La Reina — Restaurant in Santa Fe

I had been excited to try this place for a while, but I had a very poor experience here. I went up to the bar, and a customer offered me his drink menu. I was looking through it, and one of the bartenders (who was very hospitable and nice) welcomed me and asked me what I was interested in trying. I told her one of the drinks from the menu I was holding, and she asked if I was a local. I said “trying to be” (as I was there househunting), and she said that the menu I had been given was for people who live in New Mexico only. The other bartender (the terribly rude and pretentious one) snapped at me and told me that I couldn’t order off that menu unless I lived there. This was unfolding quickly so I simply asked, to clarify, whether I could order off of it or not. The rude bartender looked at me coldly and snapped “no” and literally ripped the menu out of my hand and walked away. The nice bartender was embarrassed, I could tell, and she gave me what was apparently the menu for me and mixed me a nice margarita. I apologized to her for not understanding their locals system there, and she was apologetic. She tried to save my experience, but she couldn’t. I’m glad this place has a way to honor locals and give them a discount, but non-locals put in a position like I was should not be snapped at and treated as rudely as I was when there was an honest misunderstanding as to their menu rules. The unkind bartender was so haughty and rude that it was actually kind of astonishing. If she treated me like that, she’s clearly comfortable with treating anybody like that she deems inferior, and I won’t go back to a place that employs people like that. ...

We had heard, but never thought some of the best cocktails/mocktails and retro Santa Fe vibe could be experienced at a renovated motel (the El Rey Court) on the side of a busy road outside of the Santa Fe city center bubble. So one night, on a snap decision during our most recent winter holiday visit to Santa Fe, we decided to give it a try. We only wish we had hit this place sooner. We've been to plenty of other spots in the area, including 5-star hotel bars, and without a doubt the friendly bartender served up not only the best mezcal margarita in town, but the best mocktail for my wife. We might have been among the oldest enjoying and absorbing the scene, but never felt out of place among the relatively young and diverse crowd. We look forward to returning later in the year to catch the warm weather vibe version of...

First, I want to say that the hotel that La Reina is located in is absolutely beautiful, as others have noted. The vibe is a perfect combination of modern and old world southwestern. It is an inspiring place to be. We stayed at the hotel and loved it.

However, the experience at the bar was terrible. One of the bar tenders, greeted everyone she knew with joy and excitement, but when it was our turn to order, she was downright rude. She asked those she knew for their drink orders, even though we had waited in line. She asked for our IDs and then took them in the back without a word. And, she made one of the drinks incorrectly and overcharged us. While this is an inspiring place to be, I would not return. There are far better bars in Santa Fe, many of them with less expensive price tags and...