Santa Fe has an extraordinary number of high-quality, high-end restaurants. These are some of our favorites, perfect for Tuesday-night splurges, birthday bashes and down-on-one-knee memory-making meals.
La Boca
Original Location: 72 W Marcy St. 982-3433
Taberna Location: 125 Lincoln Ave., Ste. 117,
982-3433
Authentic Spanish tapas and bigger plates flavored by the Mediterranean. The tiny dining room at the original location is cramped but lively. The Taberna space now serves the same menu with more elbow room.
La Casa Sena
125 E Palace Ave,
988-9232
With Santa Fe's prettiest patio and a 52-page wine list, La Casa Sena is dreamy on a warm summer night (or for lunch most of the year). Set in the courtyard of a centuries-old hacienda, it has a New American menu with Mexican accents. Regulars come just for singers doing show tunes in the bar.
The Compound
653 Canyon Road,
982-4353
A luxurious yet pronounceable menu (butter poached lobster, beef tenderloin with foie gras Hollandaise) from a James Beard Award-winning chef, plus impeccable service in an beautifully austere dining room on Canyon Road. Outstanding desserts, huge wine list and inventive cocktails.
Coyote Café
132 W Water St.,
983-1615
One of Santa Fe's original icons. A menu of creatively plated New American food in a beautiful upstairs dining room adjacent to the festive rooftop Cantina. The "Legendary Cowboy Cut" is a Flintstonian slab of rib-eye big enough for a family of four—or one extremely peckish tourist.
Dinner for Two
106 N Guadalupe St.,
820-2075
A cozy supper spot with a welcoming, unpretentious vibe, not far from the Plaza. The menu includes vintage Continental favorites (veal Marsala, veal piccata, chateaubriand) along with some new takes on meat and potatoes (coffee-rubbed tenderloin with pomegranate balsamic reduction).
Geronimo
724 Canyon Road,
982-1500
Towers of seared tuna, bridges of foie gras and fountains of Wagyu beef carpaccio exploding with baby greens: The architecturally constructed food tastes as good as it looks. Intimate dining rooms in an old adobe. Attentive service and a fine wine list.
Restaurant Martín
526 Galisteo St.,
820-0919
Santa Fe's native son Martín Rios serves intricate plates that weave disparate flavors into delicious harmony. Think: prawns and pork belly with pine nut miso puree, kohlrabi salad and garlic dumplings in a sudachi-smoked pork broth with nasturtium blossoms and cilantro. A top-notch dining experience with a fresh, sophisticated atmosphere.
Santacafé
231 Washington Ave.,
984-1788
An enduring favorite just north of the Plaza. Delightful for brunch or happy hour on the patio. The menu is a mashup of Asian and Latin American flavors (shiitake mushroom and cactus spring rolls; shrimp tempura with Chimayó red chile sweet and sour) but you can always get steak frites.
Sazón
221 Shelby St.,
983-8604
Refined Mexican food of a rare caliber in Santa Fe. The bar menu offers a wide selection of adventurous small plates (grasshopper or huitlacoche taquitos) and a personal hot stone taco bar. Arrive thirsty for the enormous selection of tequila and mezcal.
Terra Restaurant
Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado,
198 State Road 592,
946-5700
A spa resort near Tesuque that attracts high-caliber chefs, Terra is a top destination for fancy brunch or dinner on holidays when many of the city's other great restaurants are closed.
Santa Fe Reporter