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Eating out is a major pastime in Santa Fe and it's well worth coming here with a mind to join in on the fun. Restaurants with high-profile chefs stand beside low-key joints, many offering unique and intriguing variations on regional and international cuisine. You'll find restaurants full of locals and tourists alike all over the
Eating out is a major pastime in Santa Fe and it's well worth coming here with a mind to join in on the fun. Restaurants with high-profile chefs stand beside low-key joints, many offering unique and intriguing variations on regional and international cuisine. You'll fin
Eating out is a major pastime in Santa Fe and it's well worth coming here with a mind to join in on the fun. Restaurants
Eating out is a major pastime in Santa Fe and it's well worth coming here with a mind to join in on the fun. Restaurants with high-profile chefs stand beside low-key joints, many offering unique and intriguing variations on regional and international cuisine. You'll find restaurants full of locals and tourists alike all over the Downtown and surrounding areas. Although Santa Fe does have some high-end restaurants where dinner for two can exceed $200, the city also has plenty of reasonably priced dining options.
Waits for tables are very common during the busy summer season, so it's a good idea to call ahead even when reservations aren't accepted, if only to get a sense of the waiting time. Reservations for dinner at the better restaurants are a must in summer and on weekends the rest of the year.
So-called Santa Fe–style cuisine has so many influences that the term has become virtually meaningless, especially with many of the city’s top eateries embracing a more international approach to cuisine, albeit all the while sourcing more and more from local farms and ranches. At many top spots in town, you’ll detect Latin American, Mediterranean, and East Asian influences. Yet plenty of traditional, old-style Santa Fe restaurants still serve authentic New Mexican fare, which combines both Native American and Hispanic traditions and is quite different from Americanized as well as regional Mexican cooking.
Santa Fe's culinary reputation continues to grow not just in terms of restaurants but also in businesses that produce or sell specialty foods and beverages, from fine chocolates and local honeys and jams to increasingly acclaimed New Mexico wines, beers, and spirits. Don't miss Santa Fe Farmers' Market, one of the best in the Southwest.
This cheerful cubbyhole is owned by James Beard Award–winning chef and cookbook author Katharine Kagel, who champions organic, local ingredients, and whose expert kitchen staff produces mouthwatering breakfast and lunch specialties like huevos motuleños (eggs in a tangy tomatillo salsa with black beans and fried bananas) and mahi-mahi tostadas. Dinner offerings range from chicken enchiladas to warm Thai noodle salad. The café's shop offers souvenirs such as cookbooks, aprons, and baseball caps, and there's an art gallery next door selling bronzes, ceramics, glassware, and more. Don't be surprised by the lines out front—it is on every tourist list for a reason (reservations are available for dinner only and strongly recommended).
121 Don Gaspar Ave., Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501, USA
With a near-fanatical following for its traditional and creative doughnuts, Whoo's offers mouth-watering flavors that incorporate outside-of-the-box combinations and local flare. For those preferring savory over sweet, try the delicious handheld breakfast burritos. A selection of organic coffee and tea is also available.
851 Cerrillos Rd., Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505, USA
Chef Eduardo Rodriguez led some of Santa Fe’s most famous kitchens for nearly 25 years before opening his own eatery, naming it after the north-central Mexican region of his birth. The culinary marriage between the southwestern United States and Mexico shows up in dishes like mole negro chilaquiles (eggs, Chihuahuan cheese, black beans, chicken, and mole sauce) for brunch and whole fried snapper with crab saffron risotto, calabacitas (sautéed zucchini), and salsa Veracruz for dinner. Sweets include flan de elote and churros, and the patio is charming for brunch in warm weather.
A rollicking, popular bar and grill with several rooms overflowing with Old West memorabilia, Cowgirl has reasonably priced Southwestern, Tex-Mex, barbecue, and Southern fare. Highlights include barbecue, buffalo burgers, chiles rellenos, and salmon tacos with tomatillo salsa. If you catch one of the nightly music acts—usually rock or blues—you're likely to leave smiling. When the weather is good, grab a seat on the spacious patio out front, order a delicious margarita and some green-chile cheese fries, and settle in for great people-watching. The attached pool hall has a loaded jukebox to keep toes tapping. Alas, service can be spotty.
319 S. Guadalupe St., Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501, USA
Slovakian transplant Annamaria O’Brien's bustling bakery and brunch spot is as bright and crisp as her food. The menu borrows a bit from the chef's Eastern European roots with favorites such as paprikash, langos, and goulash, but also features regional American dishes like cornmeal waffles with buttermilk fried chicken and a surprising bone broth "morning soup." The quiche of the day is always delicious. Nearly everything served at Dolina was either grown on the Dolina farm or sourced as locally as possible. After your meal, be sure to peruse the goodies in the bakery case—tarts, pastries, and tvaroh (a ricotta-like fresh cheese) await, best accompanied by a macchiato or Mexican mocha. Make sure you wear your walking shoes as it's nearly impossible to find a parking spot in Dolina's tiny lot.
402 N. Guadalupe St., Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501, USA
This neighborhood café-newsstand sells fancy coffees, various snacks, and sumptuous pastries as well as one of the largest assortments of newspapers and magazines in town. The shaded patio is a fun spot to people-watch and a great place to fuel a Canyon Road stroll.
Considered one of Santa Fe's best food trucks, El Chile Toreado offers hearty, delicious, and affordable New Mexican breakfast and lunch. Although it has made it onto many “must-eat” lists, it has retained both quality and convenience, cementing itself as a perennial local favorite.
A day filled with museums is bound to work up an appetite, and while there aren't too many places to eat around Museum Hill, luckily this café offers burgers, burritos, salads, and soups to help refuel your body and mind. There is a large shaded patio for warm-weather dining, and it also serves beer and wine. It's a casual spot that fills up quickly so prepare to wait a bit if you arrive during peak hours or make a reservation in advance.
This gluten-free bakery serves baked goods, soups, sandwiches, and other goodies (with lots of vegan options) that are so delicious you won't miss the gluten. And good news for visitors who fall in love with the treats here: they ship nationwide.
This funky spot has colorful walls and wood details, booths, a few individual tables, and a community table. The shaded patio out front is a great summertime spot to enjoy the toothsome Southwest-inspired cooking, from breakfast through dinner. Start the day with savory breakfast rellenos, fluffy buttermilk pancakes, or the smoked-trout hash. The extensive lunch and dinner menus include juicy burgers (both meat and veggie) and some of the best vegetarian enchiladas around. Don't miss the Salvadoran pupusas. Homemade baked goods include a variety of pies and cakes. The staff is friendly and efficient and the care taken by owner/chef Jesus Rivera is evident.
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