6 restaurants that honor New Mexico’s Indigenous culture and cuisine

Native cuisine is New Mexico’s lifeblood. Most dishes that are labeled “New Mexican” carry on traditions that were practiced by the region’s First People, then shared with the Spanish and later arrivals.

Corn, beans, and squash—the Three Sisters—remain the mainstay of Native American cooking. Deer, rabbit, trout, and piñon supplemented those nutritious crops. Spanish settlers brought chile, along with sheep and cattle from Mexico, and they quickly became important staples in the Pueblo diet. The Spanish also introduced hornos—domed adobe ovens—for bread-baking.

These foods and agricultural techniques have defined New Mexican cuisine for centuries. At the heart of Indigenous cuisine is a deep respect for the land that provides the food and an appreciation for New Mexico’s First People. 

Native fare continues to evolve, adding new ingredients to create tasty dishes and to expand its audience. The following restaurants offer a range of meals, from traditional plates enjoyed at family gatherings to fusion items that have put New Mexico on the world’s culinary map.

Dishes at the Indian Pueblo Kitchen:

Everyone who works at this restaurant in the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center contributes to the menu, from Becenti to longtime servers. Becenti says she’d like one of her menu contributions to be mutton (sheep) stew, a Diné staple that is also loved at the Pueblos.

Currently, the menu offers a Pueblo stew (choose from red chile beef, green chile pork, or bison cabbage), which comes with a choice of fry bread, house-made tortilla, or Pueblo oven bread.

Becenti showcases her Diné heritage with blue corn atole topped with amaranth, currants, and piñon, and Pueblo-style bread pudding garnished with currants and cheddar cheese. She also whips up New Mexican classics such as Indian tacos and blue corn enchiladas.

Dishes at Itality:

Itality opens for breakfast with items such as the blue corn amaranth waffles (gluten-free blue corn amaranth-seed waffles topped with fresh berry maple syrup compote and coconut whipped topping), and the ever-popular Break-Fast Burrito (black beans, potatoes, greens, and tofu wrapped in a fresh-made tortilla).

Lunch sees the Sacred Salad (locally grown veggies with a creamy lemon tahini dressing topped with 3 falafels), the Ital NDN Taco (Pueblo-style fry bread smothered with red chile beans, avocado, veggies, and a pumpkin chi sauce), Pueblo Pizza (Pueblo oven bread topped with house-made marinara, olives, greens, mushrooms, peppers, and garlic sauce), and other veggie-forward dishes with gluten-free options.

House-made biscochitos, which use flax and coconut oil instead of lard, provide a delicious, healthier take on New Mexico’s state cookie.

Dishes at Yaak’a Café:

Yaak’a Café’s menu has a Feast Day section featuring red chile beef posole, green chile pork stew, and fry and horno bread sold by the loaf.

The Kadzima Plate is blue corn enchiladas topped with beans and red or green chile.

The stuffed acorn squash entrée is halved and filled with wild rice and roasted piñon nuts, and served with red or green chile.

Burgers and sandwiches are served on different types of traditional bread: The Yaak’a Burger uses fry bread, the Sky City Burger uses a cornmeal-dusted bun, and other sandwiches (including the BLT, grilled cheese, and grilled chicken sandwich) use horno bread.

Dishes at Amaya:

Seasonal appetizers might include Chimayo red chile soup with asadero cheese and corn tortilla strips, and Picuris salad with roasted corn.

For entrées, seasonal offerings feature green chile chicken enchiladas with blue corn tortillas, roasted Ruby trout, black bean–stuffed poblano peppers, and a hamburger made with Santa Fe bison. Bison is an important dish for the Picuris Pueblo, as the Pueblo raises bison for tribal members.

The public is welcome to fish at the Pueblo’s trout pond; more information and fishing permits are available at the Picuris Smokes, a convenience store at the intersection of NM 75 and NM 76.

Dishes at AshKii’s Navajo Grill:

The Mama’s Boy with thin-sliced mutton and grilled green chiles wrapped in fry bread is a local favorite, as is the Navajo dumpling stew with mutton, called K’ineeshbízhii.

The Big Boy Burger comes with 2 side-by-side cheeseburger patties on a bed of lettuce and tomato, all wrapped in a huge piece of fry bread.

The Little Boy Taco is a plate of fry bread smothered in seasoned beans and ground beef with a generous topping of shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.

For a truly authentic dish, try the Chubby Boy Combo that includes an ach’ii wrap (grilled sheep intestines wrapped in a tortilla), a mutton rib, green chile, and fried potato chips.

For dessert, the Navajo corn mush, called Tanaashgiizh, is a blue corn porridge that can be sweetened with honey.

Dishes at Tiwa Kitchen:

Breakfast (“He-Ya-Hoo” in Tiwa) dishes include Pueblo red chile stew served with horno bread, and blueberry pancakes topped with chokecherry (a tart berry) syrup.

Lunch (“Pien-Ta-Ke”) items include Frito pie with red or green chile; a fry bread buffalo burger; blue corn tacos with red or green chile; and the Pueblo sandwich with chicken, bacon, and green chile. The chokecherry lemonade is a great way to wash it all down.

For dessert, try the pumpkin cookies, horno-baked fruit pies, and other sweets of the day.

When not waiting for the next Feast Day, Steve Larese explores the Southwest for AAA Explorer, GearJunkie, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.