Garlic Shrimp and Grilled Artichokes: La Boca at 20 in Santa Fe

The walk starts close to the Plaza. La Boca sits on West Marcy Street, just a block away from the historic Santa Fe Plaza and the New Mexico Museum of Art, according to a published profile of the restaurant. The same profile notes it is housed in an adobe building. When we walked up, our own note said it plainly: this is in town, close to the Plaza.

La Boca opened in 2006, and in 2026 the Santa Fe New Mexican marked the milestone with a story headlined "Santa Fe's Spanish treasure, La Boca, celebrates 20 years."

Walking in

Edible New Mexico described a front patio lined with flower boxes that spills onto picturesque Marcy Street.

Inside, the Santa Fe New Mexican says La Boca remains a simple space, with a front room of blond wood tables and contrasting black chairs, dark brick floors. Edible New Mexico wrote in 2023 that the dining room has a European feel thanks to its small size, rustic brick floors and wood beams.

Caruso told Edible that he was inspired to create La Boca in 2006 in part because this particular downtown location had become available. "The space looked like it could be in Madrid," he said.

Bread and garlic shrimp

The restaurant's own site says the entire tapas menu is served all day long. The baguette is listed on the menu as a Sage Bakehouse sourdough baguette with extra virgin olive oil, and our photo shows slices set out with the oil.

Then there is the garlic shrimp, gambas al ajillo. Our photo shows it in a small dish, and our own note called it shrimp and garlic.

If you eat gluten free, the menu says gluten free bread from Revolution Bakery can be substituted for any bread or crostinis. Menus change, so check the current menu before you go.

Grilled artichokes

The alcachofas are listed as grilled Roman artichokes with queso de cabra, which is goat cheese. In our photo, the artichoke halves come topped with goat cheese. The Santa Fe New Mexican wrote that Caruso is blessed with "return guests who appreciate his greatest hits, like serrano ham croquetas, patatas bravas, and grilled artichokes with creamy goat cheese, all of which are perennially available."

The steak, and the dishes that stay

The grilled flat iron steak is on the menu with a choice of smoked sea salt caramel sauce or Cabrales butter. Our photo shows the steak sliced.

The menu also carries patatas bravas, with roasted garlic aioli and spicy brava sauce, and it has paella on it too.

The restaurant's own site says the menu is inspired by Spain and the Mediterranean, and that it changes seasonally to represent the best of our local New Mexican ingredients. This fall's new lineup, as reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican, includes fideuà, a pasta dish prepared similarly to paella. Check the current menu for what is on now.

Twenty years, one family

Caruso's own appetite was first nurtured at home in Boston, the Santa Fe New Mexican wrote, and he learned his way around the kitchen with his mother and grandmother. He moved to Santa Fe in 1997 and took a job as sous chef under Kelly Rogers at La Casa Sena. From there, he became executive chef at El Farol. The dream of a place of his own was realized in 2006, when Caruso and his wife, Leslie, opened La Boca.

Leslie Campbell developed La Boca's dessert offerings. Her gâteau Basque, with its classic cream filling and cherry compote topping, has been perennially popular. The couple's daughter, Emma Campbell, is the restaurant's general manager, and executive chef Gabriela Pineda came up through the culinary program at Santa Fe Community College.

Caruso has received eight James Beard Foundation Best Chef Southwest nominations, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Taberna, around the corner

La Boca has a second room. Taberna opened in 2013 just around the corner in the courtyard at Lincoln Avenue and Marcy Street, and the two now share a kitchen. It sits at 125 Lincoln Avenue, Suite 117, behind La Boca in the courtyard, inside the former Carlos's Gospel Café, per the Santa Fe Reporter's directory.

Before you go

Caruso has signed another 10-year lease, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports, and he is working on a cookbook with Santa Fe photographer Douglas Merriam.

La Boca is at 72 West Marcy Street. It is open Wednesday through Sunday, and it is closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day 2026. Check hours before you go, and check the current menu too. You can call 505-982-3433 for reservations, or book online through the restaurant's own site.

That is La Boca at 20, a block from the Plaza.