Luminaria

The chef Mark Quinnones came out to meet us during dinner. Everyone loved their entrees from elk, buffalo, and scallops. Next to the beautiful Loretto Chapel. Great for groups and couples! Highly recommend!

I own Terracotta wine bistro n peas n pod catering. Chef mark n myself are Exec chefs in this sometimes brutal industry. I was so fortunate to have an amazing dining experience with my business partners last night and sublime would be my total palate experience! He is a gifted n talented chef that I as a chef put 5 stars to him! Chefcatie

Always a treat to eat at Luminaria when I’m in Santa Fe. The lunch menu is always fantastic and has something for everyone on the menu. Not to mention the wine list is impeccable. the soup specials are my favorite along with the lunch specials. The restaurant is beautiful and has an amazing fireplace that I love to sit next to during the winter. Can’t wait for summer because they have a gorgeous patio. I highly recommend and they do have valet for easy parking in Santa Fe.

Great food, amazing wine list. Everything is over priced. The food quality is no better than you would get anywhere. Go eat in town and enjoy the local life style.

Being in a hotel, it is what it is, by which i mean, I certainly wouldn’ t come here on my own dime, since it is quite expensive, but might seem fine if you’re travelling for work and staying here. The corn chowder was nice and a decent value. The chili relleno was just weird. Typically, when I go to an unknown southwest/​Mexican restaurant, I order chili relleno as my standard. I’ve had many, this was odd and way too expensive, not a repeat…

No idea what was off on the last few reviews, but we recently had a fantastic experience here. Server heard it was my bday and Gruet with rose petals appeared. Wish I remembered her name, she was amazing. Perfect timing, helpful, friendly, but non-​obtrusive. Now the food… Um, this is now my local special occasion place to be. Elk tenderloin, sublime. Pork belly, mo definitely. Perfectly cooked medium rare steak, and last but not least, my meal, the buffalo short ribs. This is the best restaurant dish I have been served in SF in a long, long time. Pricey for us locals from up north but I’m taking the «besty» for his birthday!

Love the glorious shops here. Lovely back patio but disappointing after that. Food was just OK, not much of it & I’m a light eater — and very expensive.
Certainly not our favorite restaurant in Santa Fe. Unlikely to return.

4* Luminaria
Cena pronto is a delicious bargain at $ 34 for a course dinner
First course was choice of carrot-​ginger soup and watercress salad — both were good
One of the choices for the second course was a nice pappardelle pasta
Third course was a choice between a lime tart (very limey) and a strawberry brulée

Is there a way to post a 2 ½ star review?
I mean…
Let me say that the reason why I’m giving it only these few stars is the food, primarily — though the service was lacking a bit, as well.
When I arrived, the room was pretty empty — and it remained so, for the most part, during my meal. It really seemed that there were as many servers as the patrons and yet the service was strangely spotty. It was either really timely or really delayed, and there didn’t seem to be any reason for it. The waitress who appeared to begin with seemed replaced by someone else, but she was then the one who gave me the bill. It was weird.
The space is pretty but a little bit chilly. Not temperature-​wise, just space-​wise. It’s large, and colored in cold colors, and even the glass lights everywhere don’t dispel that impression. I imagine it can be gorgeous during the day especially in summer.
Now, the food: after looking at the menu, I settled on getting appetizers only and making a meal of them rather than going for large plates. In places like these, appetizers are often the highlight of the meal anyway, and I was really interested in several of them. So I got a red chili caesar salad — it was pleasant but that’s about all I can say for it. Nothing to write home about. Then I had the waffles with quail. OK, seriously, this dish absolutely lacked the syrup. Any kind of syrup for both waffles and quail would have made this dish absolutely to die for, but instead it was dry and a bit odd. Like, it was hard to imagine eating that quail with these waffles, like there was nothing (like syrup) to tie them together.
I was grateful for the waffle though, because I also got the foie gras. Well. How does one spoil foie gras? It tasted like basically any cow liver would taste. Nothing magical about it… nothing that’s worth killing the poor goose for! I’m sorry, goose. It was served, strangely, with pickled carrots that added nothing to the dish — and in themselves were just sour and weird. Again. Weird just keeps coming to mind when I’m thinking about that meal. And then there was a tiny (like a silver dollar pancake sized) tortilla that came with that dish, too. What was it for? No clue. The sauce tasted like it belonged somewhere else.
Everything was slow too — they apologized for it. I don’t mind the speed, normally, as long as the food is worth waiting for. But it was just not.
I wish I’d gone to The Shed…

Too bad. We have been to Luminaria for dinner a few times throughout the last few years, and even enjoyed a very nice mother’s day brunch there earlier this year. Atmosphere was always nice, the food very good, and service attentive.
So last Saturday we thought we’d try going for breakfast. It was a beautiful day and we decided to sit outside on the nice-​looking patio. Our party of 4 was seated promptly by the hostess, given menus and assured that our waiter would be with us shortly.
We perused the menu & made our choices and waited for any kind of attention from the wait staff. And waited. After 10 minutes, we still hadn’t been acknowledged or given water, never mind asked for our (drink) orders. We watched as approximately 4 other parties were seated. As we were in a bit of a hurry, my husband walked back to the hostess stand after 15 minutes of this, and the hostess assured him that she would send our waitress over right away. Meanwhile, a 5^th party was seated, and when they were attended to by a waitress right away after sitting down, while we were still sitting there completely ignored after 20 minutes, we decided to walk out. Too bad, as we are locals and won’t be returning, and certainly won’t be recommending Luminaria to visiting friends and acquaintances.

Luminaria is inside the Inn at Loretto. The restaurant is done with a southwest décor. Lighting is complemented by candles on the walls. The restaurant is very conversation friendly. Seating choices are booths or tables. Outdoor dining is available on a shaded patio. We arrived a few minutes before our reservation time and were seated immediately. We found the seating material used in the booth to be very comfortable. Table service was prompt and friendly. Jeannie our server provided follow up though out the meal.
My choice was the Chimayo Chile-​Honey Glazed Salmon with Cilantro Pesto, Lavender Corn Pudding, Slow Braised Onion and Tomato Jam. The fish was cooked medium with a nice crust. The glaze added a wonderful sweet peppery flavor. The corn pudding was smooth and tasty.
My wife ordered the New York Strip Asado cooked with cipollini onion, green garlic and thyme potatoes in a pinot noir sauce. The steak was prepared well done as ordered. The pinot noir sauce added outstanding rich flavor to the steak. The potatoes were crisp outside and tender inside

Had a terrible lunch experience at this restaurant. Service was very poor (our waiter disappeared & both of our orders came out wrong initially) but what really irked me was the quality of the dishes. My mom ordered the croissant BLT with tortilla soup & I ordered the spinach salad. Both were expensive, and the presentation and overall quality of the food was just… Cheap. Salad was plain piled spinach with pine nuts and some bright orange shaved cheddar cheese, & the BLT was dry as a bone with some over-​cooked bacon and a wilting leaf of iceberg lettuce. Just a sad meal overall, which ended up costing us over $ 50 (we each had one drink). Don’t waste your money here. The food is definitely not worth it.

The wait staff here is incredible. I showed up 20 minutes past closing and they still helped me with my carry out order. The food was great particularly the sea bass with risotto.

Had a business meal there with a fairly large group — as a result we had a limited menu of selections. Here’s what I had:
1) Bone Marrow — it was reasonably well done, although for the amount of marrow on the plate the lone crostini wasn’t really enough. Definitely wasn’t appealing to several members of our group who didn’t even touch it, but for first course we weren’t even given an option for something different.
2) Chilled Asparagus and Endive Salad — As a whole this was pretty terrible — it tasted of bitter stacked upon bitter — half the plate was a huge chunk of charred endive sitting on a bed of shredded red cabbage. There was a single raspberry and blackberry, and it was dressed with a fruity vinaigrette, but neither were anywhere near sweet enough to even come close to balancing the bitterness. There were a couple bits of bacon and two pieces of asparagus that were actually tasty, but which felt like they belonged on an entirely different plate. I absolutely do not understand the thought process behind this mess of a dish.
3) Prime New York Strip Steak w/​Roasted Potatoes — This was a travesty and the main driver for my 2-​star rating. For starters, I ordered mine med-​rare and got med-​well — ruining what should have been an amazing piece of prime meat. If we weren’t in a group I would have absolutely sent this back, which is something I very rarely do. The steak was woefully underseasoned, to the extent that I actually had to add salt from the table shaker. There was a large chunk of gristle still attached, and not all of the fat had rendered so I found myself having to separate the edible from inedible parts. This is not what anybody should accept or expect from a «prime» steak served as part of a $ 65 dinner.
4) Mango Terrine with Basil Ice Cream — The terrine itself was good but not great — it was very one-​note and needed something extra. The basil ice cream on the side was clearly supposed to be that «extra» bit, but it simply wasn’t very good. I enjoy a bit of herbiness in desserts if done right, but this was bitter with an unpleasant aftertaste, making it not really enjoyable to eat.
The other entrees were a lamb T-​bone that was so tough everybody who ordered it noted how hard it was to cut through even with a steak knife and a Chilean sea bass over risotto, where both fish and rice were overcooked — the risotto itself had a «gloopy» texture.
The service was lacking as well — the waiter passed over one member at our table’s drink order, and when I asked if they had any ciders he said no but then mentioned he could bring me a non-​alcoholic beer (???) instead. I ended up getting a coffee with dinner, asked the maitre’d for sugar, and he finally brought it a half hour later.
At the price they charged this was pretty disappointing and not what I expected. They were clearly using quality ingredients, but just not cooking, seasoning, or balancing them properly. I would not go back, and would not recommend this place for large groups.

Had a couple of meals here during a busy stay at the hotel. The service was wonderful, the food was good but could use some small improvements. Here is what we had:
Breakfast:
Fruit Crepes — really yummy and beautiful presentation. My daughter loved them.
Lox and Bagel Plate — fresh and delicious, my husband enjoyed the green chile cream cheese too. My daughter loved the mound of capers.
Eggs Benedict — I should have ordered this without the ham as I’m not a huge ham lover. I could imagine someone who loves him being really delighted it was very flavorful so it made it overpowering for me. My eggs were cooked too much when they first came out but the gracious server took them back and returned with a new and perfectly poached plate.
Lunch:
I have lunch with quite a few people. Two of us ordered the burger medium rare and both felt it was overcooked. Other people ordered a Caesar salad with chicken and were very pleased. My daughter was not keen on the toasted PB&J. She wants me to add that there was too much peanut butter. The dessert was the highlight for me. We have the orange chocolate cake and it was really fabulous in fact everything on the plate was really great. Again the service made up for any shortcomings in food preparation. I almost forgot, I also had the carrot, chorizo soup which was quite good!

The good news: The waitstaff, although a bit understaffed (the waiter also serves as the bartender), was friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about the menu. The restaurant’s décor is beautiful — Southwestern, hand plastered walls, and, on a wintry night, with seating next to a large kiva fireplace, romantic. If you come during the summer, the outdoor patio looked like a winner. The tables and seating aren’t crowded together so you’re not sitting elbow to elbow with your neighbor. The service was never rushed (but never particularly fast) which was just right for a leisurely dinner. The wine list was fairly extensive with many wine by the glass options. The complimentary chocolate truffles at the end of the meal melted in our mouths.
The bad news: while the food was well presented and well prepared it somehow lacked flavor. The ingredients were all first rate but the food was a bit soulless. Three types of house bread (chili pumpkin seed biscotti, blue corn muffin, and farm bread) were a bit dry although the butter was soft and delicious. The roasted beef marrow appetizer was flavorful but underseasoned. The Diver Sea Scallops and the Sous Vide Kurobuta Pork were good but not great. The scallops were tender and the pork moist and firm but both were underseasoned and were indistinguishable from any other decent restaurant. On the bright side –The orange chocolate cake was first rate with soft, creamy chocolate mousse and slightly tart blood orange syrup. All in all, however, for the price I expected better in terms of enjoying more memorable food.

I had a great night here with some co-​workers and friends. The service was great, the waiter was very attentive.
My only issue was how salty the food was. I ordered the flank steak and it was really delicious but very salty. By the middle of dinner I couldn’t have anymore because it was so salty. If the seasoning got a recheck this dining experience could be one of the greats.

Beautiful place! We visited Luminaria during breakfast, brunch and dinner service. Excellent service provided by restaurant servers Carlos (breakfast) and Juan (dinner). From the moment I arrived on all occasions, we were greeted by attentive hostesses, such as Yadira. We also appreciated the attentive and interactive food runners, such as Julian. We will return!

Ate here twice on a recent trip to Santa Fe. Fresh local ingredients, and sous vide meats… What’s not to like?
The service was great, and everything was prepared really well… 4 stars, because, while I did not really think the food was exceptional, I could tell that it was very well prepared, and blame myself for not liking beans, corn and yogurt very much…
Also, considered dropping to 3 stars because the Salmon Tar Tar I had, was seared Salmon, but again… I felt the food was very well prepared, but just wasn’t made for my flavor profile. Or was trying to show me new things…

Oh boy, this was our second visit to this dining establishment. Our first visit was really great but it was over one year ago. This experience was really bad. We had a reservation and when we walked in beside the fact that it took almost 5 minutes to be recognized the hostess acted as if we were disturbing her. She then took us to a table in the direct sun. This would never work since sundown was an hour and a half away. When we asked for shady seating she was so very rude. Additionally and disturbingly she also was wearing see through tights that showed her thong unders, red by the way.
Wow … OK, now to the food service. Our waitress was nice enough but she did not know the menu. Her descriptions of the food were rehearsed and when questioned about ingredients she had no answers… I can’t tell if this was because of her command of the English language or her lack of professionalism. She also did not know what a Champagne cocktail was… huh?
By the way, by now the hostess has seated two other couples in the sunny seats. They are wearing sunglasses and holding their hands up over their faces to block the sun. The three tables next to us in the shade are vacant and never fill the entire time we are there.
Out comes the food we ordered. The Pork Belly serving was enormous. Four large squares. Way too much for one appetizer. It would have been nice if we had known that at the time we ordered because I had the Apple Soup. delicious…but might have passed and split the Pork with my husband. The steaks we had were not seasoned at all. Plopped on the plate simply seared. Served with gross mushrooms and soggy potatoes in a way too floury sauce. A five year old can cook meat like this … and it was tough, dry and tasteless. The dessert of maple cream brulee was amazingly good. We decided that it was likely made off premises given the differential between the meal and the dessert.
I still can’t get the imageof the hostess wandering around stomach hanging out of her shirt talking to all the staff and not recognizing customers with respect. What a shame.