Santa Fe is one of my favorite cities in the United States. I find it incredibly transporting. The big sky, high-desert color palette, and adobe architecture are so different from what I have at home in San Diego or have experienced anywhere else in the U.S.

Arial view of Santa Fe, New Mexico — Santa Fe offers a beautiful setting, unique architecture, and lots of things to do for foodies.

Like New Orleans, Santa Fe sometimes makes me feel like I’m not just in another city in another state—but in a country all its own.

And as a lifelong foodie, and chef for the last 20 years, I especially love the unique New Mexican cuisine. It’s a deeply delicious blend of Native American, Spanish, and Mexican influences.

I’ve been visiting Santa Fe for almost 3 decades, and I come as often as I can to get my fix of the amazing local flavors and vibrant food scene. If you’re into epicurean adventures too, you’ve got to come visit: There are lots of amazing things to do in Santa Fe for foodies.

Come on, check out out this Santa Fe foodie guide.

The Best Things To Do in Santa Fe For Foodies

1. Eat New Mexican Cuisine

A sampling of New Mexican cuisine — Enjoy authentic New Mexican cuisine throughout Santa Fe.

The first activity might be the most obvious—but it’s incredibly rewarding all the same: Eat the local food. With its ancient roots and unique flavors, New Mexican gastronomy is a special kind of tasty.

It’s not the traditional Mexican food you’ll find in Old Mexico but a one-of-a-kind synthesis of local history, geography, botany, and culture. Key ingredients include local green and red chiles, piñon seeds (pine nuts), and hominy.

Luckily, New Mexican cuisine is an integral part of local life, so you’ll have no problem finding the most famous foods of New Mexico during your stay in Santa Fe.

2. Eat at Beloved Local Restaurants

Food at Ta Sophia's restaurant in Santa Fe — Tia Sophia serves up delicious New Mexican cuisine at affordable prices.

Some of the best places to enjoy great New Mexican cuisine are in the local restaurants that have been satisfying both residents and visitors for decades. Surprisingly, most are incredibly casual and exceptionally affordable. You can eat very well in this city without having to worry about busting your budget.

In fact, you can enjoy great, inexpensive meals in the best restaurants in Santa Fe Plaza, the historic and cultural heart of Santa Fe. Among these are Tia Sophia’s, which has been pleasing palates for more than 50 years, and The Shed, which operates in part of a hacienda built in the 1600s.

3. Indulge at Award-Winning Eateries

James Beard award winning chef at Sazon — I loved having an amazing meal and meeting Chef Fernando Olea at Sazón.

Of course, if you’re looking for fine-dining experiences that serve up plenty of fancy WOW, you’ll have no problem finding those in Santa Fe either.

James-Beard-Award-winning Chef Fernando Olea serves an exquisite menu of both traditional and contemporary Mexican foods at his restaurant Sazón. For my last meal there, my husband and I ordered the chef’s homage to one of the most famous foods of Oaxaca, mole. It was amazing, as was everything that preceded and followed it.

In the heart of Santa Fe’s famous Canyon Road Arts District, you’ll find Geronimo. Here, Chef Cruz offers a global eclectic menu in the elegant Borrego House, built in 1756. If you’re up for refined dining in a highly acclaimed restaurant within a charming adobe home, this is for you!

A multiple-time finalist for the James Beard “Best Chef of the Southwest” Award, Chef Martín Rios helms Restaurant Martín. That’s where he serves up beautiful, delicious, progressive American cuisine inside his adobe-style restaurant or outside on the expansive, inviting patio.

4. Take a Santa Fe Food Tour

The Santa Fe Plaza features in a number of food tours of the city.

The good news is that there is lots of great food in Santa Fe. The bad news is that you may may not find the best of the best on your own. That’s where taking one of the best food tours of Santa Fe comes in.

Are you looking to learn more about the local history while you enjoy some of the city’s best food? No problem. Are you interested in focusing on the best eats in and around the Santa Fe Plaza? That’s easy. Does enjoying wine pairings with excellent foods sound delicious to you? You’re in luck. Want to find the tastiest bites off the beaten path? Great, there’s a tour for that too.

If you haven’t clicked on the link above already, do so now and find the perfect experience to let you explore the Santa Fe food scene your way!

5. Shop at the Farmers’ Market

Santa Fe Railtard — The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market is held every Saturday at The Railyard.

The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market is held every Saturday from 8 am to 1 pm, year-round, at The Railyard. This is a newly vibrant corner of Santa Fe that is also home to plenty of restaurants, bars, art galleries, and shops.

ALL of the fruits, vegetables, and nursery plants sold at the Farmers’ Market are grown in northern New Mexico, since the focus of the market is to support area farmers. So, help yourself to delicious, fresh, in-season items to enjoy as snacks during your stay in Santa Fe, or shop for jams, jellies, honeys, pickled treats, and other artisanal products that make excellent foodie souvenirs for yourself or gifts for others.

I always bring back an array of goodies that tide me over with the flavors of Santa Fe until I can get back for my next visit. Be sure to also check out the prepared foods in the Farmers’ Market Pavilion.

6. Explore the Santa Fe Chocolate Trail

Kakawa chocolates — Santa Fe’s Chocolate Trail features chocolates as delicious as they are beautiful.

More than 1,000 years ago, native New Mexicans were already transforming cacao beans into delectable chocolate. In the 1600s, governors from Santa Fe were shipping off local chocolate to the royal court of Spain. So, you can say Santa Fe’s connection to chocolate goes back a ways.

Today, you can taste the legacy of that chocolate-making expertise by exploring the Santa Fe Chocolate Trail. Along the trail, you’ll find world-class chocolatiers making mouthwatering magic, offering everything from traditional cacao drinks to chocolate bars, cakes, brownies, truffles, and more.

One of my favorite stops on the trail is Kakawa Chocolate House. There you’ll find everything from chocolate love potions to dozens of chocolate confections that are as beautiful as they are delicious.

7. Sip Your Way Along the Santa Fe Margarita Trail

Coyote Cafe margaritas — You’ll never run out of margarita choices in Santa Fe.

The margarita is one of the world’s most famous cocktails, and Santa Fe touts itself as the Margarita Capital of the World. The city also has a fun way to toast that designation.

Pick up a Santa Fe Margarita Trail paper passport at the Santa Fe Visitor’s Center or download the app for $2.99. Then visit any of the more than 50 participating locations and get $1 off of every signature margarita you try.

Get your passport stamped at each stop and earn free gifts such as T-shirts, The Great Margarita Book, or even a margarita bartender kit.

Sampling signature margaritas is a great way to experience the variety and inventiveness of Santa Fe’s margarita scene. Cheers!

8. Enjoy Local Wines

Wine tasting at Hervé in downtown Santa Fe — New Mexican wines are easy to find in Santa Fe.

Did you know that vineyards were planted in New Mexico a half century before California got around to growing its first wine grapes? Today, the state is home to more than 50 wineries, and Santa Fe has a number of tasting rooms right in town—not to mention wine bars and enotecas that carry great local vintages and fine choices from further afield.

Here are a couple of my favorite tasting rooms: Gruet, a maker of world-acclaimed sparkling wines, has a tasting room in downtown at the historic Hotel St. Francis. Hervé Wine Bar pours wines from the Lescombes Family Vineyards, which has been making wine in The Land of Enchantment since 1981.

Here are a couple other super sipping spots: Crafted Cafe serves up acclaimed local wines in its digs at the Inn and Spa at Loretto. Ahmyo Wine Garden is a lovely spot to explore a beautiful outdoor setting right on Canyon Road. In the middle of the arts district, it’s not surprising that Ahmyo has its own gallery too.

9. Tap Into Some Great Beer

Sipping at TumbleRoot Pottery Pub — Craft beers and cocktails at Tumbleroot Pottery Pub

Although the number of breweries in Albuquerque outnumbers the total in Santa Fe, New Mexico’s capital boasts the state’s biggest brewery and also its oldest: Santa Fe Brewing Company holds both titles.

But that’s far from the only game in town. Santa Fe is home to more than a dozen craft breweries, taprooms, and ciderworks.

My personal favorites include Santa Fe Brewing Company’s Beer Hall at HQ, a sprawling beer garden with 27 taps and a ton of food options. Second Street Brewery at the Railyard occupies a corner of the Farmers’ Market Pavilion. Synching up a visit here with market day is an excellent strategy.

But the craftiest idea might be a visit to Tumbleroot Pottery Pub. This space serves Tumbleroot beers and craft cocktails featuring liquors from Tumbleroot Distillery while giving you a chance to grab some clay and make your own pottery while enjoying a few drinks—no experience needed.

10. Cook Up Your Own Santa Fe Specialties

The store at the Santa Fe cooking school — There are plenty of foodie souvenirs available at the Santa Fe School of Cooking market.

Do you want to summon up the unique flavors of Santa Fe anytime you like in your own kitchen? Well, the Santa Fe School of Cooking has been celebrating the tastes, traditions, and techniques of authentic New Mexican cuisine for more than 30 years! They can teach you how to cook up some of Santa Fe’s favorite dishes to enjoy when you get back home.

You can choose a demonstration class where you follow along detailed recipes that an expert chef prepares while covering techniques, tossing in cooking tips, and sprinkling in bits of local history and culture. Or, you can roll up your sleeves and get hands-on experience making local favorites while a chef guides you through every step of the process.

Either way, you get to eat the delicious creations made during class once they’re ready! Yum!

If you can’t spare the time for a class, you can still bring some of the flavors of Santa Fe home with you by picking up foodie souvenirs at the cooking school’s market or at the nearby Santa Fe Olive & Balsamic Company tasting room.

Which of the Best Foodie Things To Do in Santa Fe Will You Try?

As you can see, you’ve got plenty of different ways to explore the amazing culinary offerings of Santa Fe. I’m confident you’ll have a great time whatever you choose!