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315 Restaurant & Wine Bar
Chef/owner Louis Moskow creates Provencal-inspired sensations like braised veal with truffle jus (around US$20 ) and duck breast with fried cherries (around US$24 ). The prix fixe menu (around US$27 ) served Sunday through Thursday ( - ) is a great deal. And while the excellent wine list alone is adequate reason to visit the wine bar, call ahead about special food and wine events.
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Amaya
Within colorful Hotel Santa Fe, owned by the people of the 800-year-old-plus Picuris Pueblo, diners feast on authentic, contemporary Native American cuisine. Muse (and let your mouth water) on marinated elk tenderloin, mint-crusted lamb chop, buffalo sausage, and orange ginger duck breast with garlic herb demi glaze (around US$27 ).
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Bert's La Taqueria
Long-time local favorite Bert's recently moved into a big new location closer to the center of town. Thank goodness that affordable food is still the norm, but now you can also choose between a large outdoor patio near the aromatic open-air grill and colorful indoor areas.
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Blue Heron Restaurant
Join a yoga and meditation crowd at Sunrise Springs Inn where natural and organic cooking is the hallmark. Vegetarians and carnivores alike will enjoy portobello ravioli with seasonal vegetables in saffron cream (around US$16 ); meat and poultry - often organic - are served as well. It's all served overlooking a spring-fed pond.
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Bobcat Bite
Often voted as serving the Best Burger in Santa Fe by locals, this relaxed roadhouse beneath the neon really does serve an outstanding green chile cheeseburger (around US$7 ). The steaks are pretty darn good too.
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Bull Ring
This is the seat of state government, and lobbyists lather up their prey over thick steaks and single-malt scotches at places like the Bull Ring, where fast and friendly staff serve aged Angus in either the Naugahyde dining room or rustic saloon (open until ).
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Café des Artistes
Tour world-class art galleries on Canyon Rd, splurge on original art, then eat on an art-student's budget. These folks serve up delicious sandwiches (around US$6 ) and French-inspired dishes like a brie-and-berry salad (around US$6 ) served in a cheerful café or on the sunny patio.
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Compound
Chef/owner Mark Kiffin, the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef of the Southwest in 2005, emphasizes elegant flavors, fresh ingredients and exquisite presentations at dinner. The first-course offerings include a rich buttery scallop and morel mushroom stew (around US$18 ) and a perfect tuna tartare with caviar (around US$16 ). Come when there's reason to celebrate - the wine list includes several top-notch champagnes.
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Cowgirl Hall of Fame
A fun place for all ages, thanks to the great playground outside and live music after , this place has fabulous food, too. Try the salmon tacos (around US$11 ), butternut squash casserole (around US$9 ) or any mesquite-grilled specialty - all served with Texas caviar (black-eyed pea salsa) and wacky Western-style feminist flair.
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Geronimo
Chef Eric DiStefana presents Santa Fe's most exclusive dining experience in a 1756 adobe on Canyon Rd. In warm weather months the front porch is a great place for lunch while gallery hopping. (It's also a very good 'bargain.') Sample the elk tenderloin (around US$22 ) and delightful lobster salad ($17).
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Guadalupe Cafe
A great place for hearty appetites, the café offers generous servings of burritos and cheese-stuffed chiles as well as comfort foods like meatloaf and burgers. Those accustomed to leaner fare can choose among the many salads.
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Harry's Roadhouse
The attractive setting and elegant cuisine far surpass the prices, and dishes like Moroccan vegetable stew over couscous (around US$9 ) and turkey meatloaf (around US$9 ) are overshadowed only by the barbecues and the specials. Excellent stuff.
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La Cantina at Coyote Café
This lively rooftop cantina atop famed sister restaurant Coyote Café welcomes budget gourmets to sample chef Mark Miller's cut-rate creations. Try the Oaxacan chicken mole spit-roasted pork tacos with pineapple and the signature mango margarita.
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La Casa Sena
Housed in an 1880s-era adobe fronted by arguably the most idyllic restaurant patio in Santa Fe, this restaurant serves gourmet cuisine with Southwestern flair, like the Jackelope mixed grill of mesquite-grilled antelope loin, smoked rabbit sausage and sun-dried cherry coulis (around US$38 ). Next door, the newly expanded, award-winning wine shop (982-2121; ; - ) offers more than 1000 international wines.
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La Plazuela
Make reservations to dine on pork medallions in prickly pear-Tecate barbecue sauce, chipotle-glazed filet mignon and other gourmet goodies at this lovely spot in the painted-glass heart of La Fonda hotel, where local artist Ernest Martinez has graced more than 400 windows with his paintings over the last 50 years.
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MarketPlace
Enjoy your choice of local and organic foods at this natural grocery - fresh and deli style. Along with main dishes (featuring the likes of tempeh, tofu and falafel), you can pick up smoothies and juices, baked goods, coffee, fine cheeses, and a wide range of organic fruits and vegetables.
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Old House Restaurant
Dine by the fireplace at the El Dorado Hotel's award-winning restaurant where executive chef Paul Wade combines organic and artisan food in innovative dishes like coffee-crusted red deer loin with root vegetables and black cherry stew (around US$32 ). Each is accompanied by a much-heralded wine list, as you might expect.
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Palace Restaurant
To learn more of Doña Tules' story, or just get a sense of bodice-ripping old Santa Fe, check out The Wind Leaves No Shadow, by Ruth Laughlin. Or just stop by Palace Restaurant , on the site of Tules' old sala , for a toast.
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Santa Fe Baking Company & Café
This lively spot serves breakfast all day (as well as salads and sandwiches) and offers up live Irish music on Saturday mornings. Live it up with a New Mexico favorite, the Fritos pie (around US$6 ; ).
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Santa Fe Farmers Market
Local produce, much of it heirloom and organic, is on sale in the refurbished Santa Fe Railyard alongside homemade goodies, inexpensive food, natural body care and herbal products, and a fair number of arts and crafts.
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Santa Fe Railyard Restaurant & Saloon
Housed in a corrugated tin warehouse in the up-and-coming, gritty-artsy Railroad District, this conventional steaks-and-chops house also offers pastas, sandwiches and a bar menu.
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Saveur
Basically a foodie's dream salad bar, this innovative eatery serves everything from mixed greens to steamed fish and noodle salads, buffet style. Bonus: for take-out beginning at , soups and salads go for 30% off, and 50% off at .
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Shohko Cafe
Did you expect anything less? Even sushi comes Santa Fe-style - try the cream cheese and green chile roll. They also serve bento boxes at lunch and teriyaki dishes for folks who don't do raw fish.
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Sol
Burgers are the raison d'être here, yet vegetarians aren't slighted. The Sol Burger is massive, the crab cake sandwich and smoked salmon burger solid. Mac with five cheeses, nachos and salads also make great choices as you survey galleries and passersby from the patio.
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Tia Sophia's
Locals outnumber tourists at this top spot. They've come to savor New Mexican chiles rellenos and hearty and flavorful lunch specials. The shelf of kids' books helps little ones pass the time.
