Best Historic Restaurants in Santa Fe

Date night out with my spouse and her choice was La Pazuela in the Hotel La Fonda. Ambiance was excellent…beautiful romantic dining room as well as a separate tavern with live music—-flamenco guitar trio, I believe. Our hostess seated us promptly for our reservation for two and bottled water and a mocktail was ordered. Our server, Bryan, was on point with menu recommendations and explanations. We ordered the Chiles Rellenos (one cheese and one shredded beef) and a chicken enchilada duo with “Christmas Chile Sauce.” Nothing was too spicy, the accompanying posole and pintos were excellent as well as the entrees. After dinner coffee and a shared pineapple upside down cake was a perfect finisher. Afterwards, we sat for a bit in front of a huge, cozy fireplace—how idyllic. The service staff didn’t miss a beat, the hostess validated our parking, and we were on our way to stroll the town square and enjoy the holiday lights. Strongly recommend staying in the hotel if you’re visiting Santa Fe and enjoying the fireplace seating areas as well as a reasonably priced dinner at La Pazuela.

Such a wonderful place to have an intimate dinner! The servers were sensitive to our conversation and let us linger after everyone had left. And that trout was delicious!

I ate light and enjoyed the French Onion soup very much. It had terrific flavor and really was made right. Wish the wine list had more options, but it was adequate.

We had an excellent time. The service was good, the atmosphere was intimate, the food was exceptional. It’s pricey but expected for the quality. They were so gracious and helped me celebrate my birthday in just the way I wanted. I would recommend this restaurant for any celebration that you would like to be special but also low key.

We enjoyed our first visit to Palace Prime. We were eating light, so my husband had the beef carpaccio (he raved about it, very tender and flavorful) and the crab cake (full of crab and browned on the top). I had the risotto special (cacio e pepe with truffle shavings) and a Caesar salad with Spanish anchovies. These also were very tasty and a nice-sized portion. Our server was helpful and attentive but not overly so. We enjoyed the beautiful red and gray interior, a change from the usual Santa Fe style decorating that is common here. Finally, we LOVED that the restaurant was quiet and conducive to conversation, even with a few large groups near us. The fabric-covered ceiling tiles must have helped. This all made for a lovely evening.