New Years in Santa Fe

Hi David,
We were in Santa Fe for NYE last year. It was a lovely, cold, crisp night with lots of stars and the scent of pinon wood burning. There was a dusting of snow on the ground.

To answer your questions:
1) It will not be "unpleasantly crowded" - are you thinking Times Square?? Not by any stretch of the imagination. The plaza in town will have a lot of people, but you can easily get around. There will be farolitos lit, and is very pretty.

2) There aren't huge events typically. As time gets closer there will things published in newspaper. What sort of events are you thinking about?

3) We had an EXCELLENT dinner at Andiamo! last year. The food and service was top notch. It was one of the more reasonable places in town to have dinner and the level was on a par with the higher end places.

I will see if I can find some links as to what was around last NYE but in the meantime:

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/santa-fe-restaurants---trip-report.cfm

Hope this helps!

Deb

Deb,

Thanks so much for the advice!

I have never been to Andiamo!. I will have to check it out. And thanks for the link to the dining trip report. Lots of other great ideas there

As for New Years Eve, I really like low-key events. I didn't know if, for instance, the galleries on Canyon Road would be open late or there would be music on the Plaza or something like that.

Thanks again for the info!

David

Yes, the galleries will be open for stroll and there should be music on Plaza.

After dinner, we went over to the Hilton and listened to a wonderful guitarist and had a drink.

Here are some links:


http://www.newmexico.org/newsletters/december08_content.php

There are quite a few links off this: http://gosw.about.com/od/santafenewmexico/a/santafeholiday.htm

http://santafe.org/Media/Press_Room/Current_Releases/Winter_Newsletter_2008184636/index.html

Come! It will be wonderful!

Deb

Thanks again, Deb. If you don't work for the Santa Fe tourism bureau, they really should hire you

You are welcome David! I just love NM and love to share my knowledge with others. Deb

I can't add anything more but that we love Santa Fe for NYE. Going again this year, too.

If you want restaurant rec's I'd love to help. NYE can sometimes be a crap shoot for service/food, though.

Check out the Santa Fe Reporter online as it will give you activities once it gets closer to the holidays.

www.sfreporter.com

Dis1010, don't intend to hijack your thread, but we seem to be on similar paths. Perhaps some of us Fodorites might want to rendezous in Santa Fe?

We've just taken the plunge and are now booked for New Years in Santa Fe. (We've spent Labor Day there several times, plus a few other visits, but we live in Florida). Maaaaybe we'll all run across each other there?

We have a night in Albuquerque (Hilton points) on the first and last days of our trip, plus 3 night in Santa Fe (timeshare). We arrive in Santa Fe on 12/31 and leave 1/3 -- 3 nights.

I'm wondering what good places there may be for New Year's Eve dinner, New Year's Day (all meals), etc. Beachgirll247 and DebitNM, any recommendations? Thinking maybe La Fonda or Inn of the Anazazsi for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day (buffet?)

Would anybody like a GTG around New Year's in Santa Fe?

How about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Restaurants open? Lots of people? Would love to see the Farolitos and go to Mass at the Cathedral. Thoughts?

We went to Andiamo! last NYE and it was wonderful and the price was right too.

For Christmas, this is a pretty recent thread:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/650525

There are others there. Type in Santa Fe Christmas in the search box on the SOUTHWEST page.

GTG is a possibility!

Deb

Anasazi was very good this trip (just returned yesterday). I don't know what their plan is for a holiday dinner (prix fix menu, etc) but call to find out.

I'm not a fan of La Fonda for dinners. Margarita and chips but that's about it. Good for people watching.

La Casa Sena has had nice dinners in the past. They have an excellent wine list, too.
www.lacasasena.com

For a fancy dining experience look into Fuego at La Posada. We ate there early this year and it was delicious. Excellent, unobtrusive service.
http://laposada.rockresorts.com/dining/fuego-restaurant.asp

Amavi - romantic Italian.
Andiamo! - great Italian and nice setting. Not pretentious at all but Trattoria Nostrani is!!

Hit or Miss: Geronimo, Coyote Cafe

Also, not great reviews coming from La Boca this weekend. Friends were very underwhelmed and they are foodies, too.

If you want a fun atmosphere then look into El Farol on Canyon. They serve Spanish tapas and full entrees. Lively, fun atmosphere. Most likely will have live music as well. Food is good but not great but could be a fun evening.
www.elfarolsf.com

Another place that has music is Vanessie's. Piano players. Sit around and sing along. They serve food as well but it has been some time since we've been there.
www.vanessiesantafe.com

What type of food would you like?

Also, a side note. Pick someplace you can walk to or drive. Do not depend on cab service in Santa Fe especially on NYE. Just a regular weekend can take 45+ minutes to show up... IF they show up.

New Year's Day will be very quiet. There isn't a lot open so take NYE for dinner instead. Don't be surprised if places are closed throughout the weekend (Fri-Sun) since NYE falls on a Thursday.

One thing for sure it will be beautiful!