Summer is the perfect time to enjoy fresh and tasty food, and the award winning restaurants in Santa Fe know how to make every dish special. From seafood dinners under the stars to sweet desserts full of summer flavor, these restaurants bring the best local ingredients to every plate.
Try These Summer Menus at Santa Fe Restaurants
New Mexico’s Farms and Ranches deliver ripe summer foods that make their way into innovative dished serves in award-winning restaurants.
Summer ushers in the fresh flavors of just-plucked greens, juicy sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes, and luscious peaches. Following a winter of warming root vegetables and braised meats, we now eagerly welcome the light, bright flavors of summer. Notably, this includes two iconic dishes from two landmark Santa Fe restaurants, each of which features a patio ideal for dining beneath the stars.
Executive chef Weston Ludeke, who recently moved on to Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, California, dreamed up The Compound’s Maine Lobster & Bay Scallop with Avocado & Squid Ink Brioche as an entree. This ode to summer begins with bay scallop mousse studded with poached Maine lobster morsels. The mousse is warmed and then topped with squid ink brioche that’s as black as night. Avocado slices are the next layer, followed with a colorful tangle of radicchio, parsley, and chives lightly tossed in a red wine vinaigrette. This tower of flavors is finished with a classic beurre blanc enhanced with Dijon and chives. Savor it on The Compound’s elegant patio and raise a glass to the year’s sweetest season.
The Famous Key Lime Tart Santa Fe Dessert
Executive pastry chef Rebecca Freeman divinely crafts the Key Lime Tart at Santacafé. It is a symphony of sun-kissed yellows and whites. The tart sits atop a buttery homemade graham cracker crust. The chef decorates its filling with custard-like passionfruit crémeux, coconut sorbet, and crispy coconut meringues. Squares of fresh mango add bright, tropical notes. Freeman also crafts desserts for Santacafé’s sister restaurant, Coyote Cafe, where she skillfully captures the essence of summer in both flavor and presentation. Her ingenuity earned the Freemason Pastry Chef of the Year honor from the American Culinary Federation in 2023. I can’t wait to see what she concocts next.
Story by Lynn Cline
Photography by Gabriella Marks
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