Rising from the ashes: Old Town's High Noon caps off a comeback story, remaining an ABQ classic

It was supposed to be a banner year at High Noon.

The restaurant and saloon in Old Town was gearing up for the 50th anniversary of its opening — a minor miracle in an age of here-today, gone-tomorrow restaurants. It was to be a particularly personal celebration for owner Carla Villa, whose parents Charley and Shirley founded the restaurant way back in 1974.

And then, in the early morning hours of May 21, disaster struck. A man allegedly started a fire behind the restaurant. Flames quickly engulfed a storage shed and tore through the electrical box. Only the old building’s thick adobe walls kept the blaze from getting into the dining room.

Rising from the ashes: Old Town's High Noon caps off a comeback story, remaining an ABQ classic

Villa had expected the place to be up and running in a matter of weeks, but repairs dragged on through the summer. The July 3 anniversary date came and went, and then summer gave way to fall. Finally, mercifully, the restaurant reopened just in time for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. In the end, the closure lasted five months.

A shutdown like this would have been fatal for many restaurants, but not High Noon. Villa continued to pay her employees and used the downtime to give the dining room a spruce-up.

Based on my recent visit, locals and tourists are happy to have High Noon back. An air of conviviality prevailed on a Saturday night a few weeks after the reopening. Patrons filled up on steaks and New Mexican dishes under strings of decorative lights in the dining room. Every time two people got up and left the bar, two more swooped in to take their places.

It was a heartening sight and a sign that this Old Town institution will continue to thrive as it has through six decades.

High Noon occupies a squat, stuccoed building on the corner of Mountain Road and San Felipe Avenue NW that was constructed in the second half of the 18th century. Turquoise-painted wood trim and vigas projecting from parapeted walls enliven the handsome entry facade.

The restaurant does not have a parking lot, but there is street parking and paid lots in the area, including a large lot at the Albuquerque Museum to the east. Pro tip: look for free parking spaces on the south side of Mountain Road just after you turn onto it from Rio Grande Boulevard.

Reservations for the weekend fill up fast, so some advance planning is necessary. We had booked a table for two at 6:15 p.m. a couple of weeks ahead of time.

Inside, wooden beams in the ceiling loom over undulating plastered walls and brick floors that have been polished to a bright shine. We sat in the Santos Room, a small space located in the oldest part of the structure. It’s named for the numerous santos displayed in niches set in the walls. The other two dining rooms are larger, noisier and more festive.

As with certain other old buildings in Old Town, High Noon has ghosts; at least two, according to our server. One hangs out behind the bar, she said, and the other has been known to push people off the toilets in the restrooms.

As for food, the menu is refreshingly compact. One side lists starters, soups/salads and burgers/sandwiches; the other features steaks and New Mexican dishes.

Among the five starters ranging in price from $14 to $17 are a pair of Brie Empanadas ($15) served with green chile-apricot chutney and cloves of roasted garlic. Cutting into the flaky pastry released a generous amount of melted cheese. With their lattice of raspberry coulis, the empanadas were almost too sweet to be an appetizer, but the chutney’s tang and heat cut through the sugar. An excellent, shareable starter.

Three salads and a couple of soups complete the roster of appetizers. High Noon’s version of Green Chile Stew ($6/$10) was crowded with tender chunks of potato and pork in a thin, ruddy broth that had a little buzz of heat under it. Very good.

There is a small assortment of flame-grilled burgers and a chicken sandwich. The Green Chile Cheeseburger costs $16.

Six dishes running from $19 to $26 comprise the New Mexican Favorites section of the menu. The Old Town Plaza Platter ($26) is a good choice for first-time diners as it contains samples of some of the other dishes. The platter held a tamale, cheese enchilada and brisket-stuffed chile relleno served under chile sauce and melted cheese. A shatteringly crisp chicken taquito topped it off. Most memorable was the succulent shredded brisket in the relleno. I also enjoyed the well-seasoned and pretty firm zucchini that made up most of the accompanying calabacitas.

The menu finishes off with a section of steaks, meatloaf and shrimp with pasta in a red chile cream sauce.

One of the priciest items on the menu, the High Noon Tenderloin ($42) was served with an unusual accompaniment of two enchiladas stuffed with mashed potatoes and wild mushrooms. A side of vegetables would have been welcome, as the dish sorely needed a pop of color. Unfortunately, the dish was only lukewarm and had to go back to the kitchen for additional heating: a somewhat understandable oversight, as it’s only a few weeks since reopening and the timing may still be off in the kitchen.

Curing in brown sugar left the steak juicy and tender with a touch of sweetness. A red wine demi-glace added a powerful punch of flavor to the meat while also relieving the starchiness of the enchiladas.

Three of the four desserts — Tres Leches Cake, Dulce de Leche Cheesecake and the Spanish Flan— show a Spanish influence. We tried the flan ($10), a sloping cylinder of custard with a roof of caramel and pine nuts. The sweet, slightly bitter caramel sauce made an ideal partner for the rich, eggy custard. Plenty for two to share, it was a great finish to the meal.

The server was prompt, friendly and efficient and well-versed on the gluten-free options, which include the tenderloin and the green chile stew. The meal was paced well, with no long waits for anything.

High Noon is back from the ashes, literally and figuratively. The approaching Christmas season is a great time to visit this Albuquerque classic.