El Farol

My wife were in Santa Fe for our honeymoon a couple of weeks ago. On our first night in Santa Fe, we went to El Farol for dinner. It started off on a bad note because the hostess seemed rather distracted and was more interested in chit chatting with her co-workers than seating her guests. We orders 2 tapas - 1 was chorizio and the other was pork. The pork was actually pretty good but the chorizio was so leathery that calling it thus would be an insult to any self respecting leather. I ordered a shrimp dish for dinner which was oily and pretty average. The prime rib my wife ordered was probably the worst steak I have ever tasted. She asked for it to be cooked medium but when it finally showed up 40 minutes later, the outside looked like it was well done while the inside was medium rare. The mashed potatoes that came with it tasted more like nasty porridge with mustard than anything made out of potatoes. $80 later, we left completely dis-satisfied. The ambiance of the place is something to look forward to, what with the bullet holes from a Billy the Kid shootout. But I would not recommend it for any meal for the price quality ratio it provides.

My husband and I ended up in Santa Fe to get a break from the Texas heat and celebrate our 25th anniversary. We found out about El Farol from a chef that taught our cooking class in Santa Fe and was also recommended by other "foodies" in our class. Dinner there that night was fabulous, Nathan was our server and such a help with New Mexico wines as well as menu selections. Fabulous dining experience.

Although we have lived in New Mexico for years and El Farol is legendary, we had never eaten there before. Thank goodness we finally did. We tried the $15 lunch special and I don't think there is a better value in Santa Fe. We also ordered one of the famous tapas for which El Farol is best known. I was in heaven over the ceviche tapa, seafood marinated in citrus juice and served in a lightly sweetened tomato juice. The paella was wonderful, the chicken enchiladas, which are our acid test for restaurants featuring New Mexican food, were like homemade but better and we got red and green. The generous glasses of Spanish wine were delicious and went perfectly with the meal. The service was attentive and Santa Fe friendly and casual, which might throw some visitors not used to the Land of Manana informal atmosphere. The building is traditional New Mexican, adobe with beamed ceilings. It's not that big a deal for us as we're long-time residents but I'm sure visitors will love its charm. It was too cool and windy to sit out on the front porch but we would have if the weather had been better. And though we were there on Saturday and there was no music, blues musician Alex Maryol performs there weekly and he's excellent. We loved El Farol and will be back soon.