El Meson

I would never recommend a place that is empty and they stick you into a bar. I guess we were dress in ski outfits does not make us patrons. Request food that was posted outside on the door and they said the kitchen is too busy and cannot accommodate to make the plate. The dinning room was pretty much empty. They have 3 tables with patrons. Yet they said kitchen can’t make their special on the board. Mind you we came early at 6pm. So save your time and money elsewhere. I would go to the tapas down the street that has more reviews!

Great food. Impeccable service; the waiters all really, REALLY knew what they’re talking about, and that goes a long way. And they encouraged us to linger over our meal, rather than rush us out, even though it was quite busy.
We shared a number of tapas items: calamari was average, croquettes were good. The iberico ham and manchego cheese were excellent – on par with what we ate in Spain!
Definitely recommend.

We picked this place because we heard acoustic guitarist Rane was playing and we found the acoustics to be fabulous. We had the best evening in Santa Fe we’ve ever had in 15 years of visits! The server was polite and knowledgeable and the young man filling our water, bringing our bread and clearing our plates was attentive. The food was excellent, the wine was tasty and affordable. Lastly, the women’s restroom was SPOTLESS!

LA-​imports that we are, we strolled out of our hotels at 10, thinking the hills would be alive with the sound of everything from music to bustling kitchens. We were horrified to find everything closed by 10! If not 9. What place is this, we asked? Luckily, I had bookmarked El meson on Unilocal — it’s open till 11! Yay!
We didn’t expect much, but were pleasantly surprised with authentic tapas and good-​humoured staff who even graciously tolerated our aversion to bread. Ordered following between 3 people.
Oyster mushrooms — perfect, small serving though
Garlic shrimp — authentic
Avocado/​shrimp salad — ok
Salmon special — salmon very well cooked
Mussels — I never eat mussels, but my friends loved it.
Nice wine list. We had vodka-​sodas, low-​carbing, etc.
Will be back! Thanks guys.
Edit: second time I returned kitchen closed early :(.

Good environment, considerate service.
The seafood was quite tasty.
Apr. 4^th

Went here for dinner last week. I had high expectations based on the hotel concierge’s recommendation. Frankly, it fell far short.
We started off with the crab croquettes and the grilled oyster mushrooms. The former were possible the best dish of the night. The mushrooms, on the other hand, lacked any seasoning and tasted of charcoal lighter fluid. Seems that the coals were not yet ready when they cooked the mushrooms.
My wife and I shared the arroz negro a la catalana, which I have ordered at many fine Spanish restaurants in N. America and in Spain. First off, the seafood was second rate and of dubious freshness. Second, they used such a small amount of squid ink that the result was more like grey rice.
The wine list does have some very good values from Spain, and we ordered a very nice Crianza with our meal.

Shrimp, muscles, scallops, and calamari are great tapas. Recommend the muscles and scallops for sure. Scallops have a little bit of bacon on it and tastes great. The only problem I wish all these dishes had is more portions! Haha Scallops had 3 pieces. Shrimp had like 5 pieces. Muscles 10. And each is about $ 8.

we’ve been meaning to come to El Meson for the two years we’ve lived here, so perhaps the anticipation caused me to expect too much but I was somewhat disappointed on a couple of counts.
First, I wasn’t really clear on this but there is a bar with live music most nights and a separate dining room. they are quite separated but not completely. From what I’ve read, the type of groups they have aren’t as likely to be loud as you might suspect. The night we were there, there was a jazz band.
We’ll definitely be back for the bar/​music, but will be in no hurry to return to the dining room.
I’ll also qualify that by saying that Santa Fe has so many restaurants that my list of spots I haven’t been to yet and want to go to is over 20. So, there’s a lot of competition.
Also, there are at least two other tapas restaurants in town… La Boca and Taberna la Boca, both owned by one of Santa Fe’s great chefs. More on the comparison later.
I believe, although I’m no student of tapas, that El Meson serves traditional tapas. I know there online menu gives you the region from with a particular dish originates.
This is a nice touch and demonstrates their care.
I’ll also say that the wait staff is excellent. They are very engaged, familiar with the menu, and seem to really care. They only serve dinner and are closed enough nights so that their staff is the same every night and can work a full week. This shows the management cares and results in excellent service.
The menu is large and our experience in no way represents more than what we ordered.
We started with a black bean soup that was, well, soup — not the black bean side dish. It was very nice, but my wife liked it more than I did.
we had fried calamari, one of my standards and a good point of comparison. The batter was light and the squid not too chewy — both big pluses! But, the red dipping sauce I found thin and a bit bland. You might prefer that, but I didn’t.
Olives and capers. Not many capers!.. but that wasn’t an issue. I’m a big fan of olives and these were, well, meh. The portion size was good, but the olives just lacked punch or uniqueness or even that explosive quality you get from a fresh olive.
We had a dish of mushroom caps with chorizo and perhaps manchego… I don’t quite recall but I think they were different from their online menu. Again, I was expecting a burst of flavor, but was disappointed. Again, my wife liked them quite a bit but I prefer bigger flavor and I actually gave her my 2^nd cap.
Finally, jamon serrano. Again, much less flavor than I was expecting.
OK, some days one’s taste buds might not be working. That’s possible.
And, you might prefer more subtle flavors than I. Fair enough.
If you live here, and especially if you’re visiting, and you are a foodie and are prepared to spend some $$, go to La Boca instead. Or go to Taberna, which is more of a neighborhood-​style than La Boca. The warnings for those two are: La Boca’s seating is very, very tight. We’ve spoken to Chef Caruso who said this was much more like a tapas bar in Spain — jammed, noisy and food to die for. So, personal preference. it’s also potentially very expensive. Taberna is a less expensive alternative. The menu is a bit more inconsistent than La Boca, but beware of the live entertainment. Very loud! The terrace is a lovely solution when it’s warm.
Just to repeat myself: we’ll be back to hear music in the bar, but it will probably be a while before we return for dinner.

We were visiting from Kansas City via Taos. Ordered the Reserva Malbec to accompany our excellent paella and wild mushroom empanadas.

Our server and busser set the tone for what would prove to be a really lovely night.
Water. Seems so simple — after a long day of driving it was what we wanted before we could think too hard about wine and food –and that was totally fine with them. No pressure or rush and that was appreciated beyond words.
Ordered a Reserva Malbec that was just stellar and our server told us so. She was correct. Baby calamari with romesco, fried eggplant sticks, spaghetti squash and Mahon cheese special, padron peppers with sea salt (OMG!) and wild mushroom empanadas — all highly recommended and delicious and would order again!
If you like live jazz in the heart of Santa Fe, with a lovely wine list and well done food … Look no further.

I thought the food here was truly terrible. Not tapas as I would experience them in Spain but Americanized and less healthy versions of them. We were, fortunately, not terribly hungry (thankfully!) after a later lunch, so we had:
–Potato Leek Soup. I liked that it had lovage in it – nice touch! But overall it just wasn’t special, no matter how you slice it. And not $ 8 or whatever special.
–Goat Cheese-​Stuffed Artichoke Hearts, Fried: These were some kind of weird «upscale» version of the popper. I was surprised by how heavy the breading was and expected something more tempura-​style. The artichokes didn’t taste fresh. The tomato dipping sauce didn’t either, like the tomatoes were canned. If all this was out of season I’d rather it not be served.
–Still somewhat hungry, I gambled on the VERY SIMPLE sauteeed shrimp. How hard is it to mess up butter and garlic? I was right; the butter and garlic were fine. But the shrimp were overcooked and not super-​tasty.
The service was nice/​friendly/​accommodating, and I love that there is an entire separate room for jazz nights, performance, tango… Really nice wood floor to dance on. So stick with the drinks… unless they get a new chef.

Accomidating to walk-​ins, though packed with reservations. Courteous and patient. Paella and tapas in-​par with what I had travelling in Spain. Good wine selection. Spsnish music, played at a level conducive to conversation. Not trendy, but not stuffy. Sophisticated atmosphere even though it is in Santa Fe tourist central. A place to seek out when staying in Santa Fe. Recommended by a local resident.

If you want authentic Spanish tapas, this is your place. We come to Santa Fe every year and cannot leave without visiting this place TWICE! The service is amazing and pairs well with the spectacular wine list.
The food is amazing– and having tried almost the whole menu– I must say that I have yet to been disappointed. The quality is consistent and blows the competition away!
The ambiance should be another review in itself… The live music in the bar is wonderful and greatly compliments any occasion from a romantic date to a relaxing evening with family or friends.
If you are in Santa Fe, trust me, you need to make a trip to El Meson! Try anything from the salads to the lamb… You won’t be disappointed!!!

Nice Spanish restaurant! I wasn’t a Spanish dish fan, but I loved the cream tomato soup! I went there a little late, missed the band show. Deserve a detour!

We went with a party of 6. The service was good. We shared tapas and one person ordered the steak. The steak and the sides (broccoli and potatoes) were perfect. The sangria was good. The rest — the tapas were unimpressive, mediocre, tasteless, nothing to write home about, not good enough to want to order more or to even leave more money on the table in order to try something from the delicious looking dessert menu. We really wanted dessert but decided if they were like tapas our money would not be well spent. Even the buttered noodles were not as good as other places. How do you mess up buttered noodles? There are too many restaurants in Santa Fe to try this one again. We will not be going back.
The tapas we tried:
2 specials for the evening: What sounded like a delicious cheese based tapa ended up being a fried cheese stick. Mussels in broth.
The others:
VIEIRAS AL VINO BLANCO CON JAMÓN — $ 12.50
Fresh Scallops sautéed with White Wine, Tomato, Herbs, and Serrano Ham
Galicia
GAMBAS AL AJILLO — $ 8
Shrimp sautéed with sliced Garlic and Pequin Chile Flake served
in a sizzling hot cazuela
Pais Vasco
CROQUETAS DE CANGREJO — $ 8.50
Blue Crab Croquettes served with a Roast Garlic-​Caper Aioli
Cantabria
All were flavorless. We all shared, none of us smoke, our tastebuds are in working order. These were flavorless. I am wondering if things were really sauteed in what they were said to be or were they steamed or sauteed and dumped in the broth or sauce.
And the potato leek soup «of the day» was meh.

This place gets 2 thumbs up!
The sangria, delicious. We were able to share a pitcher between 6 of us.
The tapas, so many to choose from, and not one of them was bad. We split 9 tapas between us.
The paella was absolutely phenomenal. I wish I could have tried the squid ink paella, but my crowd isn’t as adventurous as I am.
Service was just as good as the food.
Amazing, Amazing, Amazing.

Love this place. Unpretentious, live jazz, a relaxed crowd, diverse menu of tapas items. I really loved this place! Came here on a Saturday, sat at the bar. Had an absolute blast. REALLY enjoyed the chilled out vibe, had an amazing time. Service was fantastic, food was really great, had a small selection of wines, but they weren’t half bad… had the heirloom tomato special, the anchovies with fresh lemon were so delish, the manchego and the jamon was excellent and we also had the tortilla (omelet). Great spot for a great night. Music was fantastic, atmosphere was lively and unpretentious, possibly my new fave place for grub and live music in Santa Fe. Plus it’s tapas — my fave!

While I was visiting my aunt, who lives in Santa Fe, we went to El Meson from her recommendation and had a fantastic meal. She had been there a number of times before and had never had a bad meal.
The service was fantastic. Our waiter, Matt, took the time to get to know us, answer questions, provide recommendations, and make us really feel welcomed.
We shared the artichoke tapas and the manchego tapas. We each ordered one of the special salads — beets with sheeps milk cheese, frisee, and candied pecans. My aunt and I then split grilled meat plate, the parillada mixta — which featured lamb, chicken, beef, pork, two delicious sausages, and vegetables. It was the perfect amount of food to be savored and enjoyed over a few hours, while the wine and conversation were flowing.
The food was beautifully prepared, flavorful, and interesting.

After being annoyed by a 15 minute wait and the world’s loudest accordion player at Taberna Le Boca, and deciding to run away, our little group of diners decided to check out El Meson, right around the corner… And we had a great time.
They pour their drinks well, and my mother loved her glass of white wine.
We ordered six different tapas, and all of them were quite good. I especially liked the red pepper special that was stuffed with lobster, and the shrimp dish…
Since we were sitting in the bar area, eventually the band showed up, and quickly the entire room became packed with jazz fans. Now I’m totally not a fan of jazz, but in this case it was actually rather pleasant.
Finally, our servers were very attentive and very pleasant. I’ll totally come back to this place!

We enjoyed a wonderful evening at El Meson sitting in the bar area and listening to «The 3 faces of Jazz» (Rick Bowman, Richard Snider and JQ Whitcomb). The service was exceptional, the staff made us feel part of the family. Matt, our waiter, got us started with an exceptionally good white wine, Fino en Rama, Bodegas Alvear, Dry, 2004, very enjoyable and highly recommended.
We ordered four tapas, each a joy and highly recommended.
ENSALADA CON QUESOS DE CABRA $ 12 (Four Goat Cheese Salad with sliced Pears, toasted Pine Nuts, Baby Greens, and an Aged Balsamic Vinegar Reduction)
ACEITUNAS VARIADAS CON ALCAPARRONES $ 7.50 (An inspired selection of imported Olives and Caperberries)
CALAMARES DOS SALSAS $ 9 (Baby Calamari flash-​fried served with Tomato Sauce and a Roast Garlic-​Caper Aioli)
ALCACHOFAS RELLENAS DE QUESO CON ROMESCO $ 9.50 (Hearts of Artichoke, stuffed with fresh Herbed Spanish Goat Cheese, flash-​fried, and served over Romesco Sauce)
El Meson is a great place to enjoy while in Santa Fe. Highly recommended.