Santa Fe Airport Grill

Place is cool for a quick bite… I had the chicken sandwich and salad.

For being considered a burger place it was real sad. The burger is just a Sam’s Club frozen patties cooked up with no flavor what so ever. The green Chili on it had no flavor. The only thing good about the burger was the bun and the cheese. The fries were nice and crisp and were good. But for almost $ 11 I would drive into town for something better. Also the service was no good either. Not once did they come check on me to see if anything I needed. I had no silver ware as I did want to cut burger in half but couldn’t. Also the place could use some help. The table I sat at had more napkins under the legs to keep the table from moving then the napkin holder on the table.

It’s an airport Resteraunt people! The reviewer who compares it to anything else but other airport resteraunts is doing the readers a disservice.

Located in the historic Santa Fe Municipal Airport terminal building, the Santa Fe Airport Grill has surprisingly good food for an airport. This may partly be because they also have another business – catering for both the movie industry and private jet flights using the airport – so they need to hire cooks who can actually cook and show some creativity. (The owner’s spouse is head of the local filmworker’s union chapter). And maybe I’m biased because I eat there frequently.
As the only restaurant at the airport, it serves a mixed crowd. You never know who you’ll be dining near: Movie stars returning from their 2^nd home on the afternoon LA flight, more traditional passengers who’ve come to see the many sights of Santa Fe, airline and corporate pilots grabbing a quick bite between flights, TSA agents and other airport employees on break, and private («general aviation») pilots out for the «$ 100 Hamburger.»
Pilots and other airplane lovers should note that some indoor tables have a good view of the airport’s main runway and taxiway, and there is outside seating that has an even better view. (Caution: The American Eagle 40−50-seat jets pull up right in front of the restaurant’s outdoor seating area, which can make for some temporarily high noise levels.)
For breakfast, the breakfast burrito (eggs, sausage, cheese in a tortilla and smothered in red or green chile) is highly recommended (avail. w/​o the meat, BTW). They will also make you a yogurt parfait, bagel and cream cheese, omelet, or pretty much whatever you ask for if they have the ingredients.
For lunch, the green chile cheeseburger is great, as is the hot Southwest Turkey (sliced turkey breast, green chile, cheese, bacon). But you shouldn’t order a sandwich until you find out what the Special and Soup of the Day are. These are today-​only chef’s creations, and they are very often excellent (again, for an airport). Typically, it’s a traditional American, Italian or New Mexico dish. I’ve had salmon, several kinds of pasta with chicken, roast beef, and a lot more. If you don’t feel like having that much to eat, at least find out what the Soup of the Day is… the chicken-​based soups are some of my favorite dishes at the restaurant. In addition, there are several large salads available, with and without meat.
Pros:
Good coffee!
Outdoor seating avail.
Airport/​airplane views
Good wifi speed except when it’s really busy
Free parking on the north side of the building (side entrance for the biz)
Walking distance to most airport businesses
Cons:
Light on ambience… styrofoam plates, plastic cups and tableware
Tiny little menus encased in plastic stands
I believe the current hours are 7:30 to 4:00pm, perhaps 3:00pm in the off-​season.

I think the other reviewers had the daily special. It looked homemade but was brisket that day. We opted for the buffalo chicken and cordon bleu sandwiches. Both we made from store-​bought chicken tenders. Quality barely higher than mcnuggets. Potato salad was decent. If you want fresh, local food, stop at Maria’s or Horseman’s for to go order on the way to the airport.

I got this bottomless bowl of pork pozole from the Santa Fe Airport Grill at the Santa Fe Airport. It was great as far as airport food is concerned and pretty good as far as food in general is concerned. I wish LAX would take a tip from Santa Fe and use locally owned restaurants. It makes the food options infinitely better.

Reasonably comfortable place, but they close at 3pm, so if you’re waiting to catch the 4:05pm flight to Dallas you get kicked out a good 30 minutes before you really need to be, even longer if the flight is delayed. Then your options for a comfortable place to wait are slim, especially if the flight is full. That «holding pen» on the other side of the TSA checkpoint is crowded.