Restaurants in Enchanted Hills

Fat Sat's Bar and Grill conjures memories of the jazz age with its 1920s-style ornamentation and murals of old-time Chicago street scenes, each hand-painted by world-renowned artist Michael Ostaski. The owners named the bar in fond remembrance of their grandfather, Uncle Saturnino Trujillo, who grew up in the era of prohibition and speakeasies. Inside the kitchen, chefs bustle day and night, whipping up breakfasts, twirling pastas, hand-cutting rib-eye steaks, and grilling seafood. Bartenders behind three separate bars communicate to one another by angling mirrors as they fill cups to the brim with margaritas and 14 draft beers. Nineteen flat screens beam down upon the bars and tabletops, and a fire pit blazes amid two large outdoor patios. Live bands serenade guests Thursdays through Saturdays, while Friday nights entertain guests with games, trivia, dancing, and karaoke, offering them a welcome reprieve from evenings spent thumb-wrestling their aunts.

Throughout the day, The Chocolate Maven Bakery & Café buzzes with visitors who dine on kitchen specialties while savoring aromas of fresh pastries from the onsite bakery. With a commitment to locally sourced ingredients and a flavor for international fare, the kitchen crafts dishes such as crispy Mediterranean pizzas with sun-dried tomatoes or empanada pastries with butternut squash. They regularly turn out decorative cakes, bread, and sweet treats as well. True to the eatery's name, the bakery offers vegan sweets and a selection of chocolate goods praised by the Santa Fe Reporter for being "utterly decadent."

Anna and Sancho Soeiro operate their Canyon Road café five days a week, serving organic fare largely sourced from local farmers’ markets. Dish n' Spoon Cafe's menu spans soups, salads, and sandwiches (made with chicken-curry salad, for example, or roast beef and horseradish), and caters to the noncarnivorous with veggie burgers and veggie lasagna. The café itself is housed in what was a one-room grocery store for 70 years; after moving in, the Soeiros decided to reflect the welcoming environment and community loyalty it represented in the repurposed space.

Cubbies of knickknacks, sculptures, and other gewgaws and gifts line the walls, creating an atmosphere of cozy, quaint chaos. The faces of frequent customers smile from a Star Wall of pictures, and kids chomp organic PB&J or grilled-cheese sandwiches before running off to play in the restaurant’s special kids’ corner. A Santa Fe Reporter write-up notes some of the café's Santa Fean charms—"quirkily mismatched" plates and silverware, and a patio where patrons can sprinkle sunshine and shredded clouds on their meals.

New Mexican correspondent Rob De Walt describes how, in 2009, Mayor David Coss declared August 14 Dish n’ Spoon Day in honor of the Soeiros’ consistent dedication to volunteer work and community service—they've been involved in historic preservation, the Buckaroo Ball, and a court-appointed advocate program for survivors of juvenile abuse or neglect. Every Monday, Dish n’ Spoon runs on a pay-what-you-can price structure, allowing patrons to live within their means or finally use that stash of leprechaun gold that banks refuse to convert to U.S. dollars.

Each day, Felipe Martinez draws upon family recipes to pack Mexican fare, including burritos and tortas, into a menu of health-conscious dishes. Bellies as empty as a black hole's social calendar refuel with hearty breakfast burritos that awaken sleepy palates with fistfuls of eggs, potatoes, chorizo, and beans. Then for later-time eats, soft tacos fold around charbroiled lean steak and marinated pork, and combination platters rent space to skinless chicken, fresh salsa, and shredded beef. Gourmet burritos provide handheld meals, such as the meatless no carne burrito with fresh beans, rice, sliced avocado, cheese, and salsa, a cornucopia of veggies that look like a bribe from a farmer, then dulcet white curtains of horchata drop over tongues to end culinary performances.

Beyond the cascades of wine bottles and European baubles adorning La Provence Brasserie's traditional eatery, award-winning chef Claus Hjortkjaer forges the savory meats and delicate sauces fundamental to traditional and modern French recipes. Classic hors d'oeuvres of escargots and french onion soup make way for a bevy of succulent braised beef and lamb flanked by sautéed garden vegetables. Red, white and sparkling wines hail from locales both domestic and abroad, and bubbly microbrew beers dream of being invited to the wines' raucous cellar parties. Standing gas heaters keep the outdoor Parisian patio toasty as diners at white-clothed tables gaze at performers commanding the stage during open-mic events each Wednesday night.

Since 1960, Taco Sal’s has served up piping-hot Mexican classics such as enchiladas, chili rellenos, and tamales that Albuquerque Journal Venue recently named the Best in Town. Using locally sourced chilis, tortillas, and pinto beans, chefs craft south-of-the-border delicacies that eschew preservatives, ensuring meals as fresh and healthy as a newborn ox. To ensure conflict-free family dining, the eatery boasts a separate menu for kids under 12.