Four Great Santa Fe Restaurants
Best Places to Try New Mexican Cuisine & Southwestern Food and Drink
New Mexican cooking uses different ingredients than standard Tex-Mex fare. These popular Santa Fe restaurants are great places to try this style of Southwestern cuisine.
While you can enjoy Mexican food across the Southwest, New Mexican cuisine is in a class of its own. There's no better place to try some of its many variations than in the popular Santa Fe restaurants that the locals enjoy.
At first glance, many items on the menu – burritos, enchiladas, tacos – may seem the same as most standard Mexican fare. But look closer and you'll see many different, and exciting ingredients. These include blue corn tortillas and chips, green and red chile salsas, and a whole range of local, home-grown chiles.
Sampling New Mexican cuisine is a highlight of a visit here. These four Santa Fe restaurants vary in style and atmosphere, but are all local favorites with fantastic food.
The Shed. Less than a block from the Palace of the Governors, this family-run restaurant is set around an ancient patio dating to 1692, now used for al fresco dining in summer. Inside are nine small, charming rooms with bright murals and paintings on the walls.
The Shed's chile comes directly from the farm and is freshly ground daily in their own mill. Dishes such as green chile chicken enchiladas or burritos with beef marinated in red chile might be served with posole (a hominy stew) or calabacitas (a squash dish). For drinks, try a Shed Sangria or the dark Pinon Nut Brown ale.
Lunchtime (11am-2.30pm) is always busy and it's first-come, first-served. Reservations are recommended for dinner (5.30-9pm). Open Monday-Saturday. 113 E. Palace Avenue, tel: (505) 982-9030.
The Pink Adobe. This local landmark is also one of Santa Fe's most romantic restaurants, with cozy alcoves and wood-burning fires to warm the winter's chill. The rosy facade of this 300-year-old house is easily spotted just opposite the San Miguel Mission downtown.
The menu features steaks, seafood and creative Southwestern cuisine, with dishes like Clams Lucifer (cooked with Mexican tequila in a red chile broth) and Steak Dunigan, the house specialty with mushrooms and green chile. The founder's French Onion soup and French apple pie have been menu favorites since 1944.
Start the evening with a cocktail at the world-famous Dragon Room Bar, set in an adjacent building. Lunch (11.30am-2pm) Monday-Friday, Dinner nightly from 5.30pm. Reservations advised. 406 Old Santa Fe Trail; tel: (505) 983-7712.
Maria's New Mexican Kitchen is as famous for its Margaritas as for its old-style Santa Fe cooking. There are over 100 of them on the menu. These are not sugary-sweet theme-bar concoctions, but are made with real Mexican tequila and the finest ingredients. If you're not driving, you can try a tequila sampler and choose a Margarita made with the one you like best.
Spanish guitarists serenade diners in the Cantina, a covered patio from the restaurant's origins in the 1950s. The decor is simple, but it's the food that matters. The homemade chile rellenos and tamales are superb, and if you like spicy meat, don't miss the wonderfully hot carne adovada. Open daily 11am (12noon weekends) – 10pm. 555 W. Cordova Road; tel: (505) 983-7929.
Tomasita's is a good family dining option. Set next to the old train depot, it's big, busy and has a friendly, happy buzz. Hanging plants divide the comfortable booths and tables in the cavernous interior.
The menu focuses on northern New Mexican cooking. Chile rellenos are the house specialty, but you can't go wrong with the burritos or carne adovada, another favorite here. Sopapillas – light, fluffy, with butter and honey – are served with every order.
Open Monday-Saturday 11am-10pm. They don't take reservations, so unless you arrive early you'll probably have to wait. They'll give you a pager so you can go and relax at the bar. 500 S. Guadalupe; (505) 983-5721.
For information on Santa Fe's top five museums, click here.
For information on Santa Fe's historic missions and churches, click here.
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