The Food of Santa Fe
Ever since I’ve been back, friends, family, and coworkers have been asking me all about the trip and what we did all weekend. Well, we ate a lot of good food… we drank margaritas, walked around, sat by the pool, and…that’s about it! That is what vacations are all about anyways, right?!
But really, the fooooooood. It actually became kind of a joke on our trip – we were always trying to figure out where to eat next. We made a rule as we were driving in that we would only eat at local & new places. At breakfast we were chatting with our waitress trying to figure out where to eat dinner, the shuttle driver shared his favorite breakfast places with us, and shop owners and other tourists were always putting in their two cents. Santa Fe is filled with authentic and beautiful restaurants on every corner so picking a place to eat is not always the easiest (because there are so many choices!!) I am convinced that there is no bad choice because everyone would recommended a different restaurant as the “must eat at” restaurant while we were there. And although we were only there for 2.5 days, we were able to experience quite a few of Santa Fe’s best!
Cafe Pasquals
We ate here for breakfast on our first day. It was fun, bright, delicious, and perfect for our first morning in town. The coffee was strong and refilled frequently (just what we needed) and there was opportunity to get green chill on everything. We sat and talked eating every last bit of our very New Mexican breakfast!
Hilltop Bar at the Lodge at Santa Fe
After eating a huge breakfast we started a pattern of eating out for breakfast and dinner and snacking through lunch time. We hit up the bar at the hotel both days for some fun drinks, snacks, and desserts between meals. It was fun to be able to spend time at the pool or take a nap and then go grab drinks down the hallway! With a view of the city, the balcony was windy but beautiful! The drinks were also on par!
Blue Corn Cafe
We saw this restaurant on the rooftops when we were walking around and knew we wanted to eat there. I love the amount of patios and rooftop eateries in Santa Fe! We tried to eat outside as much as we could!After drinking a margarita earlier in the day, I was glad to be at a brewery and I enjoyed a house amber ale with my meal! We sat outside, ate wonderful food, and enjoyed our evening!
Tia Sophias
Back to breakfast the next morning at another authentic restaurant. We sat in the window, sipped on coffee, and talked about everything under the sun. It was a wonderful breakfast place that was recommended to us by our shuttle driver!
The Santa Fe Farmer’s Market
We knew we wanted to hit up the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market before we even came into town and it did not disappoint! It was the most beautiful farmer’s market and I wished I lived closer as we walked the isles! There were so many shops and community members everywhere. We picked up fresh produce and pastries as we walked around. The apples stands were the most enticing and we walked away with bags of apples, apple cider slushies, and dried apple slices!
Rooftop Cantina
On our second day the eight of us split up for the afternoon – half of them hitting up a local coffee shop for some down time and the rest of us walked all around town, shopping & stopping for afternoon margaritas! We ordered chips & salsa and colorful drinks from the menu ( because apparently non of the restaurants in Santa Fe just give them to you?!?! hahah) and enjoyed a nice shopping break. It did start pouring which caused us to rush from the sides to a table under the tarp and made for some pretty wonderful memories. Also, our server snuck in a nice photo bomb!
Penny University Coffeehouse
Our last morning we wanted something lighter and packed with caffeine. We packed up our stuff, checked out of the hotel, and drove over to Penny University Coffeehouse. I had googled coffee shops the night before and it looked like the best one to go to. It did not disappoint! We loved the fresh coffee and delicious treats! This is the coffee shop you need to hit up if you are a coffee lover!!
Have you been to Santa Fe? Did we eat at your favorites? Did we help you discover some new places to go? What kinds of restaurants do you eat at when on vacation?
I am a native Santa Fean. I love it here. So glad you had a great trip and had a chance to hit up the farmers market. I love our farmers market and the railyard. It is my favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning. The new movie theater right there is so nice too and has a great bar with local brews. Next time you come down you will have to try Clafoutis, it is this small little french restaurant that is amazing for breakfast, always so packed, but amazing. Owned by two french ladies that are great! Looks like you hit up alot of my favorite New Mexican Restaurants- the Shed is always good as is Tia Sophias. Love vacationing! Happy travels.
YAY! Oooh! Sounds good. Thanks for the tips! Next time we’ll hit up Clafoutis!