Santa Fe Eats
Santa Fe is famous for its adobe-style architecture and art galleries. But one of the things we love most here is the New Mexican cuisine. Santa Fe has a thriving restaurant scene, which we explored with guides at a Tequila and Mole Tasting and on a Restaurant Walk, and of course, on our own.
Here’s the list of our favorite Santa Fe restaurants:
Coyote Cantina - This downtown spot upstairs from Coyote Cafe is our all-time favorite eatery in Sante Fe. The combination of tasty modern New Mexican cuisine and great views from the rooftop just can’t be beat. Everything we tried on the menu was terrific, but we kept going back to our favorites: “Turquoise Trail” margaritas, elote, tamales (they’re huge - just one is enough!), and griddle cakes.
Modern General - This combination cafe and general store is set back from a busy street near The Railway. It was our regular breakfast spot, thanks to the cheery ambiance, great coffee, and delicious green chile cilantro corn cakes. If you’ve never had savory flapjacks, these will make you a convert.
Tomasita’s - This family-operated restaurant at The Railyard serves Northern New Mexican cuisine and excellent margaritas. It’s a local favorite and doesn’t take reservations, but it’s worth waiting in line. They’re famous for their hot, crispy sopaipillas served with honey butter.
La Plazuela at La Fonda - This was a stop on the Restaurant Walk, and we loved it so much that we immediately made dinner reservations. The historic dining room was gorgeous, and the food and service were top-notch. Worth the splurge.
Cafe Pasqual’s - This iconic restaurant is in an art-filled adobe building near the Plaza. It’s a local favorite for breakfast or brunch, and is worth the wait. The menu is huge and features both traditional and modern New Mexican and Mexican dishes. The chef/owner, Katherine Kale, is a James Beard Award winner and is known as “the Alice Waters of Santa Fe.”
Honorable Mention:
Vinaigrette - This sister restaurant to Modern General is in a quaint adobe house with a shady brick patio. Their specialty is entrée salads, and there is an impressive array to choose from. They all sounded so good that is was difficult to decide. We didn't have time for more than one visit - I definitely want to return and try more of their offerings.
Sazon - We first tried this back in 2021, and did the excellent Tequila and Mole Tasting on this visit. We didn’t have enough time or budget to have dinner here this time around, but we loved meeting Chef Fernando Olea and still consider Sazon one of our favorites.
La Boca - This “Modern Spanish” restaurant downtown had an elegantly simple and intimate dining room. The tapas were excellent, and we would gladly return to taste more of them, perhaps at the sister restaurant Taberna, a lively pub nearby.
Capital Coal - We discovered this modern food hall on the Restaurant Walk and loved the quirky art and delicious tacodillas. Too bad we didn't have time to go back for more! We’ll rectify that on our next visit; in the meantime, we hope our friends will give it a try.
Postscript: Thanks to the well-equipped kitchen in our adobe house and the recipes shared with us on the tasting and tour, Steve cooked some delicious New Mexican dishes at home. Both the New Mexican Mole (Sazon) and Posole (La Plazuela) were delicious, and will be added to our list of favorites to make at home.
