Secreto Bar And Lounge

My first time here was to meet friends. I found a seat in the bar and awaited them. I also waited for the server. My friends got there first. Once we got the server’s attention, the food, drinks and service were good. It was a busy time, so I forgave the initial poor service. When I came a second time, I met another friend there — and it wasn’t so busy. My friend got there about 5 minutes before I did and had not been acknowledged by the staff. I watched the two employees talking to one another behind the bar, noticed that all the tables in the place had empty glasses and we walked out unserved. The two employees remained engrossed in conversation with one another. You’d think with all the competition within a block or two that the Secreto would be better managed. Too bad that is not the case.

Would give zero stars if possible. Bar manager is unprofessional. The bar manager served us and at the end of the night asked us for a credit card, which we had already given to him. He was condescending and rude, and swore he did not have our card. We proceeded to pay visa vie a new card.
The next day the card was returned it turns out he gave someone else our credit card. (Ridiculous as it was a business card, we had to freeze our account, but why should this guy care about our business when he clearly doesn’t care about the one he is managing)
There was no apology and when confronted about the situation the next evening, he ejected us from the bar.
As life long business owners and residents of New York City, I can honestly say I have never been to a worse bar. It is disgusting how the bar manager embarrassed himself, us and the hotel staff; screaming at us and chasing us out of the bar as he asked the lobby staff to call the police.
Have you ever heard of customer service, I hope you understand that you are paid by your customers.
Not exactly sure if he was trying scare us (a group of six, four of us military officers/​veterans and one a police detective).
The hotel staff did not call the police, thank you for not further embarrassing us and the bar manager whom was being disorderly.
Stay away from this establishment.
We are still waiting for an apology now for two incidents.

Bartender Chris managed to serve us 1 drink in 40 minutes with exactly 3 other patrons in the bar. Our ice melted in our empty glasses and stood for a solid 25 minutes as he worked at impressing the college girls asking for directions to The Shed. They were far smarter than us, as we waited for no good reason (the drinks were nothing special, other than the price). Lesson learned. They need better quality control.

I was so excited to finally try this bar. My friend and I wanted a Margarita and some guacamole. They don’t serve any food till 5. They supposedly serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Maybe they stop food service between meals. We needed food so they said go to El Charro at Inn of Governors. We were headed there anyway as it is our go to bar. Next year El Secreto your on top of the list

One word — dark. Damn, it’s dark in here. The service is spotty. My waitress was on her last day of employment, and it sure did show. Pretty much everyone has an «it’s not my job» attitude.
So, why four stars? The drinks are delicious. If it weren’t for the crappy attitudes, this place would be a five.

Beautiful ambience, great service! Best Margarita I had in Santa Fe! The sage margarita is AMAZING!!! Love this place!

Great little cocktail bar.
I had the Irish coffee and buttered rum.
The bartender was very talented.
Thanks

Visiting from LA over the holidays. Drink was great. Unfortunately I only had one because I was asked to leave because my sister and the bar manager had a falling out. Awkward.
Guess this place lets personal experience influence business decisions.
Unprofessional.
Too bad.

Horrible. We chose to stay at the Hotel St. Francis because of this in house cocktail lounge. We got stuck in traffic and didn’t get to the hotel until 8pm. Found out the in house restaurant was closed and asked the front desk about the bar that we’ve heard so much about… The front desk tells us not to worry and that the cocktail lounge doesn’t close until 11pm. We were ecstatic. We found dinner and got back to Secreto at 9:50pm… Asked for a drink and the bartender says she’s closed for the night. I went back to the front desk to make sure I heard her correctly that Secreto was opened until 11pm, she said yes. I went back to the bartender and she told me well «last call is 11pm» but we can close whenever. What?! So unprofessional. The only reason we booked at this hotel was because of Secreto, what a shame that they are so unprofessional.

Stopped in for a hot toddy and enjoyed an Irish Coffee and Hot Buttered Rum. The drinks were fantastic, hit the spot for a warm classic drink. It was perfect after a walk chilly outdoors to warm up our insides. The Hot Buttered Rum had a beautiful creamy spicy and smooth finish. Took off a star because I felt service was a bit lacking, for a mellow evening with few patrons at the bar, we unexpectedly had to wait a while to get our check.

Excellent vibe, with a choice of outdoor tables in a picturesque setting or indoors in a well appointed bar.
The specialty «sage margarita» has a hint of smokiness but not too much. (Had a margarita in San Francisco that was made with smoky mescal — and it was waaaay to smokey to drink.)

So I mainly go for the smoked sage margarita, because I can’t find it anywhere else and I definitely can’t replicate it at home. Yes, you’re paying New York prices. Yes, while it’s dark and cool looking inside, it’s often crowded and there isn’t a lot of seating, and yes, the service can be slow. But the cocktails are unerringly creative and good, the bartenders and waitresses are consistently polite and professional, and once you do snag a seat, you don’t feel like leaving for a solid few hours. If you’re looking for a place to hunker down after a day of gallery viewing or Santa Fe shopping, this is a very safe bet.

This is for the bar: friendly bartenders, expertly crafted historic cocktails, $ 7 cocktail happy hour. Get the smoked sage margarita and the spicy secreto. Sit at the bar. Make new friends.

Secreto is unquestionably the best cocktail bar in Santa Fe. I encourage you to visit several nights and work your way through the cocktail menu, including any concoctions you may doubt. Stylish Santa Fe inspired décor, first class bartenders, fresh ingredients and tasty bites that pair well with the stellar libations.

HOLY AMAZING MARGARITAS! Specifically the smoked, salty one. The cucumber martini was a delightful version of spa water. This place gets packed and the bartenders know how to mix up and move out their product. Drinks are about $ 10 a pop, nothing too pricy for the swanky style place it is. The place gets packed and overflows into the patio and in front of the hotel.

We sat outside on the porch where we could watch the passers by. The waitress was busy but as attentive as she could be. I got my drink in a reasonable amount of time.
The Aguave Way martini was wonderful. It wasn’t sweet and full of flavor. Easy to drink and well poured.

Wonderful bar with amazing bartenders. Relaxing atmosphere. The cocktails are delicious.
If you are hungry…
The Green Chile Cheeseburger is beyond yummy! Messy and cooked to perfection. They also have delicious truffle fries.

We were here on a Friday night during happy hour and had a great experience.
I swear we had 2 waitresses as both of them regularly approached our table and we had quick enough service to fit in 4 rounds each in the 70 min we were there.
(During happy hour, the drinks were 7 bucks, so yea– I;m goin drink. No way I’m paying 10 plus bucks for the drinks,)
The bar was packed-​but the sound level was still quiet. enough to talk
I had the smoked sage Margarita which was tasty and really different.
I had the «secreto «margarita– — I found the «spice» annoying and there was not enough «cachaca» flavor for me.
It just tasted like a cucumber margarita with unbearable hot stuff on rim.
I finished with the Limoncello. In hindsight though this was a bad choice. It’s more of a sip after dinner drink and we didn’t eat and so I think I should have chosen more like a «cocktail» rather than a «after drink warmer».
I would totally go back and tell all my friends to too.
I skimmed the reviews here before writing mine, and I definitely didn’t see the «poor service and watered down drinks» others commented on.

Went to Secreto Bar w clients– the bartender there is really the shining star as he has basically created a wonderful list of specialty cocktails. It got busy the minute it opened. I got a local Monks Ale Beer then tried the Agave Way which is a margarita. We shared salsa and guac. And also had a green chili burger which was huge and I could barely eat half! All great though. The service could have been a little better but great experience!

The only reason for my visit yesterday was this item on the dinner menu (copy-​paste):
Poutine (winner of Santa Fe’s top 10 dishes, Local Flavor Magazine)
French fried potatoes, green chile braised short ribs, mozzarella curd, truffle bone marrow pan gravy.
As a native Québécois often feeling homesick, I have this bad habit of searching Unilocal for poutine in every single city I go to. In case you’re not familiar with poutine (not the Russian dude), it’s a French-​Canadian dish that consists at its core of 3 main ingredients: French Fries, Cheddar Cheese curds, and gravy. Simple idea: the hot thick gravy makes the salty curds melt on the fries, which in turn creates an explosion of salt and fat in your mouth.
Now, this isn’t fancy enough for gastropubs in the US who now often incorporate the dish on their menu (wrongly, as an appetizer — this thing is 3000 calories easily). Their version doesn’t include cheddar curds (actually hard to time, it’s not like Wisconsin curds) which contribute the salty flavor, but the use of fresh mozzarella at least provides a cheese that’s soft enough to melt when the gravy is added. The gravy was considerably saltier, so that compensated. And the braised short ribs added a modern twist that meshed well.
My snobby poutine evaluation: as far as «fancy» poutines go, this was a slam dunk. If it were in DC, where I live, I’d have it as often as my cardiologist would allow. Give it a shot.
Tip: $ 5 draft beers at happy hour + $ 12 poutine is a full reasonably priced dinner!