Radish & Rye — Restaurant in Santa Fe

Such great food, drinks and people here. Picky eater and I have been here countless times and honestly, that corn chowder is one of the best things we have ever scarfed down. We've tried a myriad of apps, drinks, mains and have had the butter cake here. All amazing. There's really nothing that can steer you wrong here.

I just have to share this story because I am so perplexed by it and does show the level of professionalism of the people at R&R. But the first time I was here, to my 8:30 was a table of three ladies who were seated before we arrived. After their mains, one of the ladies literally stood up from the table walked a foot away and started coughing all her non-masked (covidy) germs into the restaurant. Then decided to just throw up all over the floor and proceeded to just sit down at the table like everything was okay! (?!?!) Before the vomit, a manager had noticed the lady coughing all her (covidy) germs everywhere and walked over to see what was wrong (was she choking maybe?), and one of her friends who was still just sitting at the table, nonchalantly said "oh she just finished her meal" like it was completely normal, right before vomiting lady vomited. (??!!??!!)

It was surreal. HOW IS THIS OKAY, LADY?? The bathroom was not 20 feet away from her and she just threw up without even trying to take it somewhere more private. Picky eater said he's not seen something like this since the FIRST GRADE (and he has kids!). A patron at my 3:00 had to move to the other side of the table because ew, how gross, right? At a nice restaurant! And this table...just continued for at least another hour, if not more, ordering drinks like a grown mid-late 40s woman in their party did not just act like a 4 year old who vomited her still undigested food onto the floor! What the heck Santa Fe?!

Kudos to the staff. They all swooped in and cleaned the vomit up brilliantly (which the lady made no comment about??) and with such speed, and without comment. They are better people than I because after the lady threw up, picky eater and I cracked a lot of jokes about what we witnessed between us, and one of our people came by to light a candle at our table and just said "for ambiance." What. Comedic. Timing.

I...

My wife and I had heard great things about Radish & Rye and were anxious to try it, however, in the end we were disappointed as were our two friends who we joined for dinner. The parking is very accessible and shouldn’t be a problem if you go fairly early. The restaurant design is what I would call a softer industrial - very unique, but quite comfortable. The bar area was busy, and the harder surfaces made hearing a bit of a challenge, but it was manageable. The wait staff were pleasant, accommodating, and informative regarding the menu and food preparation. The cocktails were creative, and incorporated higher end liquor- Buffalo Trace Bourbon makes a great Old Fashion. However, our friend ordered a Cosmo, but the bartender neglected to put in the Cranberry Juice. This was quickly remedied, by our waiter Thomas, but still… Regarding the menu , the general impression from our table was that both starters, and entrees were limited in number. My wife and I chose the Smoked Pork Ribs with Chipotle Carolina Sauce for the starter - the ribs were dry and lacked flavor, and the sauce was overwhelming. For the entrees, my wife ordered the Grilled Pork Chop that she thought was over cooked which was unfortunate since she asked it to be cooked to the chef’s recommendation. In hindsight not a good idea, but a brinded pork chop shouldn’t be dry if cooked properly. The polenta and mushroom accompaniments were ok, but seemed somewhat flat regarding their flavor. I ordered the Ribeye Steak (medium) with Duck Fat Fingerling Potatoes, but the meat was a medium, and lacked the big beefy flavor I was expecting. The desert was the Bourbon Pecan Pie - can’t go wrong with Pecan Pie. Now for the cost - the Radish and Rye is rated a $$$$, but prime meat is expensive regardless of where you go. Now for the important question- would we go back? YES, I will usually give a restaurant another chance - this was a Thursday and may have been...

Alton Brown once said, “Good service can save a bad meal, but there is no level of food that can save bad service.”

Nothing special happened at this restaurant tonight--except it was a bit disappointing to pay $200+ for a lackluster evening, service slip ups, and a restaurant that's supposedly rated well for "Special Occasions". But, as we all know, when we rely simply on ratings: "your actual mileage may vary." Thus the reason for my review. I will say the cocktail, entres, salad and wine were all very good. The experience was regrettable and forgettable.

To note this was my Husband's birthday. We have celebrated our birthdays at many high-end restaurants throughout Santa Fe and the experiences have always been pleasurable and memorable. And at our age, we tend to celebrate birthdays as a reminder that we're still on the planet for another go round.

When I made the reservation on Open Table, I indicated in the selection and the special notes sections that it was my Husband's birthday. When the Maitre'd called me to reconfirm the reservation, I reminded him that it was my Husband's birthday; he responded that he would elevate it to our wait staff. When we arrived, I even indicated it to the team member at the guest desk when we checked in for our reservation.

Don't get me wrong, we're not looking for pointy hats, balloons, or three tenors singing happy birthday in perfect harmony. Just a little acknowledgement or a little candle on his dessert cake, something at least.

Here's what we got: cocktails served after we ordered our dinner, had eaten our popcorn appetizer, and was well into finishing our salad. Wine glasses and wine brought out after we were halfway through eating our meal. Dessert and bill served with quick dispatch as it appeared the restaurant was closing. No good bye, no happy birthday, no anything from anybody there. Oh well, another birthday...