the pandemic delayed those plans. It’s a turnkey space with a kitchen, seating and custom fixtures and furniture in place, Torres said. The two-story building features an open concept main floor with a music stage and an upper floor designated for VIP seating, special events and office space. The spacious outdoor area has views of the Sandia Mountains and a second stage.
“It’s beautiful. Everything was given a lot of thought when it was built,” Torres said. “I can’t wait to bring something special to Albuquerque.”
Torres said to expect lunch and dinner hours at first, with weekend brunches to follow. She’s eyeing a grand opening in June, but fantasizes about a Cinco de Mayo weekend launch.
‘All the good things’
Torres said the menu will feature American food with different cooking styles and cultural influences.
“All the good things about home – grandma’s cooking, mom’s cooking – combined with elements that are special about different regions of the country,” Torres said. “It’s a big world out there once you get out of the comfortable walls of New Mexico.”
If the menu is received like the one at Villa Myriam, she’ll have a hit on her hands. The creations coming out of the much smaller kitchen at 517 Commercial St. NE has elevated what the caffeine-and-laptop crowd typically expects from their local coffee shop. Favorites include the carnitas burrito, vegan choriza, Holy Grill grilled cheese sandwich (manchego and green chile cheeses) and the exalted “Galaxy burger,” featuring a fried UFO egg, “Alien spread” (avocado, green chile, lime, jalapeño) and Roswell cheese sauce on “Galaxy toast.” Those with a sweet tooth have plenty of options, too, including “French toast Friday” flavors like kiwi-blueberry and Key lime pie.
Torres moved to Albuquerque from Lubbock, Texas, with her family when she was 12. Interested in cooking at a young age, it wouldn’t be long until the West Mesa High School grad made her way to New York’s renowned Culinary Institute of America. She worked alongside celebrated chefs and helped open restaurants in New York City and, later, New Orleans, where she spent almost a decade in the industry.
After returning to Albuquerque, she led the kitchen at East Downtown staple Grove Cafe & Market, before landing at Villa Myriam, where she’ll continue to oversee the kitchen after Cantina Real opens.
‘Part of a Downtown revival’
Cantina Real is part of an increasingly revitalized area near Martineztown, east of the main Downtown area. It will be located off the southwest corner of Lomas and Broadway boulevards near the railroad tracks and the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The new projects have come from Ed Garcia and the Garcia family, known for Downtown investments and their Garcia Honda car dealership enterprise. In addition to Villa Myriam and Cantina Real, the Garcias own the connected Neon Park, which houses a growing collection of restored Route 66-themed neon signs, and the vacant Southwestern Brewery and Ice Co.—one of the only surviving 19th-century commercial buildings in the corridor.
“This is part of a Downtown revival—of what the Garcias mean to the city—because they’re all about the community,” Torres said. “Cantina Real will hopefully inspire people to get out and care more about their city and see how beautiful it is and the potential we have to bring Downtown back. We see too much negative and we need to empower ourselves to bring the positive, not by ignoring the things we don’t want to see, but by supporting small businesses and just being good people.”