In Santa Fe--La Boca? El Farol? Galisteo Bistro? Restaurant Martin?

[k_marie]

Six of us will be in Santa Fe during the Christmas holidays, not all hounds and not all willing to dine in the more expensive places in town. We'll do most breakfasts and some other meals "at home" and I'll search the board for locals' f avorites for New Mexican/Mexican fare.

I'd like to identify a few places for lunch or dinner--walkable from the plaza, mid-price, with enough variety to appeal to our different palates. Could you offer some advice, please?

I've not had success finding working websites for El Farol and Galisteo Bistro (not the Inn) so I'm not certain about the variety of their offerings and the prices.. Any comments on them? Has La Boca been getting mixed reviews lately? Restaurant Martin seems to offer fresh, local, and organic products with Southwestern and Asian influences--sounds good. How is it?

Oh, and the Cafe at the Georgia O'Keeffe museum--would you recommend it? Our schedule of activities is not at all firm at this point. Should we plan our visit there to include a meal?

Thanks for your help!

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La Boca
72 West Marcy Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501

El Farol
808 Canyon Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87501

[fyfas]

Restaurant Martin is excellent. Very busy at all meals, all days so reservations are a must. Note though that it is not specifically "southwestern". It should be considered if you are thinking about the top tier Santa Fe restaurants (SantaCafe/Ristra/Coyote Cafe/Geronimo/Amavi etc). Prices are deliberately slightly below those at those previously mentioned; "nothing more than $30" being the premise.

To see menus etc here's a link: http://www.restaurantmartinsantafe.com

Cafe at the O'Keeffe is a lunch favorite after viewing an exhibit. It's independent of the museum and located next door. Food is good/competent if a bit pricey. The Plaza (good diner type food) is 2 blocks away .

[sandiasingh]

The Galisteo Bistro does not have a website up yet, but we had brunch there yesterday. Outstanding food and service and terrific wine list. It has an open kitchen so you can watch the chefs at work. They are only open for dinner and Sunday brunch--no lunch service. We had a crab omelette and huevos flamenca--perfection. Also on the menu were a couple of seafood pastas, a sausage dish, and several other omelettes.

[askrula]

El Farol is noisy and crowded and the food is not very good. Fun place to get loaded and dance.La Boca, is noisy and crowded too but the food is amazing.The attention to detail is truly amazing. I would skip the O'Keefe cafe . Its great in the summer when you can sit outside but the interior is dull and the food quite expensive. Try Milagro 139 on San Fransisco, its new, its hip and they have a great bar scene.They do Tapas and full portions so you have lots of options. There is a great sushi restaurant called Shoku down the block from the O'keefe if you get tired of red and green chile.

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El Farol
5534 E Thomas Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85018

Okeefe Cafe
, Santa Fe, NM 87501

Milagro 139
139 W San Francisco St, Santa Fe, NM 87501