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We've compiled the best of the best in Day Trips from Santa Fe - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
A rollicking old bar and restaurant adjacent to the Old Coal Mine Museum, this boisterous place—there's live music many nights—was a miners' commissary back in the day. Today it serves impressive burgers (available with Angus beef, Wagyu beef, buffalo, or mushroom-veggie), along pizzas, tacos, and other comfort fare. There's a fine selection of local craft beers on tap, plus first-rate margaritas.
You can't miss the vivid murals on the building in sleepy Peñasco that houses both a vintage theater and an intimate restaurant where acclaimed chef-owners Kai Harper Leah and Ki Holste serve up tantalizing farm-to-table fare, from bountiful salads and juicy burgers to triple-layer chocolate cake. This is the best restaurant on the High Road, hands down. Espresso drinks and dessert also hit the spot. You can dine on the side patio in warm weather.
This brightly colored and elegant restaurant is a welcoming spot for a delicious lunch or dinner that's within walking distance of the city's several downtown museums and historic sites. The kitchen turns out a mix of New Mexican, American, and Continental dishes, including grilled jumbo shrimp wrapped in applewood-smoked bacon, Greek salads prepared with locally made feta, and tender steaks. Unfortunately, it's open only on weekdays.
Much of the seasonal produce, baked goods, and other ingredients used in this cheerful market-café's breakfast burritos, chilaquiles, and tacos are grown or made on-site (there's both a nursery and a bakery) or sourced from area farms and ranches. The market is stocked with interesting cheeses, crackers, jams, juices, chocolates, and other tasty snacks, making this an ideal place to stop before hiking.
Your best bet before or after visiting Bandelier for anything from a light snack to a substantial lunch or early dinner, this cheerful bakery and café features farm-to-table fare and tempting desserts (be sure to try a macaron or two). Share a couple of small plates, dig into a hearty platter of pork schnitzel, or savor one of the outstanding sandwiches, such as the signature "hot pig + fig" with honey-cured ham, spinach, Brie, and fig jam.
