Eat & Drink

Where to eat and drink in El Paso

Red chile enchiladas older than most of the city, rolled tacos in tomato broth, heirloom masa getting national attention, and the bars that outlasted every trend. No star ratings, no scraped reviews — just places we would send a friend.

43 places, all checked September 21, 2026. We do not print hours or prices, because they change and a wrong hour sends you on a wasted drive. Every listing links to the business and to a map — confirm before you go.

43 places

Tex-Mex$$

L&J Cafe

Central, next to Concordia Cemetery

The Old Place by the Graveyard. Opened in 1927 as Tony’s Place — home cooking, home brew and slot machines through Prohibition — and still the yardstick every other plate in town gets measured against.

Tex-Mex$$

Kiki's Restaurant & Bar

Central, Piedras St

A tiny, perpetually packed room opened by Paula Yardeni in 1976, with a machacado plate people plan their week around.

Mexican$$

Carnitas Queretaro

Multiple locations — Zaragoza, Gateway West, N Mesa

Carnitas by the pound since 1986, from a family operation that grew into several rooms across the city without losing the plot.

Tex-Mex$$

Julio's Café Corona

East Side, Gateway Blvd

A long-running border Mexican kitchen with Juárez lineage and a menu that does not chase trends.

Breakfast$

Lucy's Café

West Side, N Mesa St

Breakfast burritos, machaca, and huevos rancheros for the West Side before-work crowd.

Mexican, cooperative$

Café Mayapán

South-Central, Texas Ave

A restaurant run as part of a women workers’ organization in south-central El Paso, serving interior Mexican cooking with on-the-job training attached.

El Paso original$

Chico's Tacos

Multiple locations across the city

Rolled tacos swimming in thin tomato broth under a snowdrift of shredded cheese. There is nothing else like it anywhere.

Modern Mexican$$$

Elemi

Far East, Eastlake

Heirloom corn nixtamalized on site every day, turned into some of the most talked-about tortillas in the country. Texas Monthly ranked it No. 2 on its 50 best taco restaurants in Texas.

Taquería$$

Taquería Elemi

Far West Side, Paseo del Norte

The Marentes family’s West Side taquería — the same obsessive house masa, in a faster, cheaper format.

Taquería$

Taconeta

Central, Montana Ave

A contemporary taquería that lands on statewide best-of lists — Texas Monthly put it at No. 6 among the 50 best taco restaurants in Texas.

Street-style taquería$

Taquería El Tiger

Socorro, Lower Valley

Street-style tacos out in Socorro, No. 5 on Texas Monthly’s 50 best taco restaurants in Texas. Worth the drive down the valley.

Mariscos$$

El Botanero Mariscos

Far East, Radiance Rd

Ceviche tacos and border-style seafood that earned an honorable mention on Texas Monthly’s statewide taco list.

Taquería$

Taquería El Cometa

West Side, N Mesa St

A straightforward Mesa Street taquería that the neighborhood keeps to itself.

Taquería$

Taco Tote

Multiple locations

Grilled meat by the taco, then the salsa bar does the rest — a Juárez import that El Paso adopted whole.

Taquería$

Tacoholics

Central El Paso

A local taco brand that grew out of a food-truck following into a proper following.

Fine dining$$$

Café Central

Downtown

Downtown’s long-running white-tablecloth room, with roots tracing back to a 1918 café across the river in Juárez.

Steak & seafood$$$

Anson 11

Downtown, in the historic Mills Building

Two restaurants in one restored 1911 office tower: a ground-floor bistro and a darker, pricier room upstairs.

American tavern$$

Oak & Antler

Downtown

An American tavern rooted in Southern cooking — comfort food, rustic technique, and a real cocktail list.

Mediterranean$$

Lamezze

Downtown, Stanton St

Mezze plates and steak bowls downtown, with a brunch that fills the room on weekends.

Japanese$$$

Sushiitto

Downtown, Hunt Plaza at WestStar Tower

Sushi, teppan and a chef’s table at the base of the tallest building in the city.

Peruvian$$

Amar

El Paso

Peruvian cooking — lomo saltado, ceviche, aji — in a city that does not have much of it.

Steakhouse$$$

West Texas Chophouse

Airway Blvd, near the airport

Dry- and wet-aged steaks butchered in house, plus burgers and desserts made on site.

American & cocktails$$

Twisted Fork

West Side, Resler Dr

A West Side scratch kitchen with a cocktail bar attached and a patio people camp out on.

Brunch$$

Ripe Eatery & Market

West Side, Redd Rd

The West Side brunch standby — scratch kitchen, bright room, long Sunday lines.

American$$

Crave Kitchen & Bar

Kern Place and other locations

Pancakes the size of a hubcap, burgers, and the Cincinnati-district patio that started it all.

Italian & patio$$

Ardovino's Desert Crossing

Sunland Park, New Mexico

A desert compound just over the New Mexico line: restaurant, patio, and the Saturday farmers market.

Steakhouse$$$

Cattleman's Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch

Fabens, about 30 miles east

A steakhouse on a working ranch out past the county line, with a movie-set desert and a sunset that does half the work.

Barbecue$$

State Line

Sunland Park Dr, at the NM line

Big Texas barbecue served family-style, right where the state line is.

Central Texas barbecue$$

Desert Oak Barbecue

El Paso

Central Texas-style smoke — brisket by the pound, sold until it runs out.

Cocktail bar$$

The Garrison

Downtown, San Antonio Ave

Downtown’s most serious cocktail room — a culinary approach to balance and technique, with food to match.

Tiki bar$$

The Tiki Room

Union Plaza, Downtown

El Paso’s original tiki bar: traditional Polynesian-style drinks, an enormous rum list, and Union Plaza outside the door.

Late-night lounge$$

Rosewood

Downtown, San Antonio Ave

A dim downtown lounge that keeps going well after the restaurants have turned the lights up.

Cocktail lounge$$

The Berkeley

Downtown

A specialty cocktail lounge downtown — quiet, deliberate, and not trying to be a club.

Dive bar$

The Tap

Downtown, San Antonio Ave

Dark, cheap, and honest — the downtown dive that outlasted every concept bar around it.

Honky-tonk$

Rosa's Cantina

Upper Valley, Doniphan Dr

The cantina behind the Marty Robbins song, still standing on Doniphan with the memorabilia on the walls and live music on Saturday nights.

Neighborhood bar$

The Hope & Anchor

West Side, N Mesa St

A low-lit neighborhood bar on Mesa with a big patio and a straight-on view of the Franklins.

Beer bar$$

The Hoppy Monk

West Side, N Mesa St

Independently owned since 2010, with dozens of taps, a deep spirits list and a scratch kitchen that is not an afterthought.

Brewery & taproom$

DeadBeach Brewery

Union Plaza, Downtown (brewery on Durazno Ave)

Downtown’s brewery anchor, with a taproom that fills up before and after ballgames.

Brewery & taproom$

Blazing Tree Brewery

East Side, Montwood Dr

A small East Side taproom doing its own beer, in a part of town that had nowhere to drink it.

Coffee house$

Kinley's House Coffee & Tea

Kern Place, N Mesa St

A converted house near UTEP with porch seating and a permanent population of students and laptop workers.

Café & bakery$

Savage Goods

Sunset Heights, Oregon St

A family-run corner café in Sunset Heights that has turned up on statewide best-of lists — coffee, pastry and a short, sharp menu.

Bakery & café$

Salt + Honey Bakery Café

Texas Ave, with express counters downtown

Pastry, breakfast and lunch out of a bright room on Texas Ave, plus quick counters downtown.

Panadería$

Bowie Bakery

Segundo Barrio

Grab a tray and tongs and walk the racks — conchas, empanadas and marranitos at prices that have not caught up to the rest of the country.