Café Laurel

This was our first stop at Café Laurel even though they have been around for over a year and we live less than a 5 minute bike ride away.
Why did we stay away? Frankly because I looked at the menu online and they had, what I thought, no potatoes, and that is the essential item for breakfast. But I was wrong, they have delicious potatoes!
We biked here and they kindly greeted us at the door offering for us to park our bikes indoors.
The owners are friendly and make us feel like we’d been invited into their home to share in a family meal.
We walked up to the counter, ordered huevos rancheros, mine with no cheese and my wife’s with. My wife ordered a delicious London fog with almond milk. We then sat down in a brightly lit corner –the restaurant is comfortable with a lot of natural light and well kept plants.
One of the owners came up and said since I was not getting cheese if I would like an avocado spread instead. Of course!
The food was delivered and first off let me say this is one of the more unique and tasty huevos rancheros I’ve had (and I’m a connoisseur). Deep, rich, spicy red chile (green chile sauce was not an option, only chopped green) served with fluffy scrambled eggs, lettuce & tomato, some potatoes (which it doesn’t normally come with) and hominy, with the corn tortilla and avo spread stacked enchilada style in the middle. It was fantastic and with my last bites being red chile, hominy with a hint of rosemary it felt light and still indulgent. Loved it and so did my wife! We will DEFINITELY be back.
A small suggestion for the owners:
— the plates were thin which caused the food to cool off quicker than I would have desired. Thicker plates with some thermal mass would have kept that red chile piping hot the whole time. Yum!
Thanks for a wonderful Sunday morning breakfast.

First time coming here today. I love the clean and funky feel of this place and the fact that it makes me feel like I’m not in Albuquerque. I am one week out from a fitness competition and they were so friendly and nice in offering suggestions and accommodating my meal based on my strict diet. I hate being an inconvenience when it comes to ordering food and I felt so welcomed here. I will definitely be returning after to enjoy the selection of different menu items that looked and sounded so delicious! Thanks for making my experience a great one!

This local café is one of my favorites! The food is always great, the cold brew coffee has become my favorite and the owners are ALWAYS friendly! The food is healthy and reasonably priced! I would deff. recommended this place!

Unlike most of the restaurants and cafes in ABQ, the owners here are so friendly and say hi to you when you walk in. It’s bright inside and clean. Sandwiches are yummy. I can recommend this place to people from big cities.

Very very disappointed I have seen this place several times in passing! I finally stopped in and not so great food. People there are extremely friendly and place is clean. I Had hervos Ranchos which the eggs weren’t to my liking so I sent them back they just threw those eggs away and put more back on top of the cold enchiladas with the cold sides. As I know you remake the entire plate to erasure that your meal would be hot. I had a friend take me to breakfast and she didn’t want to say anything so on that note I didn’t eat!!! Oh red chilli was taste…

Had a great first experience at Café Laurel. Loved the ambience, especially how everything about the place was clean, organized and cozy. The staff were also extremely warm and friendly. My friend and I spent the morning of our first visit volunteering on a farm, so grabbing a meal here was like the cherry on top of a perfect (Saturday) sundae to unwind and get our grub on. Shout out to the owners for the awesome convos and giggles, and especially to my tuna salad sammich. I still think about your toasty and capery (made that one up) goodness every day!

As a downtown resident I’m so happy to see eateries like this exist. The prices were fair, the service is excellent and if you’re looking for an easy breakfast, lunch decision without much frills I suggest walking on over to Café Laurel. It’s a dog friendly spot with nice patio dining. I had a chocolate crêpe, and quiche which were satisfying enough for a mid day lite lunch.

Why only three stars? Not for ambiance (really nice) or location (excellent) or parking (tons) or staff (very friendly and helpful) but because I’ve seen a decline in standards over the course of three visits over a couple of months.
The first time I had the quiche? Clearly a house-​made crust combined with a delicious filling that made me want to stand up and salute. Instead of doing so and causing a scene, I consumed every last crumb and left very satisfied. The second time I had quiche? A commercial crust. These things make a difference and to me they are markers of where the owners may be taking this place. What will be compromised next?
Running a restaurant is a really hard business and compromises are inevitable. But owners need to remember that they will be noticed.
If you do decide to go here, get the house-​made creamy herb dressing with your salad. You won’t regret it. It’s delicious. And I am plagued with fear that it might be the next victim of the compromises.

I wish I could like this place because the people who work here (or owners?) appear to be nice and welcoming, the server even offered me a phone charger, but the food and ambiance is much to be desired. Cappuccino was weak and the chocolate hazelnut crêpe thick and flavorless.

This place is very good. Trendy surroundings excellent service. The food is so far above normal. The selection met all the needs of our group. The chicken chicken salad is so good.
And they have a patio for us with our pup!
It is now in my regular restaurant rotation!!!

If you wonder how Austin became Austin, or Portland became Portland, or Indianapolis became Indianapolis, just ask a local who been there and done that. I grew up in one: Minneapolis. Such transformations happened a decade or three back, but the patterns of growth and influx are similar; essentially, each metro was initially a smattering of neighborhoods, each with their own personalities, unique but disconnected. At some point in time, each city enjoyed something of a renaissance, wherein the neighborhoods connected with one another, housing popped up, cafes and restaurants and banks and markets took root, and all of a sudden a true city was born.
This stretch of Central, between oh, 10^th and Rio Grande, is one such neighborhood, and Café Laurel is one of many new spots that’s betting on a millennial boost during the coming few years. Like the Wells Park/​Sawmill District north of Old Town, I’m thinking this is a safe wager. There’s plenty of semi-​affordable housing around here, it’s close to downtown and there are numerous lots to develop, like the dust bowl parking lot adjacent to the café. In many respects, Café Laurel is a natural extension of this arrested development: the interior and exterior remain a work-​in-​progress. Wifi was shoddy, almost non-​existent both times I visited. My Toasted Turkey sammie was good, but probably missing something. The patty melt was much better, and I could tell the beef was fresh, it made the sammy. The coffee worked, but it felt like it needed ummph.
But I really loved the service, the welcoming ambiance, the stuff that really matters. And like the neighborhood, I can only anticipate better. So consider me a glass half-​full fella, I dug the place, and I’m thrilled to finally have a spot to visit when I’m in these parts. As soon as that wi-​fi is fixed, that is.

I had seen this place while driving down central a few times and we finally decided to try it out. The food and service was amazing, the Chile has a good bite to it. I got the huevos, he got the patty melt, both were delicious. We will definitely be coming back.

Café Laurel catered a lunch meeting at my place (nearby). It was delivered exactly at the set time. Two round platters full of different kinds of yummy filling sandwiches with some fruit for everyone to share. Each person received a bag of chips and a fresh cookie. Plates, napkins, and all that for a stress free experience. I hope the surrounding neighborhoods and greater Downtown businesses give them a try for a catered lunch. All was very reasonable!

We are somewhat of a duo of brunch snobs and I’m thrilled to say this place is Delightful and tasty! We had a lovely brunch: huevos rancheros (great red sauce) and florentine omelette were completely delicious. Will be returning and excited for when they offer dinner!

We came here for a late breakfast, and I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food. The Huevos Rancheros were spicy, smokey, and delicious. The omelet was pretty tasty as well. Great service too. The owner was super friendly and told us that they are thinking of doing a prix fix dinner by way of email invitation, so we got on that list too.

Super cute spot along Route 66 between Downtown and Old Town. I only got coffee today, but chatted with the owners (very friendly) and appreciated their welcoming service. I’ll be back!

Great service, fresh sandwhiches, comfy interior, free wifi, delectable desserts, super friendly owners… Great new café in this area. Recommend completely. Will want to try other items on menu next time, including coffee menu. (:

New favorite brunch spot! Best service anywhere and delicious food!
They don’t have a kids menu, but you can order off menu and are very accommodating. They have a great coffee menu too, but I was in the mood for just regular coffee, so will definitely be back for a latte.
I also love the location — west downtown so the view is nice from all of those windows — very bright and airy. I love the feel!

Very simple and clean interior. The menu is limited to light breakfast and lunch. We ordered salad and the ingredients were fresh and high quality. The ranch dressing is delicious and homemade. I would say this is along the lines of Hartford Square with better portion sizes. They are working on the menu and need to work on the processes. I would definitely return. The prices are much better than The Grove or Vinaigrette and it’s not loud like those two restaurants. The menu selection is more limited though.

Solid. Good menu with wonderful diverse choices (and specials every day, like a daily quiche and soup and sandwich). Breakfast all day. My crêpe was delicious and coffee was good. The Christopher Sandwich is unique to here and wonderful. We will be back many times. Lots more to try. Parking is easy and free as well.

Great spot. Great breakfast. Free wifi. Great people.
I ordered a crêpe. It was excellent. Unlimited coffee.

Really wanting to support a neighborhood restaurant, I tried it out for breakfast one morning. The ambience inside was really quite nice. The interior is spacious with a nice view out front. The location on W. Central Ave. is superb with tons of parking both on the street and off. The food that I had that morning, though, was just OK. Felt disappointed. I would have absolutely loved to give Laurel a great rating but with mediocre food, I just can’t do it. Will possibly try them again in the future. If I were a big sweets eater, I’d definitely try a homemade item with coffee some afternoon. There is free WiFi.

From the outside this café has so much potential. The food and interior were ok, but I kind of expected a bit more from the menus and interior. It’s a nice place to go, but It’s begging to have some Italian style, wood beams, metal accents and actual plates instead of plastic.

Breakfast: Payment was made immediately after ordering at the counter. Food and drink menus were rolled in two bowls with no labels saying which was which. There was no orange juice, only pellegrino. The water was self-​service, and there were only plastic cups. One person ordered a quiche, but after we got to the table she was told that it would take 20 minute to prepare it. She ordered something else which cost less, but she was not reimbursed the difference in cost between the two dishes. She received her dish about 20 minutes before we two got our eggs — one dish scrambled and one dish over easy. She was completely finished by the time that we got our breakfasts. Our eggs were warm, but our bacon was cold. It was a pretty negative experience.