Papa Felipes – Unbelievable Service!

I’ve had good service before. I think we all have. Although, it’s been a while since I received this level of service in any industry. The food was good but what made Papa Felipe’s stand out was their service. This is the reason why I’ll be visiting them again soon!

9800 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87112

Overall Bites:

Value: I had the lunch special for $7.50 which included a taco, an enchilada and rice. There was also complimentary chips and salsa. This wasn’t the only item on the lunch special menu. You could choose from about a dozen different entrees. Some allowed substitutions and others didn’t. For $7.50 it was a heck of a deal!

Taste: The taste of the home-made salsa was great. The meat in the taco was seasoned very well. And again, for the price, it had more than enough flavor!

Presentation: Nothing that would seem too good to eat but it was presented ok. The enchilada looked like a cheesy mess with the lettuce and the rice close by. The taco was out of the way so the shell stayed crunchy which is good.

Vibe: There was a little bit of an older crowd at lunch time but that didn’t keep the wait staff from handling their business. They were on point! Everybody pitched in and all the customers seemed more than happy.

Accessibility: Very easy to find. It’s on Menaul just East of Eubank. Tall sign tells you where to go as well as let you know about their lunch special.

I arrived at Papa Felipe’s at roughly 1130. I was on the way to another store and decided to make a lunch stop. I’ve passed Papa Felipe’s on several occasions, the parking lot has always been full, so I figured I’d give them a shot.

I was sat pretty quickly. There weren’t too many people there but it started filling up and by noon most tables were full. There was one waitress, Dana, taking care of the sitting area. She was top notch – super friendly and efficient. She asked me if I wanted red or green and also told me the green was hotter that day. I overheard her talk to other customers and she knew her menu backwards and forwards including the ingredients used.

The dining area was nice. The bar has a viga patio look to it with each viga wrapped with white Christmas lights. There is a dividing wall running through the dining and it had plastic luminarias running along the top. There is also a beautiful painting of a village scene on the east wall.

Prices range from $8 to $13 with a dozen or so items on their lunch menu which is $7.50. The chips and salsa are complimentary as well and you get a plain sopapilla for desert. The salsa looked like mostly tomatoes but the spice crept up on you. The consistency reminded me of a Pace Picante but with a lot more kick. I asked the server about it and she said it was made fresh that morning. I used the salsa on my taco…that’s when the hotness got me.

The taco was on a crispy shell and was baked well. It was crunchy and tasted fresh. The meat was seasoned very well and very tasty. Sometimes you get dry ground beef but that was not the case here. I usually don’t expect much from a crunchy shell taco but I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and the crunch.

The green chile was definitely hot that day! The enchilada was smothered in it. The enchilada was rolled and filled with cheese, had the green chile on top and then covered in more shredded cheese. It was cheesy! They definitely didn’t skimp on the cheese. It was also very tasty which is the most important part. The rice was also tasty. Not crunchy or mushy but nothing out of this world. You won’t be disappointed with it but it won’t be the reason you visit.

At the end of the day I was most impressed impressed with service. Bus lady jumped in to seat people and bring out chips and salsa when waitresses were too busy. Other waitress jumped in to bring out plates. This was truly a family environment where everybody pitched in and in the end the customer was better for it.

Papa Felipe’s gets 4.5 Bites from me. The food was good but as with most things in life, the service is what has set Papa Felipe’s apart from all restaurants I’ve reviewed. So far they are head and shoulders above the rest and it was mostly due to Dana’s attention, her efficiency, and her knowledge of the menu. Like I said earlier, I’m not a big fan of the crunchy shell tacos but I’ll go back to Papa Felipe’s because their service is top notch.

Thanks for the great service!

Check out their website, give them a Like on Facebook, and also in Instagram.