Taos Restaurants

You couldn’t get a better location in Taos than this for a friendly local coffee shop, and it would be hard to find a better selection of coffee drinks too, so the only thing this place really lacks is space. There are just a few seats on a bench outside, and a few more at a counter inside, so if you can’t secure one of these you’ll have to opt for “coffee to go” – although with the Plaza just a few steps away that’s not too bad an option. But we managed to grab a couple of those inside seats and enjoyed a relaxing brew – an iced latte for me and a cappuccino for Chris.

If you’re not a coffee drinker they also have a good selection of teas and fruit drinks so it’s a great refreshment spot whatever your taste!

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The Taos Inn is one of two historic hotels in the centre of Taos, and has bags of character. We did consider, briefly, staying here but the budget wouldn’t stretch! However we did have a couple of good meals here, one in the Adobe Bar and one in the main restaurant (see next review). The former serves the same menu as the restaurant (as well as a simpler bistro menu), but in a more casual setting. This suited us fine, as did the fact that we could get a table immediately whereas there would have been a 30 minute wait for one in the restaurant on the evening we visited (I believe that reservations are only accepted for the restaurant, not the bar).

We found a table in a side room off the main bar, which was an attractive space and relatively quiet. Our server was very friendly and made a great recommendation on the margarita – the signature “Cowboy Buddha” was excellent!

Favorite Dish: I chose the blue corn chicken enchiladas with red chilli (as in most places, I could also have had green), Spanish rice and pinto beans. Chris had a green chilli cheeseburger which came with French fries. Portions were good, but we managed to squeeze in a shared helping of dessert – fruit cobbler with cinnamon ice cream. The margarita and a couple of beers for Chris pushed the bill up to $60 with tax and a tip, but we’d thoroughly enjoyed the meal and felt it was reasonable value for the setting, service and quality of food – and drink!

To make an evening of it, we then moved to the main part of the bar where there was live music. This was pretty full, but we secured seats up on the balcony, where we had an excellent view of all the activity below. I just had to have another Cowboy Buddha, and Chris another beer. The band were very good, playing Western and folk-influenced music which might not be my usual listening at home but fitted perfectly with the atmosphere in this historic spot. What a great evening!

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We returned to the Taos Inn on the Sunday for lunch, mainly because we liked the look of the little patio at the front of the building. But we discovered that only the limited bistro menu was served here, and as we were looking for salads which only appeared on the main brunch menu, we were directed to the restaurant, Doc Martin’s. This is quite a formal place by Taos standards, and more so than we would usually chose for lunch, but we’d been on the go all morning and were ready for the break it offered.

Favorite Dish: The brunch menu is extensive and with larger appetites I think we’d have found it difficult to choose. But we’d already had a good breakfast at La Doña Luz, and rarely eat a large lunch, so we focused on the salads. I opted for the grilled apple and blue cheese salad, which was a good plateful and pretty tasty, while Chris chose the Cobb salad, which was OK though nothing special. We both drank grapefruit juice and paid $28 with tax.

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This remote restaurant is deservedly highly rated - some even place it in the top 100 in the US. Its dinining areas are all well lighted from the outside or actually on the patio. It is a very inviting and pleasant establishment with a very professional staff.

Favorite Dish: I had been eating Mexican food for several days so opted for trout almondine which was very well prepared and tasty. My wife and our 2 friends had New Mexican cuisine (I don't remember exactly what) and alll said it was delicious. We all had "prickly pear lemonade" which is made with cactus and found it light and refreshing. It is one of our friends' favorite places in NM. It was all topped off with sopapillas and honey - wonderful!

This little place does a booming business among the locals - always a good recommendation. It has a great ambience - dining on the patio in warm weather is a great experience. It is rated in various places as one of the top 5 in Taos. Entrees are generally less than $10 and the portions are large and freshly prepared.

Favorite Dish: I was very dubious about avacado pie, but one of our group ordered it and let us sample it. It was delicious and tasted very much like a really good key lime pie.
Reservations and credit cards are not accepted.

Get the Fatty. Eske's was on my list of brewpubs to visit for a long time. It wasn't anything in particular but probably more due to inaccessibility than anything else. Much as New Mexico and Taos in particular had eluded me, Eske's had followed suit. Housed in a classic Adobe building, there is a nice outside porch for dining as well as some nooks and crannies inside. There is a very small bar which is where we sat. The bartender turned out to be from my old home state of Pennsylvania so we had lots to talk about and getting tasters was easy too. It's a casual place.

Favorite Dish: The menu is limited but we were in the mood for Southwestern fare and that they sure had. We got Wanda's Green Chile Tortilla-A whole wheat tortilla filled with beans, onions and cheddar cheese, smothered in Wanda's Green Chile Stew for $6.25. Our buddy bartender told us to get the fatty but we stupidly decided against this. Fatty sounded like some drug reference to me but we later found out it meant they stuffed the tortilla with mashed potatoes which sounds a bit odd but sure it was a lot more filling than what we got. Still, it was a fair size for the price and certainly tasty. We had the Special Bitter which was amber with a nice mix of malt and hops. It was in the English Bitter (4.6%) vein but with American hops so a bit of a cross breed. The Old Coal Porter (4.5%) was very dark with ruby highlights and dry malty palate. Taos Green Chile was a light lager with just a hint of chile, not as bad as I had expected. The Scottish Ale (6.4%) was an interesting big brother to the ESB, malty but dry and hoppy in the finish. Quite nice. The Seco Stout was a classic Dry Irish Stout. Black with tan head and bitter palate.

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Ogilvie's is located on the east side of the Plaza on the second floor. Go inside the shops entrance and then look for the stairs.
This Mexican food restaurant is very clean and well kept. The wait staff is efficient and knows the menu. The tables are spread out so that you are not on top of a neighboring table. In the summer you can eat on the balcony outdoors.
The menu listings are not numerous, so they can devote their energies to doing it right.
I highly recommend Ogilvie's. Opens at 11:00.
They have a good children's menu.
I lived in New Mexico for many years, and I know Mexican Food. This is an exceptional restaurant. It beats any Calfornia Mexican Food Restaurant, except maybe a few in Old Town, San Diego, and is comparible to any of the best in Denver.

Favorite Dish: I recommend the blue corn enchilada stack, or the enchiladas. The beans that come with these dishes are terrific, not coming from a can, but soaked overnight and then cooked in a nice broth.
To die for: the guacamole dip. If you like your guacamole with garlic and chile pepper this is for you!
No sopapillas.
They also have fajitas, beef or chicken, but I didn't try this.
Keep in mind that this is northern New Mexico and so the food will have a bit different salza flavor. Yes, Mexican food here is a bit different flavoring that Texas or California. Enjoy!
Not an expensive place.....

This little place has a great menu strongly, but not exclusively, geared toward Mexican cuisine. It is not fancy although attractive and the staff very accommodating and helpful. Their bakery items are prepared on the premises and our friends report that they are wonderful. They also have the full spread of coffee and cappucino drinks. They are open 7 days a week but only from 6:30 am to 5:30 pm.

Favorite Dish: They serve their breakfast dishes all day, so I had eggs and pancakes - quite delicious. The coffee was excellent.