Located fifteen miles north of Santa Fe, just south of Pojoaque and within minutes of two garish native American casinos, Gabriel’s is a culinary oasis back-dropped by nearby cedar, cottonwood and pine tree-laden hills and the Santa Fe mountains further to the southeast. Gabriel’s entrance is flanked by unpeeled latillas, a “coyote fence” precursor to one of the best restaurant settings in the Santa Fe area. In the early spring and fall, weather permitting, the sprawling dining room and its Spanish colonial theme are often rebuffed in favor of an outdoor dining experience.
For al fresco dining, there are few options to compare with Gabriel’s, a restaurant perhaps more renowned for its experiential qualities than it is for its cuisine. You won’t read a single review from a credentialed critic which doesn’t sing the praises of the restaurant’s ambiance. You will, however, read scathing indictments of Gabriel’s cuisine. In 2014, Alex Heard of the Santa Fe New Mexican, for example, was brutally honest in his assessment: “my takeaway has been that it serves average food and not much more, closer to chain-restaurant quality than what you’re promised in its advertisements.”
England’s The Guardian (a London-based platform), on the other hand, put Gabriel’s on its list of the “top ten restaurants and cafes in Santa Fe.” That assessment was made by a Denver-based travel journalist who regularly visits family in Santa Fe. None of the locals with whom I’ve discussed Gabriel’s share the writer’s opinion though all of them rave about the capacious patio and the pine scented air. Most concede that the margaritas are quite good and that the combination of several margaritas and the fresh, salubrious air somehow improves the food. Everyone also loves the complimentary salsa, noting that Gabriel’s is one of few remaining restaurants in New Mexico to offer salsa at no cost.
Gabriel’s purports to serve the foods of the great Southwest and of Old Mexico. The restaurant’s Web site describes it as “an authentic mix of modern and classic Mexican and Southwestern dishes and seasonal specials,” also indicating that “The personal attention to service and food is what makes Gabriel’s special:a place where little touches enhance your whole dining experience.” Indeed, the predominantly Mexican wait staff, attired in black trousers and shirts sporting the Great Seal of the State of New Mexico, is unfailingly polite and formal if not always there when you need a refill. One exception to the “not always there” is the beauteous Fatima who was always available to us.
Visit the online menu and you might be surprised at how it’s arranged. Appetizers are listed last. Starters include a number of fairly standard options along with some unique offerings such as bbq skewer and a vegan portobello quesadilla. Six vegetarian entrees, all of which will appeal to the omnivores among us, are available as are seven soups and salads. Other sections of the menu are titled From The Sea, Chef’s Specials, Combinations, Gabriel’s Classics, Sizzling Fajita Platterss and Desserts. The menu indicates most dishes can be prepared gluten-free.
The flavorful and piquant jalapeno based salsa is served in a generous faux molcajete (unfortunately, bureaucrats decided the authentic molcajete made from lava rock pose health risks) with plenty of very lightly salted chips boasting of a pronounced corn flavor. The salsa packs plenty of cilantro and garlic, but it’s the jalapenos that will impress themselves upon your taste buds. Friends swear they were unable to taste anything else after having their taste buds seared by salsa they considered “too good to stop eating” delicious, but tongue-scorching. That hasn’t been my experience, but then I am a volcano-eater.
Very popular is the pricey thrill of having your server prepare guacamole at your table. If you’re counting your pennies, the Guacamole Especial is a seventeen-dollar plus thrill (as of August, 2026) you might want to do without even though the guacamole is a real treat–meaty ripe avocados, fresh lime, cilantro, minced garlic, chopped tomatoes, salt and jalapeño mashed to a creamy consistency on a molcajete before your very eyes. Two entire avocados are used. Though fresh and creamy, the guacamole could use just a bit more jalapeño and lime, the two ingredients which really give guacamole its personality and without which, guacamole would just be mashed avocados.
5 August 2017: From the Southwest Platters section of the menu, you’ll find such regional favorites as San Diego fish tacos, Arizona chimichanga, rellenos de Santa Fe, Taos combination and Lone Star ribs. The latter are wholly unlike any ribs we’ve ever had in the Lone Star state. Described on the menu as “fresh baby-back ribs baked until tender and then mesquite-smoked and basted with our own barbecue sauce,” the ribs are absolutely fall-off-the-bone tender, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. The best ribs as all certified barbecue contest judges know have just a little “give” to them. These baby back ribs also don’t have the low-and-slow smokiness that characterizes competition-worthy ribs. It’s pretty obvious that they’ve been baked, likely after being slathered with the “special” sauce and perhaps a rub. The sauce is very much on the sweet side with hints of citrus. Served on the side is a bowl of whole charro beans and French fries, both of which are rather unremarkable.
5 August 2017: Gabriel’s is one of very few restaurants in New Mexico to offer fajitas in more than the de rigueur beef, chicken and shrimp options. The “Sizzling Fajita Platters” section of the menu (which comes with the warning that fajita skillets are very HOT) lists steak (skirt steak), chicken (al carbon), Los Cabos (flame-kissed tiger prawns), vegetable (eggplant, zucchini, red and green peppers, onions, corn and tofu), seafood (snapper, tiger prawns, seared scallops) and a combination option which allows you to select from among any three fajita platters. Platters are served with charro beans, Mexican rice, pico de gallo, tortillas and guacamole.
Another Texas treat, tender steak fajitas arrives sizzling at your table after leaving a steamy trail which invariably draws the eyes and nostrils of all other patrons. Supplementing the thinly sliced marinated skirt steak are a pico de gallo as colorful (with red, green and yellow peppers and sweet white onions) as it is delicious; more of the unctuous guacamole and lime slices. My Kim asked for an extra helping of grilled red and white onions–grilled not to the point of caramelization, but to a crispy, fresh consistency. Both corn and flour tortillas are made on the premises and are first-rate. The Gabriel’s staff is super accommodating and will customize your fajitas to your taste (e.g., no pico de gallo for my Kim).
5 August 2017: A few days before starting my freshman year at Peñasco High School, my friends and I each devoured about a half-dozen or so corns-on-the-cob picked from our garden and grilled on my mom’s antique stove. It preceded a very painful ruptured appendix. Though an avaricious appetite for grilled corn was hardly the cause of my burst appendix, I didn’t eat grille corn for years. Gabriel’s elotes, a grilled corn topped with a chipotle mayo and queso blanco, reminded me of how good roasted corn can be. It also reminded me that roasting corn with friends is a great way to pass the time.
NOTE: During our visit on 16 August 2026, we didn’t espy elotes on the menu, however, in their place were sweet elote ribs (grilled sweet corn on the cob cut into strips; slathered in a creamy sauce and topped with cojita and cilantro; available for vegans). We kicked ourselves for not having ordered these corn ribs as we watched the wait staff ferry this audacious appetizer to neighboring tables. So as not to exacerbate our torture, we didn’t watch as smart diners enjoyed their elote.
16 August 2026: Regular readers are probably tired of my antipathy toward every single chimichanga I’ve ever had in Arizona, the state which invented them. So, why then would I order a dish named “Arizona Chimichangas” (two deep-fried burritos; chicken or beef; Mexican rice and refried beans; with guacamole and sour cream? There’s reason to my madness. Fatima, our super server, said the chimichangas can be topped with mole. I’m a mole maniac so I didn’t need the menu’s description of what mole is: “Mole is a complex sauce featuring a bittersweet profile of sweet, spicy, earthy and smoky flavors.” It certainly didn’t hurt that the mole contains peanuts, as diners are advised.
The menu also offers mole in two other dishes: pollo en mole poblano and mole enchiladas though with Gabriel’s “have it your way” spirit, other dishes might be customizable. In my excitement to have mole, I forgot to ask Fatima to omit “Spanish” rice from my plate and to give me two portions of the excellent refried beans. As with every chimichanga dish I’ve had in New Mexico, Gabriel’s version is far superior to any I’ve had in Arizona. One chimi was stuffed with chicken and one with beef, both shredded into tender tendrils of moist deliciousness. The mole itself was a bit on the sweet side so the guacamole and sour cream helped mollify the sweet notes. Unlike chimichangas I’ve had in Arizona, the tortilla didn’t resemble an egg roll wrapper in texture or appearance. It was soft and easy to cut into. So, at long last, I’ve had an Arizona chimichanga I actually liked…and it was in New Mexico.
16 August 2026: Almost invariably, my piquancy-intolerant bride will order either beef fajitas or carnitas at every Mexican restaurant we visit. With carnitas, she never knows what she’s going to get. One definition of “carnitas” describes the dish as “little meats” in Spanish, going on to say carnitas are made by slow-cooking pork in lard or its own fat until tender, then crisping it. The meat is juicy on the inside with crispy, browned edges, and it is often used as a filling for tacos, burritos, or tortas.” Quite often, the “little meats” which some restaurants serve as carnitas are cubed pieces of meat.
At Gabriel’s, the plato of carnitas (sizzling Jalisco-style shredded pork and pico de gallo, Mexican rice, whole beans and guacamole with corn tortillas) fit the definition above pretty well. My Kim, however, may as well have ordered “sizzling Detroit-style shredded pork” as she “neutered” the dish by omitting the pico de gallo and whole beans. Resultant from those changes were carnitas that even she described as bland. Thankfully because the portion was so big, we had carnitas a plenty to take home and doctor to our tastes (me with scalding red chile and her with Peter Luger steak sauce.
5 August 2017: For dessert, there are seven options including a tres leches cake you’ll be besotted by. Topped by a chocolate frosting, it’s one of the most moist and rich tres leches cakes we’ve had. Press your fork into it and the three milks (evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk) from which this fabulous cake is made ooze out. My Kim said she’d drive the 75 miles from Albuquerque just for a slice. Never mind that her devoted husband does 99-percent of the driving in our household.
16 August 2026: With an ominous backdrop of the Frijoles fire looming closer than anyone would like, my Kim decided she wanted something cool. Fatima told us the caramel piñon sundae was just the ticket. At least three scoops of vanilla ice cream were drizzled in not nearly as much caramel as we would have liked. That could also be said about the piñon (the more the merrier for New Mexicans who grew up picking them). The sundae may not have done anything to put out the raging fire, but it did give my Kim the cool dessert she wanted.
The Gabriel’s experience is memorable even if not all your meal may be. You may visit for the food, but you’ll stay–and you’ll return–for the views and that enrapturing piñon scented ambiance.
Gabriel’s
U.S. 285/84
Santa Fe, New Mexico
(505) 455-7000
Web Site | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 16 August 2026
# OF VISITS: 6
RATING: Very Good– Good to very good food; generally solid; delivers consistent quality, strong technique, and a comfortable, enjoyable dining experience
COST: $$$
BEST BET: Guacamole, Chips and Salsa, Tres Leches Cake, Elotes, Aguas Fresca, Caramel Piñon Sundae, Arizona Chimichangas, Plato de Carnitas,
Gil, dear,
This is the place we go when we can’t stand our own cooking one more night! Lately, though we’ve gone low-carb and usually low-calorie, so we can only dream about the Taos combination plate. I have to thank you for not including it, I would have cried.
Also, Gabriel’s will offer you a pink sombrero to wear on your birthday.
Peace.
Zuzu
I love you gil, please never take offense, I remind my mother of that often! Hahahaha. Your a great sport!
No pictures.
Alas, Randall, I didn’t start including photographs on my reviews until 2008, two years after my last visit to Gabriel’s. Faithful readers such as you who hang on every word didn’t need the photos, but despite my deplorable lack of skills with a camera, nonetheless appreciate seeing the foods I’m describing.