Escondido Santa Fe — Restaurant in Santa Fe

Category: Fine Food. We followed the local buzz to this fresh, new, purpose-built, chef-driven, upscale-casual New Mexican bistro celebrating its one year anniversary. The driver, Chef Fernando Ruiz, a 3-time Food Network Champion, has crafted an environment and a menu that have immediately made it one of our new local faves. The main dining room is both spacious and comfortable, with well-spaced heavy rustic wooden tables and original art, including a colorful and festive painting of the chef and friends. The bar, which runs the length of the back wall of the dining room, faces glowing-red-backlit shelves of bottles. For al fresco dining, there’s street-level outdoor seating with Edison bulb strings and built-in heaters for cooler weather. Glass garage doors along the outdoor seating area open to make the main dining room both indoor and outdoor, or only indoor, as the weather demands. For elevated outdoor dining (literally), there’s a shaded rooftop with Edison bulb strings. We were surprised to see that all of the wines were from Mexico, but we were not surprised that they tasted good because we enjoyed them in Cabo years ago. We tried the Malbec and Cab, both of which were $60 or less (our sweet spot). Both had good structure, tannins, and taste. We chose the Malbec, mostly because it was less expensive. We aren’t tequila drinkers, but if we were, the restaurant’s LONG list of Agave Spirits could keep us happy for a LONG time. My friend ordered a Negroni, which came with a cap to contain the smoke, which wafted across the table when the cap was lifted. Another friend ordered a beautiful Prickly Pear Margarita with Black Salt. While enjoying our cocktails and wine, we chose the delicious Ceviche Trio and House Guac from an interesting list of starters and ceviches. I wished we had ordered a double order of the Trio because it went fast with three people devouring it. Next we chose from the wide selection of mix-and-match tacos (four per order, which can be two and two). We ordered three orders of tacos for 3 people, with a total of 4 different tacos. More than enough food, and they were both beautiful and delicious. Next time we’ll try the Specialty Tacos, which sounded great but don’t mix and match. The menu also offers a selection of Northern New Mexico-influenced “Dinner Mains”, one of which, the Chile en Nogada (roasted poblano pepper stuffed with ground pork and veal with walnut cream sauce), beat Bobby Flay. Service was excellent. This place may be more popular with locals because it is not in the tourist areas, but there is plenty of parking and visitors should certainly make the short trip. Suggestion: add moveable heaters to the rooftop, to extend its useable nights. YouTube’s...

Social commentary 1st. As a local, the gentrification of Santa Fe is on full display. That being said, I am EXTREMELY happy for Chef Ruiz and his staff predominately people of color, young, absolutely professional, efficient, friendly, attentive, and thorough. TEN STARS!!! I'll admit, I don't eat out much, working class, but it was my Sister's belated Birthday meal and she raves about this place. The guac and chips were spectacular. She had the short rib and wouldn't share but SHE loved it. I did get to try the blue corn polenta? is the only way i could describe it and it was yummy. I came for the mole' and and order of tacos al pastor to go. the mole' chicken enchiladas con arroz y frijoles were delicious. I could literally eat spoonful's or Fernando's mole. The tortillas were good and the pollo was cooked perfect as were the arroz y frijoles. I took my Dad shrimp tacos and my Mom the corn bisque, which I tried as well. That bisque is something else, wow! My Dad love the tacos and my tacos al pastor I has as a late night snack. My favorite al pastors in town are Fusion Tacos and the Pupuseria Y Lonchera La Providencia truck by the Rodeo grounds. Chef Ruiz's are up there, and they are different in that they the meat is really really tender and the "sauce" they are in is thicker. This al pastor is subjectively next level. I always feel weird about reviews as like art, food tastes are subjective, imho. His salsas though flavorful and tasty cater to his cliental and pack no heat, understandable so. No doubt if called to, he definitely bring the heat. Speaking of subjectivity, I wasn't into the jalapeno poppers, probably cuz I don' eat them in general much. Lastly, the food came fast and at 5:30 we had no problem getting in with no reservation but your options will be at the bar or on the patio with Agua Fria traffic bustling by which in my opinion is combated by chill music, not too loud, great company, superior food, and again, Chef Ruiz's staff, on point and bring a certain at ease joyful vibe to your dining...

I recently visited Escondido Santa Fe for my boyfriend's birthday and, unfortunately, left quite disappointed. When making our reservation, I mentioned that it was a special occasion. I even reminded the staff when we were seated, but there was no recognition or acknowledgment of the occasion at all.

Our experience started off poorly when we were offered a table right next to the front door by the hostess stand. With the constant flow of people coming in and out, the space was cramped and uncomfortable. Thankfully, the weather was nice, and we were able to move to the patio, but the spatial planning of the entryway needs serious reconsideration.

The waitstaff seemed overwhelmed and disorganized. We ordered drinks and the shrimp ceviche to start. While the beer selection was decent, and I enjoyed my margarita, the ceviche was disappointing. It came in an unnecessarily large bowl with a tiny amount of shrimp and about 12 stale chips. The shrimp itself was well-prepared but underwhelming overall.

Our main dishes took about an hour to arrive, which was quite frustrating considering neighboring tables were not waiting long at all. We ordered the Mahi Mahi and Short Rib based on our server’s recommendation. The Mahi Mahi was nearly inedible due to excessive salt, though the Short Rib was tasty, albeit a small portion. When we mentioned the salt issue, the only response was that the cooks would be informed—no offer to rectify the situation.

Toward the end of our meal, we overheard another server mentioning that one of the dishes was the one the Chef had beaten Bobby Flay with on the Food Network. It’s baffling why this wasn’t highlighted on the menu or shared with us when we asked for recommendations.

Overall, I left feeling let down, especially since Santa Fe already has so many excellent Mexican and New Mexican restaurants. I was hoping for something a bit different and special for my boyfriend’s birthday, but Escondido didn’t deliver. I’m not planning on returning unless I see significant improvements based on...