Cafe Pasqual's » Hit the Dish » Outstanding Restaurants and their Recipes

Cafe Pasqual’s

Southwestern culinary excellence

Address: 121 Don Gaspar Ave. Santa Fe, NM
Phone: 505-983-9340

Award-winning chef Katharine Kagel has been creating innovative cuisine at this small, friendly, chile-infused restaurant for over 25 years, and it just keeps getting better. The focus at Cafe Pasqual’s is loosely Southwestern/Nuevo Latino, but the kitchen staff is always open to inspiration—after an extended trip to Thailand, for instance, Kagel introduced many Thai ingredients into the menu to great success.

It might be easier to explain the cuisine at Cafe Pasqual’s by simply listing some of the menu offerings: one might enjoy blue corn waffles with chile-sugared bacon on the side; a spicy Vietnamese squid salad with garlic, tamarind, and tomato over arugula; the huevos motuleños (two eggs over easy on blue-corn tortillas and black beans topped with sautéed bananas, feta cheese, salsa, and green chile); or one of several dishes featuring their home-made chorizo.

The decor at Cafe Pasqual’s is an important part of the experience. With comfortably crowded and riotously colourful surroundings of murals and tiles by Oaxacan artist Leovigildo Martinez and Mexican folk art, Cafe Pasqual’s oozes a festive warmth. The atmosphere is complemented by a communal table in the center of the restaurant where strangers get into meaningful conversations several times a day. Service is casual while remaining professional and always amiable.

Cafe Pasqual’s is neither the easiest nor the hardest restaurant to get into in Santa Fe, although it’s certainly one of the most worthwhile. It is possible to make reservations ahead for dinner; for other meals, arrive at least an hour before you’d like to sit down. One of the best ways to get a table is to show up early for breakfast—the restaurant opens at 8, so if you’re in line at 7:30, you’re almost guaranteed to be seated first thing. By happy coincidence, breakfast is the cheapest and arguable the best meal you can get at Cafe Pasqual’s. Freshly squeezed juice is a hallmark of their morning meal; try the pineapple-ginger. For under $20 you can enjoy juice, coffee, an entree, and all the atmosphere you can handle.

Image Credit: Cafe Pasqual Painting by Candace Petersen