The family had a taste test by getting a carry out order of mixed fajitas from three local Mexican restaurants we have never before tried. One was brand new to our area, another was one established and had over 800 overall very favorable reviews online , and the third was restaurant Santa Fe . This restaurant has been in this location for many years, but we had never yet tried it. When I picked up the order from Santa Fe restaurant, the man behind the counter was extremely personable, very accommodating, and very exuberant about - and self promoting of - this restaurant. I'm not sure if he was the owner, but if he was not, he should be! He also told me without hesitation that, of the three restaurants we were trying, we would like his the best - and he was NOT wrong! The price of the entree at all three restaurants was quite comparable and the mixed fajitas order for all three included beef, chicken, and shrimp , as well as rice and beans and mixed fajita vegetables of peppers and onions. That's pretty much where the comparison ends. Santa Fe restaurant had the best quality carryout containers, the friendliest staff (not that the other restaurants were unfriendly, not at all, just that this restaurant was remarkably friendly), and the order was ready to go on time. The rice and beans between all three restaurants were slightly different recipes, and Santa Fe was very good. Same with the fajita vegetables , but one difference was that Santa Fe had far fewer fajita vegetables in the order - not because they were stingy but because they we're so generous with the meat! The other two restaurants were mostly vegetables and not nearly as much meat. Of course, we definitely preferred having more meat! And let me tell you, the Santa Fe fajita meat was fantastic! Myself and the other family members differed a bit on ranking which of the three restaurants had the better rice or beans or fajita vegetables (even then, Santa Fe was always first or second), but there was immediate agreement among all that Santa Fe's fajita meat was several magnitude better than the other two restaurants - tastier spices, more tender texture, more perfectly cooked. We had it a few days ago and just writing this is making me want to drive over there and get another order of that fajita meat! They also have live Mariachi music on Friday nights and on some Sunday mornings for brunch. We will be trying that out next time a mariachi Sunday comes up. The only drawback that I can point to is that I wish the restaurant's website were better. Most especially, the app I had to use for online ordering was extremely annoying because, in order to get a confirmation number for the order, I had to download the actual third party app and then register for the app. Mind you, this is all after I have already put the order through and paid for it, so now no matter how frustrating it is there is no backing out.) This complaint is a reflection on the app, not the restaurant itself. I picked up a To-Go menu while I was there so that if we order again I can just call the restaurant and not have to go through that ridiculous app, which I promptly deleted as soon as I had my order. The other thing about the website is that I wish it had more pictures of the food, that would be kind of nice especially because they have a lot of Mexican dishes that are unfamiliar to me. Finally, I would have enjoyed finding more information about the restaurant itself. There's not really anything that says who the owner is or how the restaurant came to be ( at least not that I could find). I was trying to confirm whether the man I had spoken with was the owner, but there's really no information on the website about any of that. All very minor criticisms (well, except for the ordering app, that really was a huge frustration, but maybe it's just me...). Overall, excellent food and excellent people and we will definitely go there again! Five stars, even in spite of the app! read more

I really enjoyed my lunch here at Santa Fe. I had the fish tacos. These tacos are big, overstuffed with fish, and messy. (Just the way I like it!) They were perfectly prepared and I got to sample three different house hot sauces plus their salsa. Everything was delicious. Service was exceptional. My server checked back frequently and was very friendly and cheerful. Inside you will find a fun cantina atmosphere. I was up the block getting a car repaired and had time to kill so decided to talk a walk. Since it was lunchtime and I was walking by Santa Fe, i checked Yelp and based on stars and reviews this seemed like a great restaurant! I heartily agree! I am looking forward to my next car service so I can duck out of the auto shop and come back to Santa Fe. read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Tres Pescado tacos. - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

Fantastic low key Mexican restaurant with amazing food. Huevos Rancheros tasted fresh with crunchy vegetables which was a pleasant surprise! Spicy margaritas were fabulous! Highly recommended! read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Huevos Rancheros! - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

I would love to give it a good review because the Cook who I am sure was also the owner was so nice. Very nice staff. Very salty meat in the burrito. Could have been because it was the end of the day, but it was way too salty. The taste was fine. Also, when I order a supreme burrito I expect cheese and sour cream and maybe even avocado. The kid at the counter was nice but also had one earbud listening to his phone and one to me. Let's say I didn't get what I expected. Good area. Lots of places to eat. read more

It was pretty mid ‍ the service was on point but the food was skimpy just a little meat mostly vegetables read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

The food was very low quantity, but typical for the valley. I try not to go to Mexican restaurants because I tend to expect more as I travel to Mexico often just for the food. Waitress was alone with 25+ customers, on the phone and bussing tables. She was a one man wrecking crew. She gets 10 stars, the business is getting zero "0" stars for letting this happen on a Friday. I had three different plates, three different times and the food is not anything to write about. read more

Some great and very authentic Mexican food!! Served water and ice med tea right away without waiting. Atmosphere is fine...like a diner. Music is a little loud for the afternoon...but maybe I'm just old..lol! I had the Combo Santa Fe with chicken. Excellent!!! They could do better with the very small bowl of chips on the table. And most of them were broken into tiny pieces. But the entrees...they were excellent. read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Combo Santa Fe. Enchilada and stuffed pepper. So good! - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

Great tasting seafood and other dishes offered music family atmosphere different beers

Really good food. Had a chili rellano, which are my favorite. Good service and good atmosphere. Also asked for Pico de Gallo which was not on menu, excellent. read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Chili rellano - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

Service and food are both very good. Enjoyed the fajitas. The chips and salsa were good and salsa very hot, but good.

First time in a while a recommendation actually worked out. Happy dance. We sat at the bar. Decent choices of what you want to quench your thirst. They gave us chips and salsa right away, very pleasant. Got our drinks ordered the oyster shooters very tasty, I asked for shot of vodka on the side. The food came shortly after. Very pleased with everything we got, will definitely have to go back and try something different. The place was decent size looks like they can get busy. read more

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Our waitress was very friendly. We seen a stage I think some nights they have live music. This restaurant is Mexican authentic seafood. We had a ceviche appetizer that was so good and my partner has a fried fish and his daughter had carne Asada tacos. I had an octopus and fish dish with this red sauce. I forgot what it's called, but it was so fire. If you're ever visiting Palm Springs, I will definitely try this place out if you want to be away from the city just a little bit. read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Sashimi De Tuna, shrimp, scallops, octopus, cucumber, and avocado - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

Delicious food! Great service!! A good friend recommended this place and it didn't disappoint. Will definitely go back when I'm in town. Can't wait. read more

i ordered from door dash. The chips are burned. The beans are like soup. Tacos are good. I have ordered many times and it was never this bad. read more

Great food. This is my new go to place for Mexican food. Have had the menudo, the fried fish, and seafood soup!

Buena comida y atencion Muy ricos los tacos, comodas instalaciones y ambiente familiar. read more

Stopped in on Thanksgiving Day, at noon, and the place was 75% full. Three waitresses working, but service was not the fastest. The restaurant can be seen from Ramon Rd., but the entrance is on the back side. There's a small parking lot that's shared with several businesses, so it can be tight when they're busy. Large dining area and a small patio, which was not in use on the day we visited. DRINK: Full bar, however the Micheladas seemed to be the most popular drink of the day. I just had coffee, but no one was walking around providing refills, so I had to ask. They do have vanilla creamer, so that was a plus for me. FOOD: We received chips & salsa. The salsa was very flavorful, and interesting. They added corn niblets to it, which I've never seen before. For entrees, my wife had the Shredded Beef Flautas, which were topped with chunks of warm chicken and chilled pork meat. Again, an interesting preparation, but tasty. I had the Huevos Rancheros, which were topped with onions and peppers and a lite red sauce, rather than the heavier red sauce I'm accustomed to. My over-easy eggs were prepared perfectly. Rice, beans, and salad on the side were okay. Seems like a popular place. Might return one day. read more

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I going to start with the bad. BEWARE, I found bones in my lamb taco (see picture). Since no dental issues resulted I will assume that it added flavor and move on. Besides the bones, the lamb street taco was excellent. Lamb was marinated in their sauces and took on a great flavor. Add onions and cilantro and it was great. Should also mention that the meat portion was sufficient for a street taco. Definitely not cheated with this. Only other problem was that I got it to-go so the tortillas soaked up a little too much juice. That's ok, came with a fork. I adventured further into the menu and ordered a carnitas quesadilla. Again, great flavor and plenty of meat. I was able to eat about half before I tapped out for the evening. It will be breakfast tomorrow. To drink I ordered Jamaica. After working outside all day I was thirsty. However I remembered after ordering that it is usually very sweet (at other places) to the point of adding a little water. Again, score one for Santa Fe. The drink was not as sweet so it goes down cold and easy. Minus the bones, a great meal considering I was just driving back to the room and just pulled into the eighth taco place I passed. Definitely worth a try if in the area. read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Bones from the lamb meat - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

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Todo muy rico, las quesadillas de "masa" son de lo mejor. Es masa cruda, rellena y luego frita hasta tener algo parecido a una empanada. Se abre y las rellenan de lo que gustes. Yummy!!! read more

I've been coming to Santa Fe for years now and every time I have an amazing experience! The food is so great but the service is really what keeps me coming back. read more

Me and My partner went to eat last night. the server that we got was so rude and unprofessional. she was ignoring my requests and would only pass by without saying anything shes around her late 40's she didn't even asked us if we needed anything else and brought the bill and she was expecting us to tip her and got upset and left when we asked the total. she left the machine with us and went to hide in the back . Otherwise the other workers seem very friendly. and Food was great. but won't be going back it was just a bad vibe and we like to eat in peace and enjoy it. read more

I went to this location many years ago. I remember a patchy looking stuff bear, in the corner. (I kinda liked it.) The bear is gone. For some reason, the place feels much larger. Went with three friends for dinner. Service was not bad. I may have asked for the wrong things. Everything that I wanted to order, they were out of. So, I ended up settling for some enchiladas. They were ok, but nothing to write home about. The chiles güeritos were frickin' delicious. Rather than being served with a little mayo and soy sauce, they had a nice drizzle of a spicy mayo. There was still some soy sauce, but they absolutely didn't need that. They were delicious. Some were spicy, some not. 10/10 would get those again. My cup was never empty. I very much appreciate that. Prices are not bad. Live music on weekends. Parking is awful, as there are so many speed bumps in the lot. read more

Great Mexican food, Seafood and menudo is our favorite! very nice servers. Clean restaurant. Lots of parking. Right off of Ramon

Amazing, from the moment I walked in. Loved the ambiance of the people, the workers, EVERYTHING! The band that was playing while I was here was amazing too. The food was incredible, exactly what I wanted. 10/10 would defined recommend and would come most definitely come again. read more

Well... I'd love to try this place and use the coupon certificate I have.... Kinda hard to do when you try to place an order over the phone and they can't understand you asking about a "taco salad" so they just hang up. I understand language barriers can be difficult to deal with but hanging up on a customer is never the way to handle it. Aug. 30,2024 called at 9:33 read more

More of a letdown than a uplifting experience I truly hate to say. I just love my ceviche or shrimp cocktail. Here I had fish ceviche and aquaChile's (shrimp ceviche with avocado). Just "meh" for flavors and a lot of the shrimp were raw! My partner had calabicita (squash) Gorditas. Her masa tortillas were underdone, gummy and overly salty. The salsa was strange too. It resembled that of store bought, but when the food came they brought out two syrup dispensers filled one with red and the other green. They were different than any I had ever had and nothing I'll be dreaming of for seconds. The best part was the flan. Not too rich and not to sweet. Truly a good desert. Lastly, the service was decent. Yet the inside of this place was just grimy and the bathroom had a definite problem! I'm not sure but it smelled unpleasant -- it's not my favorite place to return to for sure. read more

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Last night to do patio dining before shutdown. Google maps got me messed up, going around circles. Called restaurant and they were helpful. Different menu, not atypical Mexican restaurant. Ordered chicken taco and beans for Mom, I had mixed fajitas. We also ordered a side of guac to go with chips. I ordered a mango margarita which was huge and tasted like mango but WAY TOO sweet. I could not drink it, switched it for a Modelo, out of Bohemia. Chips were yummy, as well as all sauces. Fajitas, the best I ever had except I would of liked more toppings, like cheese or guac? After chips and guac and beer, had one fajita and took the rest home. Still do look good. Mom wasn't impressed with chicken taco nut liked the beans. Would come back for fajitas!!! No ambiance but flavorful food. read more

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Amazing oysters! Service was great too. Next time we come we're getting their agua chile!

Came in super busy but we sat and we're helped relatively quickly, nice clean establishment with plenty of seating available and spacey bar. The food at this place has always hit the spot and the drinks are some of the best in town. I usually get a regular Michelada but I tired the mango one this time, and it was good. The camaron Diablo was nice and spicy and the fish tacos and quesadillas the masa are always my go-to. Wish the server was bit more attentive but overall great dinner. read more

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The food was really good the customer service was OK could've been a little bit better felt like we had to wait a long time to get things we requested and by the time it came around to was it was no longer needed or it was like too late but the food is really good you can't go wrong with the food here read more

I love the tacos here I been eating here a lot because of the drinks and the bloody Mary's read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - I destroyed the entire menu - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

Siempre ordeno de aquí pero hoy, no se que les paso ordene una botana de mariscos con callo y esto fue lo que mandaron, no le pusieron cebolla ni nada de crackers, usualmente ya viene con todo eso , eh ordenado lo mismo 5 veces y en ninguna tengo quejas. read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Botana de Mariscos con Callo - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

This was my dads favorite place to eat. It says a lot because my dad was a man with exquisite taste. The food here is just good. It's always good, it's taken care of by hardworking attentive dedicated staff and entrepreneurs. I would give 10/10 if it let me read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

My family literally comes here every other week to get food. Well tonight my husband not only found a stick in his food, but a piece of metal wire from a brittle pad. Come on! read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - Quesadilla compadres - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

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I've been here before last time for cocktail de camarones which was really good but this time around but on October 29 , 2023 around 4pm on a Sunday I ordered enchiladas which were spicier than anticipated and my server was non attentive that day didn't ask if my food was good or for a refill and also just took my plate without asking .she just didn't care so I gave her the same respect.I had to ask for another server for sour crème and refill and much kinder. They did comp the meal per my mom but I had left due a bad experience. read more

A very pleasant experience - first time here. The food was wonderful and the service was great as well!

Nice little place ,has a bit of a hole in the wall type feel to it and they make a pretty decent burrito so yeah can't complain. read more

Santa Fe Restaurant - a brick wall with a menu on it - Mexican Near Me - Cathedral City, California

Be aware they sneak in 3.99 for there tortilla chips that sit on top of there refrigerator until the next order. One star worst Mexican food in the valley . Step it up read more

I love the food here! They are tucked away in a strip mall but everything is delicious and made to order. They are really nice too!

This is a quaint little place with true mexican flavor. It could use a spruce-up as its not the cleanest and the decor... well there is none. I ordered the Calabacita Gorditas. The masa was still doughy, but the filling was quite tasty despite being waaay over salted. The salsa that came with the chips was just okay. It was on the sweet side. When the entrees came, the server brought a red and green salsa. Both were quite good, though I wont crave it any time soon. The server was kind and attentive. I doubt I will be back. It was good, just not special. read more

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