The Love Apple — Restaurant in Taos

I was in Taos with a friend of mine for her birthday, and on our first night in town we were looking for a nice place to have dinner. We called Love Apple, a restaurant with locally sourced food served in an 1800s church. Sylva took the call as hostess and let us know that, while they didn't have any reservations open until 8 pm, they do occasionally get cancellations and we could come over. (Note to visitors: the restaurant is in a very small space, with around a dozen tables inside and out. It’s worth calling as early as possible to book a reservation.)

What a great place! The architecture has been lovingly preserved, with the traditional walled courtyard and the original steeple still in place (though a little canted). Sylva met us at the door with a welcoming smile and virtually radiated light. She said we could look around and then meet her back in the courtyard as she might have a table available. And she did! She seated us at a 5-top in the middle of the raised platform where the altar used to be, "because you love this old church as much as we do." She even brought over a book of black and white photo plates from the Southwest, and one of them was the old church when it was still a sanctuary, back in the 1940s. We were both still in our traveling clothes, but she said it was fine. How accommodating!

We had a WONDERFUL meal! Our waitress was Alexandra, and she was fabulous. She was friendly, efficient, and extremely helpful as we navigated the menu. (Note to visitors: the menu changes daily, based on availability of ingredients, so you won’t be able to see it on the website for the restaurant. Rest assured that every choice is SUPERB.) We both started with the blue cornmeal muffins with lemon and strawberry butter—quite tasty! I had tortilla soup, followed by the trout with fresh roasted vegetables. My friend had the beef street tacos and asked them to put the tortillas on the side for me; that was nice because my meal didn't come with a starch option. Alexandra helped me pair a glass of wine with my meal, and the vintage she recommended (a local rose) was perfect! We finished with a flourless chocolate cake with homemade whipped cream. Everything was absolutely DELICIOUS!! All the flavors were artfully combined to create a unique taste which elevated every dish above the norm. It was so much more than we expected, and we wished we had room to sample other menu options.

The space itself is absolutely charming. The original lines of the structure are all still present, and we could see how the owners respected the history of the building. The interior is open and airy, with a high ceiling and whitewashed walls, while the exterior courtyard has been repurposed with picnic-style tables for al fresco dining under a pergola covered in flowering vines. The glow of fairy lights makes both the inner and outer spaces warm and inviting. Inside, there are several chandeliers made by a local artisan which are truly stunning. The entire room is as gorgeous as an art gallery.

We took lots of photos before dinner as we looked around, and a few during the meal as well. After dinner, as we were leaving, Sylva gave us each a hug and we thanked her for making my friend's birthday dinner so special. It was absolutely the best meal of our trip! We can’t wait to return to Taos, just so we can eat...

I have been to The Love Apple a couple of times; both times for birthdays. The first time was great and we all had a wonderful experience. The most recent (3 weeks ago) was pretty lackluster. I hesitated to write the review because I spent over a decade in the restaurant industry and I can only imagine how difficult it is to work in the industry during a pandemic but a lot of the issues could have been avoided. We got an early reservation at 5pm to avoid the crowds and make it easy on our server since we had a larger party. The ambiance was wonderful and the patio was a great place to relax al fresco. There was blue corn bread on the table waiting for us. Our server never really introduced herself, seemed frazzled and I had to inquire what the specials were for the evening. We ordered appetizers that were good but nothing that blew any of us away. I ordered the special, a buffalo tenderloin,and my girlfriend ordered the lamb burger. Despite them looking good on the plate and the chanterelle mushrooms being outstanding, the entrees were under seasoned, neither one of them was anything to write home to mom about, and as mentioned in other reviews, the portions were much too small for the price. Since we were celebrating a birthday, they sent out 3 desserts. 2 of the 3 were simply unappetizing and the cobbler was good. Then came the bill for all 11 of us on one check even though we were at three separate tables. They included gratuity which was perfectly acceptable to our whole group but we all were wondering why they couldn’t have separated it by table. They also charged us for the three orders of cornbread and three desserts. I talked to every single person in our group and they all said that they did not order any of these items. We brought this to our servers attention and she insisted that one of the girls in our party had ordered them. Rather than argue about the $60 in charges, we thought it best to just move on with our evening. We spent the next 20 min doing the math to figure out what every person owed and it made it much harder that they only take cash. It was a mess. It severely impacted the already uninspiring meal. It left our party frustrated and I personally felt that could have at least gave us the courtesy of splitting the check by table. I have been to places that are not nearly as upscale that are willing to provide that level of service. I’m not sure if this was another impact of the COVID crisis or a result of bad management. Either way, I will likely take my business to medley. or Lambert’s the next time...

The cuisine at The Love Apple is world class, I must admit, as I cringe writing "The Love Apple." The name is just too damn precious for my sharp toothed sensibilities. There is a ersatz romanticism about The Love Apple that disturbs my sandpaper core. It's like reading a Nicholas Sparks novel and realizing the dude is selling millions of copies of this stuff. White on white, adorned with candles and flickering fairy lights, the dining room exudes romance, I guess. However, The Love Apple stays true to its Taos roots by using slip shod organic means to fix architectural issues. Patrons enter the restaurant in the most insalubrious manner, running smack dab into the kitchen before turning right, into fairy land. A blowing heater is tamed by hanging two white, incongruous sheet like things from the ceiling that look like either Mormon undies or an Orthodox Jew's Tallis. Our table had an industrial view of kitchen's refrigerator through a curtained doorway, as staff grabbed things from the cooler, running back and forth. I loved all of these organic, Taos ways of doing things, and made me love the Love Apple more. I hear the Beatles singing, "Love, Love, Love........ Only wine and beer are served, most likely due to New Mexico's ludicrously expensive hard liquor licenses that encourage chain restaurants and their ready cash. New Mexico needs to change this law. It's the food and the skill of the kitchen that will encourage me to return to the Love Apple in spite of its Hallmark Card affect. Of course, everything is sourced locally, and fresh as a nun's habit. My chicken tacos appetizer, filled with all sorts of goodies, may be the best I ever had. Donna looked ecstatically organic munching on her beet salad. Her trout entree was fairly amazing, while I wanted to lick my plate after devouring the lamb meatballs in a scrumptious broth. Instead, I mopped up everything with the Love Apple's amazing corn bread. The Apple Crisp I inhaled for dessert was a fitting end to an incredible meal. We were the last patrons to leave the Love Apple. Thus, we are 4 for 4 keeping the staff waiting for us at New Mexico restaurants. People eat early in New Mexico. Our server at the Love Apple was patient though, being sweet, kind and accommodating, dealing with my innocuous and goofy questions with a professionalism I don't deserve. Our meal was wonderful, and I will happily return to the Love Apple with...