This place has gone downhill since we last visited in 2015. The grilled artichokes tasted straight from the can. The preserved tuna special was essentially tuna jerky on a hard piece of bread. The bread basket was warm and crunchy but tougher than sourdough should be. The shrimp had good flavor but were VERY small and tasted previously frozen. The flank steak was bland but not tough, the sauce accompaniments overpowered the beef flavor. All in all I would likely not return. Also, ALL of the two tops on Marcy Street were wobbly. Invest in some new tables please. read more

Was disappointed in the menu offerings for a tapas restaurant. Just not a lot to choose from and what was there was on the expensive side. However the service was very good. It was unfortunate that El Meson was not open for lunch. They have a very large and very tapas menu at reasonable prices. A comment about seating customers..... when there is ample seating, don't sit folks right next to somebody else. Spread people around the room until you can no longer do so. We were seated at a two top right next, I mean 1 foot, away from another occupied two top. I asked to be seated on the other side of the room and I was accommodated. I think people like to have a little privacy while they are dining. read more

Wonderful tapas restaurant in the heart of downtown. Cozy space with beautiful food portraits on the walls. Our waiter was friendly and helpful. She recommended the soup special, a creamy, spicy mushroom cup, that was delicious. The portions were slightly larger than small bites, but at $20 you'd think you'd get two chicken thighs. The one we got was tough and overcooked, but the eggplant purée very good. The eggplant slices with cheese were quite good and the beer and wine selection excellent. A nice break from Mexican fare. read more

This was one of my favorite dining experiences while in Santa Fe! This place is quaint and tiny so a reservation is a must! We started with Tapa de la casa which was manchego, almonds and marinated olives which didn't disappoint. This is a great way to get to taste a variety of yummy bites! We also had the Jamon Serrano which was on point! We decided to try lots of different things and they did not disappoint! One of my favorite things we ordered was the bacon wrapped dates, yum! One of our other favorites were the shredded beef stuffed piquillo peppers. My husband loved them so much he ordered another plate! The Brussels sprouts were crispy and gone in seconds! The bruschetta was very decadent with the mushrooms, cream fried egg and truffle oil. The potatas bravas were everything you would want in a crispy potato! We also shared the small paella, one of the best I have had! The flat iron steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and delightful! We couldn't leave La Boca without dessert and shared the chocolate pots de creme, YUMMMMM! We had a great experience there, our waiter was so knowledgeable on the wine list as well as we had some great bottles! I wasn't kidding that we came, conquered and ate it all! Somehow I didn't get pics of half the food and dessert, probably because I was having an amazing time drinking fab wine! This will be top of my list next visit to SF! read more

See all

Great spot for happy hour tapas and cocktails! Best if you can get a reservation ahead of time because it's a small joint, but will likely have a bar seat or two available for walk-in. The only drawback is the cocktail menu is limited. They can only serve the specific few drinks on the menu. read more

The food was outstanding! Our server was very attentive and made sure we had a great dining experience. They have two dining rooms and we stayed at the newest dining area where a Spanish guitarist was playing. We'll definitely come back here when we return to Santa Fe. read more

Horrible! Small over crowded restaurants with wait staff and other patrons constantly bumping into you. Serves was terrible after 2 and a half finally just gave up on getting what we order and asked for the check. The food that we did recieve was mediocre at the best. Left the restaurant hungry, disappointed and with a one hundred dollar bill. Would not recommend read more

A very nice place for a date. Excellent food and service. I had the halibut cheeks and they were nice. My girlfriend had croquettes and she loved them. read more

Service was very good. A good number of vegetarian options but thought the food was just okay compared to other Spanish tapas we've had. We had the cheese plate; the cherries that came with it were very good and the cheese was okay. We had the olives and almonds; the green olives in chili sauce were my favorite thing. The almonds weren't super flavorful. The mushroom bruschetta was creamy and delicious, my favorite tapas. The patatas bravas could have had better texture and flavor, and the sauces weren't as interesting as they looked. The veggie paella felt more salty than flavorful. The Old Fashioned was really good! All in all a good experience worth trying once, just not a place we'd return. read more

Service staff, plates, and sherry selection was excellent. One of the best overall experiences I've had in SF.

Food is amazing, staff was very friendly & tentative. Awesome place for lunch! Only complaint is the dining room was a bit cramped but nothing too bad. read more

I was in Santa Fe this past week visiting family, and while I've been there so many times, there is always something new to experience! The City Different rarely disappoints. La Boca is a tiny little place on a side street, and if you weren't looking, you could easily walk by. We went for a late lunch on Saturday, and there was only one table open. I don't know if it's this way for dinner or not, but it's mostly tapas style. We had five different items to share, and aside from one (my own dislike of dates), I loved it all! Artichoke hearts, the fingerling potatoes with garlic aioli (my favorite), shrimp with some amazing flavor, a small paella, and the bacon wrapped, almond stuffed dates (bleh, but everyone else loved them). And the dessert!!! Oh man. It was some kind of amazing cross between a tart and a cheesecake, with macerated cherries and fresh whipped cream on top. I could have rolled around in that! Pretty plates, amazing flavor, good service, clean, smells great as soon as you walk in. Mm hmmmm! I highly recommend visiting this little restaurant if you're in Santa Fe. It would be the perfect end to whatever kind of day you choose to have in one of the best little cities in the world. read more

Came in for lunch because it was located close to the plaza and looked good. We were seated immediately and tended to very well by the wait staff who answered all our questions and freely gave recommendations. This is definitely a higher priced place for a casual lunch, with most menu items running $10-20, along with the fact you need at least three dishes for two people. That being said, we enjoyed the food immensely! We started with the bacon wrapped dates with bleu cheese which were incredibly rich and delicious. Then had the mussels in a garlic tomato sauce, and then the paella. Overall the paella was my favorite, well seasoned and cooked to perfection with a fair amount of seafood that didn't overwhelm the dish. The mussels were cooked well, but I tend to prefer my seafood with a cream sauce as opposed to a tomato based one. All in all we will happily go again! Next time we'll certainly prepare more and come with empty stomachs so we can try all the gorgeous food they have! read more

See all

This place is FANTASTIC!! Met Jesus at the Chile Festival & he easily talked us into coming in for dinner. I'm a raging carnivore & the veggie paella was my favorite bite the whole trip! Really fantastic as leftovers with fried eggs for breaky. Great break from the chiles. Loved the sherry cocktails, amazing beverage program! read more

Food & Drinks The food was so-so. Some great dished and some below average. - Chorizo with eggs. It was very nice and well-balanced. - Brushetta. Lack of flavor; a bit bland. - Shrimp with morcilla. It was very tasty. Full of flavor! - Fried Pork Belly. Excessively lemony; it was overpowering the dish. The only flavor you could feel honestly. - Gateau Basque. Nice, maybe a bit too sweet. Nice Sangria! Service Amazing Service! Our server was welcoming, friendly and accommodating. He took the time to get chat with us and was able to connect with us personally. Atmosphere Relaxing vibe! read more

Don't get seafood in Santa Fe. Not their strength. The shrimp and the mussels were weak and expensive. Not up to snuff. The other tapas may have been better. The place was nice. The service was adequate. Actually I take that back, she was pretty awful. Cafe Pasqual's was amazing, this place is probably fine but our experience was less than good. Get a reservation for Pasqual's. read more

La Boca was delicious! I had a lovely dinner at the bar on my first night in Santa Fe and loved every bite. I had the artichokes, the gambas al ajillo, and the flat iron steak with salted caramel sauce (try it!). All were fabulous. read more

Fabulous food! Small plates, nice variety. Indoor or outdoor benue, both excellent. Our waitress was excellent, too

Came with a casual date and was not at all disappointed. We made a 6:30 reservation for the bar at about 5:00, which was probably just in time. The place was packed, but I found it pleasantly so. Noise was not a problem. Wait staff were 10/10, served us promptly, aided with any questions and made some good suggestions. We had the tapas, including the artichoke, the shrimp, and the amazing bruschetta. It is not your average bruschetta, you just have to try it. I liked the fried pork belly with the dipping sauce, although the pork itself seems a little old. Maybe it is just designed to be fried to a dry crisp. The sauces served throughout the meal, however, were just great. I'll come again for sure. Be sure to make reservations several hours in advance. read more

This place was the highlight of our meals in SF. Pablo was our server and he was excellent. The four of us ordered (with Pablo's assistance) six plates, two flights of sherry, the dessert trio and two ports. $200. Yummmm. Outstanding. Don't miss it. read more

I'm giving this restaurant the star above for its interesting and internationally diverse menu. That is where the praise stops. We were seated at an uncomfortably small table in the midst of many other similarly sized and crowded noisy tables. The food was cold and included unseasoned tuna with lumpy pea puree, burnt patatas, overcooked rubbery shrimp and a hard fried egg. Cannot recommend. read more

So disappointing. Not worth the money. My wife had eaten here years ago on a trip to Santa Fe and raved about it, so we went back. I wish we'd eaten somewhere else. First of all, they sent us around back to their "anex" restaurant which was super loud and so dimly lit that we could hardly see the menu. The bacon-wrapped dates aren't on the menu anymore. The flatiron steak was too salty. The $35 tabla platter was tasty, but scant. The tiramisu-like dessert was great. As were the gambas. The 4 of us weren't very hungry, so we didn't order much. For $250, I'd expect a spectacular meal. It was meh. Won't be back. Staff were friendly, which is good. read more

Amazing as always, carrot hummus knocked our socks off. The wines were tasty and our server was a super nice dude.

The most humiliating and degrading service I've ever had in my life! My mother in law can't drink alcohol nor fruity sodas. My husband too. They have no bottled water besides sparkling and zero drink choices if you don't drink alcohol or fruit infused drinks. We had already ordered our food. When my husband went next door to get Diet Coke the server was beyond rude wouldn't even let my husband put his outside the wall of the restaurant then huffed he was getting MGR. She came up wagging her finger at us and said no way could we have the Coke. No offer for a glass no offer of our policy is etc and be kind in letting us know. I was mortified, furious and totally shocked at the outright rudeness and degrading behaviors of the waiter and especially the MGR! What a waste of a talented chef. Do not give this kind of business your time and money. Shameful! Too many options in beautiful foodie haven Santa Fe! read more

Amazing tapas, excellent wine list and smart service just two blocks off the main plaza. read more

See all

We had such a fun visit to Santa Fe last week. One of our best meals was at La Boca. We sat outside, great atmosphere. The menu will please everyone. We started with the mussels in a green sauce, baguette side. Wow, best sauce ever, a must. Our second choice, the exotic. Local mushrooms sautéed and topped with a grated cheese. We shared the Boquereones & romesco, delightful bites with wine. Lastly, the amazingly delicious tacos de La Boca, crispy shrimp tacos, also a must. The wine list was good and reasonable. Service was really good, our server made the dinner fun. We will definitely go back, I've already recommended it to friends. read more

Excellent tapas. So full of flavor. The avocado gazpacho is delicious, and so are the dates and the gambas a la plancha! I've been there twice! And I will be back! Wish they were in NYC!!!! read more

So.... I was hosting a dinner party at my home, and thought it would be nice to order a huge pan of Paella, so I wouldn't have to be busy in the kitchen when my guests arrived. I called La Boca to work out the details. OK.. communication was a bit off in the beginning, because I didn't hear back for about a week. I later learned they were busy with Chili and Wine festival, so I'll give them a pass on that. My party was on Saturday, and my guests were arriving at 5 pm for cocktails, but I realized the restaurant didn't open until 5:30 so that was not going to work for me. I suggested to Emma, the manager, that perhaps I should pick up the Paella on Friday, and get suggestions from the chef on how to reheat it for my my diner on Saturday. I wanted to use my own Paella pan, and suggested I could drop it off the day before. She called me back, and told me the chef preferred that I serve the Paella hot and fresh... so he suggested that he would make an exception, and have the Paella ready for me to pick up on Saturday at 4 pm!! WOW... perfect!! I dropped off the pan on Friday, and Emma met me at my car to collect it. She was so friendly and nice. When I arrived the next day, Cameron, one of the food runners came out to meet me at my car with the Paella wrapped tight to keep it in place for the ride home, and to keep it hot. When I got home, I removed the plastic wrap, covered the Paella and placed it in a 130 degree to keep it hot for the next 2 hours. We sat down for dinner, and after the first course, I brought the Paella to the table. My guests literally gasped!!! It was so beautifully presented, with tons of mussels, and huge shrimp, and delicious, smokey chorizo and chunks of chicken. It was OUTSTANDING!! My guests said it was the best Paella they have ever tasted and I have to agree!! Thank You La Boca for taking the extra mile to accommodate me, and thank you Emma for being so kind and working out the details. This place is a class act, and the food is outstanding!! read more

Truly amazing tapas, with first class service. Ou server recommended a fortified wine for the food chosen, and he wasn't wrong!

My favorite travel buddy (my wife!) and I had dinner here on Aug 26, our first evening in SF. We had the alcachofas (artichokes), padron peppers, and carrot hummus, and a bottle of wine. The artichokes were just o.k, and had more goat cheese on the plate than was really necessary. The peppers were also average, though it was interesting that there was a bunch of toasted garlic in with the peppers; never saw that before. The carrot hummus was fine, just not enough bread/crostini for the amount of hummus. The best part was the wine, which, of course, the restaurant didn't make (and can't take credit for). All in all, just an average meal for the ninety-odd bucks we spent. Three Yelp stars. La Boca lost a star for our experience yesterday. While looking at the menu for dinner, we noticed that they have vermouth and a couple of desserts that were interesting. We stopped in yesterday to sit at the bar for a vermouth and dessert. We told the woman at the check in desk that we wanted to sit at the bar, and she told us that the bar was closed, but their taverna around the corner in the alley had a bar, and we should go there. We sat at a two-top near the bar, and a couple of minutes later a guy asked us if we had checked in the with hostess, and we said that there was no hostess at the front door (of the taverna, that is). A couple of minutes after that, a woman came over and asked us if we had a reservation. I said no, we just want to sit at the bar and have a vermouth and dessert. She said we could do that, but first she needed our names and a contact phone number, for contact tracing purposes. I told her forget it, we're not jumping through those hoops just for a drink and dessert, and we walked out and went somewhere else. I know that everybody is sick and tired of Covid protocols, masks, vaccinations, etc, but does this place really think that wasting peoples' time with trying to do contact tracing is going to accomplish anything?! Considering how restaurants are hurting for business these days, this place should've welcomed the opportunity for more customers. Their loss. While we're still in town here in SF there are plenty of other places happy for the business. read more

From the greeting to the bill everything was very good! 4 shared plates, serrano ham & anchovies on a bruschetta, quite good Artichokes were AWESOME! Chicharones were very good Shrimp & garlic quite good also. Wine was great, service was on point. read more

I had a great lunch here with a dear friend....and I am a vegan! The chef made me the most wonderful vegan dishes- the olives and hummus were amazing. So vegan readers- La Boca will work for you! read more

We got there at our reservation time and had not tables for us. Very noisy place with two separate restaurants. Waited until they told us that "it would be soon", but couldn't give us a time. This although THERE WERE FOUR TABLES AVAILABLE! I would avoid this place. Go instead to the "El Meson" nearby!! read more

I love to eat tapas and the ones at La Boca are truly amazing. It's a small restaurant, so a little tight... but the wonderful atmosphere made up for that. Guitarist playing Spanish music was beautiful. read more

See all

Reviewed yesterday When did a steak become a tapa? Like some other reviewers, I have to start by saying I like the Spanish concept of tapas as tasty, affordable small plates. We had the good fortune to spend some time traveling throughout Spain for a few months. Tapas are a delicious few bites of wonderful food grown, raised and caught with pride by local farmers or fisherman. Often you just select what you want from the bar and pair it with a glass of house wine or a beer. It's both inexpensive and lovely. La Boca serves good food with high quality ingredients. However, it's also an overly precious restaurant that wants to be a "foodie" heaven rather that a standout tapas experience. Sometimes a simpler preparation can let great ingredients shine. The artichokes here were simple but lovely. The carrots, on the other hand, were drenched in so many sauces that their fresh flavor was overwhelmed. Sometimes less is more. In our case, we also suffered through surly, condescending service. We didn't appreciate being "mansplained" through the menu because our server didn't think we "got it." He also rushed us to order our food, then forgot my order, and then covered by saying he was "pacing the food." If we hadn't gotten 5 of the 6 items all at the same time, we might have believed him. At the end of the meal, he asked us if we wanted to see the dessert menu. Yet after we said yes, he just brought us the check. There are many great restaurants in Santa Fe where you can spend less, eat better and not be bullied by your server. read more

Great tapas dining. Not only is the food a treat but the ambiance encourages sharing recommendations with neighboring tables. The grilled artichokes are delicately prepared and served as slices that were delicious and not only enjoyed by us, but our neighboring tables as well. The halibut tapas were tasty and not dry. The roasted piquillo peppers were not oily and the dish was a very generous portion. We also enjoyed the sangria and sauvignon blanc, which were reasonably priced. A fun culinary experience!! read more

Rip off If you would Enjoy eight dollars with the cheese for 26 go ahead, otherwise this place is a rip off read more

Decent food. Server overwhelmed. Terrible table, packed in. Will not be back. They should not be so full if they cannot handle the business.

This restaurant has a nice casual atmosphere, with a small patio. The service was excellent, and there are wonderful gluten-free choices including bread. The tapas themselves are not especially exciting. The standard potato-egg torta was all right but not great; the grilled artichokes with goat cheese was my favorite. I would not recommend the vegetarian paello which is kind of like a flavorless pastiche of various soft vegetables. The prices are about $16.00 for each tapa, so $32.00 per person about, plus drinks and tip. I expected the tapas to have more interesting color and taste than what is offered on the menu here and we tried quite a few. So not a memorable culinary experience, but a relaxing place to have a light lunch or supper. read more

We will be eating here again on our next trip to Santa Fe. The drinks are great and coffee is the best. The food is delicious.