The Best Restaurants in Santa Fe

For decades, the venerable Geronimo, situated in a 1756 adobe, has been serving a bevy of culinary delights. From the house favorites like peppery elk tenderloin to New Mexico lamb chops, the food is accessible and the timeless milieu is intimate. Sit on the front patio with a cocktail for the full Canyon Road people-watching experience. Inside, the stylish series of small dining rooms showcases wood floors, taxidermy, fireplaces, and beamed ceilings.

The warm, handsome dining room at Terra is situated high enough for sweeping Santa Fe sunsets and glorious mountain silhouettes. Helmed by chef Andrew Cooper, the food is contemporary American and Southwestern, from tortilla soup to pan-seared scallops to a zesty green chili braised short rib. After your meal, visit the mod, circular outdoor fire pit and wind down with a nightcap. The cool inside bar has a great wall of old black-and-white photos, including one with visiting actor and cowboy Robert Redford.

A cozy new spot from chef Joseph Wrede that blends a dining experience for the vegetable lover like wild greens vichyssoise and a cast iron cauliflower dish with mustard seed, white beans, anchovies, fried capers. The meat inclined will lean towards the flavorful bison ribeye and southwestern lamb burger. Enjoy a great selection of beers on tap and a winner wine list.

Harry’s Roadhouse, a favorite haunt of locals and visitors, is conveniently open seven days a week. The massive breakfast menu melds regional Mexican and New Mexican fare with items like huevos rancheros and hearty chilaquiles (eggs any style with salsa and cotija cheeses). For your sweet tooth, try the french toast or lemon ricotta pancakes, washed down with a cup of joe.

The Chez Panisse of Santa Fe has been helmed by the same Berkeley-bred chef-owner since the 1970s. While the restaurant isn’t for New Mexican food purists, the local dishes are solid and range from classic renditions to enchiladas gussied up with griddled organic tofu, spinach, and zucchini.

The elegant, grown-up Compound Restaurant on Santa Fe’s Canyon Road caters to devoted locals and tourists alike with a Southwestern-meets-Mediterranean focus. James Beard Award–winning chef Mark Kiffin scores with entrées like roasted rack of lamb, salmon with crispy pancetta, and wild mushrooms with organic stone-ground polenta. At lunch, the bar menu is less pricey and offers a chance to sample the famed Compound Burger, made with local Lone Mountain Ranch Wagyu beef, and wash it down with a cold beer. Even with the fantastic cuisine, the best parts of this white tablecloth and custom furniture institution remain the clean adobe arches and folk-art decor created by artist Alexander Girard.

A ten minute drive from Santa Fe to the new Arroyo Vino is a treat. The space functions as a sleek, well-stocked wine shop and a delicious gourmet dining spot from chef Mark Connell. Expect a rotating menu of seasonal items. For now, the lobster bisque warms the soul and the housemade pappardelle with lamb bolognese is a perfect bowl of goodness. Larger appetites will appreciate the plates of lamb top sirloin and seared duck breast. Wine lovers will take delight in the menu or shopping the store for their table’s bottle.

It’s all about creative, contemporary tapas and small plates at the small, popular storefront of La Boca. Find a relaxed mix of locals and tourists and watch chef James Campbell Caruso work his magic on the kale salad, gazpacho and the delicious skirt steak with the salted carmel. Happy Hour is a nice, quiet time to sit at the bar for wine and housemade sangria specials and half price tapas.

As its name suggests, Radish & Rye promises a spread of fresh farm finds and over 50 varieties of bourbon. Every Tuesday and Saturday, chef David Gaspar de Alba visits the Farmer’s Market to inspire his seasonal dishes with small plates like a warming corn chowder with bone marrow and green chili and steak tartare using alabria chili, lime oil and quail yoke. Bigger portions like seared lamb’s rib with salsa verde, flageolet and roasted roots pair nicely with vegetable sides including braised greens. Afterwards, slip into the bar for a nightcap, cocktails are courtesy master mixologist and sommelier Quinn Mark Stephenson.

You can’t miss the great signage (cool cursive font) outside The Pantry on Cerrillos Road. For over 60 years, this old classic has been doling out breakfast, lunch and dinner to flocks of hungry patrons, mostly locals. Their filling breakfast sandwich is filled with bacon, scrambled eggs and green chile and an all-American breakfast of chicken-fried steak and biscuits with country sausages.

In the mornings, Modern General’s the spot to grab an acai bowl, a smoothie, or a wheatgrass shot for high-altitude nourishment. This airy general store stocks an assortment of baked goods (try the tart lemon cake) and grab-and-go wares. Check out the curated lineup of chic garden tools, farm lavender soaps from Albuquerque’s label Los Poblanos, and kitchen utensils. The cheery, canary-yellow coffee cups (for your almond-milk latte) are a bright addition to a friendly, busy space where locals and travelers unite.

A longtime cook at the venerable Café Pasqual’s, chef Jesus Rivera now operates this friendly, funky, and cheerful rustic storefront serving delicious breakfast of Huevos El Salvadoreños (scrambled eggs with green onions and tomato) and the Salvadoran tamale (wrapped in banana leaf). There’s also a hearty lunch and dinner, with a nice selection of beer.

You won’t find sushi at the distinct, surprising Izanami. As you might recall, Santa Fe is over a thousand miles from the ocean. Instead, small, delicious plates of house pickles, buttery glazed carrots, yaki (rice balls), chicken skewers and fried gyoza are served as the kitchen produces them. The comprehensive, generous selection of artisanal microbrew cold sake is one for the ages.

Since 1983, Santacafé has been a culinary destination for the chic lunch set (Tom Ford is a fan). Opt, as they do, for eclectic “classics” like crispy calamari with four-chile lime dipping sauce, shrimp and spinach dumplings with tahini sauce, or the homemade pasta of the day. Come summer, the large patio is bustling, while in winter, guests are ushered into the minimalist-yet-cozy dining room, made warm with fireplaces and cool with taxidermy.

Sandwiched in between the Railyard District and the plaza, this breezy brick-and-adobe-exposed Mexican-inspired spot features a sprawl of folk art, majolica tiles, distressed windowpanes, and leather banquettes. There’s a range of diverse delights on the menu: duck carnitas, marrow tacos, grilled whole sea bass and, for vegetarians, cauliflower Frito tacos topped with Marcona almonds, raisins, and Spanish olives. For a side dish, order the warm Mexican street corn, known as esquites. To sip, it’s all about house-shaken tequila, smoky mezcal cocktails, and classic Mexican brews like Sol and Bohemia.

Cozy Dolina serves a lovely breakfast spread with an Eastern European bent. Try the nutty granola atop Greek yogurt with fruit, ricotta pancakes, and a hearty breakfast burrito with organic eggs, hash browns, and asadero cheese (topped, in good New Mexican fashion, with red or green chile). There’s also robust espresso and coffee, local bone broth, and baked grab-and-go sweets like chocolate croissants, banana pie with a flaky, buttery crust, and Slovakian-style vanilla cream puffs.