I came for lunch on a relatively quiet afternoon. The bar area is usually crowded as was today so we sat in one of the dining rooms. Our server got to us and took our drink orders rather quickly. The drinks and food orders took a while though. I noticed a customer at a table near us was having trouble reading the menu and asked a server for help. The server was grabbing silverware for another table and acted really put off that she had to answer a question, very rude. If I was the manager I'd fire her on the spot. The food took a pretty long time to arrive but it was good. While the food was good, I feel like they take themselves more seriously than they take their food. I wasn't impressed with the service at all but the it wasn't bad either it was just okay. Overall a mediocre experience. I did really like their silver coins Margarita though. Place has the cool santa fe vibe if you care about that but for me it's not enough to keep me going back over and over again. read more

So far, this has been the most memorable meal in Santa Fe (and we've been doing a lot of research to make the most of our time in this gourmand's town). After making a reservation, I was intimidated by some negative reviews online, but honestly, our meal was fantastic and proved them wrong! Vegetarians looking for tapas should take heart and try this place! We ordered a lot of food, so I'm going to give you the skinny on each tasty dish. My husband also had three glasses of wine that he said were very good. Loved the: CEVICHE DE ATUN fresh tuna cured in lime w/ cilantro, mango & avocado. It was sort of like raw tuna in light guacamole, very tasty. Everything else we ate was vegetarian. That's why I was initially attracted to this place, because it is incredibly hard to find vegetarian tapas, not to mention such an extensive list of choices. My omnivore husband has had tapas many times and says these items compared excellently with the meat tapas he's had in the past. Here are other things we heartily enjoyed: ESPINACA CON PASAS sautéed spinach, pinon, garlic & raisins. If you like sauteed greens, this is about as good as it gets. There was a lot of flavor and probably some wine in the sauce. QUESO DE CABRA baked Spanish goat cheese w/ pepita flatbread. Turns out this comes with a head of roasted garlic, asparagus, roasted red pepper, a sort of parma-ham stuff, and some pickled chilis we were chicken and didn't try. My husband ate the meat so I can't vouch for that, and I wasn't crazy about the flat bread, but at El Farol you get a big basket of free bread so putting the goat cheese on there with the roasted garlic on top was delicious! The other veggies were yummy too. POLENTA A LA MANCHA grilled Manchego cheese polenta w/ romesco. Oh wow, this was soo good! The cheesy polenta was great, and the sauce was garlicy and so delicious we mopped the plate. ALCACHOFAS reggiano crusted artichoke hearts in lemon-caper butter . These were also super delicious, loved the sauce, but sadly only two pieces of artichoke heart, so a rather small serving. But that's the risk with tapas... AGUACATE crispy fried avocado w/ salsa cruda & lime crema. My husband adored these, and they were very tasty and unusual. You get a big piece of avacado (half of one maybe?) with the sauces on top and it is very rich and good-- we made sure to eat up all the sauce off the plate. PATATAS BRAVAS roasted potatoes with garlic & chile. These were good, though not unusual and exciting like other dishes, they tasted about what you'd imagine them to. The one item we didn't like: ACEITUNAS salt cured Moroccan olives w/ roasted garlic & oranges. It was really salty, and we couldn't eat it. Major props to the waiters, though, who unprompted took it off our bill! No harm in us not liking it if we don't have to pay for it! You'll notice we tried almost all the vegetarian warm tapas, and we sure did have a great time. This was a big splurge for us, but the memories are very strong of the excellent meal. We ordered 2-3 at a time, which was a good way to space them out so that we didn't get too full on everything at once. High recommendation! PS I think other reviewers commented on the clientelle, and we saw a wide range from local families with kids to college students to older vacationers. All were behaved and having a good time. read more

Amazing tapas! This is a great restaurant to get perfectly-made Mexican food in Santa Fe. Truly a must-do. Tip: go on an off-hour, this place seems to get very busy. Afternoon tapas on the deck are to die for. read more

El Farol is one of the oldest bars/restaurants in Santa Fe. I've heard many locals go there to drink. My group went to see the Flamenco dinner shows and while the show was superb, the buffet was lame. The line was late in setting up, the dishes were slow to come out, and their wasn't much of a selection. At $50 per head, I expected a better meal. Each table seats 8 so expect to sit w/ 'new' friends (I really enjoyed my table). Perhaps I'll give El Farol a second chance and return for a meal in the restaurant. I'll save Flamenco shows for the theatre. read more

I was torn here between 2 and 3 stars. We went here last Saturday night (9-15-12) and sat outside and had an incredible experience. The server (wish I knew her name) was so good and attentive and even seemed to anticipate what we needed. The food was absolutely delicious. We had three of the tapas...fried avocado, potatoes and the Spanish Blue Cheese with Marcona almonds and honey (so good!). and split the salmon entree...again, so good! I would give this visit four stars. We went back there this evening (Monday, 9-17-12) because it was such a great experience on Saturday night and had completely the opposite experience. While the food was still good, our server (Adolpho) was horrible. He was completely inattentive and kept apologizing, but never did anything differently, he forgot (or ignored) the simplest requests (balsamic for the table), and after at least four reminders (literally), he "forgot" to take our $25 coupon off the bill and then seemed put out by our reminding him. We left there feeling completely frustrated, and will most likely never return again. Adolpho, seemed MUCH more interested in talking with the patrons of one of the other tables than paying any attention to the rest of his customers. Really too bad and very disappointing. With so many incredible options in Santa Fe to choose from, why would we ever go back? read more

Really shocked at the 3 star rating for this place, we had a great meal here last night. Perfect date night spot in Santa Fe, there was a live smooth jazz duo playing which made for a great ambiance. Since it's a Tapas style spot, we ordered one or two plates at a time and kinda worked our way through the menu. The drinks were amazing as well- I'm a margarita guy, and their silver coin marg was spot on! Don't read the bad reviews, most of them are for petty things anyways and we saw right through those ridiculous low reviews- enjoy his spot!! read more

Tapas are amazing! They have really cool flamenco dancers for entertainment. It's the true essence of Santa Fe!

At the end of Canyon Rd. This Spanish restaurant has character. We went for the Spanish dance show on a Sunday night. The show was incredible with 2 females one male show plus a singer and a Spanish guitar player, they were so good that it felt as dancers from Sevilla. The place is not that big so they were dancing literally in front of you. The Singer had a beautiful gypsy voice and the classics flamenco guitarrista played a couple solos with huge talent. My husband and I had a tapas style dinner, my favorite, the crockets and the Fabada soup. They had a good Spanish wine list. I was able to ordered a Rioja wine. read more

Heard such wonderful reviews about this place, so I thought I would check it out The service the night I went there was wonderful, and my mojito was delicious. However, I was not impressed by the food, which was bland and in my opinion, overpriced for what it was, 4 scallops in a heavy sauce. The bread that was placed on the table was rock cold, and the olive oil that was given to dip the bread in, didn't help much. For dessert, I had the flan, which was nowhere as delicious as the flan that a co-worker of mine makes. The decor definitely does not match the prices, I expected a bit more of an upscale look, particularly for a place located on Canyon Road. Décor seemed tired and old. Overall, three stars,because the staff was efficient and wonderful, but El Farol just appeared to me to be an overhyped tourist trap, riding on the reputation of what it once must have been. read more

El Farol is a Santa Fe icon on Canyon Road. Everyone is smiling and courteous. The new owner Rich visited with us for quite awhile. The flamenco dancing and live music was lots of fun and well received by all Tapa menu is enticing and yummy. Location is phenomenal. We will return again and again as we have for the last 25 years. read more

We've been back twice since my first review and the results were better. The steamed mussels were some of the best we've had----ever----anywhere. Eating at the bar is a nice option, and may give you a little more space. Since we dined with friends the first time, we were crowded with plates, but we were only two these recent visits and spaced our ordering out to avoid being bombarded with plates. I do NOT like that, if you're there for dinner, you're asked to cough up the cover charge for the band if you're not finished with your meal. We were given 4 or 5 songs-worth of time to giddy up and get out; otherwise we would have had to pay the cover. That's cool if you're there for the band, but we were just having dinner. Count on a crowd. read more

I found this when we were visiting Santa Fe because of restaurant.com. We decided to try it and were offered the option of seeing a flamenco dancing show for an additional $25 per person, which we decided to do. The food was excellent- we loved the chicken dish and the paella. The salmon and steaks that we saw around us looked excellent as well. The only reason I give this four stars instead of five is that I think that the $25 show cover was too high for a 45 minute performance. Especially given the number of patrons there (meaning that they made a killing on it). I would probably pass on the show next time and catch the music in the bar after. read more

The flamenco show is a must - so much fun. It's a little loud but, authentic, beautiful and mesmerizing. The food is always wonderful - the fried avocado inspired me to learn how to make my own. (Mine sucks btw in comparison). Highly recommended! read more

El Farol has 3 stars generally, as I write this and I would agree with 2 or 3. Christmas Eve pre-fix is what we did for, I believe $65 each with wine came to $180. For location -great. For food - 2 out of 5. Soup - if you considered it gazpacho, which wasn't intent... then perfect temperature. If you wanted anything but refrigerated with soggy croutons - that took 25 minutes to be brought to the table, then right on point. Sad too - because when I saw the menu, I thought - this is AWESOME. Unfortunately they fell flat. Call me an eternal optimist - but I think that if they read the reviews - and make a menu that feeds to their strengths - pre-fix can be an easier night than others. For example- if you can't make soup hot - then serve gazpacho -and make it intentional. If you can't figure out how to put crouton on at the last minute so they are fresh - make crouton sticks and serve on the side- or crossing the top of the soup dish. Even the paella could have been cooked properly if they had that as a goal. Sad - because location is great... but seems as though they have an eye on something else besides the ball. Because to have soup wrong - means you fundamentally need to alter your set up for pre-fix nights. I'll likely go back for a drink and a tapa- because I believe it was execution - not bad recipes. The food, you could tell could be good - if cooked properly. For example the paella - sausage soooooo dry - and not just me, but the table behind me complained as well. Sad - because I think they have a lot of potential - might just have lost their f read more

If you're gallery hopping on Canyon Road this is a great cozy place to visit with a patio...parking is on the street or across from the restaurant (public parking) upon entering El Farol...lovely live latin/mexican music were playing (this place reminds me of Cafe Madrid in Dallas almost the same layout). bar/seating/live music on the left side then right side is a few more tables for dinning....The front patio is nice but it was a bit cold and I hear there's a back patio but didn't see it.....and place was a bit chilly I guess they lack proper air/heater unit? or it was just down...b/c they have individual space heaters setup throughout the place which was just fine. Once seated, we ordered the 8 tapas for $56 platter and two glasses of Cabernet. we had the beef (a tiny bit tough), octopus (a tiny bit salty b/c of the olive sauce)......we also had the crispy artichoke which was wonderful....portabello mushroom tapas, and the duck was delicious. thinking 8 wasn't enough b/c it's tapas ...we were super full by the end of our meal and couldn't order dessert or more drinks. The atmosphere is pleasant, the service was good/quick and the prices are reasonable. It's a great place to stop by if you're gallery hopping on Canyon Rd. wish they had Ox tail tho'....I told our server about it she said she's never had it and will google it ha~!! =P read more

Let's break it down: 1. Parking: difficult 2. outdoor seating: nice! spacious, beautiful. All tables were arranged far apart from one another (hey, Covid is not over yet). 3. Cleanliness: NO. There was obviously some leftover on the table when we were led to it. We quietly wiped it off with our own paper towel and hand sanitizer since there was no wait staff to be seen. 4. Service: SLOW and inattentive. Someone needs to pay attention to this: you should always place silverware/napkin on the table before the food is served. We ordered tapas here. It was awkward when the food was in front of you, and you could only stare at them (in this case, shrimps), and wondered where you could get forks to dig in. should I just used my fingers? No small plates either. We had to "remind" them to bring us both. Men, they brought silverware and plates SEPARATELY. do I need to teach you how to get the table ready? It's NOT that hard, dude. You've been in business for a long time; yet you screwed up the BASICS. Then, the waiter didn't come over to add water to our empty glasses (mind you, it was hot and dry in Santa Fe, in July). So we were both hungry (still eyeing the shrimps) and thirsty! 5. Please, keep your political opinion to yourself. We don't come to a restaurant to hear a wait staff's political view (I won't impose mine on you either). 6. Now, food: by the time we started eating (after waiting for utensils and plates; it was about good five minutes. No kidding) the mood had been spoiled. Couldn't bring ourselves to order more (it has a very limited tapa menu). What a shame! El Farol: you can do better. read more

What a wonderful meal! We sat outside and enjoyed the best margaritas we have had in Sara Fe! The chicken dish with olives and potatoes was packed full of flavor with an outstanding presentation. Save room for the home made salted Carmel ice cream. Service was excellent. Can not wait to return. read more

Fantastic restaurant with great variety of tapas. Can't go wrong here! Had a wedding rehearsal here last year and just now got to writing a review. Completely shocked by the three star average because the food here is out of this world. It is pricey but everything is in the city of Santa Fe. Highly recommended! read more

We ended up here because it was the ONLY place/bar in Santa Fe open past 9:00. It's a pretty small place. They had a decent live band. Felt a little out of place as seemed like it was an over 65 crowd. read more

My absolutely favorite place to dine in Santa Fe: their tapas is outstanding. Everything is fresh and flavorful. The wait staff is friendly and attentive. The sausages and cheeses are my personal favorites. read more

It is really between 3 and 4 stars, not bad at all. Decor is pleasant, wine list is adequate, and service is ok, although a bit slow. Good soups, particularly gaspachos, tapas are hit or miss, but generally unremarkable. Liked flash fried avocado, ceviche and mussels were average, and so was pork tenderloin. Surprisingly, no espresso drinks, and staff didn't even understand order of cortado. Small tapas menu for lunch. read more

We were seated at the best seat in the house which is a large dining table in the back. The ambiance back there was great. Honestly, I was very disappointed in my gazpacho. It was much too salty. My salad with steak was pretty good, though. The meat was well seasoned. Everyone else seemed to really enjoy their food. Something else I appreciated was that our server was extremely accommodating to our toddler. They didn't have a kids menu, but she got the chef to make her cheese quesadillas and fries. I thought that was great! read more

We have been coming to El Farol for years for the Paella. We recently came with friends and sat in the back garden, which was lovely. We ordered the Paella. It arrived burnt on top. Ever hopeful we spooned some onto our plates and tasted it . It was fully burnt from top to bottom. The shrimp and mussels were awful. We told our waiter that the food was burnt and inedible, he agreed and walked off. At this point we figured we would just drink and wait for our friends to finish their meal. When the check arrived we were charged for the Paella and told we had eaten most of it. This was untrue. It was on our plates. We were offered a free dessert. We finally had the dish removed from our bill and left. It was a dreadful meal and a disappointing evening. In hindsight we realized that we should have found our waiter and had the meal removed from our table. Don't see how that dish even left the kitchen. read more

While in Santa Fe, my fiance and I were strolling up Canyon Road, checking out the galleries, and spotted this place about halfway through our stroll. Yeah, we'd already had lunch, but tapas are small, right? We sat on the very nice patio and I had a glass of cava and my fiance had a bit o' pinot grigio, and we shared the curry chicken and the bonito, both of which were very good. One of these days, I'm going to have to come back and have paella and more! This place would be dangerous if I lived here because they have Geeks Who Drink. I mean, really, Geeks Who Drink *and* tapas? I wouldn't be able to resist. read more

If you're gallery hopping on Canyon Road you'll quickly realize there aren't a lot of dining options close by. Some restauranteurs need to open up a few more places on this street because there is a ton of foot traffic here. So after nearly 4 hours of admiring paintings in countless galleries, we were directed to El Farol. The front patio and back patio are very inviting on a beautiful spring day. The challenge is getting someone to seat you for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. There was one waitress and one busboy working about 10 tables. No wonder service was a bit of a challenge. Once seated, we ordered the 5 tapas for $27 platter and the Argentinian burger. The fried avocado and mushroom tapas were delicious. The chorizo was dry enough to qualify as jerky on the other hand. The burger is a massive, heart stopping masterpiece that's topped with jamon serrano and eggs. I'd prefer bacon instead of jamon serrano, but overall this entree is designed to fill you up and fast. The outside atmosphere is pleasant and the prices are reasonable. It's a great place to get off your feet after a long day of gallery hopping. The food isn't enough to merit a special trip to El Farol, but if you're in the hood the location is unbeatable. Besides it's situated at the end of all the galleries so after a couple drinks, it's a downhill walk from there. Very useful after a couple of glasses of sangria... read more

I lived next door to El Farol for over a year, so frequented there often. Great bartenders. Max and Parker will always take care of you. The ambiance is great and they have wonderful musical acts. Freda, the general manager, is so welcoming. She makes you feel like family when you walk in the door. Tuesday nights are the best nights to go. Get there early if you want a seat and plan to stay late. Friendly and fantastically fun crowd. You'll dance the night away! read more

Great stop after walking up Canyon Road! We had walked up Canyon Road and found this place for a late lunch. The food was great, and they also had some interesting wine! We sat on the front patio, but it also had a great decor inside. read more

This Canyon Rd. stalwart has so much to offer that it's hard to know where to start... Just strolling through the galleries and want a snack? They can help with that. Their tapas-based menu has a huge selection of meat, fish, and vegetarian options of varying sizes and their bar can concoct most anything you'd like. But if it's a hot day, try their sangria. You might find it hard to stick to one glass... With a great bar area, several dining rooms, and a fabulous patio overlooking Canyon Rd., this is one of the prime "hangouts" of Santa Fe. Locals and tourists alike can be found here, enjoying authentic Spanish cuisine like Morcilla sausages and the breezes in the trees by the river across from the patio. Most evenings you can also find great musicians playing live in the bar - everything from blues to rock to folk to you-name-it. I don't think I've ever failed to be impressed by the quality of the bands that they recruit. Call ahead and see who's there, but you might want to put on those dancin' shoes. read more

Live music, a bar locals can generally find a seat at, tasty margs and ANCHOVIES. I have eaten many dinners, had many evenings of apps and sips thanks to El Farol's illustrious menu- but I have a serious weakness for the anchovies. And don't forget to check out the Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz nights. I can only take so many nights out with tourists at hand, so El Farol is not always the place for me. That having been said, I love that tourists come and keep this town running for those of us who live here year round. read more

Skip the Flamenco dance show!!! This is a great place for light tapas at lunch or happy hour. But the fixed price menu for the Flamenco show is disappointing. Service is slow with most of our meal arriving late. And the show is loud, long and uninspiring. read more

El Farol gets the tapas thing right. I've been to the bar here back when I lived in Los Alamos, but this was my first dining experience. We had the boquerones (small anchovies soaked in vinegar and citrus), puerco asada (in a fig/cognac sauce), pulpas (octopus in an olive paste), lanza de carne (skewer of meat with kind of a pesto sauce), and patatas bravas (potatoes with garlic and red chili flakes). The dishes were awesome and were the right size. We washed it all down with a cool spanish beer called Alhambra. Get a seat outside if at all possible. Great ambiance and people watching. read more

Awesome! I dine at El Farol every time that I am in Santa Fe! I am never disappointed. I went with a group of friend just this last time. Everyone loved their dinner. Lucky for me since it was my suggestion to eat there. It was a safe bet. read more

Great food and decently priced for the atmosphere and quality. The night we came, live music was playing and it wasn't too loud, just right to enhance the experience. We shared multiple tapas including patatas bravas and the shrimp w chili and garlic. I will definitely be back next time I'm in the area to try the paella! read more

Food was excellent. Service was lacking, long wait between courses. Atmosphere pleasant on the patio. Overall lovely except service.

The service was excellent and the staff attentive. The cheese plate and Prosciutto was delicious. However, the cheese portion was large and little bread or crackers to enjoy. We tried the paella but It could be improved: the chorizó was barely visible, the rice was crunchy, and mushy at the same time - hard to believe a professional cook/chef allowed the rice to be served. My wife had a gin and tonic. It made her forget the meal. Cheers to the bar tender. read more

El Farol is one of the oldest continually operating restaurants in the U.S. and it sits on Canyon Road, one of the most famous streets in Santa Fe. Which means it attracts a lot of tourists. Which means that it is, I hate to say it, a bit of a tourist trap. The menu is small, the pricing is aggressive, and the food is perfectly fine, but unexceptional. The few "real" entrees include two versions of paella, one with seafood and one with vegetables. We ordered the latter and it was a huge plate of rice with a few veggies tucked in here or there. Tasted bland. There is also mussels, salmon and beef medallions and that's it for entrees. There are about a dozen Tapas plates. Now Tapas, of course, is NOT supposed to be dinner. In Spain, these dishes are meant as bar snacks to dull the appetite for the usual big evening meal which is eaten late. Nonetheless at El Farol, you are obliged to make a meal of them. They are generally just fine. Flash fried avocado tasted like . . . an avocado. The "croquettas" were nice crispy fried balls of melty cheese. Fried cauliflower and fried squid were just what they sound like. You can get a small plate of garlic shrimp for 18.50 or some blistered red peppers for ten bucks. None of it was bad, and we didn't leave hungry but it wasn't anything to get excited about. Service was fine. FWIW they do a flamenco some nights, for which you pay an additional fee. Just not my cup of tea. read more

Ladies, go here if you want to be treated like crap by the women at the front door. Not sure why they hate females, but I walked in, alone, ready to join my friend who was already there. I greeted the staff (three women standing at the front), got nothing. I tried again, said, "I'm not sure if my party is here yet..." and in the middle of talking the younger woman interrupted me, saying, "Name." Nothing else. The other two I think were quietly shocked at how rude she was, but said nothing. Making no eye contact, to ensure that I knew that I amounted to nothing, she told the third woman to seat me. I've never been treated like this, especially by women in the biz. I've managed restaurants and worked in customer service for over 30 years and know when I'm being treated like a sub human. When I joined my friend he said they oo'ed and ah'ed over him, loving him up when he came in the door. My only take away is that they hate women. Pray to every God that exists that these three aren't on the door when you go to this place. And I should know about that, I'm graduating with my Masters in Divinity in May. read more

I made a reservation with a request in the note field stating it was our anniversary and that I would like a quiet private booth and/or table with possibly a view. When we arrived the woman at the front desk stared at her computer while checking us in. I assumed she was reading my reservation. She then led us to our table and even though the restaurant was not a full house she sat us in the middle of a crowded noisy room. When I pointed out the fact that they sat us in a room with exact opposite description of what I requested the host came back to our table and told my wife and I she heard that I was "making a fuss" about the table we were sat at and that she had a quieter table in another room. My wife noted it was to disruptive to move and that we would just stay where we were seated. We ordered Paella... We like to make Paella ourselves and thought it would be nice to try a well cooked one from a good restaurant. Paella is usually made with Chorizo sausage and chicken still on the bone. The skin & the bone from the chicken and the Chorizo ad flavor that Paella is known for. Instead the "El Farol" Paella contain what seemed like a Kielbasa sausage and preshedded chicken chunks like found in the frozen food section at a grocery store and a few small flavorless shrimp. I understand a restaurant wanting to share ingredients from their different menu items to cut corners to save time and money but not at this price point. This was not Paella. This is not a $$$ restaurant when defined by service or authenticity of ingredients. read more

We just recently came back from Spain and this restaurant definitely captured the true tastes of Spain. The staff was pleasant, the atmosphere was phenomenal and the drinks hit the spot. We definitely recommend this place. read more

I can't believe the average star review of three . We did the chefs selection and thought it was amazing.Pignon salad amazing as was the beef with the parsley sauce. We went back for our last night in Santa Fe with the kids which my husband was against because our kids are brats at nice dinners. However they encouraged us to bring the kids and they made them fish tacos and beef tacos. Our meals were a little different the second night however all were still good. read more