El Farol

Beautiful location! Cozy, intimate and absolutely delicious! Small tapas and wine location with excellent service and phenomenal food. Worth a visit. Come early, eat and drink and stay for music. You can even dance if you like. A real gem!

Thank you to Chef Marc Anthony for crafting a meal specifically to our desire. Beautiful experience. Amazing food. This will be a definite stop any time were in Santa Fe.

Christmas Eve debacle
We were very upset when, after being seated with our friends for Xmas Eve, we found we were stuck with a fixed menu, and a fixed price, which was (a) much more than we wanted to eat and (b) much more money than we wanted to pay, especially for the quality of food we ended up with. None of it was memorable, the ambiance lights kept flickering on and off, it was quite cold in the room, and all in all we felt taken. At the very least we should have been told about the «fixed price» aspect of the evening when we made the reservation; we would probably not have booked. Not only won’t we go back, but we won’t recommend this place to anyone.

Very disappointing and yet expensive New Year’s Eve meal. Small portions for high prices. Slow service. First course: Strawberry and idiazábal cheese with miniscule amounts of cheese, no doubt to save money for the restaurant. «Chorizo» that tasted quite a bit like supermarket kielbasa! (I’m Spanish enough to know chorizo when it’s actually what I’m eating.) Third course: lamb rib chops that were well cooked on a bed of sauteed potatoes but nothing very Spanish. Last course: mediocre, dry tres leches cake. The waitress knew from my face that I was disappointed with the meal and slow service, and she reduced the price of our prix fixe dinner. Good for her! Even after that it was $ 150 for three people, for New Year’s Eve in a bad restaurant.

A certain level of service is expected with a $ 60 prix fixe Chistmas Eve menu. The service we received would not even be acceptable at Denny’s. Our desserts were thrown on the table before the main course dishes were removed. We waited five minutes, and were forced to ask to have the dirty dishes removed. The waiter never asked how anything was– and he basically threw the check on the table as he ran past our table. The food was ok, but there are certainly better restaurants in Santa Fe.

My friend and heard about El Farol’s excellent Tapas and tried it for a late lunch on Halloween. Had the pulled pork BBQ sandwich and some of the BEST food I’ve ever had.
Our waitress was about the worst we’ve ever experienced. She was rude and ineffectual. She brought my sandwich out 15 min. before my friend’s order and never even apologized. First time EVER in my life I refused to tip a wait person though we gave a nice tip to the bus-​man.

We recently relocated to Santa Fe so we are discovering the good eats, and the spots locals recommend over touristy restaurants. El Farol is for tourists! Food is 4 stars but everything is way over priced hence 3 star rating. We made a reservation for dinner only to be told we would need to pay an additional $ 25 per person for the flamenco dinner show. What? Hey, i’m all for supporting talent, but a warning would be nice. And since when do restaurants charge extra for entertainment during dining hours? $ 100 a table? really? Last but not least, the server continued to up sell us on everything. Recommended a terrible expensive wine. Suggested we needed the Dos Paella in addition to our regular dinner plates. $ 52 for Paella for two? Come on! This was by far the most expensive night out and that includes Radish and Rye, Raaga etc. We love flamenco and there are plenty of places in town to watch for free and tip if you like.

El Farol catered an open house at my home this past weekend. Freda Scott was great with helping me select the tapas to be served. She arrived 2 hours ahead with Govanni Paz, head chef and Stephen Walsh, sous chef and Luis Miramotes, server to set up, make final preparations and serve. A great group of people. The food was fabulous. I can recommend the Polenta with Romesco sauce, the Gambas alAjillo (grilled shrimp) and the pork with figs. Oh, and the pear salad was definitely a hit with my guests. And then there is the flourless chocolate torte. Heavenly. Everything was truly wonderful. And they left my kitchen and house spotless. Thank you all! Judi Haines

Had lunch yesterday and it was teriffic. We sat on the patio and enjoyed fajitas and enchiladas. The corn chowder was great, filled with roasted peppers. Service was excellent.

I’m only giving it two stars because the entertainment was good. You can go there just to hear music and that would be a good experience. The food on the other hand was atrocious. I had the ravioli and the sauce was not good at all too many herbs in the sauce and way too many in the beef inside the ravioli. The marinara was too watery and it made the ravioli soggy. The pork chops were dry dry dry! Definitely disappointed especially for the price. We also had the calamari which was good as an appetizer but overall I would only recommend going here for entertainment and some tapas. Oh and the sangria was not good. I’ve been to Spain and that sangria tasted like it was mixed with cheap grape juice!

Great wine list of South American and Spanish wines. Good Food. Unfortunately the waitress was totally overwhelmed with our large party approx. 15. Start off by getting the drinks fast and correct. Don’t question what was ordered! Too bad. Loved the grilled Lamb chops!

Inviting looking, quaint, and historic café. The bar is a unique and cozy. This service was impeccable. So why 3 stars? The food. It’s a tapas place, however the Cesar salad really so small. With shrimp, you would have to order 2 plates to get the equivalent of a dinner salad, and the cost would be $ 28. Too much for the quality and quantity. The shrimp were overlooked, tough, and dry.
Again, great service, great location on Canyon road, and mediocre food.

After walking Canyon Road & visiting several galleries, we were glad to find this café. We sat outside, which was great. The service was great! The Cesaer salads were minuscule for $ 9. I had salmon with mine for an additional $ 5. My salmon was 1″ wide, yes I did say 1″! The length was 5″. My husband had his with shrimp which were overcooked.
I’ve tried this place once, but there are far too many cafes in Santa Fe that I won’t return.

I admit I am a tourist from Washington state. But I really liked El Farol! Had a few of the tapas, the standouts were the pear salad with balsamic vinegar, the flash fried avocado, and the shrimp sauteed with garlic and olive oil. Was so full, but had to keep eating! I also enjoyed the flamenco show, even though I didn’t think I would. Highly recommend going here if you are visiting Santa Fe.

Nice pit-​stop on canyon road. After checking out the art on the row check this joint out for their generous variety of tapas (cliché but true). Southwestern ambience is charming among the backdrop of sangre de Christo foothills. We had (and can recommend) grilled rib eye skewer and aguacate flash-​fired avocado and the tortilla Espanola

El Farol was recommended to me by 2 friends so I had high expectations from the get go. Upon arrival, there was plenty of room and tables available… however, the hostess told me we had to leave specifically an hour upon our arrival due to reservations, etc. which is understandable. Our service was reasonable and the food was alright for the price. I had the «chorizo con higo». Higo being fig for non Spanish speakers. The combination sounded very intriguing but I was a little disappointed because the chorizo was a little over cooked. My uncle had the paella and he swears they did not use enough saffron lol anyways, I believe I had too high of an expectation but the dinner was lovely overall. Would recommend maybe during a live performance but for food only, meh not so much :)

The food at El Farol is hit-​or-​miss. I was there a week ago and two of my lunch companions complained about how dry the chicken was. When they mentioned it to the waiter, he promptly brought out a new dish with fresh chicken. My soup was spot on and I loved it, however, the bread was dry and may or may not have been a day old. The salad was amazing. See? In just one visit very hit-​or-​miss.
My daughter and I used to ride our bikes there for a dessert treat. Once, we ordered the Tres Angelitos which comes with chocolate mousse, crème brulèe, & torta de limón. They torched with lemon tort instead of the brulèe. When I told the young waiter about it, he didn’t really know what to do with the information.
In my world, once a restaurant’s prices reach a certain high, there’s an understanding the food will be impeccable. Every. Time. No hit-​or-​miss. Geronimo knows this. The Compound knows this. Those two eateries have fine dining down to an art and they know it. So their prices can reflect that level of excellence without question. Their wait staff are utter professionals who don’t falter in their knowledge of good food, wine, and menu dishes. El Farol seems to believe its location next to these other fine eateries and its «Canyon Road» address are good enough reasons to elicit their high menu prices. To really play with the big boys, you must have a finely tuned menu and wait staff.
What I love about El Farol is its feel. It’s a hopping joint with live music, space to dance, and a great bar. There’s a spectacular outdoor patio AND, best of all, they have access to Flamenco dancing for a mere $ 25 cover. Easy & ample parking right across the street.
I don’t recommend for traditionally picky kids like my daughter. There’s no kid menu, but our waitress one night was fully accommodating and made buttered noodles.
I’ll keep going here because ultimately, it’s not that bad.

I’m not a person for small talk. I like to get straight to the point. If you are looking for an enticing review look elsewhere. Just kidding. The review begins here:
Lets cover the essentials.
1. The atmosphere
The atmosphere of this restaurant is basically made up of 2 types of people. 1 Tourists. Yes, those utterly annoying and vile creatures that ruin our day by asking for directions. And 2, old people. Not 50 year olds. But Barbara Streisand old. Betty Crocker old. Retiree old.
The restaurant smells like it is cleaned by illegal maids daily. It smells good. Maria did a great job. But the creaky wood floors and slap job of decorating make my eyes want to rip themselves out of their sockets. Pablo Picasso would have sobbed.
2. The service
The service reminded me of the service I received at a 4 star restaurant in New York. The waitresses looked like they do ballet for a big show production and the waiters looked like they were Calvin Klein models that went into the Captain America Machine.
They greeted me as I walked through the door, and had me seated within seconds. The waiter that took care of me looked like a cross between a ken doll and my mother in law Juliet. Nice on the eyes. He spoke to me in an appropriate, mannerful tone. Whenever I would ask him for assistance that is very prompt and helpful. I asked him about each dish on the menu and he food seduced me so well that I ordered every tapa on the menu.
3. The food
The food for the price is not worth it.
I paid $ 6 for a tiny little plate. I was able to finish every tapa and still be hungry. I ended up eating a hot pocket when I got home. This is a minimalist type of restaurant where you pay top dollar for small quantity. But quality gets a ⁹⁄₁₀.
I will definitely return whenever my inlaws visit.

I began my meal with a delicious and refreshing mojito. It was a suggestion my server, Josa, made as I sat down. After glancing at the menu for a few moments, I decided to start my dining experience with three tapas: mussels, shrimp in garlic sauce, and fried avocado. All three were phenomenal. The shrimp sauce was so yummy that I had to soak up every last bit of it with the super soft rolls of bread served with every meal. The mussels weren’t quite what I was expecting, as they were served in a very rich creamy sauce, but they were tasty all the same.
Unfortunately, my entrée, shrimp fajitas, came out before I finished my tapas. That’s a real pet peeve of mine because the entrée sits getting cold while I finish all the food I already have in front of me. However, the fajitas were scrumptious. I was a little disappointed to receive a single tortilla and a spoon full of guacamole to accompany the massive pile of shrimps, onions, and bell peppers that make up the fajita plate. Luckily, my attentive server inquired about my happiness with the meal, and he brought me another tortilla and a small bowl of guacamole upon request. Sadly, both items cost me an additional $ 4. A little unreasonable considering the fact that no one can enjoy their fajitas, notice the plural, with a single tortilla and spoonful of guacamole.
Overall, my experiences at El Farol have been excellent. The servers are always attentive, and the food is always tasty. Combine that with the fact that they regularly run deals through
and give educator discounts. I find that I am hard pressed to find a better moderately priced fine dining experience in town.

We were seated at the best seat in the house which is a large dining table in the back. The ambiance back there was great.
Honestly, I was very disappointed in my gazpacho. It was much too salty. My salad with steak was pretty good, though. The meat was well seasoned. Everyone else seemed to really enjoy their food.
Something else I appreciated was that our server was extremely accommodating to our toddler. They didn’t have a kids menu, but she got the chef to make her cheese quesadillas and fries. I thought that was great!