Cheap Eats in Santa Fe

Clafoutis French Bakery

• ★ 4.8
• Bakery
• $
• Southside

Order Almond croissant and the namesake clafoutis

Philippe and Anne Laure Ligier bake 800 to 1,000 hand-rolled pastries daily at Clafoutis on Cordova Road, a hard-French operation in a southwestern adobe.

Kakawa Chocolate House

• ★ 4.8
• Café
• $
• Downtown / The Plaza

Drink Mesoamerican and European historic drinking chocolates

Kakawa pours historically researched drinking chocolates (Mesoamerican, European) plus chile and goat-cheese truffles on Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe.

El Chile Toreado

• ★ 4.8
• Street food
• $
• Cerrillos Road Corridor

Try Breakfast tacos and burritos with green or red chile

El Chile Toreado is Santa Fe's popular Mexican food truck, run by the Medina family since 2005; breakfast burritos and Polish-sausage hot dogs are the order.

Horseman's Haven Cafe

• ★ 4.7
• New Mexican
• $
• Cerrillos Road Corridor

Horseman's Haven has poured Santa Fe's hottest green chile (Levels 1-5) from a Cerrillos Road gas-station building since 1981; Bourdain filmed Parts.

Iconik Coffee Roasters (Lena Street)

• ★ 4.7
• Café
• $
• Baca / Lena Street

Drink Cold brew on tap and house single-origin filter

Iconik's 2,000-square-foot Lena Street flagship roasts coffee daily in Santa Fe; the cafe pulls espresso, plates simple breakfast and runs as a slow-pour.

Ohori's Coffee Roasters (Cerrillos)

• ★ 4.6
• Café
• $
• Cerrillos Road Corridor

Drink Single-origin micro-roast espresso and Vienna roast

Susan Ohori opened New Mexico's first specialty roastery in 1984; the Cerrillos shop roasts single origins in a Probat drum and pours espresso to walk-ups.

Bang Bite Filling Station

• ★ 4.6
• Street food
• $
• Downtown / The Plaza

Try Certified Angus Beef burgers and sammies

Enrique Guerrero's Bang Bite truck sits in the Brakeroom garden behind Santa Fe Brewing's downtown taproom; Food Network named it one of America's 26 best.

Sage Bakehouse

• ★ 4.5
• Bakery
• $
• Cerrillos Road Corridor

Order Roasted green chile sourdough loaf

Sage Bakehouse, a Cerrillos Road artisan since 1996, bakes long-fermented country loaves, sandwich service and a chile sourdough Santa Fe households order.

Dolina Bakery & Cafe

• ★ 4.5
• Café
• $
• Downtown / The Plaza

Drink Cardamom latte and Eastern European brunch

Chef Annamaria O'Brien named Dolina for the Slavic word for valley; her cafe pulls espresso, pastries and a Slovak-leaning brunch most mornings.

Tia Sophia's

• ★ 4.5
• Brunch
• $
• Downtown / The Plaza

Try Breakfast burrito with red or green chile

Tia Sophia's lays claim to coining the term "breakfast burrito" on a menu; the Plaza counter has fed Santa Fe under-budget breakfasts since 1975.

Tune-Up Cafe

• ★ 4.5
• Brunch
• $
• Agua Fria / South Capitol

Try Pupusas plate

Tune-Up plates pupusas, breakfast burritos and tres-leches cake under $15 in a Hickox Street adobe near the Capitol; the line is regulars, not tourists.

El Chile Toreado (Siler Road)

• ★ 4.4
• Street food
• $
• Siler

Try Breakfast burrito with carne adovada

The Medina family opened El Chile Toreado's Siler Road second location in 2022 in Santa Fe; same Pueblo-meets-Mexican breakfast burrito, less line at lunch.

Tomasita's

• ★ 4.4
• New Mexican
• $
• Guadalupe / Railyard

Try Chile combo plate

Tomasita's has done sub-$20 stuffed sopaipillas and chile combo plates since 1974; the line is part of the deal, the kitchen never rushes you.

Santa Fe Bite

• ★ 4.4
• New Mexican
• $
• Southside

Try Green chile cheeseburger

Santa Fe Bite is the employee-owned heir to the Bobcat Bite chile-burger lineage; the 10-oz patty under $18 pulls St. Michael's Drive crowds Tue to Sun.

Whoo's Donuts

• ★ 4.3
• Bakery
• $
• Cerrillos Road Corridor

Order Blue corn blueberry lavender donut

Whoo's makes scratch donuts and weekend sourdough pizza in a small Cerrillos building; the blue corn blueberry lavender ring is the local benchmark.

35 North Coffee

• ★ 4.3
• Café
• $
• Downtown / The Plaza

Drink Single-origin pour-over and the Santa Fe latte

35 North sits in the Plaza arcade and is the city's main hangover-cure morning room for tourists and locals who want a proper third-wave espresso.

Palacio Cafe

• ★ 4.3
• Brunch
• $
• Downtown / The Plaza

Try Boar's Head Reuben or breakfast burrito

Palacio Cafe sits a half block from the Plaza and runs breakfast burritos and Boar's Head deli sandwiches under $15 from 07:30 daily, closed Tuesday.

Counter Culture Cafe

• ★ 4.2
• Café
• $
• Baca / Lena Street

Drink Drip coffee and brunch with huevos rancheros

Counter Culture is the Baca district daily driver in Santa Fe; all-day breakfast and lunch on a sunny dog-friendly patio behind the gallery row.

El Parasol Pojoaque

• ★ 4.2
• Street food
• $
• Pojoaque

Try Green chile cheeseburger and tacos

El Parasol started as a roadside taco stand in 1958; the Pojoaque outpost sits on New Mexico's Green Chile Cheese Burger Trail and feeds Highway 285.

Bumble Bee's Baja Grill

• ★ 4.2
• New Mexican
• $
• Downtown / The Plaza

Try Mahi mahi fish taco

Bumble Bee's plates counter-service Baja-style tacos and burritos near the Plaza on Jefferson Street; under $15 fills you, salsa bar is included.

The Pantry Restaurant

• ★ 4.2
• American diner
• $
• Cerrillos Road Corridor

Try Diner combo with carne adovada

Open since 1948 on Cerrillos Road, The Pantry plates carne adovada combo plates and chicken-fried steak under $18 in a no-frills diner room.

Chocolate Maven Bakery & Cafe

• ★ 4.1
• Bakery
• $
• Southside

Order Green chile croissant and Nutella banana waffle

Chocolate Maven has run a brunch-and-cake operation in Santa Fe around three decades; an open kitchen lets you watch the pastry team while you eat.

The Teahouse

• ★ 4.1
• Café
• $
• Canyon Road

Drink 80-strong leaf-tea list and tea-infused cocktails

The Teahouse sits at the gallery end of Canyon Road with over 80 leaf teas, a 99% gluten-free scratch kitchen and a year-round dog-friendly patio.

Dr. Field Goods Butcher Shop & Bakery

• ★ 4.0
• Bakery
• $
• Downtown / The Plaza

Order Naturally leavened pan loaves and house bacon

Chef Josh Gerwin's relocated Dr Field Goods Butcher Shop at DeVargas Center in Santa Fe runs a working butcher, charcuterie counter and naturally leavened.

Modern General Feed and Seed

• ★ 4.0
• Café
• $
• Cerrillos Road Corridor

Drink Cold-pressed juice and pour-over coffee

Vinaigrette chef-owner Erin Wade opened Modern General as a small organic breakfast counter and compiled general-store hybrid on Cerrillos Road in 2015.