Anthony, the CEO of LIVIN, says Santacafé is a great spot in Santa Fe. "I always have to get the Green Chile Burger," Anthony says. The Santacafé lunch menu lists that burger as the Christmas Cheddar Burger with Hatch green chile.
Lunch at Santacafé starts at 11:30am, every day of the week. Santacafé sits in one of Santa Fe's most beloved historical homes and has been a restaurant icon for over 40 years. Santacafé invites guests to reserve a table under the apricot tree.
The Padre Gallegos House
Santacafé is in the Padre Gallegos House, at 227 to 237 Washington Avenue. The house was originally built between 1857 and 1862. Soon after 1857, José Manuel Gallegos, a priest, built it as his residence.
Gallegos was born in Abiquiu, New Mexico, in 1815, and he was ordained in Durango, Mexico, in 1840.
Padre Gallegos died of a stroke in 1875. His funeral at Saint Francis Cathedral was one of the largest ever witnessed in Santa Fe. He was buried in Rosario Cemetery, where his marble tombstone still stands.
The Padre Gallegos House was remodeled and restored to its original proportions in 1966 and 1967. Twenty years later, the house was restored again after a major fire.
Who runs Santacafé
In 2019, Santa Fe restaurateur Quinn Stephenson bought the restaurant. Stephenson is the driving force behind Coyote Café.
Santacafé describes itself as old world elegance meeting contemporary cuisine. Santacafé combines the traditions of modern American cooking with locally sourced ingredients.
Santacafé describes itself as one of Santa Fe's most celebrated restaurants, and it is independently owned. Santacafé is hiring captains, bussers, hosts and pastry cooks.
The sister venues
Santacafé's sister venues are The Sunset Terrace, Coyote Cafe and Coyote Cantina.
Coyote Cafe is celebrating over 30 years of service. Coyote Cafe serves a creative menu of eclectic, modern Southwestern cuisine.
Coyote Cantina sits atop Coyote Cafe and offers Southwestern dining and cocktails. Coyote Cantina has a casual, relaxed atmosphere and is open all year round.
The Sunset Terrace is an event venue in downtown Santa Fe. The Sunset Terrace showcases historical Santa Fe architecture with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as a backdrop, and it hosts weddings, celebrations and corporate gatherings.
The patio
Santacafé calls its courtyard one of Santa Fe's most beautiful courtyard patios. Santacafé was a recipient of Most Popular Restaurants for Outdoor Dining in America: 2023 Edition.
Santacafé invites guests to reserve a table under the apricot tree.
What to order at lunch
Santacafé serves lunch daily from 11:30am to 2:30pm.
The Santacafé lunch menu includes the Christmas Cheddar Burger with Hatch green chile, red chile aioli and Parmesan fries. Anthony says he always has to get the green chile burger at Santacafé.
The Santacafé lunch menu includes Steak Frites with hanger steak, Parmesan fries, Calabrian chimichurri and green chile aioli.
The lunch menu includes Maggie's Pasta. Maggie has been making pasta at Santacafé for 34 years, and the pasta changes each month.
The lunch menu also includes green chile chicken enchiladas with cilantro rice and crispy calamari with four chili lime. The Maine lobster roll comes with baked bread, farm greens, tartar and tarragon butter. The Duroc pork dumplings come with ginger, napa cabbage, sesame tahini and ponzu. The seared salmon comes with wilted spinach, bacon, lemon butter orzo and tomato jam. The Asian chop salad comes with rice noodles, napa cabbage, fresh vegetables, mint oil and sesame dressing. The lunch menu includes a lobster salad with farm greens, watermelon radish and preserved lemon vinaigrette. The Santacafé Club has turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado aioli and mixed greens.
What to order at dinner
Santacafé serves dinner daily from 5pm to 9pm. The signature cornbread comes with honey butter. The chilled yellow squash soup comes with pinon, lump crab, chive oil and tomato relish. The hamachi crudo comes with melon, jalapeno, basil, coriander and aguachile. The burrata comes with cured olives, dill, cucumber, garlic bread crumble and mole seco. The elk carpaccio comes with Parmesan coulis and black garlic emulsion. The charred octopus comes with gigante beans, tender herbs, pizzutello tomatoes and Castelvetrano olives. The bitter greens come with apples, pistachios, Point Reyes blue cheese, celery, fennel and shallots. Dinner starters also include cured salmon with pommes paillasson, crème fraîche and caviar.
For a main, the sea bass comes with grilled zucchini and fava bean succotash, corn puree and basil beurre blanc. The smoked cheddar perogi comes with green curry spinach puree, gochujang caramelized onions and lemon yogurt. The Bolognese comes with pappardelle, Parmesan and garlic grill bread. The grilled pork chop comes with orange fennel herb salad, lemon ricotta, arugula pesto orzo and orange pork jus. The sumac crusted rack of lamb comes with harissa, cous cous, mint labneh, parsley and snap peas. The grilled filet mignon comes with pommes dauphinoise and grilled asparagus.
Hours, address and reservations
Santacafé is at 231 Washington Ave., Santa Fe, NM 87501. The phone number is 505.984.1788.
Santacafé serves lunch daily from 11:30am to 2:30pm and dinner daily from 5:00pm to close.
Santacafé has a private dining room for up to 20 guests. Santacafé invites guests planning a special event to contact the restaurant. The restaurant also sells gift cards and has an email list for specials and events.