Excellent pastries, the plain croissants are some of the best that I've had in the states.

Wow. Just, wow. The almond croissant was buttery, flaky and oozing with an almond (marzipan?) filling. So delicious. I munched on that while waiting for my French Onion Soup - also to die for. The perfect ratio to onion, bread and cheese. A hit of brandy or cognac in there would've been nice but it was still rich and delicious. I got a blueberry danish and small baguette to go and could not resist eating the danish that had a layer of vanilla pastry cream below the homemade blueberry filling once at home. I'm telling you this place is the real deal. I'll be back for the pistachio chocolate croissant and a Croque Monsieur. I also liked the vibe inside the cafe-plenty of space to read and write solo at a table. And when the regular counter lady came back things ran smoothly. Up until then it was kind of cute watching the owners wait on customers as I'm pretty sure they don't speak English. Sweet couple. read more

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3/23/2025 update to a prior review. Still good food. Will go back. Today I ordered coffee, potatoes gratin, bacon . . . And a strawberry pastry. The waiter confirmed the pastry at thw time of my order. When I arrived there were 8 beautiful fruit pastries, two with strawberries. This was the main reason I selected Madam Matisse for my last day in Santa Fe. The order took some time to arrive. My partner's order first. The OJ. Then the coffee. Finally my potatoes and bacon. The server said 'all is good?' I looked at him and said...um...my strawberry pastry please! By this time we had waited almost 30 minutes for our meal to arrive in pieces. He went ro the case and I overheard the owner say she had sold them all. Every fruit pastry was now gone. He slowly walked back and told me, said sorry, then tried to walk away! I said...wait...what about my pastry? He shrugged. I asked, there are NO fruit pastries left. He just shook his head. I walked up front and luckily there were a few chocolate croissants. I asked for one. He didn't offer to heat it, he didn't offer to warm up my coffee, he didn't offer to fill my partners water glasses which was now empty. But he delivered the pastry to me and walked away. He never returned. The owner told him to fill our water. My coffee was cold. My potatoes were delicious but also cold by this time. My partner whose meal was fine had eaten. Nothing was said when we left. We had to go to the front counter to pay. He didn't bring a ticket to us either. And honestly, I think my pastry, not the one I ordered, should have been free. Leo is a very nice person, but possibly needs to find a different job. I will still go back, but this time I will secure the pastry I choose first and not let it out of my sight! Don't go if you are in a hurry. Do go if you want good food and don't mind questionable service. I really hope for the best for this place and the owner. I still want my strawberry pastry!!!!! read more

We went on a Wednesday at 11:30 and it was almost emoty. I had egg bene and a cininin roll, and the food was very good. The roll was not an American cinibon roll, but more French flakey. Wife had a sandwich and it was good. The bread was especially good. read more

Wow. This little shop packs a big punch. The bakery items are delicious and seem fresher and tastier than the other couple of French places you probably know about. The Bahn mi sandwich is delicious and unique in its flavor profile. Take a step off the beaten path and go try it out. Across Cerrillos from El Rey. read more

Madame Matisse is one of my favorite Santa Fe eateries. The food is top quality and the pastry is divine. Pricing is reasonable and the service is warm and friendly. Its's a hidden jewel. read more

I went here for lunch with a friend. When we asked for the check, the server brought a handheld PoS to the table. I asked if we could get a paper check. He told me not until after we paid but showed me how we could look at the itemized expenses. He asked me how much I wanted to tip. I asked him if we could have a minute. He nodded and continuer to stand there. I asked him if we could have a minute alone to discuss the check. He grunted and stepped back about 5 feet - staring at us the whole time. We paid in cash with a tip - but I won't go back. Very rude and awkward. read more

We had a wonderful breakfast there. Hidden off Cerrillos, but worth the time to get there. Large dining area, ample parking. Delightful help and the pastries like no other. read more

Madame Matisse - Breakfast!! - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

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i want to like this place but each time I come in the music is TOO loud and club or disco music! it seems they might read there customers better... older, potentially hard of hearing and want a place to chat and enjoy the good food. not an early morning night club read more

the food reminded me of being in france - nice salade with my eggs and a cage au lait very nice

When you walk in the only thing you see are empty cases with no pastries at 9 am. The front doors were open and a food delivery truck was outside so our dining experience was accompanied by the sound of an eighteen wheeler with its engines running. The open doors also brought in flies that circled our table while we were there. Hubs ordered the eggs Benedict with a side of crispy bacon and I ordered a salad with beets, goat cheese and a lime vinaigrette. Hubs said eggs Benedict was tangy not creamy tasty and huffed at salad that was the side. Prices are high. It was $4 for two pieces of bacon. Our bill was $46 before tip. My salad was good. Not great. Goat cheese was two fried goat cheese wheels and beets were large pieces both purple and yellow and salad also had feta which was weird. I ordered hot tea and received no lemon, no honey and limited selections. I think there might be better breakfast options. I would skip this one if you visiting from out of town. If you are local I'm sure you are aware of the shortcomings. read more

Madame Matisse - a restaurant with green booths and paintings on the wall - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

wonderful neighborhood restaurant. low key. friendly staff. maybe the best pastries in santa fe. good food.

Having spent a lot of time in France and grown up with two grandmothers of French descent, I have high standards for things like French onion soup, french bread, croissants and pastries. This place is simply the best! And their Banh Mi sandwich is also superb. read more

When they're open, they have good food .. especially the bakery . Their problem is they're constantly closed and you never know when they will reopen! Their ovens have been broken more than they've been working.!! read more

A true gem of a restaurant! The food was par excellence and the pastries were outstandin. I recommend their Sunday brunch, and pets are welcome inside! read more

My new go to restaurant. Fabulous entrees, coffee and pastries. Everything is cooked to perfection!

We loved this place for a quick breakfast before a hike. Quiche Lorraine was a hit! Plus, this was the best place in town to get a homemade granola and fruit parfait. Service was incredibly fast! Parking is easy in their dedicated lot. Note: they are NOT open on Monday read more

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I had the best club sandwich I've ever eaten in my LIFE here for brunch on Saturday. The bread was toasted with butter in a skillet, the lettuce was crisp, the tomatoes were fresh and the sandwich was jam packed with turkey and avocado. It was so filling, in fact, I had some left over for an afternoon snack. The French fries are better than I've ever had, as well. They were crispy and light, not oily. The woman was short staffed, so she was taking care of the front all by herself. That didn't affect her hospitality, though. She was great. Whenever I'm feeling like a turkey club, this will be my go-to place. read more

On my last visit here, I was hugely enjoying a meal with a guest from out of town when we noted the "closed" sign was affixed to the door at 2:30 p.m., presumably to prevent new customers from entering. As noted before, the time the kitchen closes is a piece of proprietary and floating information in this establishment. We continued to have a grand old time finishing off our table of sumptuous lunchy things -- only marred again by the inability to get a good cup of tea -- until the server approached at 2:40 to announce, "We actually closed 40 minutes ago, so ..." With a palpable grimace, to let us know just how gruesomely we had overstayed our welcome. I said, "We thought you were open until 3:00 from your website." She said, "Yes, but we're short staffed today, so I'm the only one here." To recap: In Santa Fe, when a restaurant is closing its doors 20 or 30 or 40 minutes early -- who knows, math and all -- no one will let you know at the point of ordering so you might plan your meal accordingly. Nor, barring that, approach to say, "So sorry, don't want to rush you, but we have to wrap up early today as we're short staffed." Aka, what comprises minimum customer service in every other known part of the universe. And to which we would have had nothing but sympathy. But alas, the compulsion to let customers know they are destroying lives by visiting a business during its PUBLICLY STATED BUSINESS HOURS is just too irresistible. So we stuffed unfinished pastries away and ran out of there. What a ruined experience, and so very unnecessarily so. It is frankly embarrassing to bring people out to eat in this city. read more

What a disappointing experience. I had eaten here several years ago and really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. I was looking forward to revisiting it. I had a totally different experience. There was one server for the whole restaurant and even though they weren't that busy he seemed totally overwhelmed. We waited 1 hour and 15 minutes for our food and my order wasn't correct. I ordered french fries and got salad instead. I let the waiter know but I never received the fries. We watched one customer leave because of the delay in service. We asked to see the owner who was in the kitchen but he never came out to talk to us. This is no way to run a business! Very disappointing. There are plenty of wonderful places to eat in Santa Fe so I will not be returning there in the future! read more

Excellent menu, pleasant ambiance, good service and convenient location. French Onion soup and Smoked Salmon salad are my lunch favorites.

I would recommend just coming to pick up pastries. We came for breakfast and I ended up just getting an almond croissant because I don't usually eat big breakfast. The croissant was perfect, I loved the filling. It was better than the one I got from another bakery the previous day. But, I didn't really love dining in. They were playing two totally different radio stations (one in front, one in the kitchen) but both were very loud and the cacophony was physically painful. Service wasn't amazing, my water never got refilled. Hubby ate a breakfast burrito I believe and enjoyed it but the ambience was negative. So next time I come early to get first pick of pastries and then skeddaddle. read more

Everything looks so good here, but twice we've come in and not actually left with food for one reason: food handling. We left last time because we saw counter staff handle money then go grab pastries for the customer in front of us without changing gloves or sanitizing. We were about to be impressed with sanitary technique when we saw the staff putting on fresh gloves to select our pastry this time, but then she put that gloved hand all over the customer side of the glass display before picking up the food we were selecting, touching the food directly in the process. We have one suggestion: tongs. If one is using a set of for packaging their pastries and resting it on a dedicated clean surface between uses, one is not risking transfer of any unpleasant items from one customer's hands to another's mouth. Just saying... read more

FINALLY got to try this cute place. I'm usually out too late (closes at 2:30). Cute, open space...the almond croissant was tasty (but they did not offer to warm it.) Coffee was strong (like I like it) For these they'd get 5 stars. Staff today didn't listen at all. I ordered a coffee with room for lots of cream; they didn't. I asked for no plastic lid on coffee...they put one on and, before I touched it, I said I didn't want it. They threw it away, which defeats my purpose And they have plastic straws. PLEASE GET RID OF PLASTIC! Or at LEAST ask. read more

Madame Matisse has such GOOD food. Their sandwiches are always fresh (the Italian and the Banh Mi are very delicious!), the pastries are insanely good, and the service is always short and sweet as preferred. Their croissants are really great, and I've been finding myself craving them in the mornings. I recently tried the raisin roll and that was amazing, very tasty and lightly sweet. The owner is very kind, and I've never had an issue with my food in all of the times I have went to eat/picked up from here. I really can't say enough nice things, so what are you waiting for?? Go! read more

Wonderful, wonderful! They really really know how to cook here. Had the Norwegian omelette. Salmon and feta cheese...to die for!!!!! Wish I could take this restaurant home with me. Got a couple pictures. read more

Madame Matisse - Norwegian omelette!!! - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

Went for brunch today...warm goat cheese salad is delicious, Spanish omelet was good, accompanying gratin potatoes are superb! Also ordered an almond croissant. It was good but so much almond filling that it weighed down the fluffiness of the croissant. I will 100% return. Merci for the awesome brunch! I arrived at 9 am. It is better to arrive at 10 am, because I watched alot of fresh baked pastries delivered to display case between 9 and 10 am. read more

What a cute concept! This cafe and bakery was located less than 10 minutes from our Airbnb and I'm so glad it was! The exterior is located in a strip mall off a residential street, but the interior is very charming and takes inspiration from Matisse's works of art. I was really happy to find this since Matisse is one of my favorite artists! The wall decals are meant to look exactly like his famous colorful cutouts which I found very original. For brunch, we enjoyed a raisin roll, cappuccino, drip coffee and a breakfast wrap. Raisin roll: the perfect level of sweetness to accompany our coffees--it had notes of apricot which I really liked! Coffees: my bf liked his drip coffee and I also enjoyed my cappuccino. It was a bit on the strong side but still yummy. Breakfast wrap: this was my favorite part of the meal. The wrap is packed with fresh scrambled eggs, avocado and cheese, and on the side they bring a (spicy) cup of green chile. It also came with a side of greens and a perfect dressing! read more

Madame Matisse - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

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Delicious! Go at 9:30 for fresh pastries. Loved the croque monsieur and onion soup. Cappuccino and chai were so yummy too. Will def come back. read more

Well I'm a little ambivalent about this review only because I'm afraid it may expose one of the best French patisserie's in the Santa Fe area. When living in NZ we would frequent the French bakery (we knew the pastry chef there and fell in love with the in-house goods). Madam Matisse puts us right back to those special mornings, the Pastries are sublime if you can find them fresh out of the back room. Seem to get pretty lucky around 930 for the freshest classic goodies read more

Madame Matisse - Pastry Heaven - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

I hesitate to leave a 5-star review based on just one visit. It was a whale of an experience...or was it just a fluke? I had the best classic simple vinaigrette, the best French onion soup, and maybe the best croque madame I've had ouside of France. The patisserie case was beautiful, even better than Clafoutie, let alone the Creepery at La Fonda. There must be a French person in the engine room--good French food is hard to find! And this one is hidden behind Cerillos Road. I shall return. read more

We visited Madame Matisse yesterday and had delicious French toast plain and with berries. The latter is served with a berry syrup. Both are accompanied by dollops of whipped cream and served in an appealing manner. While we were enjoying our breakfast, the aroma of just baked pastries filled the air. The display was mouth-watering so we bought a cinnamon twist, a chocolate croissant, and almond croissant. They were very impressive. The baker is French, which explains the high quality--flaky and delightful. Our waitress, also from France, was very welcoming and provided attentive service. It's a small and unassuming place that can't be missed. read more

The pastries and the food is absolutely amazing. I had their Burrata and Tomato Salad and Banh Mi .....so GOOD..... The most amazing thing they have is THAI NIGHT on Monday nights so authentic and delicious. I'm Thai and some of the dishes was actually better than Mom (sorry Mom) Been there 3 Mondays in a row and will properly will go until I finish working and head back to L.A. y'all don't want to miss out... read more

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I was so excited to try this place after all the hype. Well I ordered on grubhub and when it arrived my quiche was burnt. I will say I could tell it was tasty even though and the side salad was good and fresh. Also, my French onion came with no cheese and no croutons. read more

Madame Matisse - a piece of pizza and a salad - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

This is a favorite for breakfast and/or brunch!! Everything from the pastries to the meals are fresh, delightful, mouth watering, and the atmosphere is quality with an overall feeling of visiting France! I consider this place a wonderful escape from typical diners ~ a must try! read more

So we (luckily) stumbled upon this place while we were craving for French baked goods but Clafoutis was closed. Thank you Yelp community for putting this spot on the map otherwise we would have never been able to check it out! My husband and I decided to have one last meal in Santa Fe before flying back to Austin. We were warmly greeted by the staff and immediately seated. I was already drawn into the store by the selection of baked goods they had in the display casing at the front of the store. We weren't starving but more often that not, our eyes were hungrier than our stomach. We got the French onion soup, eggs Benedict with crab, and quiche Florentine with French fries and side salad. We also got the apricot danish to enjoy at the end of our meal. Hands down the best French brunch we have ever had. The owner came by and personally greeted our table adding a personal touch to our meal. Everything we ate was delicious and we were so surprised to find this lovely bakery tucked away here in Santa Fe. My husband said he would fly in just to have this meal again. Can't wait to return on our next trip to Santa Fe! read more

Madame Matisse - Eggs Benedict with crab (incredible) - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

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Had the smoked salmon eggs Benedict. Very tasty. Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for 15 years, I'm a bit picky about my smoked salmon. This smoked salmon was a melt in your mouth finely smoked fruit of the sea! The hollandaise I could tell was house made. Not too lemony. The eggs poached headboard style! Just right! A perfect flavor of garlic on the pommes de terre! Blends perfectly with the whole dish of flavors! The coffee, fresh and tasty. I am glad I stumbled upon Madame Matisse. I shall surely be back! read more

Madame Matisse - Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict. - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

Madame Matisse is now opened on Mondays!!! Yeah. Excellent coffee as always and the pastries are wonderful. I tried the apricot tart, fresh apricots and flaky crust - really lovely. The service was efficient and gracious. Don't miss a chance to eat breakfast and/or lunch at this island of France here in Santa Fe! read more

well... it's a nice addition to the food scene in santa fe. not quite sure if they've got the kinks worked out yet. it's not intuitive whether to look at the bakery case or sit down when you come in. several people asked "how it worked." but the staff are attentive and helpful, and once you state that you'll stay, they invite you to sit. (i think having the staff say "hello! come in and take a seat or let me assist you at the counter" might be helpful til people figure it out.) the menu could use a little design love. but it's a nice mix of sandwiches, salads, and some nice looking entrees. decor is modern and not overdone. it's a pleasant space. seating is upholstered and thereby comfy! i got a croque monsieur and an iced mocha which was made in a funky way like iced coffee with a splash of chocolate, but it was actually ok. the croque monsieur was lovely. the bechamel is perfection. and i love the bread, which was a pleasant surprise. the side salad was very lightly dressed with vinaigrette. the lettuces were lovely. i'd love to see them use ripe heirloom tomatoes (perhaps they'll tap those later in the season when they are available locally?) get there early if you want pastries! they ran out of chocolate croissants by 10am! they must be pretty good! service was good but not fast. so don't be in a hurry and frustrate yourself! oh, and don't be afraid to go "into the kitchen" to go to the restrooms! read more

Madame Matisse - croque monsieur - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

We have been searching for a good croissant all over Santa Fe and this has been our favorite so far. The regular croissant is buttery, could have slightly more layers but it's not overly crispy like others we've had. The pistachio croissant has so much flavor without being overly sweet. Giving less than 5 stars because their banh mi is $13!!! Banh mi should be affordable and accessible to the masses and that is a ridiculous price. read more

Madame Matisse - Pistachio chocolate croissant - Cafes Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico