Tiwa Restaurant and Lounge

I just arrived in Albuquerque today and was really hungry. The vegan meal was a Salad so I chose fish today. The fish was very oily and bland. My friend said the Tuna melt was decent. The fruit was good. The service was good and well paced. It was close to the end of the business day for them and it wasn't busy. It was a cool environment with relaxing lighting.

The hard rock, head banging music played loudly throughout the entire meal really ruins the experience. Food and ambience was coffee shop quality fare.

Where would i start,It was 8/19/2017 this would be my 6th Visit The restaurant is inside Isleta Resort and Casino HotelI love this place and i always go eat lunch and or dinner hereUnfortunately i havent been here for the past 4 months and today 8/19/2017 decided to go back and eat, I check YELP Review wow for 3/4 stars it became 2 now.. I gave them a chance and tried itThe main disappointment is the Service it takes forever to be seated (20 mins) it was a dead hour and Server dont have proper time management, The Guy never greeted or smiled. And the phone ringed and he answered and chatted over the phone while us customers are waiting..Its so slow!!! The servers are a lil bit slowI notice that The Burger Steak is not same anymoreIts burn and bitter the rest are okBut i am hoping that they will change and do better next time Plus factorSoup are fresh and HotSalads are freshI am so disappointed!

I'm going to give them a 2.5 stars for the effort. They sure to do try their best here. The food is always edible, which as plus. It's yet to be real great but always mediocre.I usually come for the soup and salad bar. Not a bad deal for about $8 or so. I see other people's orders coming out from the kitchen and the food always looks and smells good. Unfortunately I can't speak for the taste.The biggest issue I have with them is the service. It is always so lacking. They're super slow, even thought the place is far from packed and my server never seems to be in a good mood which just makes anything I may ask for seem like such a chore. Not sure that I as the customer should feel guilty for asking for something that is complimentary with our meal? (green chile bread rolls) (tasty and warm served with some fresh creamed butter of sorts) But what do I know. As far as the salad bar goes. It surely does the trick or I wouldn't come back for it. There is always four soups to choose from with options like a green chile chicken stew, clam chowder and a southwestern corn chowder. All tasty and a good ratio of ingredients. Never just choked full of potatoes. Very cold, fancy square plates for the salad and a good basic variety of salad toppings for your creation.They do offer a menu to order from in addition to the salad bar if you choose. And if you do, let me know what you think. Maybe I'll venture sometime.

We ate here while staying in the Isleta Resort and it was just ok. I had 2 eggs, potatoes O'Brien and bacon. I have a gluten allergy so I gave the toast to my husband. Most places have gluten free bread these days, but I'm definitely not giving less stars for that because I understand not everyone is up to speed. My husband had eggs Benedict, and although I couldn't try it, it didn't look great. My husband said it was good but this was his first meal after being at Fort Bliss for 7 weeks, so his standards were admittedly pretty low--haha!! The staff was nice, which is always a plus.

Ate there for dinner 1 night. Steak salad good. Steak a bit grisly. Service ok.Had breakfast vegetable omelet. Doesn't come with cheese so added it. Good, but ordinary. Service better.

The Tiwa Cafe is going through growing pains. Right now it's doing well if you get the right people. One night night our manager was Hugo, server was John, and greeter Jordan. We had a small issue with the greeter but Hugo took really good care of us, seated us where we wanted. The menu will be changing to more local fare but this could be a mistake. The menu is good right now and there are too many local places doing local food well. The rumored Monte Cristo sandwich resides here. While playing poker at Isleta Casino, I had a server deliver a BBQ Bacon Burger with fries. I guess they didn't want me to leave the poker game. They told me the food came from the Tiwa Cafe. I saw the bad reviews but I trust my gut, nose and palate enough to give it a try. It was worth it. AtmosphereIt's modern, dimly but warmly lit with medium dark wood paneled floors, lighter wood paneled and painted walls, large booths and tables to break up the space. There are a few TVs in the dinning area and plenty of sport-filled TVs in the lounge area. FoodThe Elk in a Blanket was very good. Burgers are good these days, especially the Mushroom Swiss Burger. The variety of sides is good. Potato casserole is an excellent side. Salad bar is ok. BLT is pretty good. Monte Cristo is greasy, cheesy, dessert, and meaty goodness all in one. ServiceThe front desk was quick to seat us. Our server, John, was nice and attentive. He made good recommendations and got the food out quick. We got Bianca another night and she was fantastic, great smile. Matthew is very cool and attentive. The morning crew is slow. At 6:30A.M., we couldn't tell if the place was open, no staff were visible. Roberta was ok. If there are any issues with service and shift managers do not respond to your satisfaction, speak with the food and beverage manager or even casino manager before you leave. The night shift definitely does better on customer service. WarningsSkip the fries and Asian bowls. Avoid Monday night 2-for-1 prime rib special. They don't know how to cook prime rib. Don't use a gift credit card, for some odd reason not accepted. It's a solid 3.5 stars and only needs a few improvements to make it 4 stars. Keep it up Tiwa Cafe. You're getting better. NoteTiwa Cafe is named after the Tiwa speaking Puebloan Native American tribes in the Rio Grande Valley of northern New Mexico, in this case, Isleta Pueblo tribe.

we eat here at least once every two months or so. It's the salad and location that lures us. Came back on 8/12/18 and was pleased to know that the lousy service hasn't changed, I hate unexpected delights. I was beyond thrilled waiting to be seated while several servers and even a (guessing from his attire) manager, waltzed around. The highlight was being bellowed at from the bar by a server when I asked if we could be seated. "I told you I'd be right there or you can just sit down". Music to my ears. Like a dutiful lackey, I grabbed some silverware and shuffled my party to the table. By this time, a line had formed for customers and people wanting to pay. I was almost tempted to seat them too. this time though may have been the last. The soups were flavorless and of course the service was lackluster. For a salad bar, may have to find another spot.

I have a very special place in my heart for people that work on Christmas eve and Christmas day. I know there are many who are called to work because they were told to but you occasionally run across wonderful, good hearted people that truly love what they do and make a point to spread holiday cheer to their customers. The staff at the Tiwa Restaurant and Lounge were fantastic.We were visiting family in New Mexico and decided to stay at the Isleta Casino hotel since it was close to where the family lives. We rolled into the hotel and got checked in and looked around for dining options.The Tiwa Restaurant and Lounge was a perfect choice. Although we had Christmas dinner at the restaurant, I want to tell you about breakfast. Light, fluffy eggs, delicious eggs benny, huevos rancheros, corned beef hash and eggs, cinnamon rolls or Belgium waffles, this place hits the spot.Serving sizes were huge, flavors of red and green chile authentic and hash browns adorned every order. Located in the main lobby of the Isleta Casino Hotel, Tiwa restaurant and Lounge is the perfect travel stop for breakfast or a hearty lunch or dinner. The Hotel and Casino is a quick 20 minutes south of Downtown Albuquerque and less than 10 minutes from the Airport. Here's a great plan. Have a great breakfast at the hotel, and have the golf car shuttle take you across the street to the golf course for a wonderful day on the links.Whatever your choice of activity, go have breakfast at the Tiwa restaurant.

Eventhough we were tired of casino food we picked this restaurant and found surprisingly great food and friendly service.