Top 10 Restaurants in New Mexico to Try This Year

New Mexico offers a diverse and unending selection of food options. Chefs from across the state combine the best of native and Mexican influences while incorporating their culinary flair work at many of the restaurants in this area.

Numerous excellent restaurants may be found throughout New Mexico, from Albuquerque to the state capital Santa Fe whether award-winning international cuisine, homemade New Mexican food, or premium steaks catch your eye.

If you’re searching for robust flavors to stimulate your taste buds, check out these top 10 restaurants in New Mexico.

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Most Famous Restaurants in New Mexico

10. The Grove Café & Market

The Grove Café & Market, a vibrant eatery popular with the city’s young foodie community and situated in the trendy EDo district of Albuquerque, was founded in 2006 by executive chef Jason Greene and business partner Lauren Greene.

The Grove offers gourmet brunches and lunches with meals like the hearty roasted Berkshire pork sandwich with romesco sauce, lemon aioli, and fennel.

Still, despite its menu’s focus on regional, organic, and high-quality ingredients, the atmosphere at The Grove is relaxed, entertaining, and welcoming. Visit its charming market to stock up on gourmet foods, chocolate, cookbooks, and other adorable presents.

9. Savoy de Mesilla

Savoy de Mesilla, a well-known eatery serving modern American cuisine with international influences and located a few miles north of the border in Las Cruces, New Mexico’s second-largest city, is unquestionably one of the best restaurants in the area.

The successful local chef and restaurateur Tatsu Miyazaki founded it. Visitors can savor daring dishes like the spicy, lightly fried Louisiana alligator tail appetizer with in-house ranch dressing and the best pan-seared Maple Leaf Farms duck breast with assorted fresh vegetables, seasonal potato, and a cherry port wine reduction in a chic and stylish dining room or on Savoy de Mesilla’s lovely patio.

8. The Curious Kumquat

Although it is frequently claimed that the modernist foraged cuisine served at The Curious Kumquat could easily compete with eating establishments in large cities, this distinctive restaurant is content to call the little community of Silver City in the Southwest home.

Chef Rob creates dishes using foraged and locally sourced ingredients, resulting in adventurous plates like prickly pear ancho rabbit, Korean duck, mole negro cauliflower, and local market lamb chop.

Chef Rob is inspired by both his international travels and his respect for the historical foraging diets of Apaches.

7. Luminaria

Based inside the opulent Inn and Spa at Loretto in Santa Fe, Luminaria lives up to its posh surroundings with a refined menu of modern Santa Fe cuisine and an elegant setting befitting fine dining.

With recycled ayacahuite barn wood tables and artwork by local Native American artist Mateo Romero gracing its walls, the sophisticated dining room pays homage to the Anasazi tradition of the area.

On balmy evenings, a delightful patio overlooking the inn’s grounds is ideal for romantic, al fresco dining. Award-winning executive chef Marc Quiones infuses dishes like the top flank steak with basmati rice, black beans, bell peppers, and onions with his advanced skills and respect for regional culinary traditions.

6. Café Pasqual’s

Café Pasqual’s has been feeding local diners in Santa Fe its distinctive fusion of New Mexican, Old Mexican, Mediterranean, and Asian-inspired gourmet cuisine for 35 years. It is named after the Spanish patron saint of cooks.

The cozy restaurant is located in the heart of Santa Fe and features hand-painted tiles and murals by renowned Mexican artist Leovigildo Martinez.

Art lovers will enjoy perusing the cafe’s second-floor gallery, which showcases works by local artists from New Mexico, before savoring delectable dishes like Moroccan orange and date fruit leather salad, house-made tamales, and pan-seared sea scallops with fragrant jasmine rice, sugar snap peas, and yuzu.

5. Geronimo

Unquestionably one of the top restaurants in the city, Geronimo is housed in Santa Fe’s historic Borrego House, which dates back to 1756.

Executive chef and partner Eric DiStefano and chef de cuisine Sllin Cruz have created an eclectic seasonal menu with worldwide cuisines that are served in a stylish and modern dining area that is enhanced by classic features like wood rafters and kiva fireplaces.

You can look forward to delectable starters like Maine lobster ragout, main courses like spice-rubbed roasted game hen, and signature Geronimo dishes like telicherry-rubbed elk tenderloin with mashed potatoes, sugar snap peas, Applewood smoked bacon, and a creamy brandy-mushroom sauce.

4. The Range Café

The Range Café, arguably the most well-known casual dining establishment in the greater Albuquerque area, now has three locations. Still, it all started in Bernalillo when it opened its doors in 1992.

Visitors are greeted in a playful, colorful setting decorated with the works of local artists. The Range Café’s lively lounge serves cocktails, regional beers, and wines in addition to its extensive menu of made-from-scratch New Mexican cuisine, including popular dishes like meatloaf with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy and seasonal vegetables.

3. The Artichoke Café

The head chef Pat Keene, chefs de cuisine Casey Bower and Christina Martinez, and the restaurant’s contemporary American menu are the brainchild of these chefs, who combine traditional training and innovative ingredients.

The Artichoke Café, a trendy eatery in Albuquerque’s EDo (East Downtown) neighborhood, specializes in artisanal cocktails, award-winning wines, and dishes like herb-roasted chicken breast with gorgonzola bread pudding and elderberry-cured halibut. It also serves Berkshire pork chops stuffed with manchego and elderberry-cured halibut.

2. High Noon Restaurant & Saloon

The High Noon Restaurant & Saloon initially opened its doors in 1974. Still, its location, a 230-year-old structure in the center of Albuquerque’s Old Town, has an even longer tradition and, rumor has it, its resident ghost.

It is ideal for diners who prefer to combine dining with local history. The 14-ounce center-cut rib-eye with haricot vert and red wine demi-glace and the braised short ribs with peach BBQ sauce, mashed potatoes, and crispy fried onions are two of High Noon’s highlight dinners. These dishes are paired with the restaurant’s signature margaritas and top-shelf tequilas.

1. Antiquity Restaurant

One of Albuquerque’s oldest restaurants, Antiquity Restaurant is a cozy, rustic chophouse ideal for romantic dinners. It has been around for more than fifty years.

With a menu that includes European-style appetizers like French onion soup and escargot sautéed in garlic herb butter and served in mushroom caps, Antiquity is a charming old adobe located a short distance from Albuquerque’s historic Old Town Plaza.

Antiquity serves some of the town’s best steaks, chops, and seafood. Order the slow-grilled chateaubriand for two, which is cut at the table and served with béarnaise sauce, sautéed mushrooms, and fresh veggies, if you want a really memorable dining experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular food in New Mexico?

Entrees including beef and chicken enchiladas, tamales, Carne adovada (pork marinated in red chiles), burritos, huevos rancheros, and chiles Rellenos are common offerings in New Mexico (green chiles stuffed with cheese then deep fried). Locals frequently eat their enchiladas with an over-easy egg on top.

What is the state dish of New Mexico?

While The Land of Enchantment does have a state cookie (the bizcochito), its chili peppers, which have a distinctively sweet, spicy, crisp, and smoky flavor, are more famous.

What dessert is New Mexico known for?

Biscochitos or Bizcochitos. The New Mexico Legislature proclaimed the biscochito as the official state cookie in 1989.

What is the main product of New Mexico?