Restaurant review archive

The Blue Heron — Wetland your Whistle

Veteran Santa Fe chef Michael Gintert reopened The Blue Heron restaurant at Sunrise Springs in May 2011. By keeping the staff small, the hours short, the menu simple, the prices low, and the vibe friendly and unpretentious, he may succeed where a number of finer-dining concepts have failed. The beer flows and the bourbon is top-shelf, though the wine service will not be acceptable to oenophiles. Recommended: guacamole, chips, crab cakes, and steak.

Las Fuentes Restaurant and Bar — Dinner comes for the archbishop

Executive Chef Christopher McLean is leading the team at Las Fuentes Restaurant and Bar into culinary territory he calls “Nuevo Ranchero,” fitting for this historic dude ranch, where New Mexico farm products are showcased. The longstanding Sunday-brunch tradition continues with an astonishing array of choices, though some service and quality issues should be addressed. Dinner, however, should not be missed; delicious food, good wine values, hospitable service, sunset views, the historic setting, and a significant discount for New Mexico residents make for a magical evening. Recommended: apple pastry, pork sausages, turkey green chile enchiladas, salads, duck breast, buffalo short ribs, fried ice cream, and rhubarb shortcake.

Baja Tacos & Burgers — Surfin' Cerrillos

In a city offering a variety of solid local drive-up dining, the venerable Baja Tacos & Burgers is a standout. With no indoor seating, the place serves up food fast while you watch it being made. Consistently swell burgers, crispy fish and shredded beef tacos, basic burritos, and the crunchy breakfast bacon roll are the best consumed-on-the- spot choices. Some surprising home-style offerings (pints of posole with red chile and pork, green chile with chicken, or red with beef) travel well. The rest of the menu (enchiladas, taquitos, and Frito pie) is fine as far as it goes but not distinguished. Recommended: fish tacos, shredded beef tacos, red chile with beef, green chile with chicken, bacon rolls, and Baja burgers with green chile and cheese.

Green Owl Coffee Café & Drive-Thru — Food on the Fly

In a prime position on the corner of St. Michael’s Drive and Llano Street, the Green Owl Coffee Café & Drive-Thru appeals to busy commuters who need quick, hassle-free food and drink and want to avoid chains. Convenience is the strong suit here. The café offers breakfast all day, a drive-through, and free wi-fi, and you can get everything on the menu — from soups and salads to sandwiches, panini, and wraps — to go. The vibe is a little sterile for a coffeehouse, but service is quick and employees are friendly and considerate. The Green Owl scores points for offering house- made, homey-tasting food, though some menu items need refining. Recommended: mesculin salad and green chile stew.

Sup — WhasSup?

The former executive chef of The Russian Tea Room has landed in Santa Fe with something a bit less upscale. Sup is the brainchild of new local resident Anthony Damiano. Its tag line is “Real food. Fast,” and the restaurant earns it stripes there. The décor incorporates a modern and streamlined counter-service design ripe for franchising, but before Sup outlets start popping up all over the state, there’s some work to be done in the communication and counter-service departments. The menu changes daily. Recommended: Tuscan white-bean soup with roasted garlic and local greens, muffuletta half sandwich, and apple cheesecake bar.

Jambo Café — Bigger love

Ahmed Obo’s Jambo Café has done just what those of us who love it desired: doubled its seating without changing anything else. The new room reflects the old with its earth tones and well-spaced art; it’s all one bigger happy place, especially when East African and Caribbean dishes like coconut peanut chicken stew, Jamaican jerk chicken, and coconut shrimp are brought to the table. Service is familiar, friendly, and only occasionally distracted. The kitchen remains prompt despite the added demands, minus an occasional lapse at the busiest of times. Recommended: cinnamon-dusted plantains with pineapple curry dipping sauce, curry-pistachio-encrusted goat cheese over roasted vegetables, grilled organic jerk chicken, Moroccan lamb stew, coconut chicken curry, and cumin French fries.

Le Pod — I love Paris in an Airstream

In the gravel parking lot across the street from Kaune’s Neighborhood Market is Le Pod, the newest Airstream-housed kitchen in town. Manned by chef Jean-Luc Salles (a native of Bordeaux and one of the great minds behind Slurp, another Santa Fe Airstream dining establishment), Le Pod focuses on French “street food” — namely crêpes and sandwiches — and hot dogs. Recommended: Santa Fe Dog, vegetarian sandwich, Parisienne crêpe.

Burro Alley Café — Chameleon café

With Mediterranean offerings and décor — as well as buttery French pastries — Burro Alley Café is a comfortable daylong dining establishment in the European café tradition but with New Mexican twists. Breakfast burritos join omelets and crepes in the morning. Pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and stuffed croissants accompany daily soups at lunch, and the pastas and dinner crepes, along with tacos and enchiladas, are available at noon and in the evening. Preparations are dependable, if not exemplary; stick to traditional café fare for the best experience. Recommended: banana crepe, steamed mussels, ratatouille crepe, and pastries.

The Anasazi Restaurant — Hot enough for you?

Executive chef Juan Bochenski took over the helm of The Anasazi Restaurant about four months ago. Perhaps he hasn’t yet had time to make his mark on a cuisine that is Southwestern without the spice or heat or anything that clearly distinguishes it in a town where people have high expectations at these prices. The food, while mostly good, probably won’t do anything to astonish you. Go to the bar and order a Negroni instead. Recommended: Spanish Benedict and duck enchilada mole.

Chow’s Asian Bistro — How the West was won-ton

Chow’s Asian Bistro fuses a handful of Eastern cuisines into unique, mostly well-prepared offerings. New twists on Chinese favorites such as orange-peel beef and kung pao shrimp are matched with influences from Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan to make for unusual selections catering to contemporary, global tastes. This is not your usual fat-enhanced, starch-thickened classic American-Chinese fare — the food reflects the kitchen’s light touch with oils and heat. Recommended: Vietnamese rolls, firecracker dumplings, coffee chicken, “seafood magic,” and General Tso’s chicken.

Swiss Bakery Pastries & Bistro — Pastry from beyond the clouds

Owner and chef Philippe Müller, a former pastry chef at the renowned Sprüngli Café in Zurich, brings Switzerland to Santa Fe with his new Swiss Bakery Pastries & Bistro. The atmosphere is elegantly casual, and his tempting pastry creations are displayed like fine jewels. Service is still shaky, and the kitchen sometimes misreads the menu, but you won’t be disappointed by Müller’s art, whether bistro- or bakery-born. Recommended: the signature Swiss crêpe, croque madame, Swiss “pizza,” chicken vol-au-vent, l’assiette Valaisanne, cream puffs, éclairs, and lemon tart.

Lan’s Vietnamese Cuisine — Don't go changing

Other than the service, which used to be dismal and slow, not much seems to have changed at Lan’s Vietnamese Cuisine, a cozy outpost in College Plaza off Cerrillos Road that serves immensely satisfying food. The uncluttered dining room has a simple, soothing, slightly modern ambience. Flavors are full and robust. Salt, smoky meat, peppery spice, bright and tangy citrus, grassy herbs, woody lemongrass, earthy onion, and sweet papaya and pineapple reveal themselves one after the other, like voices joining a choir to make the harmony richer. Few dishes exhibit any flaws. Recommended: vegetarian and meaty pho, com chien, lamb wontons, and sea scallop special appetizer.

The Ranch House — Take your 'cue

Josh Baum has taken a few favorites from the Josh’s Barbecue menu and brought them to his spanking new Ranch House restaurant. No down-scale barbecue joint, the House offers a mixed bag of crab cakes, goat cheese-and-apple salads, herb-grilled salmon, and pesto goat-cheese flatbread pizza in addition to lightly smoked, sweet-sauced brisket, pulled pork, chicken, and ribs; all in clean, comfortable surroundings. Don’t dismiss the tater tots! A handful of tap beers and distinct cocktails complement the hit-and-miss, but mostly hit, cooking. Recommended: pulled pork sandwich, red chile honey-glazed baby back ribs, red chile enchiladas with smoked brisket, and banana bread pudding.

Los Potrillos — Ranch dressing

Los Potrillos’ ambiance is Mexican ranch, and the paintings on the walls of rural life and horses are marvelous. Add polite and helpful servers, plenty of parking, and generous serving sizes. So what’s the problem? In a nutshell, the quality of the food is uneven. Seasoning needs a steady hand and a discerning taster, as some of the dishes are remarkably salty. Shortcuts and cost saving show up in some of the food, and deliciousness suffers. Recommended: guacamole, caldo tlalpeño, chuleta carrilleras, and birria.

Osteria d’Assisi — What's in a name?

You don’t stay in business 17 years by being unwelcoming and serving run-of-the-mill food. Osteria d’Assisi lives up to its osteria billing with a comprehensive list of Italian and domestic wines and a wide selection of wines by the glass ($8-$14). Solid, if not exceptional, trattoria-inspired dishes are offered, including antipasti, classic as well as unique pastas, and a varied selection of entrees including veal scallopine, lamb shank, and a vegetarian torta. Stone-oven-fired pizzas top the menu. Recommended: pizza with sausage, eggplant rollatini, wild boar in brandy butter sauce, and ravioli with roasted squash, pears, and pumpkin.

Coyote Café — Yum E. Coyote

Under owner/chef Eric DiStefano and his partners, the reimagined Coyote Café departs from the Southwestern-focused cuisine of former owner/ chef Mark Miller, exploring Asian elements and pastas while still grilling with mesquite. There’s plenty of heat — and not just in the open kitchen — in this carefully contrived and tasty collision of East and West. Desserts felt like a letdown. Generous, shareable portions can mitigate check shock. Recommended: Caesar salad, duck salad, lobster bisque, foie gras, ahi tuna, fiery prawns, elk tenderloin, lobster tails, and house-made ice cream.

India Palace — Tandoor is the night

Nari Kloty’s India Palace restaurant has been the go-to place for Indian food in Santa Fe for a dozen years. Tandoor-grilled meats distinguish the mostly northern Indian cuisine, although the curries, vegetable dishes, and basmati-rice creations are consistently good. Vegetable samosas — deep-fried pockets with potato and peas — show the care the kitchen takes. Spices play an important role but are never overpowering. The lunch buffet has a dedicated following and, minus an occasional inconsistency, for good reason. Recommended: garlic naan, onion kulcha, chicken tikka kabab, chicken tikka makhani, rogan josh, saag paneer, and mango custard.

San Marcos Café — Let's roll

San Marcos Café is a sweet, independently owned eatery that occupies the front of a feed-and-seed store on a dusty stretch of N.M. 14. It’s the kind of warm, inviting, slightly quirky place that Cracker Barrel wishes it could be. It’s full of authentic charm and soul and offers generous portions of good, satisfying, homey food. Recommended: cinnamon rolls, red-chile stew, and Eggs San Marcos.

Agave Lounge — Set for sophisticates

The Agave Lounge is a great place to go for a specialty cocktail or good wine by the glass or bottle in a sleek, modern setting. Decor and professional bartenders combine to make guests feel big-city sophisticated. A large-screen TV is available for those who want to watch the game, and there is a long bar for those who want to hang out and quiet corners for those who want a romantic nibble. Small plates and entree-sized meals range from excellent to so-so. Recommended: bacon-wrapped, caramelized-onion-stuffed shrimp, green-chile cheese “Kobe” sliders, Spa tuna, gold coin margaritas, and picante margaritas.

The Palace Restaurant and Saloon — No bull

If you went to the Palace Restaurant and Saloon for prom or to celebrate any of life’s other passages, you will be happy to know it’s back and ready for a new century of Santa Fe history. If you have never been to the Palace, you will want to go — chef Joseph Wrede is creating imaginative combinations of taste and texture. The lively bar is still bordello-red, while the dining room has found a new elegance. Recommended: onion rings, foie gras, meatloaf, scallops, lamb tajine, mescal chocolate bar, cardamom crème brûlée, and port-wine truffle cake.

Pizzeria Espiritu — Espiritu is willing

Tucked in a strip-mall parking lot, Pizzeria Espiritu isn’t a place you would just happen upon if you were driving down St. Michael’s Drive looking for somewhere to eat. Once you step inside, though, it feels like a friendly neighborhood spot. The kitchen crafts an assortment of lively pizzas — both thin, light, crackery crusts and husky Sicilian-inspired deep-dish versions — salads, and pasta dishes, some of which are better than others. Recommended: Margherita pizza, cranberry-walnut salad, and tiramisu.

Galisteo Bistro — At home in the galaxy

Approaching three years at its namesake location, Galisteo Bistro uses a galaxy of fresh, often local ingredients and unexpected spices in variations on classic bistro dishes. Familiar choices including saltimbocca, braciole, and pasta romesco are given innovative treatment. Small plates (tapas) and cheese plates with fruit- and-nut complements add to the bistro feel. More comfortable than cutting edge, the dishes seek to harmonize ingredients rather than let any one dominate. Desserts are especially delightful. Recommended: Caribbean roasted- squash bisque, savory Gorgonzola torte, braised lamb shank, artisanal duck-liver paté, savory squash flan, pan-roasted quail, “decadence” flourless chocolate cake.

Santacafé — Where elegance reigns

Santacafé remains one of the best choices in town for reliable, delicious food in a beautiful setting. Portions are generous and prices are a good value, especially at lunch. The level of elegance and service is exemplary; servers are well-trained and knowledgeable. It’s an excellent place to go for a celebratory meal and the occasional celebrity sighting. Recommended: rib-eye steak, rack of lamb, roasted butternut- squash soup, apple bisque, beer-battered fried-oyster sandwich, and lemon tart.

Tomme — As Tomme goes by

Partners Maria “Max” Renteria, general manager, and Mark Connell, executive chef, both of Max’s Restaurant, have teamed up with chef de cuisine Brian Rood to create Tomme, a casual downtown restaurant with sophisticated gastronomic intentions and a comfort-food theme. Unfortunately, the sheer deliciousness of some appetizers and desserts is only exceeded by the disappointment provoked by several main courses. Recommended: braised-beef gougères, smoked-sturgeon salad, baby-greens salad, flourless chocolate torte, cranberry-mousse cake, and green-apple galette.

San Q — Alley of the rising sun

At San Q, the Japanese restaurant that has recently taken over the spot on Burro Alley formerly occupied by Café Paris, the menu sometimes veers from the standard sushi-joint trajectory. That’s not to say that the standard Japanese fare at San Q isn’t good; but it’s the less-familiar culinary offerings that make dining there worth the trip. Recommended: hamachi kama, soft-shell crab and green-chile tempura, grilled quail eggs wrapped in bacon, deep-fried smelts, grilled sake toro, yellowtail tartare, and buta kimchi.

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