I don’t care for winter. Skiing is for dorks, Santa Fe somehow built an entire city around poorly implemented heating solutions and the particular chill in the car each morning feels like some sort of cosmic punishment. Summer, however, ushers in one of my very favorite things about existence—the patio hang. I’ve been all over this wacky world of ours, so I know well how you simply cannot beat mid-morning or early-evening patio time in Santa Fe. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of outdoor hangs for various neighborhoods around town in no particular order.
505 Cerrillos Road, (505) 772-0946
Ask almost anyone who works at the CHOMP food hall/Luna—be they employees of Ohori’s, Illumination Medicine or Picnic NM—and they’ll tell you I love this patio. In spring and summer, the trees bloom, meaning cute little birds and insects pop up to party while one sips coffee from Ohori’s, quaffs an adult beverage from the New Mexico Hard Cider Taproom (where they also have a Street Fighter II machine, just saying) or rocks something from chef Nath’s Inspired Khmer Cuisine before succumbing to the siren call of Hello Sweet Cream’s dairy-free coconut faux ice cream. The shade is quite nice this time of year, but there are spots for sun-lovers as well. As a bonus, there’s even a spot for the last five smokers in town to light up and realize that we’re so much better than everyone else—and a full bar inside if that’s your thing.
652 Canyon Road, (505) 428-0090
Even the teetotalers among us can find plenty of reason to hang out in this Canyon Road wine bar’s hidden garden. Heck, you’ll feel like freaking Mary Lennox sans-the imposing threat of cholera and night screams when you’re all up in Ahmyo (that’s a Secret Garden joke for those of you who hate books) sampling a local wine or beer and taking in some live music. Usually I’d tell folks to not even bother with Canyon Road since the parking sucks huge and so much of it is aimed at people who don’t even live here, but the house that owners/hat enthusiasts Debbie and Freddie Schwartz built is just too beautiful to ignore.
Downtown Subscription
376 Garcia St., (505) 983-3085
If you can’t find a good spot on Canyon Road and give up, head to one of the worst parking lots in the entire town for a bit of coffee and/or pastry at Downtown Subscription (or DTS if you’re nasty). Yes, that parking lot nod is a little sarcastic, but holy smokes, it’s actually so hard to park there. Regardless, if you can work it, there’s a clean and comfy and surprisingly large patio at DTS from which you can hear the breeze flow through the trees and smell the various flowers that pop up this time of year. As a bonus, it’s always somehow whisper-quiet out there, and DTS still sells actual, physical magazines. Oh, and Garcia Street Books is next door, and that place rules.
1405 Maclovia St., (505) 428-0719
As I said in my full-ass review of Rowley Farmhouse Ales in April (Locals Only, April 16), the little covered patio at the Midtown haunt is the type of place that calls to us folks who live here all the time. It’s not unusual to see nerds rocking board games out there, and there’s a definite laid-back feel that just kind of works with craft beers and elevated burgers and chicken sandwiches. Chef Jeffery Kaplan knows a thing or two about fine dining, which he applies to decidedly not-snooty regular and special menu items, and I think it might actually be illegal to not mention that founder John Rowley is a trained chemist because, like, imagine what that means for his beer-makin’ abilities.
3810 Hwy. 14, (505) 471-9271
We’ve only ever met two kinds of people when it comes to popping out on Hwy. 14 to visit the likes of Madrid or Beer Creek Brewing here—those who would rather die that go that far, and those who have made their willingness to do so an integral part of their identity. OK, there are probably others on the spectrum, but if it’s a patio you seek, you definitely need to know this one. It is gorgeous, a real puro New Mexico vibe where the flagstones are plentiful and the beer and pizza remind you that life might be short, but it sure is beautiful. You’ll get sooooooo much live music, too, and even a green chile cheesecake if you so desire.
624 Old Las Vegas Hwy., (505) 466-3886
OK, we admit there are larger patios in and around this town, but Café Fina’s little spot is comfy enough and comes with one important element—the literal and singular best restaurant pancakes on Earth. As I’ve said in this very piece, I’ve been a lot of places, and whereas most pancakes seem to be this dry and doughy monstrosity based on diameter and thickness ffor some reason, chef Murphy O’Brien’s cloudcakes and thin and crispy in the right places and totally more enjoyable on a nice weekend morning sitting outdoors. Deal with it, America!
138 Tesuque Village Road, (505) 988-8848
I’ve been pretty vocal about not being the biggest fan of the menu out at TVM—save the key lime pie, which might be the best in the city, btw. But the bar is a rockin’, the patio’s god for talkin’ and opportunity for a kickass summer hang is a-knockin’. Absolutely irritating sentences aside, the margaritas are legendary out there and the parking is plentiful and the thought of an early evening bit of pie with a drink sounds like it could be the cure for things like listlessness, ennui and/or the unbearable lightness of being. The staff is super-cool, too, and regulars reportedly get the royal treatment. Yes, this is worth a drive for a patio hang. Besides, it’s just, like, 10 minutes, so you’re going to be fine.
