La Fogata Grill — Restaurant in Santa Fe

La Fogata Grill – A Hidden Gem with Santa Fe’s Best Margarita

My wife and I have spent the past few days on a mission here in Santa Fe: to find the best margarita in town. Like most visitors, we started our search around the Plaza—hopping between the trendy, popular spots that seem to be on everyone’s must-visit list. And while many of those margaritas were good (some very good), the crowds and the polished vibe just didn’t quite hit the mark for us.

Then, by pure accident, we stumbled across La Fogata Grill—a quiet, modest little restaurant tucked away in a downstairs shopping area just a few blocks from the Plaza. From the outside, it didn’t scream “best margarita in Santa Fe.” It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t packed with tourists. It wasn’t even on our radar.

But it should’ve been.

We walked in expecting a drink and maybe a snack. What we found was absolute gold.

The margaritas? Outstanding. Perfectly balanced, smooth, and made with care. The Old Fashioned? Over-the-top good. But what truly made this place shine was the people. Warm. Welcoming. Genuine. Every staff member greeted us like old friends, and their kindness wasn’t the polished politeness of a service job—it was heartfelt.

Julio, our bartender, deserves special mention. Friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about his craft—he helped seal the deal: our search for Santa Fe’s best margarita is officially over.

We’re headed back today to try the food and see if lightning strikes twice. If it does, I’ll be updating this post.

If you’re looking for real hospitality, an authentic local vibe, and the best margarita in town—skip the lines and discover La Fogata Grill. You’ll thank me later.

UPDATE: We went back to La Fogata Grill today—hoping lightning might strike twice. While the experience wasn’t quite as magical as our first visit, I’m happy to report that the margaritas were just as good as yesterday. Smooth, flavorful, and still the best we’ve found in Santa Fe.

We tried a few appetizers this time—good quality and reasonably priced. Nothing over the top, but solid and satisfying.

If you're looking to impress friends with a trendy, see-and-be-seen Santa Fe hotspot, this probably isn’t the place. But if you want a relaxed, welcoming spot just a short walk from the Plaza—where the drinks are excellent, the food is good, and the prices are fair—La Fogata Grill is worth a visit.

We’ll definitely be back. It’s earned a spot on our...

We had a quick stop here while wandering around the Plaza. Or at least we thought it was going to be quick. The sign was outside a shopping center and we didn't realize the maze we would have to walk through to find it. After several hallways and up and down stairs, we finally arrived.

By that point I just wanted to eat already! Unfortunately, the vast majority of their menu was breakfast items. They only had one page of salads and sandwiches (but I'm visiting Santa Fe, I don't want a salad!) and then half a page of New Mexican lunch options. Nothing really jumped out at me but the boyfriend got the empanadas, one chicken and one beef. They were flaky and crispy, just how they should be and the side of green chili was nice and hot.

Service was almost non existent. There was only one server but also only three occupied tables (at 11:30 am on a Sunday). We had to either flag her down or wait around for our drinks to get filled. When the girl came to pick up the empty plate, we told her we were all done. She said, "Okay" and walked back to the kitchen for a while. Silly us, thinking that by saying we're done, that should indicate we are ready for our check. Nope. After another 5 minutes and her bringing the check to the table behind us, we waived at her and asked for ours. Another trip back to the kitchen (she didn't take anything in or out of there) before she came out to the register to print our check.

The other reviews seemed to have had better luck with service so maybe it's hit or miss? The food aspect was good but the lack of service really took it down a...

Please do not waste your time here when visiting Santa Fe. We came on a Sunday night and I understand being short staffed but everything about this experience was horrible. We arrived and was greeted by a woman who asked us how many in our party and then just walked away. We were not a large party... it was only 5 of us. About 10 minutes later, a friendly gentleman walked up and again asked us how many in our party. He sat us immediately. We sat and waited for a server for more than 15 minutes and when she walked up, it was the same woman who walked away when we first arrived. She then took our drink orders and told us they were out of the first 3 things we tried to order. We settled on water and my husband had a beer. Then I tried to order guacamole and was told they were also out of that. We went ahead and ordered our entrees. About 15 minutes later, the friendly gentleman finally brought my husband's beer. When our food came out, mine was cold, my charro beans literally had 1 bean in the entire bowl, and there was so much grease on the Barbacoa that it felt like eating slime. My family said the salmon and shrimp ceviche were both good. The funny part was that the ceviche had ever single ingredient needed to make guacamole but they stated they couldn't make any. Overall, it was expensive ($100 for 3 adults and 2 kids with only 1 beer and all others were waters) and the service was terrible. I hope we just caught them on...