Orlando's New Mexican Cafe

Voted Best Mexican Food in Taos County since 2005! We opened the restaurant on January 26, 1996. Our daughter Ariana Shaimai Ortega was 11 months old when we opened, so we juggled a new baby and new business. It was a challenge, but a great one! The next year on August 2, 1997, Orlando and I got married. We had met in the summer of 1991 and been together for six years before getting married. We had our daughter in 1995 and she will turn 15 on February 17. That’s unbelievable! The restaurant continues to grow and Orlando’s mother Flora has been such a wonderful asset. In 1999 we had our son Orazio D’Angelo Ortega and at that time I decided to try to be a stay-at-home mom. It seemed like the perfect timing, as Orlando’s sister Roberta Ortega moved to Taos the same year. We hired her at the restaurant and she became a great asset as well. My mother Patsy Vigil is a line cook and has been for some time. We truly have been blessed.    So, really without our family who have always been there for us, we would have never been able to make this dream come true.