Sante Fe/Albuquerque Restaurants
 

Looking for some fun (not too expensive), great food and atmosphere restaurants in Sante Fe and Albuquerque, NM. Anyone have any favorites?

traveled to ABQ and SFe tons last year.

here are some to get you started.

ABQ:
Frontier Restaurant
Los Cuartos
Barelas Coffee Shop
Saigon Restaurant
Siam Cafe

SFe:
Cowgirl Hall of Fame
Le Parasol (only carry out)
Counter Culture

BTW, IMHO these have great food, but atmosphere varies, but they are all inexpensive. You may want to take a closer look at these places by doing a "control F" search on the SW msg board on chowhound.com. I've posted reviews there of these places in the past.

have fun.

elr-I see alot of good reviews about Coyote Cafe and SanteFe Cafe in Sante Fe. Wondering if they are any good as well as the ones you mentioned?

Gail,
I've only eaten upstairs at Coyote Cafe, at their less expensive haunt.

Basically, the restaurnts you mentioned are in an entirely different range than the ones I posted. Mine are inexpensive and not huge on atmosphere....and don't get nearly the press of the ones you mentioned. However, the reviews of coyote and santa fe cafe always seem consistently good.....

maybe you can mix high and low end. I was dining solo most of the time and on modest per diem!

elr-Good suggestion and we will probably mix up the mix with some casual/upscale restaurants. Thanks again for your responses and looking forward to visiting Sante Fe.

GailLK,

Forgive me, but I'm cutting and pasting from a list I posted in resonse to a similar question last week--to which I've expounded on.

1. Pasqual's -- Small with wild decorations and great food. Breakfast here is a must--to check it out. Come back for dinner to try something elegant. Casual
2. Geronimo's -- One of the finest restaurants in Santa Fe...period.
3. El Farrol -- Fun for tapas and music. Very casual.
4. The Old House -- Elegant, four-star dining in the Hotel Eldorado. Wonderful game meat selections. Dressy.
5. Los Mayas Restaurant -- Simply excellent, authentic Mexican and South American dishes. Personal favorite. Casual
6. Inn of The Anasazi -- Great dining room for dinner or wonderful bar for noshing on such appetizers as lobster nachos. Bar: casual. Restaurant: Nice casual
7. Paul's Place -- Great locals place. Small with good food in a nice atmosphere. Casual.
8. SantaCafe -- Gets mixed reviews--as do many places. Personnally, I have had two wonderful experiences there but have not dined there in almost two years. Dressy.

Hope this helps.

AL ((d))

AL- Just checking Geronimo's website, and it looks like a really nice place decor wise, however it's VERY expensive, can it really be that great? Getting some mixed review on the web. Thanks...

Paul's in Santa Fe is my favorite restaurant. It's an intimate cafe with great food and really nice servers.

GailLK,

I've only eaten there once (little over a year ago) and, yes, it was excellent. Was it worth it moneywise? To me it was; however, I can't speak for you.

I don't know if it has changed since then--or what the mixed reviews said--only that I thought it was a marvelous experience.

AL ((d))

I have to preface this by saying we were last in Sante Fe in '99. But I just googled it and this restaurant is still there! Taking a suggestion from Frommer's guidebook, we ate twice at Blue Corn Cafe and Brewery. Once downtown, once at the bigger one out on Cerrillos Road. We liked the one downtown better (it was quieter and the service was better). But we enjoyed the food and the beer at both. And the prices were quite reasonable.

Just a small correction - it's Santa Fe, not Sante Fe.

Some of our Albuquerque favorites are 66 Diner (inexpensive),Flying Star, Yanni's, and Scalo. If you'll be near Old Town, the Route 66 Malt Shop is a great place to get a wonderful green chile cheeseburger and some homemade root beer or a delicious shake for lunch.

Carlos' Gosp'l Cafe is a fun place for lunch in Santa Fe. I haven't tried some of the other places you mentioned - they're a little out of my price range - but in addition to those, Tulips and La Casa Sena also get good reviews.

Lee Ann

In Old Town ABQ you will find one of my favorite restaurants - Crepe Michel. One doesn't typically go to New Mexico to have French food, but I've never been disappointed. The land chops are divine! Be sure to save room for dessert!

Locating it can be a bit difficult as it is nestled among many small shops. Ask a local to point you to the Cat House and you will find it next door. Also, be sure to pop in to see the kitty and her owner at the Cat House. She (the owner) is quite the story teller!

Gail, yes Geronimos is that great, imo. For a more casual meal, try El Shed.

The last time we were in Santa Fe, our favorite place was "Harry's Roadhouse" which is on the Old Las Vegas Hwy - which runs parallel to the interstate. Good food and a fun atmosphere - fun art on the walls. There were 12 people in the party and we all found something that we liked.

Also, there's a delicious Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque called El Norteno, very casual, but yummy. An hour (or less) outside of Santa Fe is Chimayo and the Hacienda there is beautiful and not too expensive.

Al. I'm using this info to plan my upcoming trip, too. Good idea about including "dress." I've answered similar questions on Fodors many times before and never thought to include dress. I will follow your lead from now on.

My fav meal in Santa Fe was the chile and cinnamon rubbed filet at the Inn of the Anasazi. Went back for seconds later in the week! Geronimo was very good, but could have lived without it, looking back.

Just repeating what others have said. I loved the Coyote and Santa Fe, although I was not paying. Also mentioned and more affordable are Pasqual's, great breakfast, and El Shed for lunch. For what it's worth, I liked them all very much.

I love Maria's for a fun atmosphere, good food and the best margaritas I've found in town.

Heading to SF next week and want to try some new places, including Harry's. Has anyone been to Pink Adobe?

I go to Santa Fe frequently on research trips. I LOVE Pink Adobe. It has a wonderful homey feel and the food is great. Southwestern but not pretensious like some places in Santa Fe. In cool weather, with fireplaces in every room the atmosphere is wonderful.
Vera