The Best Places to Eat in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Are you looking for the best places to eat in Santa Fe? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

There is no shortage of great food in Santa Fe. Trust me. I just came back from a long weekend visiting this desert high city, and the agenda for much of the weekend? Eating and drinking! (With a couple of hikes squeezed in…we had to work off those tamales somehow!)

I visited Santa Fe with a girlfriend, and we stayed with her family friend who moved out there recently from New York. We feel lucky that she had time to take us to all of the best places to eat in Santa Fe.

Travel Tip: The best recommendations usually come from locals who know their city, so I always want to try the restaurants where the locals eat. If you are traveling somewhere and don’t know any locals, do a search online for bloggers who live in that city. They will usually share their favorite spots on their blog.

Related: Want to know my favorite spots in Brooklyn, where I live? Check out my Brooklyn Travel guide.

Now that we got a tour of some of the best places to eat in Santa Fe with a local, I want to share all of that knowledge with you.

The Santa Fe Food Scene

Santa Fe is known for its New Mexican Cuisine, a blend of Pueblo Native American, Spanish and Mexican food. But honestly, that’s just scratching the surface when it comes to the variety of food you can eat here.

Yes, you must try New Mexican and Southwestern cuisine while you’re in Santa Fe. However, don’t let that stop you from trying other cuisines in town. I promise you, my list gives you a lot to choose from. I did a lot of eating for you to make sure I’d be recommending the best places to eat. (You can thank me later!)

This list covers a bit of everything, from street food to fancy meals, plus the places where the locals eat brunch and the best hot chocolate in town. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, it’s certainly enough to whet your appetite.

So, are you getting hungry? Great! Let’s dive in.

Related: Looking for things to do in Santa Fe? Check out my Santa Fe Travel Guide.

The Best Places to Eat Breakfast and Brunch in Santa Fe

• Farmers’ Market – The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market is full of fresh, local food that you can sample and try. I highly recommend the blue corn Pupusas made my Mesa Ruiz. He’s also a well-known potter and sells his Micaceous clay cookware at the market too.
• Sky Coffee – if you hit up the Farmer’s Market, keep yourself fueled with a cup of coffee and a pastry at this local coffee joint.
• La Choza – Located in an old adobe home, head here for a decadent brunch or lunch of authentic New Mexican cuisine. (They’re open for dinner too.) A sister restaurant to the famed Shed restaurant located downtown, La Choza is where the locals go because it’s more off the beaten path with fewer tourists. I loved the Huevos Rancheros and make sure to order the Sopapilla with honey, an off-menu item that was our FAVORITE part of the meal.
• Modern General – This sun-filled space with rustic wood floors 100% reminded me of a place you’d find in LA. The café has loads of pastries (including gluten-free!), great coffee, plus veggie bowls, toasts, sandwiches, and salads. It’s also a great place to shop for books and home goods.

The Best Places to Eat Lunch in Santa Fe

Tesuque Village Market – About a ten-minute drive outside of the city, you’ll find Tesuque Village Market off the side of a highway. While it might not look like much from the outside, the wide-ranging menu has everything from deli sandwiches to spicy New Mexican cuisine. We loved the Guacamole here and the Famous Tortilla Soup.

Vinaigrette – Next door to and sharing the same owner as Modern General, Vinaigrette is was one of my favorite restaurants in Santa Fe. The restaurant has a wide range of healthy and satisfying options, with an extensive list of inventive salads, sandwiches, and soups. They also have a full selection of fresh pressed juices and smoothies. If you need a break from all of the heavy New Mexican cuisine, head here to get your daily dose of greens!

The Shed – Arguably one of the most famous restaurants in Santa Fe, there is a reason it’s so popular. The restaurant routinely churns out some of the city’s best New Mexican cuisine. If you’re going for lunch, be prepared to wait because it’s first come first serve. However, they do take reservations for dinner.

Cafe Pasqual’s –  Located in the heart of town, this is another one of Santa Fe’s best places to eat, and for good reason. It’s a James Beard Award Winning restaurant. Be ready for big crowds, but if you’re willing to brave the wait, it’s worth it!

The Best Places to Eat Dinner in Santa Fe

• Izanami – Located at the Japanese inspired spa and hotel, Ten Thousand Waves, Izanami is a take on a modern, Izakaya style restaurant. We wanted to love everything on the menu, but the food was hit and miss. We loved the sashimi, Karaage, and Waygu steak but were not impressed with the lamb chops or the kushiyaki (skewers). That said, I still recommend the restaurant because the service was impeccable and the dining room is beautiful.
• Geronimo – Be prepared to drop some serious cash here, but if you’re in the mood for refined dining, this is the place to go. The restaurant has been a mainstay of the Santa Fe food scene for years because of its consistent attention to detail and quality food.
• Coyote Café and Cantina – There are two options for dining here, a high-end experience in or a laid back, outdoor rooftop cantina. After a long day of exploring, we opted for margaritas, chips, and guac at the casual cantina. But this iconic restaurant also has a beautiful dining room with soaring ceilings and a Chihuly chandelier that anchors the room.  If you’re in the mood for quality Southwestern cuisine, this is the place for you.
• Joseph’s – A cozy and charming pub-style café, we had a hearty and delicious meal here. It’s a little bit out of the center of town but worth it for the wide range of options on the menu.
• Radish and Rye – Head to this restaurant for farm inspired fare. Most of their ingredients are sourced locally (supporting local farmers and ranchers), and the menu changes seasonally. Eat in the bright and rustic dining room or grab seats at the lively bar.

The Best Chocolate in Santa Fe

• Kakawa Chocolate House – I’m certainly not a connoisseur of hot chocolate, but Kakawa makes the drinking chocolate elixirs I have ever tasted. With a range of flavors to choose from, (chili infused was our favorite), this casual café is the perfect pit-stop for a mid-afternoon treat. And I love that the owner is a former New Yorker who escaped the rat race for a slower pace of life in Santa Fe.
• Todos Santos Chocolates – We loved this place so much we went twice! The first time we sampled the chocolates and bought some for ourselves. The second time, we stocked up on gifts to bring home. (Full disclosure: we may have eaten some of them on the way home!)

Related: Looking for the best places to shop in Santa Fe? Check out my post about Things to do and see in Santa Fe.

Are You Ready to Eat in Santa Fe?

To be honest, my list of the best places to eat in Santa Fe is just scratching the surface. There are so many great places I still want to visit. It just means I’ll have to make another trip back to this spectacular city.

If you’re planning a trip to Santa Fe, make sure to check out my post about all the things to do there.

Now I’d love to hear from you. Have you been to Santa Fe? If so, which restaurants are on your list? What would you recommend? I’m always looking to add more places to my travel guides, so please comment below!

Related: If you love traveling for food as much as I do, then check out my travel guides about Chiang Mai, Asheville, Vancouver, the Catskills, and Montreal. They are full of restaurant recommendations because a girl’s gotta eat!

Related: Into food? Check out my favorite cookbooks here.