23 Must-Visit Saloons and Roadhouses in New Mexico

BYRON T’S SALOON
Las Vegas

Named for Byron T. Mills, the former owner of the Plaza Hotel and one-time Las Vegas mayor, this saloon is a chameleon of a place. “Las Vegas has always been a melting pot, with plenty of people and commerce coming through,” says Sara Jo Mathews, who co-owns Byron T’s and the hotel’s Prairie Hill Café with Ryan Snyder. “First with the railroad and now with I-25, we encounter people from all walks of life.” Family-friendly by day and grown-up by night, Byron T’s leans into the spooky feel of the 1882 building on the plaza, with touches like a vintage player piano and a rusted chandelier. Works by local artists pay homage to Mills, whose ghost is reputed to make appearances. “When he’s around, he wants to remind you that this is still his bar,” Mathews says. “He’s the life of the party.”

Unlike Mathews, Plaza Hotel owner Allan Affeldt doesn’t necessarily believe the place is haunted. “I’m a pragmatist,” he says. However, he notes that saloons were “where everything used to happen—funerals, weddings, quinceañeras. If there is such a thing as traces of the past, they’re in these buildings.” DON’T MISS: Give the air a quick sniff for the scent of cigars. Legend has it that Mills’s ghost likes to announce his presence with a whiff of tobacco. If you’re lucky, he might even whisper in your ear. —Katy Kelleher

230 Plaza St., Las Vegas; 505-434-0022

HOTEL EKLUND
Clayton

The Hotel Eklund has probably served more whiskey to more cowboys in the past century than any other establishment in New Mexico. In the northeast corner of the state, a mere 12 miles from the Texas Panhandle, the rich prairie soil around Clayton has supported large livestock operations since the 1860s. In 1888, the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway came through, and Clayton became the halfway stop. Six years later, in 1894, Swedish immigrant Carl Eklund established the Hotel Eklund a half block from the railroad.

Eklund spared no expense on his hotel and saloon—state-of-the-art fire prevention, stained glass windows, and iron scrollwork from Italy. The saloon is a storefront-window establishment, long and narrow with a high ceiling. The standout bar, which is original, runs about half the length of the room. Likely made by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company of Cincinnati, the two-foot-wide surface is crafted from a single wooden plank. The backbar—supposedly won in a poker game in Trinidad, Colorado—features columns of burled hardwood and detailed inlay surrounding mirrors. “It’s an old-fashioned, belly-up-style bar,” says Keith Barras, who has owned the Hotel Eklund with his wife, Jeannette Vigil Barras, and his sister-in-law, Jo Beth Vigil Price, since 2011. “There are no barstools.”

Amid a landscape so flat you can watch your dog run away for a week, the old stone building stands like a bastion of Old West hospitality. The decor has been described as “over-the-top cowboy Victorian,” including Tiffany-style lamps, floral wallpaper, and lace curtains. On the wall behind a pronghorn bust is a bullet hole, the result of news that Calvin Coolidge had been elected president in 1924. But perhaps the most telling details of the Hotel Eklund can be found at the base of the bar. At one end, just above the polished brass footrail, small linear scratches can be seen in the wood paneling. The marks are both old and not so old, made by the roweled spurs of cowboys leaning against the bar, bending an elbow behind themselves and resting their spurred boots on the footrail. DON’T MISS: The historic fire-prevention system—a meltable fuse on exterior shutters that sealed the windows if a nearby structure was burning—can still be seen on the outside of the building. —Will Grant

15 Main St., Clayton; 575-374-2551

LA FIESTA LOUNGE
Santa Fe

For more than a century, La Fonda on the Plaza has served as a place of respite and renewal for weary travelers. Designed by architect Isaac Rapp in the early 1920s, the Spanish Colonial Revival–style structure has gone through several renovations, but you can still get a taste of its Old West-meets-modernist charm at La Fiesta Lounge’s curved wooden bar. Settle into one of the woven-backed barstools for a tequila tasting or find an armchair with a view of the stage, where local bands play most nights.   

“La Fiesta Lounge has been more than just a gathering place at La Fonda,” says Ed Pulsifer, director of sales and hotel historian. “It has been a vibrant hub of creativity, culture, and intrigue.” In the 1940s, for example, Manhattan Project scientists from Los Alamos used the lounge as a regular getaway. (J. Robert Oppenheimer said it made him feel “somewhat more human.”) It was such a popular spot that the U.S. government began using agents as bartenders, clerks, and bellmen to keep tabs on the Russian and Chinese spies it attracted. “Once, Oppenheimer even sent down the wife of his theoretical physicist to spread rumors that what they were doing in Los Alamos was electromagnetic in nature and not nuclear,” Pulsifer says. “And that’s a great bar story.” DON’T MISS: Keep your eyes peeled for the rabbit motif that echoes throughout the hotel. One quirky sculpture, located above the bar, was inspired by an ashtray made by Harvey House architect and designer Mary Colter. —Katy Kelleher

100 E. San Francisco Street, Santa Fe; 505-982-5511

THE 49ER LOUNGE
Gallup

The Old West mystique pulses through El Rancho Hotel. Gallup’s role as a hub for filming Westerns drew Hollywood’s Golden Age stars—and their horses—to the hotel and its lounge. (Legend has it, John Wayne once rode into the hotel bar and ordered a beer for himself and his steed.) “We have six different margaritas, and they’re all named after a movie star,” says bar manager Felix Lopez, who grew up in Gallup and has worked in the lounge since 2011.

Added in the 1960s, the 49er Lounge originally featured red carpeted floors and walls covered in dollar bills, in step with the tradition of some Western watering holes. After a 2022 renovation, the bar was updated with new flooring and modern tables and chairs. But the colorful stained glass portraits of life in the Old West—a cowboy, a poker game, a piano in the hotel lobby—remain. “That stained glass on the outer perimeter has been there since the 49er was built,” Lopez says.

Route 66 enthusiasts make the pilgrimage along the Mother Road today, and El Rancho Hotel is still among the most popular hotels on the multistate trip. “The locals love to talk to the people that are traveling through,” Lopez says. “Being able to meet different people every day, it’s an awesome thing.” DON’T MISS: The John Wayne Margarita. “It’s one of our top-selling drinks,” Lopez says. —Julian Dossett

1000 E. US 66, Gallup; 505-722-2285

TJ’S BAR IN LAMBERT’S RESTAURANT
Cimarrón

First opened in 1872, the St. James Hotel in Cimarrón is as close as you can get to a living history museum where you can still buy whiskey. From the Western artwork to the 19th-century photos lining the walls to the swinging doors at the saloon entrance, the hotel and saloon transport visitors to an earlier time. An antique key cabinet at the hotel reception desk is still in use for guests, while an old-fashioned note card index organizes housekeeping.

“We like to keep the old ways going,” says Thea Maestas, the front desk manager. “All of this furniture you see here in the lobby is from the 1800s. It’s been restored, but this is what it would’ve looked like.”

The saloon, officially called TJ’s Bar in Lambert’s Restaurant, is filled with artifacts—branding irons, clothes irons, antique rifles, old articles of horse tack—from the past 150 years of life on the frontier. The bar, an old hardwood fixture with a mirrored backbar, was originally assembled in Ratón, then spent time in Santa Fe. An impressive piece of craftsmanship, it carries the ambience of the room. But it’s hardly the main attraction. “When people walk in,” Maestas says, “one of their first questions is, ‘Where can we find the bullet holes?’ ” DON’T MISS: Chicken-fried steak smothered in white gravy. —Will Grant

617 S. Collison Ave., Cimarrón; 575-376-2664

Editor's Note: Just over a week after we went to press with the November issue, the owners of the St. James Hotel announced on Facebook that the historic Cimarrón property was closing on September 17. Read Will Grant's "Ode to the St. James Hotel" for a tribute to the lodging house, its bullet holes, and the spirits who reportedly walk its halls.  

TRACKSIDE AT THE CASTAÑEDA
Las Vegas

When Allan Affeldt bought the Castañeda Hotel in 2014, it had been “mostly closed for 50 years,” says the developer and historic preservationist. “There was a little bar the locals called the Nasty Casty,” he adds, “which was only open when the proprietor felt like opening it.” Affeldt spent the next five years restoring the former Harvey House to its glory, including the Trackside bar and dining areas. They have a sense of place found nowhere else, he says. “It’s why people love New Mexico.”

Affeldt used several antiques pickers to outfit the bar with period-specific furniture and decor. During the renovation, crews uncovered a folk-art-style mural of various town characters that experts trace to the early 1900s. “It looks very much like a Maynard Dixon,” Affeldt says. “The period is right, the style is right, but we don’t have authentication.”

The wall painting adds an extra dose of Old West character to the elegant bar, where you can keep tradition alive by ordering a tall glass of local beer and starting a gossip session with a barstool companion. DON’T MISS: Visit the Castañeda’s Bottle Shop, located in what was once the Fred Harvey bakery, to check out a collection of artifacts, including the repurposed flour bins and a set of original Harvey House mixing bowls. —Katy Kelleher

524 Railroad Ave., Las Vegas; 505-434-1005

SALOONS

ALLEY CANTINA
Taos

Back in 2010, Ruth Waterhouse, the then owner of the Alley Cantina, in Taos, directed me to a flickering candle placed on an adobe wall. The flame disappeared into a trickle of smoke trailing into the vigas above. The room went cold. Then the flame reappeared, burning bright. The room warmed. The flame faded and a shiver wracked my body. “Explain that,” she said.

Located just off of Taos Plaza, the Alley Cantina inhabits one of the oldest structures in town. Two of the adobe walls date to the 1500s, constructed as a waypoint along the Chihuahua Trail. The outpost later served as offices for the Spanish colonial government and then Charles Bent, the first U.S. governor of New Mexico. In 1944, the famed El Patio restaurant (featured in Clint Eastwood’s Every Which Way but Loose) opened, becoming the Alley Cantina in 1997.

Longtime bartender Aaron Hiemenz (known as Double AA) purchased the Alley—and its spiritual inhabitants—in 2012. “We think she may be Teresina, the daughter of Governor Bent,” Hiemenz says, “but we’ve had other ghosts through the years as well.” The Alley excels at New Mexican fare, including a frighteningly good posole, that attracts a regular crew of Taoseños. “It’s an intimate space with the low ceilings and Old West bar. It’s the kind of place where visitors feel like a local,” Hiemenz says. “It speaks to just how dang cool this town is.” DON’T MISS: The chile rellenos are spicy enough to push away any shivers. —Jim O’Donnell

121 Teresina Lane, Taos; 575-758-2121

BLACK BIRD SALOON
Los Cerrillos

The Black Bird Saloon sits at a dusty crossroads in the historic mining village of Los Cerrillos. Since 2017, owners Patrick and Kelly Torres have worked to create a saloon that maintains its roots in the small community. “We renovated and decorated it to stick with the tradition and the history that we walked into,” Patrick says. Built in 1885 by Julius Gerdes as a tailor shop and dry goods store, the building became a saloon by 1900.

The couple runs a brisk business these days. Patrick serves drinks over a wooden bar from the early 1900s that’s surrounded by local folk and Western art; Kelly helms a kitchen known for its innovation, Wild West flair, and seasonal ingredients. A selection of dry and locally made goods is available for local shoppers. “There are creaky, original wood floors and saloon doors,” Patrick says, along with an old wood-burning stove to warm winter visitors. Lamb, Wagyu, elk, venison, and bison populate the menu chalkboard, while burger names honor outlaws like Black Jack Ketchum and El Chivato (a nickname for Billy the Kid). DON’T MISS: The rabbit-and-rattlesnake sausage. “It’s really popular,” Patrick says. —Julian Dossett

28 Main St., Los Cerrillos; 505-438-1821

BUCKHORN SALOON AND OPERA HOUSE
Pinos Altos

I come face to face with a mountain lion every time I visit the Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House. The predator native to the mountains of Pinos Altos isn’t the only work of taxidermy on the 1860 adobe walls. Among the other mounted animal busts are also murals showcasing seductively posed women. “It looks the same today as it would if you walked in 100 years ago,” says chef and proprietor Thomas Bock.

In the smaller of the Buckhorn’s two formal dining rooms, faded photos portray historic moments in the village that yielded $8 million worth of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. But Bock still wonders what sagas these walls hold secret. His own memory recalls not the clash between settlers and 400 Apache warriors or the village’s growth to 9,000 residents during its prosperous years but rather the goat that ran through the restaurant, the duck that arrived in a stroller, and the stray dogs that wander in, just like humans, looking to quench their thirst and make a new friend.

“It’s a classic Old West saloon that locals and visitors from all over the world have been supporting ever since it opened,” Bock says. DON’T MISS: Sneak through the side door of the main dining room to tour the Opera House, glancing up at the imposing chandeliers. —Jennifer C. Olson

32 Main St., Pinos Altos; 575-538-9911

BULL O’ THE WOODS SALOON
Red River

The tall wooden facade stands out as we drive into Red River, altitude 8,750 feet. Four flags fly above red wagon wheels lined up like a fence along the sidewalk. Rising behind like the surrounding peaks, stained timber planks are accented with red letters spelling out “Bull O’ the Woods.” “Saloon,” with a stylized capital S, stands out on a white background. A bull elk shed is mounted front and center.

While the saloon got its start in 1939, it hasn’t always looked like this. Until a legendary snowstorm in March 1989, the watering hole set itself apart with a lighted marquee. “The old sign fell down,” says manager Daryle Brown. “By then, a local ordinance against the lights wouldn’t allow them to replace it.”

The then owners not only rebuilt but renamed it. Originally dubbed the Silver Spruce Tavern, the bar served drinks and a good time under a few different names in the mining town turned mountain retreat.

Slots were the main form of entertainment at first, but the tavern adapted to meet the needs of residents and visitors. Today, pool tables, outdoor firepits, large-screen TVs, and live music every Friday and Saturday night provide diversion in the family-oriented village in the Enchanted Circle. DON’T MISS: Join a Wednesday pool tournament or order hand-breaded chicken-fried steak on a Thursday Steak Night. —Jennifer C. Olson

401 E. Main St., Red River; 575-224-2897

CAPITOL BAR & BREWERY
Socorro

The Socorro saloon’s facade—embedded with mouse-tooth and soldier-course brickwork over tall arched windows—pulls thirsty visitors back to the turn of the 20th century. “You definitely get a sense of place in time,” says Earl DeBrine, who bought the Capitol Bar & Brewery with his wife, Joanna, from his mother. “It’s hard to believe, but it’s been in my family for 61 years now.”

Built in 1896 by Italian immigrant and local vintner Giovanni Biavaschi to purvey wines from his nearby vineyard, the building that houses one of New Mexico’s oldest watering holes has survived Prohibition, a 1990s fire, and a global pandemic to keep patrons in the suds. In 2021, DeBrine added a four-barrel, jail-themed microbrewery that pays tribute to the saloon’s second owner, Judge Amos Green, who incarcerated ne’er-do-wells in the rear of the bar. “The original bars were taken out by my mother. She put in a stained-glass window,” DeBrine says. “But when we put in the brewery, we put bars on the window.”

Beside the brewery, in the saloon’s corner, sits a Victorian couch with original upholstery and wood finish underneath photographs of the Capitol’s owners, from Biavaschi to the DeBrines. “The couch itself is original to the Biavaschi saloon,” DeBrine says. “We were able to trace that down just by luck.” DON’T MISS: Capitol Bar’s top-selling brew, Ladrones Lager, gets its name from the nearby Sierra Ladrones (Thieves Mountains). —Julian Dossett

110 Plaza St., Socorro; 575-835-1193

DIRTY BOURBON DANCE HALL & SALOON
Albuquerque

While the Dirty Bourbon appears ripped out of an Old West photograph with its wooden decor, 53-foot wooden bars, and wagon-wheel lighting, it only opened in January 2011. The illusion is completed by the bartenders’ old-timey attire. “Gentlemen wear vests, Western ties, and arm garters,” says general manager Melinda Terrazas-Perea. “Ladies wear corsets, full shirts, cameo chokers, and a feather headpiece.”

Not just a nod to the chosen drink of the Old West, the bar’s name was born out of nostalgia for a bar the owners admired. “There used to be a bar in town called the Dirty Martini,” Terrazas-Perea says. “So, they said, ‘Why not a Dirty Whiskey, or even better, a Dirty Bourbon?’  ”

Local and national country-and-western acts play at the Dirty Bourbon, which boasts a 1,300-square-foot dance floor. True to its namesake, the saloon touts one of the state’s largest bourbon and whiskey selections. And with a full menu, pool tables, and shuffleboard, the Dirty Bourbon is the destination for a full night’s worth of fun. “We will always stay close to our Western roots as we continually try to evolve to the wants and needs of today’s patrons,” Terrazas-Perea says. DON’T MISS: Don’t dance? Don’t worry. Most Saturdays feature free line dancing or two-step lessons to get your boots scootin’. —Jennifer C. Olson

9800 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Albuquerque; 505-296-2726

EL PATIO CANTINA
Mesilla

The Wild West lore surrounding El Patio Cantina on the Mesilla Plaza is downright irresistible: Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain, the patriarch of the family that has continuously owned the bar since 1934, was Billy the Kid’s defense lawyer. He and his eight-year-old son famously disappeared near White Sands, reportedly murdered by cattle rustlers. Their bodies were never found.

El Patio’s historic adobe building was constructed in 1854, the same year the Gadsden Purchase was signed on that very plaza, and has been home to a stagecoach company, blacksmith shop, newspaper, mercantile, post office, and saloon run by Judge Roy Bean’s brother. Some of the original adobe walls are intact and the ceiling is knotty pine plank. “It still has an old feel,” says manager Roman Mendoza. While El Patio remains a shot-and-a-beer joint, the bartenders also make a mean margarita and Bloody Mary from scratch. The clientele ranges from retired regulars who gather around 4 p.m. to New Mexico State University students who party into the night. “Days are pretty easygoing, but nights can be rowdy,” Mendoza says. DON’T MISS: Crowds who flock to the Mesilla Plaza holiday luminarias often stop at El Patio. “Everybody knows this is the bar to come to, especially the night before Christmas Eve,” Mendoza says. —Debra Levy Martinelli

2171 Calle De Parian, Mesilla; 575-526-9943

GOLDEN SPUR SALOON
Magdalena

A George Strait song blares from the old-school jukebox, known as Judy, which plays three songs for a dollar. Framed black-and-white photographs of cowboys and bull riders line the walls. A model Santa Fe Railway train, which once transported livestock, wool, and ore from Magdalena to Socorro, sits atop the bar.

Located just off NM 60, Golden Spur Saloon pays homage to Magdalena’s history of miners, ranchers, and Ol’ Maggie the train. The final stop of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway until the 1970s, Magdalena earned the nickname Trail’s End. “When people go on a drive in the boonies, this is the kind of bar they wanna find,” says owner Darrell Pettis.

The bar serves as an informal town hall where locals raise funds for causes like water rights (Magdalena ran out of water in 2013). “It’s about getting the good guys together to fight for what we believe in,” says bar manager Matt Middleton. Locals hang out on the patio, enjoying the newest feature: the Golden Spur Grill, where chef Jeremy Romea serves up green chile burgers and other New Mexican classics. “It’s a real cowboy bar,” Pettis says. DON’T MISS: The Liquid Marijuana mixes rum, Midori, blue curaçao, pineapple juice, and grenadine with a lime and cherry garnish. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like pot,” says Montana Pettis, Darrell’s son, who serves as bartender and occasional musical talent. —Lanee Lee

505 First St., Magdalena; 575-854-2554

LAGUNA VISTA LODGE AND SALOON
Eagle Nest

You can’t swing a dead cat in New Mexico without hitting a haunted saloon, and the Laguna Vista, in Eagle Nest, is no exception. Ghost stories abound within its walls, but the most told is of a 19th-century widowed honeymooner whose husband went hunting in the nearby hills and never returned. She took up work at the saloon and somehow met her end in the old building made of stolen railroad ties. “She’s our resident ghost,” says Kaycee Sandoval, who manages the Laguna Vista Lodge and Saloon with her husband, Steve. “Well, she’s one of our ghosts. There are many.”

Built in 1890, Laguna Vista Saloon served as a watering hole, gambling joint, and dance hall for miners from nearby Elizabethtown and Baldy Town. The stolen railroad ties were intended for the mines, and the creosote-free timbers can still be seen under the new framing. A faded photo on the wall shows the bar in its infancy, when it was called El Monte, and the wooden boardwalk in the photo looks hardly different from the current boardwalk out front. Old-style batwing doors creak and swing with a distinctly Western pitch, so it’s no wonder the cast of Lonesome Dove frequented the Laguna Vista while filming in the area. DON’T MISS: The worm-eating contest (earthworms for kids, mezcal worms for adults) coincides with the Eagle Nest Lake fishing tournament during the last week of September. —Will Grant

51 E. Therma St., Eagle Nest; 575-377-6522

LEGAL TENDER SALOON & EATING HOUSE
Lamy

Equal parts Old West and vintage Victorian, the recently reopened Legal Tender Saloon & Eating House proudly projects the frontier and railroad history of tiny Lamy. Inside, the establishment’s ornate wood-and-brass bar from the late 1800s welcomes you like a whiskey after a long day in the saddle. “It helps transport you back to a different time,” says managing partner Murphy O’Brien.

In 1881, Brown & Manzanares Company built a mercantile to serve the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. The business passed through many owners and names over the next century before building owner Allan Affeldt and O’Brien reopened the old Legal Tender in August 2023. “I just wanted to get something simple open,” O’Brien says, “and then let it evolve.”

From floor to ceiling, Old West atmosphere reigns, with ornate chandeliers, gold-framed mirrors, and artworks of trains, railroads, and rural life. “People feel like they’re in a certain place in time,” O’Brien says. “They have a nostalgia for it.”

Western musicians perform regularly in the bar-side open room, with dancing encouraged. “It’s great people watching,” O’Brien says. DON’T MISS: After residing in Arizona for more than 30 years, a table, side table, and eight chairs from the El Ortiz (the former 10-room Fred Harvey–managed inn and restaurant in Lamy) have returned to the community at the Legal Tender. —Julian Dossett

151 Old Lamy Trail, Lamy; 505-466-1650

LOS OJOS RESTAURANT & SALOON
Jemez Springs

Los Ojos Saloon, in Jemez Springs, may be the only bar in the state that’s had a live bear cub in it. The cub had been hit and presumably killed by a vehicle on NM 4, which runs in front of Los Ojos. A man brought the animal to the saloon to find someone who might be able to help.  “But it turned out the bear wasn’t dead, so now they had to wrestle it to get it outside,” says Monique Alton, who owns and runs Los Ojos with her husband. “I hear so many crazy stories about this place.”

Originally a sheep-dip barn where livestock was treated with insecticides, the building then became a wool exchange, where herders from nearby Valles Caldera would trade and sell their wool. The saloon opened in 1947. While the interior has changed over the years, the ambience has not. Shadowy corners and thick adobe walls make it feel like the set of a Clint Eastwood Western. A huge stuffed rattlesnake coils above the beer taps. The fireplace hearth is large enough to accommodate a bedroll. Along the top of one wall hangs a row of old, worn hats—cowboy hats, railroad hats, ball caps—that belonged to “local legends who are no longer with us,” according to the bartender.

“Really, we’re here for the community,” says Alton, whose husband grew up in Jemez Springs. “That’s what’s important to us, to be a place where people are always welcome.” DON’T MISS: Thanksgiving dinner: People come from near and far to enjoy a special menu that offers a New Mexico take on the traditional feast. —Will Grant

17596 NM 4, Jemez Springs; 575-829-3547

MINE SHAFT TAVERN & CANTINA
Madrid

Sit at the bar. Or better yet, if you can find a spot along the rail at the Mine Shaft Tavern, stand. That’s the way the miners did it back in 1947, when the Madrid saloon was built. “It was an amusement hall for the miners,” says Lori Lindsey, who co-owns the Mine Shaft with her partner, Melinda Bonewell.

Lindsey believes the 40-foot-long mahogany bar top was original to the 1895 saloon that burned down. “It’s unique, because it’s so tall,” she says of the longest stand-up bar in the state. “The miners, who had been bent over all day, could stand and stretch their backs at it.” When mining died, so did the company town. But as artists and outsiders began to take over the ghost town, the Mine Shaft served as the living room, where folks would gather to dance, drink, play, and get warm by the big fireplace. That remains true today with live music every Saturday and Sunday on the patio and in the tavern. “Locals love the tavern—like they own it,” says Lindsey, who took over in 2007. “But we wanted to create a place where everyone feels like a local.” DON’T MISS: The Naughty and Nice, a blend of mezcal, triple sec, chile pasilla liqueur, pineapple puree, lime, simple syrup, and Chimayó chile salt, from the recently updated food and drinks menu. “I’m kind of hooked on it right now,” Lindsey says. —Steve Gleydura

2846 NM 14, Madrid; 505-473-0743

NO SCUM ALLOWED SALOON
White Oaks

At No Scum Allowed Saloon, in White Oaks—the tiny town of 12 residents, 12 miles north of Carrizozo—you’re not in the middle of nowhere. “You’re in the middle of somewhere,” says owner Karen Haughness. The White Oaks resident and longtime customer bought the place in 2017, when the previous owner considered selling it to a motorcycle club. “One Sunday, as I was paying my tab, I thought about buying it,” she recalls. “This saloon has always belonged to everyone, and I wanted to keep it that way.”

Housed in an 1884 building constructed during the town’s gold rush, the saloon takes its name from Young Guns II (1990), in which White Oaks plays the home of “756 Respectable People—No Scum Allowed.” Haughness is the sole employee, but locals who hold a server license pitch in during peak times. “If I’m slammed or my feet hurt,” she says, “they jump behind the bar for a bit.”

Recognized as one of the top 10 cowboy bars by American Cowboy magazine, No Scum Allowed primarily serves area cowboys, ranchers, and bikers. But its reputation, dollar-bill-covered ceiling, and bleached-cow-skull decor also draw visitors from as far away as Norway, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. “The clientele is diverse, which gives me great joy,” says Haughness, who also reserves the right to raise the price of a drink for visitors who mispronounce or shorten the names of locales across her beloved state (calling Carrizozo “Zozo,” for example). “I warn people that there are no fluffy drinks here. We even had a T-shirt made that said We Don’t Do Fluffy Here.”

As long as people are respectful, she adds, No Scum Allowed belongs to everyone who walks through its old front door in the middle of somewhere. DON’T MISS: The saloon’s signature Snake Bite, prominently displayed behind the bar, is a special recipe with a long reputation of “odd things being dunked in a bottle,” Haughness says. Those adventurous enough to try a shot of the concoction can keep the specially designed glass as a memento. —Debra Levy Martinelli

933 White Oaks Road, White Oaks; 575-648-5583.

SILVA’S SALOON
Bernalillo

In 1933, the day after Prohibition was lifted, Frank Silva opened Silva’s Saloon in a former Bernalillo pharmacy. Even after going legit, the longtime bootlegger and moonshiner, who is rumored to have provided booze to Al Capone while the Chicago gangster was hiding out in Jemez Canyon in the 1920s, still did business in the back room on Sundays and had a flair for skirting the law.

“My grandpa and dad always made the bar a home, like a family,” says third-generation owner Denise Silva, “unless you misbehaved.” (Ask the bartender to show you the blood splatters on the ceiling from one unruly, unlucky customer in 1949.)    

The bar is filled with mementos from past and present. Dusty hats hang from the rafters in honor of loyal customers. Photos, autographed celebrity headshots, newspaper clippings, license plates, and funeral announcements line the walls. Hundreds of signed dollar bills cover the back bar. “You think about the Cheers bar—everyone knew your name,” Silva says. “It is still like that.” DON’T MISS: Just in case your cell phone goes dead, there’s still a working pay phone, which is rumored to have also been used by the CIA during the Cold War. —Lanee Lee

955 S. Camino del Pueblo, Bernalillo; 505-867-9976.

CABALLO TAVERN & GRILL
Arrey

A framed front page of the Virginia City Mirror declares, “Jim McNutt Loses Wife in Poker Game.” Another proclaims, “Jack Eaton Orders Water—Barkeep Faints.” The Old West headlines are fictitious, but they accurately convey the lighthearted spirit at Caballo Tavern & Grill, the popular (and only) bar in tiny Arrey, halfway between Truth or Consequences and Hatch.

Built in 1970 by the real Jim McNutt, Caballo Tavern serves as a community hub. Locals and travelers can whet their whistles, grab some grub, play a friendly game of pool, learn to line dance, or just rest a spell at the epoxy-topped bar embedded with dollars and pesos, veterans’ dog tags, and assorted patches, stickers, and photographs donated by customers.

The tavern’s DJ, British-born Tony Martin, doubles as a cook in the adjacent food truck, rustling up fish and chips on Thursday nights and chicken wings on Fridays. Otherwise, customers can order a frozen Red Baron pizza heated in the bar’s toaster oven. “We sell about 40 pizzas a week,” says manager Vanessa Kidder. “There’s a restaurant down the road that closes at 4 p.m., so we’re it after that.” DON’T MISS: The signature Caballo Riot, a rum-based concoction sold by the pitcher. “We created it during Covid,” Kidder says. “It was a big hit.” —Debra Levy Martinelli

13914 NM 187, Arrey; 575-267-5535

CHILI LINE DEPOT
Tres Piedras

The Chili Line Depot, in Tres Piedras, is a rancher’s roadhouse. “We raise our own beef and our own pork,” says Deb Graves, who co-owns the Chili Line with her husband, Gil. “We grow as many vegetables as we can.” Graves boasts that the ranching couple, who bought the former roller rink and hair salon 14 years ago, proudly leans into the mom-and-pop aesthetic. But what that really means is they have a loving hand in just about everything. Graves cooks three days a week. (“At almost 73, I tire out after about 13 hours,” she quips.) What ends up on your plate comes entirely from their 450-acre ranch. The green-chile-apple-piñon and other pies come directly from Amish bakers in the San Luis Valley.

The Chili Line, which takes its name from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad that ran from Antonito, Colorado, through Tres Piedras to Santa Fe for more than 60 years, provides an oasis on an otherwise lonely stretch of US 285. So Deb and Gil take their roadhouse role to heart, recently renovating the three on-site rooms with new flooring, bathrooms, air-conditioning, and an outdoor hot tub. “It’s a fine balance between modernizing and feeling authentic,” says Graves. DON’T MISS: The Chili Line embraces its Western past as a bar and dance hall that hosted Glen Campbell and the Sandia Mountain Boys. Look for a photo of Campbell over the expanded stage, which hosts live music on Saturday nights. —Steve Gleydura

38429 US 285, Tres Piedras; 575-758-1701

COLFAX TAVERN & DINER AT COLD BEER NM
Maxwell

The Colfax Tavern stands alone at an empty crossroads where NM 505 dead-ends into US 64. The low-slung saloon seems to be hunkering against the westerly winds. “Out front, there’ll either be 20 flatbed duallys with horse trailers or 75 Harleys or 24 Corvettes from the Colorado Corvette Club,” says Shelly Quartieri, who owns and runs the Colfax Tavern with her husband, Danny.

Thirteen miles north of Cimarrón and 29 miles south of Ratón, the tavern’s unofficial location is Cold Beer, because, as the story goes, one of the previous owners served warm beer. The subsequent owner made a point of letting patrons know that the beer was now cold, and the bar earned its place-name. The official address is Maxwell, but “if you put Cold Beer, New Mexico, into Google,” Shelly says, “it’ll take you right to us.”

The Quartieris bought it in 2016, updated the kitchen, expanded the interior, and added a massive outdoor entertainment area that includes a full-size bandstand, a beach volleyball court, and several seating areas. Cattle brands on the ceiling and wall represent regional ranches, and autographed photos of rodeo cowboys and bucking bulls assure you that this is a cowpuncher’s saloon. DON’T MISS: Live bands play on the patio every weekend during the summer. —Will Grant

32230 US 64, Maxwell; 575-376-2229