2 Best Restaurants in Day Trips from Santa Fe, New Mexico

Sure, it looks like a dusty old cowboy bar and it is set right in the heart of a village that's appeared in several Western movies, but the extensive menu of creative breakfast plates, sandwiches, and grills reveals a locavore-minded approach to food that you might not expect from the setting. You might start the day with the Saloon Scramble, a hefty plate of feathery eggs served with green onions, venison-blueberry sausage, and jalapeño hot sauce; or later in the day, consider the thinly roasted lamb with vegetables, Manchego cheese, and a refreshing yogurt sauce atop naan flatbread.

The name of this refined, romantic prix-fixe restaurant and inn nestled against towering ramparts in the Ojo Caliente River Valley stands for NOrth of SAnta Fe, and indeed this very special culinary retreat is close enough to the city (a 45-minute drive) to draw foodies for one of the rarefied five-course, farm-to-table dinners. But NOSA also has four elegantly furnished suites, in case you'd prefer to spend the night—not a bad idea, given the restaurant's enticing wine list. The high-ceilinged dining room is warmed by a fireplace and has tall windows with dramatic views of the surrounding mountains. Daily breakfasts are also open to the public and have become popular with guests of Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, just up the road.