Three Moles — Coloradito · Picoso · Negro 13-Hour Birria Tacos Birria Pizza — The Original Pizzabirria James Beard Award Semifinalist 2022 Five Brothers from San Lorenzo Victoria, Oaxaca Pellizcadas · Huarache · Tacos al Pastor Open Mon–Sun · South Valley, Albuquerque 4.8 Stars · 2,187 Reviews Three Moles — Coloradito · Picoso · Negro 13-Hour Birria Tacos Birria Pizza — The Original Pizzabirria James Beard Award Semifinalist 2022 Five Brothers from San Lorenzo Victoria, Oaxaca Pellizcadas · Huarache · Tacos al Pastor Open Mon–Sun · South Valley, Albuquerque 4.8 Stars · 2,187 Reviews
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Albuquerque's South Valley · Authentic Oaxacan

Where Oaxaca
Comes to
Albuquerque

Five brothers from San Lorenzo Victoria, Oaxaca brought their village's flavors to New Mexico in 2019. Three moles. Thirteen-hour birria. Food made the way it's made in Oaxaca — slowly, with pride.

See the Menu Our Story
Birria · 13 Hours · 26 Ingredients

The Birria
That Took
Albuquerque

Beef brisket braised for 13 hours. The salsa de birria contains 26 ingredients and takes 7 hours on its own. The consommé is not an afterthought — drink every drop.

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James Beard Award Semifinalist · Best Chef Southwest 2022

Recognized
by the James
Beard Foundation

In 2022, the Salazar brothers received their first James Beard Award nomination — Best Chef: Southwest. Governor Lujan-Grisham and Mayor Tim Keller have both made the trip to Old Coors Road.

Our Story The Menu
🏆
James Beard Award Semifinalist — Best Chef: Southwest, 2022
Recognized from over 20,000 nominations nationwide · Five Salazar Brothers, Founders
5
"When we gather for La Guelaguetza, we celebrate that even though we cook different foods and speak different languages, we are all Oaxacan."
— The Salazar Brothers
R
Roberto
Co-Founder · Arrived New Mexico 1997
A
Abelardo
Co-Founder · Savory Recipes
F
Fidel
Co-Founder · Desserts
G
Gonzalo
Co-Founder
L
Luciano
Co-Founder

Five Brothers. One Village. One Kitchen.

Roberto Salazar arrived in New Mexico in 1997. His four brothers — Abelardo, Fidel, Gonzalo, and Luciano — followed over the years. All five are from San Lorenzo Victoria, a small village in Oaxaca's Mixteca region where food is tradition, and tradition is identity.

For nearly two decades they worked in Albuquerque's restaurant industry. In 2019, an opportunity came: a space on Old Coors Drive. They took it. All five brothers opened La Guelaguetza together — and all five work every shift. No one is exempt from prep, dishwashing, or cooking.

During COVID, they took phone orders and provided free meals to struggling South Valley families. That, too, is guelaguetza — the Zapotec principle of reciprocal giving that is the restaurant's name and its philosophy.

Guelaguetza
(Zapotec) — "Reciprocal exchange of gifts and services." Also the name of Oaxaca's most celebrated annual festival, honoring the state's eight distinct cultural communities. When we give, we receive. When we cook for you, you carry a piece of Oaxaca with you.

Three Moles. One Table.

Oaxaca is called "the land of seven moles." At La Guelaguetza, three are always on offer — each one days in the making, each one telling a different story of the Salazar family's home state.
Coloradito
Bright red, mild. Built on ancho and mulato chiles, tomatoes, and almonds. The approachable gateway into Oaxacan mole — warm, nutty, and deeply savory.
Mole Picoso
The spicy mole. Layers of chile heat with chocolate depth. Served with shredded chicken enchiladas — the kind that rewires what you thought "spicy" meant.
Mole Negro
The deepest, most complex of the three. Prepared over three days — charred chiles, spices, chocolate, and technique built up over centuries in Oaxacan kitchens. Dark, smoky, profound.

What's on the Table

Every dish is made from scratch, cooked to order. Items sell out — the brothers make only what they can make well, and they stop when they stop.
Signature
Birria Tacos / Quesabirria
13-hour braised beef brisket in handmade tortillas. The consommé — 26 ingredients, 7 hours — is served alongside for dipping. Don't leave any behind.
Viral · TikTok Famous
Pizzabirria
Braised beef on a flour tortilla base, topped with guacamole, sour cream, and cilantro, served with beef jus. Massive, meant for sharing. Reviewers call it addictive.
Oaxacan Classic
Pellizcadas
Thick fried masa cakes, pinched at the edges, with carne deshebrada (shredded beef) or longaniza sausage. A staple of Oaxacan street markets.
Three Moles
Mole Sampler with Enchiladas
Chicken enchiladas served with all three moles: coloradito, picoso, and negro. The best introduction to the depth of Oaxacan cooking in one plate.
Classic
Tacos al Pastor
Achiote-marinated pork with pineapple, cilantro, onions, and lime. The balance of sweet and savory done the way it's done in central Mexico.
Authentic
Huarache de Jose
Oval masa cake topped with crema, lettuce, tomatoes, fresh cheese, and beans — a traditional Oaxacan preparation that doesn't need modification.

Hours

Monday – Friday11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Saturday10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Sunday10:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Popular items sell out before closing. The brothers stop cooking when the food is gone — call ahead on weekends.

No alcohol served. Mexican Coke and non-alcoholic beverages available.

Find Us

La Guelaguetza 816 Old Coors Dr SW
Albuquerque, NM 87121

South Valley / South Atrisco neighborhood
Between Bridge Blvd and Central Ave

(505) 916-0095
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