“Although the skills aren’t hard to learn,
finding the happiness and finding the satisfaction
and finding fulfillment in continuously serving somebody else something good to eat,
is what makes a really good restaurant.”
In 1948, just three years removed from the second “war to end all wars” Santa Fe was hardly the sophisticated and cosmopolitan tourist haven Conde Naste Traveler magazine readers have named one of their favorite travel destinations for 21 consecutive years. With a population of around 25,000 citizens, Santa Fe’s art, cultural and architectural attractions weren’t nearly as well known as they are today, but then, the world wasn’t nearly as interconnected and small as it is today. For a bit more perspective on life in Santa Fe in 1948, consider that the state capital was yet to observe daylight savings time. 1948 was a leap year with 366 days and February 29th falling on a Sunday. The hottest day of the year was July 14th when Santa Fe hit a high temperature of 94 degrees. February 12th saw the coldest day of the year with a low temperature of -10, about 35 degrees below average for the day. Santa Fe saw 55 consecutive days with no measured precipitation. From a meteorological perspective, Santa Fe’s weather hasn’t changed dramatically since 1948.
1948 also saw the launch of The Pantry Restaurant, located just about as far west as you could go while remaining within Santa Fe city limits. Situated in a relatively small adobe edifice on the corner of Cerrillos and Fifth Street, the Pantry’s neon spangled signage beckoned hungry diners much as it does today. Founding owner George Myers established a standard of excellence that immediately made The Pantry a local favorite, beloved by Santa Fe’s power brokers and families alike. Seven different owners have succeeded Myers, but the commitment to high-quality food, impeccable service and good value has been a constant. Since 2000, the Pantry has been owned by the father and son duo of Stan and Mike Singley. Stan, the father, formerly a long-time manager of Luby’s Cafeteria has presided over several expansions of The Pantry while Mike, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu-Scottsdale has become the face of the restaurant, a peripatetic presence in the dining room, tasting the restaurant’s food every day.
Because the Pantry–which celebrated 75 years of continuous operation in 2023–is one of Santa Fe’s most popular dining destinations, short waits during peak times aren’t uncommon. There are several areas in which you might be seated. The front room showcases an old-fashioned counter with swiveling bar seats; it’s very much reminiscent of diners of yore. A more conventional dining room with windows facing Cerrillos is popular among families while larger crowds gravitate toward the larger dining room in the back where walls are festooned with art work celebrating Spanish conquistadors and significant events in New Mexico’s storied history. My Kim’s favorite seat is the front dining room where she can study the quilt which depicts The Pantry in all its glory. It hangs on the fireplace.
Classic Americana diner food shares space on the menu with traditional and contemporary New Mexican favorites. All orders are made from scratch, arriving piping hot to your table. That’s exactly how the pancakes arrive, wisps of aromatic steam wafting upward as they beckon for butter and syrup. The Pantry serves both conventional diner-style buttermilk pancakes and pancakes stuffed with either strawberries or raspberries. There’s even a pancake “sandwich” with eggs, sausage or bacon. The no-frills buttermilk pancakes are terrific, one of the very best reasons to get up in the morning.
On May 13, 2013, the Travel Channel’s Burger Land program showcased four of the Land of Enchantment’s very best purveyors of green chile cheeseburgers. The Burger Land (Season 1, Episode 7) episode was titled “New Mexico’s Green Chile Cheeseburgers” and was hosted by George Motz, American television personality, author, filmmaker and preeminent burger expert. NOTE: Other Land of Enchantment purveyors of our sacrosanct burger featured on the program were The Owl Bar and Cafe (San Antonio), Bobcat Bite (Santa Fe) and Bode’s (Abiquiu). Perhaps the most intriguing burger featured came from the Pantry.
4 September 2026: That burger was The Pantry’s unconventional Tortilla Burger, a huge beef patty topped not with green chile, but with red chile (or you can ask for it to be prepared with only one of the two amazing chiles). George Motz described it as “the only burger he’ll eat in America with a fork.” At first glance the burger resembles a burrito short-changed in length, but graced with width and bulk. A char-grilled burger and beans are wrapped in a tortilla and topped with The Pantry’s red chile (puree, garlic, salt) which Motz likened to a “smoky, earthy flavor bomb.” The beef patty itself is terrific although the the kitchen staff can be a little heavy-handed with salt (as it was during my inaugural sampling, but not my second). The chile is rich and complex though it lacks the hellfire piquancy I love. Make sure to have the curly cue fries with the burger. They’re excellent vehicles for dipping into the chile.
The Pantry serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Dinner is a relatively new event (since 2009), featuring such comfort food favorites as meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, pork chops and chicken-fried steak as well as chile-spiked New Mexican favorites. Dinner is becoming as popular at The Pantry as breakfast is. In October, 2019 (71 years after the launch of the original Pantry), the Pantry Dos opened its doors in the off-the-beaten-path southside location of “Oshara Village” on White Feather. Pantry Dos is open every day from 7:30 AM to 8:30 PM.
While cumin, that unnecessary despoiler (aberration) of New Mexico’s sacrosanct chile isn’t used on most of the restaurant’s New Mexican food, it’s sometimes used on carne adovada. If, like me, you enjoy the purity of New Mexican chile without cumin, you’ll have to ask your server if the chef used it on the day you visit. The carne adovada, sans cumin, is porcine perfection marinated in red chile perfection. Each tender tendril of pork is absolutely delicious. A carne adovada breakfast plate includes two eggs and Spanish rice.
4 September 2026: It took slightly more than thirteen years (4 August 2013 – 4 September 2026) for us to return to The Pantry. Attribute some of that to the heavy-handedness with salt on the tortilla burger during our inaugural visit, but also to the nightmare that is driving on Cerrillos Road. My brother Mario and his beauteous bride Diana showed us an alternate “back” road for Duke City diners venturing to The Pantry that is more direct and less stressful than the stop-and-go of Cerrillos. Essentially that route takes us through St. Francis onto St. Michaels and north on Fifth. It’s a preferable alternative to motorized combat on the mean streets of Cerrillos in Santa Fe.
My Kim might argue that driving through a minefield would be worth it if the terminus was The Pantry where she enjoyed “some of the best beef fajitas I’ve had in a long time.” Though she could have had those fajitas ordered as described on the menu (strips of grilled beef sauteed with onions and peppers; served with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, beans, rice and tortillas), she only wanted the beef sauteed with onions. Instead of beans and rice she asked for a portion of papas which are seasoned with paprika. The grilled steak is nicely seasoned and prepared at about the medium degree of doneness. It’s superb. So were the sauteed onions which were pearlescent and sweet. My Kim gave me her salsa which I used on the curly cue fries served with the Tortilla Burger. Forget ketchup; that salsa is so much better.
4 September 2026: After a disappointing visit to another Santa Fe (physical address in Pojoaque) restaurant, this one (mis)named Sopaipilla Factory, we agreed that restaurant’s name was a misnomer. That appellation would be more apropriate for The Pantry, perhaps as a subtitle. Unlike the flat, crispy sopaipillas we had at the so-called “factory,” The Pantry’s sopaipillas are thick and puffy with huge pockets in which to deposit the REAL honey ferried over to your table along with the sopaipillas.
The sopaipillas arrive piping hot with wisps of steam wafting upward when you tear off a piece. As shown in the photo below, the sopaipillas are roughly the size of a zeppelin. While the sopaipillas beckon for honey, my sister-in-law Diana makes sure to save some to sop up the restaurant’s chile. She also advised us not to completely discount the Sopaipilla Factory’s fare because it’s served with honey butter which she and my brother Mario found addictive.
After more than 75 years in operation The Pantry is still going strong with no surcease in its popularity in sight. It’s likely we’ll be saying the same thing sixty years from now. This is an enduring restaurant classic with something for everyone.
The Pantry Restaurant
1820 Cerrillos Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico
(505) 986-0022
Web Site | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 4 September 2026
1st VISIT: 4 August 2013
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: Excellent – High quality dining experience; very good to excellent food, attentive service, and a well-maintained atmosphere; worth a detour.
COST: $$
BEST BET: Tortilla Burger, Carne Adovada Breakfast, Buttermilk Pancakes, Steak Fajitas, Real Honey
I worked at Luby’s Cafeteria in the mid 80’s after my son was born and while that Singley person was the manager and then right afterwards I waited tables for the Pantry. While employed there I worked with the owner’s two daughters (Sydney and Debbie), their son and son in law (Nicholas) and their son (Mike) who were both cooks. That was one of the best places I’d ever worked with owners back then who were two of the most wonderful people to work for. I remember their names where Pat and Carl only don’t remember how their surname was spelled, so can anyone please tell me if they remember them or how their surname name was spelled and if you know anything about what ever happened to all of them. Thank you
I worked at the pantry in the early ’70s. It was a diner during the day, and dinner at night. The restaurant was sold while I was working there and he fired a lot of us. Can’t remember who the guy was but he also closed down the only Japanese restaurant, he had bought both properties.
Do you know what month in 1948 Pantry Restaurant was founded? Thank you.
You have to try the chile relleno omelet. It is an omelet wrapped around a relleno. It’s as good as it sounds!!!
It’s about time you made it to The Pantry! Those pancakes are the best but nothing comes close to how good their breakfast potatoes are. My favorite breakfast choice is Buenos Dias – two eggs, any style, over a plate of those fabulous potatoes covered in melted cheese and chile.