Eloisa

The ambiance, art and music at Eloisa transports these life-​long Santa Feans to something other than the usual Latin inspired and derived adobe enclosed food places found elsewhere in the City Different. While still a work in progress on the service end, Eloisa staff are attentive and engaging when allowed to be and the food a marvel of nuances and delights when savored with a glass of Cava espumoso. Don’t miss the incredible Choros al Vapor with the right amount of heat, Piquillo Relleno, Salmon Painted Desert, Potato Wrapped Scallops and the Filet. The Brioche dessert with the popcorn ice cream is amazing! Give it a chance and see for yourself.

Food is simply amazing. Innovative takes on traditional tapas & Mexican dishes. Mussels with chorizo is deliciously spicy. Squash tamale looks nothing like a tamale & tastes far better. Duck, salmon, pork chop sous-vide…all winners. That said, the service, though friendly & hard working, is stretched too thin. Bring your patience. The food is worth the wait.

After waiting at the host stand for 10 minuets the manager finally helped us to our table. Regardless of that our waitress was very nice, upbeat, and respectful. We ordered lots of things, but asked that they be separated. After waiting for around 45 minuets we finally got our appetizers. They were AMAZING! Although they we’re small the presentation was half the experience. After taking a few bites I was in heaven. The crab cake is to die for! Moving on from there we waited a little longer to get our main course. When it arrived smiles filled the table. Everyone was finally happy to eat! Everything everyone had was up to par, and maybe exceeded that bar. I was very satisfied with the food but when it comes to service, for a fine dining restaurant I would say they are understaffed. Regardless of everything service (aside from our amazing waitress) was poor, and the food was great!

Lovely décor. Definitely a refreshing change for Santa Fe. Service was fine… polite but not particularly knowledgable.
Food…well, we had three small plates. We went out in «drinks and appetizers» mode, to be fair. That said, the portions were extremely small, not really shareable in the small plates tradition. And each thing we ate was good, but not outstanding. Certainly not memorable.
There is VERY little on the menu appropriate for vegetarians and while I am crystal-​clear on the fact that most fine dining chefs don’t really care about or for vegetarians, it is in fact the 21^st century and more and more people are interested in eating more plant-​based foods, if not fully embracing vegetarianism. A good, creative chef will offer at least two entrees and several salads/​small plates that will fit the bill.
At the end of the day, we dropped $ 80 on about 150 calories each, and left very hungry.

Having read the review in the Pasatiempo, I thought it might be fun to try Eloisa. then I had heard several bad experiences friends had and thought it best to pass.
More recently, I had been hearing good reviews about the food so I brought a friend visiting from Denver.
We both liked the ambiance and opted to sit at a table in the bar. (Before noticing the beautiful outdoor seating). The bartender was very attentive and knowledgeable about the wine offerings. He also gave us input on the menu.
Our meal was tasty but can’t say it was memorable or extraordinary. We ordered two tapas plates as appetizers, the house made tortillas which was recommended were ordinary and bland and the best part was then «butter» (creamy guacamole) The jimaca tacos were very tasty but so small it was difficult to get two bites out of them.
My friend ordered the chicken for a large plate which looked good but not unlike any other broiled chicken breast prepared at any restaurant. The jimaca and pumpkin seeds it sat on were delish.
I ordered the duck enfrijolada. It was tasty but an unremarkable dish with a skimpy amount of duck and over abundance or radicchio.
With one beer and one glass of wine I felt taken for $ 100 tab.

Up and coming Chef! Look out and be patient because this is a new restaurant in Santa Fe. We had 3 courses and all were uniquely prepared and delightful. All four of us give this restaurant 5 stars! Will put it as my new favorite to refer others to in Santa Fe. Enjoy!