Mille — Restaurant in Santa Fe

I recently had opportunity to enjoy lunch at the new Mille restaurant in Santa Fe. As they were previously the Fleur de Lys in Los Alamos, I have enjoyed some of their fantastic crapes and pastries in the past, also fantabulous cakes, but had not yet enjoyed any lunch fare. So, when they opened the Mille I made a point to stop by for lunch while in Santa Fe recently. I had the Croque Monsieur. It was wonderful, and, being uneducated on French cuisine, I can only best describe it as a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on steroids. After I had enjoyed it, I found that it could also be ordered “Santa Fean” with green chili. Being a native New Mexican, I can see that as an enjoyable alternative on this great sandwich. I was however second guessing my choice as I noticed at the table to my left a diner was enjoying the Cassoulet, which consists of a duck leg, sausage, pork belly and beans. Mmm, looked and smelled extraordinary. Will be going to Santa Fe soon, making a special trip if necessary, to enjoy this dish as I was informed that it is a seasonal item. On this occasion I happened to have a couple grandsons in tow of which they enjoyed the Monte Cristo and of which I was able to snatch a taste prior to their devouring them. I don’t know how to best describe it other than French toast with ham and turkey topped with powdered sugar and raspberry jam. Wonderful! As I stated prior, I am a native New Mexican, I am not a connoisseur of fine French foods. I do consider myself, however, a connoisseur of great food and everything I have enjoyed at the Mille, and their previous establishment, has been phenomenal. And speaking of phenomenal, if you are needing a cake or desert for a special occasion or because today you’re feeling special, try one of their made to order delicacies. I have had the Chocolate and Red Fruit cake and the Lemon Cake. Extraordinary. Got the chocolate and fruit cake for my wife for her birthday, out of this world. Made me extra brownie points!! Gonna have to try the Apple Carmel Crumble Pie next. As they are created fresh you do have to preorder. In conversing with the owner it is my understanding that he bakes all the pastries, cakes, pies, and various breads they serve. I’m really sad that I did not get to enjoy the Fleur de Lys more while they were in Los Alamos but I hope the Mille will be in Santa Fe for a long time to come and I will be able to more readily frequent them there. Unless, of course, they were to move back to LA. PS I have always found the staff to be friendly, courteous...

I l8ve Authentic French cuisine. I have visited France and its regions over 19 times si I was very excited to try this restaurant in Santa Fe NM. I went on Sunday and I was not sure to pick a creoe or another dish. When I walked in this restaurant for my first time I was trying to familiarize with how it works so let me tell you how it was; you have to make the line to order and pay (that is not the bad part) then they give you a number and you need to find a table to sit. Restaurant is small and I did not see any empty table except one table against tge wall with a bench in the other side. So basically you are facing rhe wall. I felt I was back in school in "time out" LOL. I said to myself there is no way I am paying to be sitting literally against the wall. So Odd never in my life have seen it. So I went to hunt an empty table or someone leaving. When I finally got a very small round table I was happy I thought now the good part begins! But it did not. The waiter came and served the dessert first: the sweet crepe and told me to eat it first because the ice cream will melt. Then my cappuccino came as second when I wanted at the end of my meal. The most disappointing was the main dish: I ordered the Confit Cannard a classic French dish, It was half of a plate filled with the salad you get in a bag at tge grocery store and a quarter leg of CHICKEN not Duck. I know it because my husband ordered Chicken and it tasted the same. Very disappointing. Not only terrible service; odd system but they give you chicken instead of duck. Overrated restaurant. I think if you don't know what a true French dish tastes you will be dissatisfied. 8/14 in response to the owner. Ser attached picture of my dish. This was not definitely duck, it was plain chicken, the color is brownish outside because of the cooking but the meat was not brown and it tasted as plain chicken. The dish looks nice but it was not as described...

In Santa Fe, where the sun bleeds gold over adobe, there lies Mille French, a sanctuary of taste, a beacon of joie de vivre. We entered, drawn by whispers of its charm, and sat beneath soft light, the air thick with the scent of butter and promise. The berries and cream crêpe arrived first—a delicate fold, thin as a lover’s whisper, cradling ripe berries that burst like summer’s heart, their sweetness tempered by a cloud of cream, pure and unyielding. Each bite was a dance, a fleeting waltz of fruit and finesse.

The quiche Florentine followed, its crust a brittle hymn to patience, golden and crisp, guarding a heart of spinach and cheese, soft as a sigh. It was not mere food but a memory of French mornings, of markets alive with green and gold. The Monte Cristo sandwich, oh, it was a triumph—ham and cheese pressed between bread, dusted with sugar, a paradox of savory and sweet, crisp yet tender, like a poet’s duel won at dawn.

The cortado, small and fierce, cut through the richness with its bitter kiss, a spark of espresso tempered by milk’s embrace. The black tea, dark and warm, was a quiet companion, steeping the moment in calm.

Mille French is no mere restaurant; it is a canvas where flavors paint joy. The service was a quiet ballet, attentive yet unobtrusive, each smile a nod to care. Five stars, not for perfection, but for truth—for delivering a morning that lingered like a song. We left sated, hearts full, vowing to return....