santacafe

is there anything as pure and simple as the innocence of a child, especially during the most magical time of the year? when my then six-year-old niece penned a heartfelt letter to santa claus, there was no doubt in her mind that her letter would be delivered and her wish would be granted. after all, she had been extragoodall year long and what she wanted for christmas was so reasonable. my niece’s fondest christmas wish was that her family dine at santacafe—not because of its reputation for inspired cuisine, but because she was sure she would meet jolly old saint nick at his restaurant “santa café.”

good, not great.. there are a lot of very high end restaurants in santa fe in the price range and quality santacafe falls into. while the staff was nothing short of amazing, the location lovely (we ate this weekend outside), and while the quality of the food is top notch, overall, the meal was lacking. mostly in terms of being interesting to the palette. for example, we ordered their signature calamari. as described, it was crispy, tender and well cooked. yet the dipping sauce (no less than 4 chilli's) was rather flavorless. the tarter sauce at whole foods would have elevated this to a superior level. reallygoodcalamari should be tasty with no sauce and in this case, it needed a sauce. and the sauce was not up to snuff.

my mother in law had the salmon. it was prefectly cooked, not dried out albeit a bit on the fishy flavor side. again, it needed something in terms of seasoning to make it a success. i had the signature filet mignon. the quality of the meat and how it was cooked could not be faulted. the flavor profile could, it just wasn't very interesting and filet mignon needs some help in this department. my sister in law and the roasted poblano relleno w/ 3 mushroom quinoa & chipotle cream. now we are getting somewhere in terms of the chipotle cream sauce. superb. unfortunately this dish would work better as an appetizer. the first few bites are great but one tires of the dish quickly. it took four of us to help finish half the portion. probably the best dish overall was the pork chop my wife ordered.

the home run was the mouse dessert. here it seems that a different chef is in better control over the flavors presented. no question the quality of the chocolate was tops. it came with a blood orange and i believe raspberry sauce. i like my chocolate unadulterated. however, it was easy to eat both separately and appreciate each. a knock out desert.

if the main courses just 'knocked it up a notch' in terms of creative taste profiles, this restaurant would be a real winner. the ingredients and how they were prepared can't be criticized yet in the end, expect for desert, nothing memorable which is a shame. even the bread they provided at the start of the meal was underwhelming. again i have to point out that the service was wonderful.

my 4th time to this restaurant over the last 8-10 years....food wasgoodas always....service from one of the most arrogant waiters i have ever been exposed to....will likely never return management not interested in fixing the situation....we wanted nothing, simply assumed they would want to know about their wait staff. lnew nothing about the menu....just pitiful

wornout overrated avoid. for years i would automatically make reservations at santcafe for special occasions because ofgoodpast experiences. although we noticed the quality of the food had significantly diminished on our last visits, i again reserved a favorite table on a very busy saturday evening for 5:30 when they open. inspite of being absolutely promised when i made the reservation four days earlier that we would get the table we wanted, we hadn't three times before, the power hostess said again we would not get the table; that others who reserved after we did would have our table. we left in tears our evening ruined. santcafe is riding on a reputation that is no longer justified, a mediocre restaurant with a big attitude.

just what you'd hope for. we have been to santacafe twice, once 7 years ago, and again tonight. both times left us with a lingering sense of enjoyment. the assistant to our waitstaff, manuel, was and understated delight. from chihuahua, mexico, he shared his own love for santa fe, still remembering his mother's cooking back in mexico, where he returns frequently. we had a cristo 2008 malbec--smooth and delicious, although maybe all malbecs are. each of us had beef--very nicely done. the coffee bean ice cream was served with a crisp and light filo dough, caramel sauce and just enough cinnamon so that we couldn't figure out what it was--an airy improved santa fe version of baklava. never had a dessert like that. eating outdoors in santa fe is always pleasant, and this was a lovely courtyard experience with native flowers and enough warmth to be cozy. santacafe didn't have the arrogance of some of the other well known local restaurants whose food isn't quite asgoodas you'd think it should be, and whose service makes you feel a little low. we'll be back to santacafe.

my husband and i ate here for thanksgiving in 2008. the food was decently priced for the quantity and quality. they offered interesting twists on the ordinary thanksgiving dishes, as well as reallygoodsteaks. i would recommend this restaurant to friends and family