El Comal Restaurant — Restaurant in Santa Fe

This great little restaurant is an excellent find for real, authentic New Mexican food.

My family of four was quickly seated by the nice staff. We then received some thick, freshly fried tortillas and salsa - watch out it's spicy.

We ordered a Mexican burger, BLT with avocado, Stuffed sopaipilla with roast beef, Combo adovada (cheese enchilada, beef taco, carne adovada chalupa, beans, rice, posole and sopaipilla), and a side of menudo (tripe soup with green chile). Remember to look at the specials whiteboard. Next time I'll try the pork chops!

The Stuffed Sopaipilla, Combo Adovada and Menudo were appropriately spicy and that was a good thing. We were sweating! Although, I did find that the mole with my Combo was very bitter. Honestly, I'm not sure if that's correct or not. Otherwise, everything was excellent. My family enjoyed the food very much. In fact, everyone shared my side of sopaipillas and they loved it so much, we ordered some more!

The staff were very kind and the food came out at a reasonable time. The furnishings are simple diner-style tables and booths and they're pretty clean. A TV showing nature shows will keep the kids' attention.

This humble cafe is tucked amongst non-descript strip of stores, but don't let looks deceive you. It'll become a regular place for you. It was nearly full when we got there and it stayed that way until we left. Have a meal at El Comal and...

Wow. Let my wipe the sweat from my brow before we begin. Those jalapeños were hotter than hell.

I had the breakfast burrito plate. I figured it was a safe bet. Never know what you’re going to find at these small cafes.

Really good. Excellent. First thing I noticed was that the tortilla was home made. It had a better texture and flavor than anything store bought. Reminded me of when my grandmother would spend all afternoon making tortillas. How I miss that. Pleasantly surprised. The potatoes (the filler we love to hate) had a good flavor too. They weren’t just cooked and thrown in to take up space, you can tell there’s actually a recipe to them; and that recipe is NOT “choke them with season salt.” Texture was good. Eggs were perfect and not overdone.

I also ordered a side of grilled jalapeños, and they were obviously prepared by a master. Scorched on the outside, hot and moist in the middle. Super hot too. Was an excellent companion to my food, which arrived dressed with cheese but not smothered (yea I’m saying it: “wet” burritos ruin the flavor of the food and are messy).

For the first time, I’m lamenting leaving Santa Fe. I could have had breakfast here every day for the last four months.

Highly recommend. The dining room is a little old and could benefit from a face lift, but that doesn’t have anything to do with how wonderful...

Ok y'all, this place is the real deal. I was born and raised in NM, and have been coming to Santa Fe my whole life. I crave authentic, well-made New Mexican style food. This place is it. It's a small space in a small strip mall, off the beaten path. It's not going to show up on any tourist guides or the Food Network. And that's a shame, because you're missing out if you skip this place. It's the classic greasy spoon where all of the focus is on the food. If you like yuppie or hipster joints, then this place is not for you. It's going to be too spicy for you. But if you like authentic New Mexican food, you have to try it. Everything we tried was good. The red chile and the green chile are both exemplary. The red chile is thick, a deep red color, and full of flavor. In addition to the cliche beans and rice, you also get a helping of posole. The Adovada is as good as you will get anywhere, and the roast beef is also a great filler. If you are not accustomed to the heat level of real NM cooking, you'd better order your green or red on the side. But. Let me tell you about these sopapillas. They are THE BEST I have had ever in my life, and trust me I've had them in hundreds of places in my time. Oversized, combination of crispy on the outside and perfectly fluffy on the inside. They...