We dined the the lounge with the piano bar. It was delightful! It's an upscale atmosphere in a boutique hotel. We went on a Wednesday evening so it wasn't busy and there was a guest pianist, Ester. She was fabulous! She played and sang a wide variety of music. We ordered 3 martinis, chips and dip, and beef skewers and our bill was $63. All delicious! The service was also very good. I will go there again the next time I visit Santa Fe. read more

Seems to be a good place. Cool music, cool decor and cool menu. Unfortunately, my dinner entree was inedible. I ordered the salmon medium rare and it arrived so over-cooked, I couldn't eat it. I suspect this is not the norm, but be forewarned. When I informed the waiter it was bad, he offered to box it up for me to take home?!? I will give it a second chance because it feels like the elements are there (and my host swears it's good), but this was the low point of my Santa Fe dining (and I had lunch at Subway one day). read more

Wonderful place to enjoy a nice dinner. Was brought here for my birthday and was made to feel very welcomed and even was sung happy birthday (a little embarrassing) by the piano player in front of all. Food and wine selection was great! Along with a full bar of some great cocktails! I would definitely recommend this place for a nice date night! read more

We saw that this restaurant had a Piano Bar and looked like a good menu so decided to give it a try. So happy we did. The food was very good and the dining room is set off from the bar just enough to have a conversation but be able to enjoy the music. Lamb was perfect, Sea Bass good to the last taste, steaks done just the way ordered. The Piano Bar is fun with everyone joining in for the singalongs. Will definitely go back. read more

Doug Montgomery was as good as it gets! Went with my entire family for his set and he did not disappoint. He engaged the audience and took everyone's song requests. My Father told me this was one of his favorite places to go in the evening and I can definitely see why. We had drinks and apps but they also serve full dinner which looked really great. If you're in Santa fe, do not miss this entertainment evening! read more

What a cool place! The bartenders were great and knowledgable. Really enjoyed the live music from Kathy on the piano, she made having a few drinks fun and lively!! read more

We had an excellent dinner here while enjoying Doug Montgomery in the piano bar. I had the elk special and my wife had salmon. The service was attentive and the cocktails perfect. We asked for bread and it was delivered warm and fresh. As others have posted Mr. Montgomery is wonderful. He had us smiling through dinner. The menu here is not too adventurous here but the dishes were well executed. read more

Doug Montgomery performing in the Piano Bar this evening was the best! Our server was able to keep up with all the tables he was covering. The worst part is having enough handicapped-accessible parking. For some reason many of the parking spaces on the Water Street side of the Restaurant/Piano Bar were blocked off. The Water Street side is the only reasonable place where wheelchair-bound customers can enter without blocking traffic. There is an entrance on the San Francisco side of the building, but there is NO loading/ unloading zone without completely stopping traffic. There is a very simple solution to this problem - open the spaces on the Water Street side and mark them for walking-impaired customers. There were at least six different groups with a walking-impaired person in their party. read more

Oh such a great venue for entertainment. Have listened to Doug Montgomery on the piano for years. He is so highly trained in classical music yet knows how to entertain a captivated audience. A must visit in Santa Fe. The food is good too! read more

This used to be the go to place. Not so now. The only reason to go is to hear the fantastic Doug Montgomery. The food is terrible. The drinks weak. I have been several times since the new menu and found nothing that was good. We have sent back food but no improvement. The review in the paper is a joke. So sad to see a great place like Vanessies being ruined by management that obviously do not have a clue. read more

A wonderful restaurant in Santa Fe. The food was very good. The night we were there pianist Doug Montogmery and violinist Elizabeth Young entertained us. A beautiful Duo. The atmosphere was very enjoyable. The food was superb. A must go place in Santa Fe, New Mexico. read more

Had great fun over Thanksgiving...the crowd was raucous and really into dancing for Soul Kitchen, a wonderful local band. We had dinner in the dining room...elk was cooked just right and had a tasty port wine sauce. Drinks were excellent as well. All in all, a nice change from the quiet piano bar reputation Vanessie has. Will definitely return when in Santa Fe!! read more

Not so impressed! Had an Open Table reservation based on the great reviews. Walked into the bar area and it was packed. Piano player is awesome! Had to walk through the bar to find the host stand, hostess barely acknowledged our reservation. Bar was busy but couple seated/ordered after us received their food/drinks before our drinks arrived. My Chardonnay was room temp- not cold. Hubby's Crown & 7 was good. We decided to skip dinner and go somewhere else because of our experience up to this point. Menu is not too exciting for Santa Fe. Too bad -- we wanted to like this place. read more

Awesome entertainment, service and food! Piano bar was a wonderful surprise and so much fun. Our meal was so delicious and have to say one of the best steaks I have had at a restaurant. I ordered the ribeye and it was bone in and so juicy and cooked to a perfect medium rare. read more

Vanessie is a world class piano bar with world class entertainment. Doug Montgomery is super talented. Entertainment gets 5 stars but the dining experience is 3 stars. Super slow service. Ordered the Cabernet McManis from California which was great but took 15min to get to my table so canceled my appetizer since service was so slow. Baby Boomers mostly in the crowd and vibe is very high class. read more

The entertainment and food were very good. The beet appetizer was my favorite. The evening was wonderful up until the server refused my American Express Card. I was caught off guard because the websites I visited indicate that the restaurant is an American Express Merchant. Not a huge deal. I paid the $300 tab with a debit card. The jazz trio was nice so we decided to stay and have an other drink. We received our drinks and server brings tab and informs us that there is a $5/person cover since we are listening to the jazz trio. Ridiculous! read more

The food is mediocre and overpriced, and the entertainment is not my cup of tea. I'm amazed this place survives.

I had the best time here! Doug Montgomery is an amazing pianist and I guess Sunday nights are when locals can sing with Doug. Well, I was blown away by the talent. Especially Lesley Livingston, Brandon James and an opera singer from Pflugerville, TX, who lives in NYC. All 3 highly trained singers. I wish I had the NYC singer's name! She belongs on Broadway, or at the Met - such a terrific natural entertainer! The food was fantastic! I am vegan and the veggies and rice were fantastic!!! The service was great - slower, but that was great, so we could enjoy the evening of music and not get rushed out. Beautiful room for a wonderful evening of music! Yes, mostly older people, but it was all about the music!! read more

Welcome Mr. Brandon, We so looked forward to hearing you and especially a few days after you got to know Doug. We saw you on you very first very uncomfortable nights, before Doug got back to town. You made a very frank honest statement at the beginning of your performance announcing that you weren't really a pianist but a good vocalist. The Vocalist part of that statement was a big understatement.. You have an incredible voice. As well as Doug can play a piano....But you can sing. I know that at least tonight he even forced his ego to allow himself to acknowledge that you have an exceptional Vocal talent.. It seems rare to find someone that accomplished those skills in an equal pairety It is how Doug lives and why we love him so very much But Doug augments his huge scope of Piano talents with some Vocal. I remember when a few of us told him he should take singing lessons. Well that brought on an era of Doug taking vocal lessons which he practiced on us.for a long time. Doug will be 60 in March. He has made Vanessie's his primary home After conquering and getting comfortable with his singing he started taking bookings for private parties and concerts.He has had over 35 years to make this bar his home. He can accommodate the Classics and religious and everything in between. Just for fur he sings, but the piano always dominates. James your Voice dominates. Your voice is captivating and takes over a room. Yes the piano is there but, it is that voice, your Voice. Guests tonight had no problem acknowledging that Doug knows that Piano and how to work that crowd. God knows they have been training him for a very long time. Take a look around the room, those people raised Doug.They are is parents and grand parents and some great grand parents. They drag him around the country to show their friends the extreme talent they are acquainted with. You are in such a wonderful place.Actually I would like to think that I am in that wonderful place. I know I will get to tell people I knew you when!!! You are on your way. I hope you do some experimenting with A Capella, no mike (you are alive and have a strong voice), try it on your own, you might be surprised. Your voice is beautiful and diverse, toss in that opera piece. Just remember Vanesie's is not the MET. You can knock down the walls there with just your voice alone. Wow; just imagine walking into the Plaza and starting to sing opera or whatever. I will buy you dinner if the crowds don't stop walking and talking and just stand in awe. In one short week you have started well out of your shell. Your comfort level is improving so significantly. I am thrilled that you are booked here more frequently. You will make the room yours. If Doug plays before you the room won't empty when Doug leaves. It will simply become Brandon's room. Before you leave, please tell me you will force Doug into a duet. Let him woo the crowd with his piano and you knock them dead with your voice. You have done it once, Please let me know (if you can) when you are going to do it next. Gary Johnson gary19years@gmail.com I gave you this information just in case you want to tell me I am a fool and don't know what I am talking about, I still will know I am fortunate to have seen you early in this career and will follow you. Don't let Doug know I told you some of his secretes. I told you the first time we met, Doug has an ego and is actually fragile. He just hates it when I tell other people about that side of him. In case you haven't guessed I have the greatest respect for Doug as a pianist and performer. Thanks for your entertainment, I look forward to more and more. read more

Beautiful Piano Bar & wonderful Pianist, Louis Landon. Thoroughly entertained by Landon, especially when he played his own lovely music solos. I dropped in for a bite to eat and a glass of wine as I arrived in Santa Fe after dark and was staying at the very cute Hotel Vanessie for the night. Was nearly dissuaded from going since all the reviews were about Pianist & entertainer Montgomery who wasn't playing and who seems to have a loyal following. So glad I was there to hear Landon who is in Santa Fe for the week. Do yourself a favor and go to the Piano bar while Landon is still in town. read more

Doug Montgomery on the piano at Vanessie is one of Santa Fe's greatest treasures. His unique combination of virtuosity and playfulness, ability to give classical pieces their full drama and depth while also livening up the evening with humor and camaraderie, makes every performance a memorable delight. Treat yourself to two hours of big piano sound and put an equally big grin on your face. (The food and service are great, too.) read more

Update: Not a good meal. The service was off tonight. We asked to begin with a starter, salad, and entree. We had a salad, then a starter, then a so-so entree. We were required to ask multiple times for the same items - a trend. I can't believe how the place has slide down the quality scale. The ribeye was flat and somewhat tasteless. The baked potato was warm to touch, the salad could have used a bit more dressing. The chocolate cake was a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. I have to take this restaurant off of my list. A better idea would have been to have appetizers in the bar and listen to the music. After 25 years I am deleting this restaurant from my contact list. I should have known something was up when five of the restaurants I called for a reservation were booked and this one had openings. read more

For 17 years, Vanessie has been our favorite restaurant. Not any more. In fact, we are wondering if we will be going back. Under the new ownership, the place is not the same. One example: the onion loaf: gone from the menu, replaced by a battered, fried onion concoction that might have come from Outback. This is not a small deal. That onion loaf was Vanessie. Same great rooms, same great waiters, same Doug Montgomery, but a totally different feeling-- the spirit has gone the way of the onion loaf, more like the dozen or so dead flies on the window ledge in the outer room, or the painting leaning indifferently unhung against the wall. Clearly, the management doesn't love this place, and I am wondering whether I love it either. Will I give it another chance? I'm not sure. Robert S. read more

Awesome place! Food is very good and the piano bar is perfect. Came in just as one artist was finishing.

If you're looking for mediocre food; seriously old folks (65+) with whom to share oxygen, and an aging (cheesy) piano player and his cadre of amateur singers who've done the same show for 30 years (literally) - then this is your kind of place. (Cheesy as in singing "it's nine o'clock on a Saturday - at 9 on Saturday). A beautiful room that could be such a fabulous Santa Fe nightspot - wasted on the same 50 people who insist it stay the same. Hoping the out-of-state owner finally sells and something new can happen in this space. This is passé. read more

Meh, really sums it up. My three dinner companions and I went because Vanessie offers elk which is hard to find, and two of them wanted some. They reported that it was quite good. That's the only positive note. We arrived promptly at 5:30 for our reservation. There was no one else in the place, not a single party. And yet, the hostess seemed a little confused about seating us. We'd brought a bottle of wine, only to discover that doing so is illegal in New Mexico (not so in California where we're all from). So instead we ordered the only bottle of New Mexico wine on the menu. Two problems: 1) it's only about half way New Mexican; the grapes are grown in New Mexico, but it's made in Arizona; 2) it was completely ordinary; I've had better from the BevMo $.05 sale. It took 20 minutes to get our drinks...even though there was no one else in the restaurant. The server disappeared again and while we were waiting for him to reappear again, a party of 20 - 30 people arrived. Since my dining companions were going to the Santa Fe Opera, we panicked a bit. If we didn't get our orders in soon, the kitchen was going to be severely back logged. One of us finally had to get up from the table to hunt down the server. One of the "tells" I've learned about ordering gluten free in restaurants, if nearly everything on their menu obviously contains flour, ask about everything. So I asked about the risotto. Yep, the risotto has flour in it. Risotto? What risotto recipe uses flour? So I ordered the rotisserie chicken. Although it was salted, it didn't taste like they'd used any other spices on it. The leg was okay, but the breast was dry. Mashed potatoes. Very slender asparagus that was still woody and swimming in butter. Did I mention it was expensive? If you're just worn out from all the delicious, creative, inspired, regional cuisine of Santa Fe, then this might be the place for you. Otherwise, see my reviews this week for La Boca, Cafe Pasqual, and Tia Sophia's. read more

We had dinner at Vanessie in late June 2017. The restaurant is nicely appointed, quiet, with a piano bar and a pianist that is well known and popular in the area. The dinner service in the restaurant was efficient and personal. I had the elk tenderloin done extremely rare and it was right on the money and an excellent piece of meat. Also had their Marietta Lot 65 Zin blend wine--very nice and accompanied the dinner well. I'd rate the restaurant as a 4+ and would recommend it. read more

They don't accept vertical IDs despite it being a valid over 21 ID from another state. Don't bring your vertical ID.

I have had terrible service the past three times we have been to Vanessies. The wait staff is new and unprofessional, to the point of being rude. My food was cold. I have been coming to Vanessies for 20 years and will never go back. I gave them 3 chances, as I know all restaurants have off nights, but am completely offended by the way my table of six was treated. read more

I've been to several piano bars, some dueling, some solo: Pat O'Briens in New Orleans, Chopstix in Seattle, aboard the Carnival cruise line, and even one at the Disney World Resort in Florida. Thus, I feel I now have some experience to draw on for critiquing this venue. To summarize my experience: I've never been to such a lackluster piano bar! When we first walked in I was not surprised by the huge number of the over 60 crowd (I anticipated that from reading other yelp reviews), but at the lack of a stage or central space for the piano. It seemed as if it had been stuck amongst a sea of dining room tables. To the owner/decorators' credit, there is a large mirror behind the piano (on the wall) that reflects the piano player's keyboard. Since all of the tables were occupied, we headed over to the bar behind the tables, but still with a clear view of the piano. We were greeted by the very friendly and attentive bar tender, and ordered some drinks: $10 for a glass of yummy Gruet champagne (I'd heard the food was so-so and pricey so we did not sample that). After a few minutes, the piano player came out and played an unrecognizable song. Instead of anyone singing along, as is customary in piano bars, several people got up and started dancing (older couples) near the bar. Sweet, but not exactly my thing. In between each song, the piano player would make some cheesy comment like "If you can guess the name of this song you'll win a trip to San Fransisco!" In that instance, he was playing "Are you going to San Fransisco", the only song I recognized out of the set he played. Admittedly, we did not stay long, so I do not know if he continued on to play more popular piano bar tunes, such as "Piano Man" by Billy Joel. Perhaps if I were over 60 I would've loved this bar, but as the songs were unrecognizable and noone was singing along, it was not what I expected. Kudos to the brunette bartender with the ponytail, though--terrific guy and terrific service. read more

I wanted a good dinner with moderate prices and to check out the piano bar, was not disappointed! I had the New Zealand Elk Tenderloin, cooked perfectly the way I ordered along with the garlic mashed potatoes and spinach, awesome!!! (They served me broccoli to start and replaced it when I noted no spinach, no problem and fast) I also had The Doug Montgomery salad for a house salad which was pretty darn good, not one of those small plate lettuce things with maybe one small tomato either. I ate at the bar as I was alone, the bartender was very attentive allowing for some pleasant conversation, but I noted the waiters were also very friendly and attentive.The piano started at 7 and the player was kind of a high energy guy who banged out songs and got the audience to sing along, from what I saw everyone was enjoying themselves. I would say $$$ for prices but worth it, I will go back! read more

This is a very interesting place.. Went a few times with friends for drinks and appetizers in the late evening, to watch the piano players/singers.. They are generally pretty funny, extremely talented, and into crowd interaction. Doug Montgomery is just fantastic.. The crowd , due to the prices, is an older crowd in the early evening for dinner and becomes somewhat younger later in the evening for drinks.. The crowd here on some nights, such as when they have special events like the Halloween party, is very heavily gay ; but normally is a mixture of straight and gay more representative of the general Santa Fe demographic .. I never ate a full dinner here, because it seems like a stuffy and quite expensive place to eat dinner, which was outside both my price range and culinary interests.. The appetizers I had here were generally pretty good.. Personally I found the service to be OK, some of the waitresses and waiters I found to be pretty friendly, other members of the waitstaff are kind of snooty and aloof.. So it is true that service is hit and miss, sometimes it is great and sometimes bad, although my experiences were good more often than bad, particularly after getting to know some of the waitstaff so that they would recognize me when I came in.. read more

We stayed at the hotel/inn. I do not know how others gave this place such a good rating. Our experience was TERRIBLE. They use the right words when they talk about quality of experience and about excellence in service .They do NOT deliver. Breakfast was supposed to be included. It was not. We were given $10.00 for two people in a town were coffee is at least $3.00 a cup...told to go find a cheap place. Ah...right...that's great service. No one is on location so if you need anything...sorry you are on your own. The final icing on the cake was the garbage trucks right outside the window waking you up at 5:30 am...not very restful.This place is run on a thin nickel and corners are cut everywhere. There is no service and quality is non existent. We heard that it is owned by an out of state dentist. He might want to pay closer attention to his investment before it vanishes. read more

The wait staff is terrible and they take it out on your food of you complain even slightly. The restaurant was empty on a Sat night. What does that say? Don't waste your time unless you just want to go to the piano bar. Piano player is excellent. read more

Fun and entertaining place to go, with food that is good enough. We are glad to have made it a part of our visit to Santa Fe.

One star only because it wouldn't let me give it a turd. Good grief what have they done to Vanessie?!?! I've had the good fortune to enjoy dinner, drinks and the magnificent piano of Doug Montgomery for several years now. On a recent visit in November sitting at the bar enjoying a great steak I learned that there had been an upheaval with wait staff and management. I returned to Santa Fe for the Christmas and NewYears holiday. Last night, my first experience with the new menu (I'm guessing they think they're an upscale Italian restaurant now), ordering the house bread and Vanessie salad. The bread was weird but pleasant with two sauces. Red sauce had good flavor and spice, however the non-descript olive oil and 4 small olives which must have been from a jar bought at Albertsons could certainly use some improvement. The salad, a rats nest of kale, two small slices of candied pear and the most bitter vinegar dressing I've ever had could have stayed in the kitchen. Not a great food evening. Our party returned this evening. The beet salad was quite good ( we opted not to have bread or pear salad again ). With my past great experience with the steak and my lack of knowledge of Italian (at least provide English subtitles on the menu!) oh, back to the subject, I ordered the steak, medium plus. Unfortunately it arrived cooked medium rare. When we could get the servers attention again, the steak was returned and later arrived completely charred. Tough and covered in some kind of syrup that may have been alright on a pancake, NOT a steak. I ramble, sorry. Unknowing, uncaring service, awful menu and food quality. I'm afraid not even the stellar entertainment will be able to save Vanessie now. I will miss this what seems to be former Santa Fe destination. read more

First of all, we made a reservation last Saturday for Wednesday night. Six of us vacationing, some to Santa Fe for the first time. Confirmed that we would be in the lounge, which was a main draw for us. Got there...no record of our reservation. Lounge was full, of course. Hostess was rude. A manager-type took charge and set up a table for us in the dining room. Got our menus, and realized it was a TOTALLY different menu than what was on the website. Like TOTALLY. So much so that we had to ask if we were in the right place. Yup, they'd changed the entire restaurant concept two months ago to an all-Italian overly sophisticated menu, but failed to update the website. Most, but not all, of the food was good. Miscues on drinks orders. Nothing extraordinary. They did comp a couple of cocktails and an appetizer, for which we were grateful. Piano bar sounded fun, but alas we didn't experience it. Next time will try one of the other zillion great places in Santa Fe. read more

Not impressed at all with the food. Steak was tough and dry, which is hard to do with a filet. For the prices charged I would expect aged, prime meat, not a cut you could purchase at any grocery store. Service was excellent, dining room was nice, and it was quiet enough for conversation. read more

Although we didn't stay at the hotel, we had the best time at the bar....I LOVE eating at the bar when there is wonderful entertainment!!!! We came, had a drink, ordered the cheese sampler, and loved Bert Dalton and Andy Wilkins duo so much, we decided to stay put - i had the chicken with truffle potato, my friend had the 1/2 lamb rack, and we both agreed our food was great!!!! I had LOTS of Drambuie and ran up quite a bar bill, but our bartender Richard was very nice!!!! I had the best coconut cream pie I ever had in my life!!!! And Jeff, the maitre d, was so nice and helpful!!!! The artwork is really beautiful in the bar room, and the pianist was so friendly - stopped and talked to us!! All in all, it was a memorable evening, and I give the lounge 5 stars!!!! read more

We had a nice quiet dinner here. The atmosphere is very nice and our waiter was friendly and attentive. We would definitely return!