Got the blue corn tacos which were alright, although I could have gotten something comparable from Taco Bell. Boyfriend got a cheeseburger that looked delicious and apparently tasted delicious. However, the service was terrible. Had to wait between 5 and 10 minutes to even be greeted by a waiter and waited on our food for an hour during slower restaurant hours. My suggestion is to look for something else if you are eager for food.
Review Source:To start, the food here is pretty good. The burger I had, Green Chili, was excellent.
The wings may have been good at one point, but were cold when they arrived.
Basically, the service last night was really bad. Half an hour for the first drinks to be brought out. It took 20 min and two reminders for my second beer to be brought out.
And the ambiance was nothing to write home about. Yes, we are tourists, but that does not mean we want to feel like we are eating in a touristy place.
I say skip this place and find another more-local joint.
Everyone's food was ok, beer & root beer was fantastic. Music was horrible they should have at least had world music instead of the rock. Service was slow as if they forgot us. I was actually told that the little maniac blonde that was running around the place like a chicken with her head cut off was the manager. I asked about her because she was so out there & her name was Megan. What floored us was when her black plastic case that kept the bill fumbled out of her hands and white powder & a packet spilled out. After that we did not see her again. Someone should check this out.
Review Source:Not the best in the world. Good crab dip, which was surprising for a restaurant in a landlocked state. The New Mexican blue corn food was so-so, but I really liked the green chile mac n cheese! Don't bother with prickly pear iced tea; it doesn't have a distinct taste.
The waiter was really nice though!
Good beer, solid food. Nothing extraordinary or that creative, but nothing horrible either.
I ordered the green chile cheeseburger, which was ok. Jicama lime slaw was bland. Queso was tasty but had that processed cheese texture, which is ok since it's hard to keep melted cheese melted without adding a little processed cheese to it. Hubs enjoyed the green chili stew. Kiddo liked the corn dogs and really liked the "wick sticks" that the restaurant gave her to amuse herself. Seriously, those things were awesome.
Service was good. Prices were reasonable, especially for so close to the plaza.
After our last dinner there we decided to not go there again. This came after many similar experiences. We got there about 8:30, expecting the place to be open until ten like their web site states. We got there, ordered our first drink and then our food. A bit later we wanted to order more, they told us they were closed. The server did not alert us of last call, and the early closing. So we had to rush through our dinner. Big gripes of the place; slow service, rude servers, partying employees in the bar, and changing closing times.
Review Source:After checking in at Otra Vez, just down the street, we came here for dinner in the bar. Lots of interesting beers on tap, but we split a half bottle of New Mexico's excellent Gruet sparkling wine. Â The red chile sauce is earthy, with a nice, toasty heat. Excellent calabacitas and good chiles rellenos. The service was friendly and helpful but a bit haphazard. In fact, we began to think the 'sopapias upon request' were just a rumor, but they were hot and puffy when they finally arrived.
Review Source:BLUE CORN CAFE is a MUST do when in Santa Fe, NM!
Blue Corn Cafe has exactly what we were looking for in Santa Fe cuisine without spending $35 per entree. The menu has a large variety of offerings including a delicious vegetarian plate. The starters were so good and the servings are huge!!
The moment we walked into the restaurant, my family and I were drawn in by the fabulous aroma of the fire roasted chiles, handmade tortilla chips, exceptional pinto beans and everything in-between.
The atmosphere is pleasant and the waitstaff is very friendly. This is a family place as well as a great meeting place for the all-adult groups. They also have a micro-brewery but we haven't sampled their brews yet. Â
Check it out. They are also open all day so you can drop in anytime. Some restaurant in and around the Square have limited hours and/or limited menues during offpeak times, if they are open at all. Blue Corn Cafe is open and ready to happilly serve you some of the BEST Southwest cuisine in town!
I can see why some might criticize this place, but I actually kind of like the place.
The food is in some cases mediocre, something many a review has pointed out. But other dishes have been quite scrumptious. I would encourage any lunchgoer to give their green chile stew or shepherd's pie a run. The latter is really just an extension of the green chile stew, with melted cheese and the whipped potatoes on top, but it is quite delectable. The green chile has a mean kick, there are large chunks of seasoned ground beef, and overall it's just a generous plate of some pretty darn authentic New Mexican food.
As for the beer, I've got to commend these folks. They've really got some decent beers representing a number of styles and despite this have managed to fly under the radar or alternately get overlooked in this craft beer loving state with a number of great breweries.
I've had a number of beers I've liked so far, such as their ESB, their Blue Corn Beer, and their attempt at a Belgian (the name escapes me) and even the beers I haven't gone for were quite decent. I do notice a heavy alcohol taste on some of their brews and not quite the right balance of malt and hops, but overall I'm a fan.
I had heard so much hype about this place, I really wanted to try it. Perhaps I had too high expectations, because I wasn't so impressed. The food was good, but nothing spectacular. The beers were somewhat standard for the micro-brew types of places. The food was overpriced, probably because of the Old Town location.
Review Source:A group of us ended up at Blue Corn to replenish ourselves from wedding festivities the night before.
I'm not a fan of many bloody marys, but the one here had good flavor and quite a kick! It may be a tad too spicy for some, but from what I can tell from being in Santa Fe for a few days, the locals really like things spicy!
The tortilla soup was tasty, and I enjoyed my Southwestern Cobb Chicken Salad.
We thought this place was great! Although we did not try any other places around the historic square I would still strongly recommend this place to anyone.
We were actually recommended a couple other places but were looking for a place to watch the football game that was on. We were not sure which restaurants in the area had tv's so we went to yelp to find out.
This place had exactly what we were looking for. There is a smaller bar area with about then tables to one side of the restaraunt where all the TVs were concentrated. About six total playing a number of sports including the one we were looking for.
The green chile stew was absolutely delicious. A little spicy but not too much. We also ordered the carne adovada (not sure if I am getting that spelling right) and it was also excellent.
The brewery you would think would be small but they offer quite a selection. They had eight house brews (three of which were seasonal). We got the sampler that let us taste all 8 and we were pleasantly surprised with how great they all were.
We were it in Santa fe for long but this was the best place we ate at.
Reasonably priced. We both ate for $35 total. Great service. Great food.
We went while on vacation and had a terrible experience! Â The service was slow and our order was taken incorrectly. Â I never received the drink I ordered and my boyfriend was brought the wrong dish, and with several missing components, some of which arrived halfway through the meal. Â The food may have been pretty good for the price if it had arrived fully heated - at lukewarm it was only tolerable. Â The drink I never got was charged on the bill, and it took a while to straighten it out and check out.
Others seemed to be having trouble, too. Â A couple in the section next to us thought our food was theirs, as they had been waiting so long for their order, also.
Staff were consistently friendly, though.
Don't compare this place to the high end restaurants in the plaza area and you'll be pleased. We were seated quickly, which was a plus and had great service. Two of us split the large combo meal and had plenty of food. It was tasty, but not amazing.
We had a window seat, so that helped with the lack of atmosphere. I will return when in a hurry.
This review is based solely on the beer at Blue Corn Cafe and Brewery. Â Their beer is stellar. Â I had the Road Runner IPA, Oatmeal Stout, and Imperial Red. Â All of them were fabulous. Â My favorite was the Imperial Red Ale. Â It was so good that we bought a Growler to bring home. Â Their Oatmeal Stout has won a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival. Â
If you are in Sante Fe and looking for good beer, I highly recommend visiting Blue Corn Cafe.
My goodness! New Mexico know how to spice things up! Â Shared the enchiladas and had a couple of bloody marys while visiting Santa Fe. The dude and I love love love everything super spicy and that's exactly how the food and bloodys were made. FYI the red sauce is tastier and hotter than the green.
We sat at the bar which is the best place to sit in a brewery because that's where the beer is! Good beer, drinks, food, and even better service. This was the last restaurant we visited after a 3 day weekend, and sadly, the FIRST place that was friendly, inviting, and totally unpretentious. We will definitely come back when we are in town.
The beer and the food here is pretty good. I had the red chile pork tamales. They were very hot (like I wanted) and very well made. I drank the amber ale, and it was a good flavored beer. We sat at the bar, so I can't comment on the table service, but the bartender was friendly and attentive to our needs.
Review Source:My wife and I went to this place late on a monday night and ordered the New Mexican Shepard's Pie and the Stuffed Sopapias. We had been to a Blue Corn Cafe restaurant twice before, once to the brewery along I-25, and once to their short-lived location in Oklahoma City. This restaurant is great! They add a really unique flavor to standard dishes. The New Mexican shepard's pie was outstanding. I have lived in Scotland, and have had a good shepard's pie. Blue Corn Cafe style was something different, but in a good way. With a healthy dose of New Mexico green chiles, this dish was perfect! My wife's stuffed sopapias, which she had stuffed with squash, where equally tasty. Anyone looking for a little bit of spice, in contrast to most Tex-mex restaurant which are incredibly bland, will enjoy the green and red sauces that Blue Corn Cafe serves.
That is just the food. Service was outstanding. Even though our main server was busy with several other tables, our water glasses were never empty, and we never felt neglected, but at the same time didn't feel like the waiter was overbearing.
When we told the waiter that we were big fans of the restaurant (my wife being from New Mexico), the manager came out and gave us complementary blue corn cafe pint glasses! Needless to say, this restaurant serves great food, great beer, and comes at a remarkably good price compared to the other fare around the plaza. I wish more there were more restaurants that show-cased the amazing variety that can come from adding a New Mexican take on traditional american and mexican cuisine.
This place has been a favorite for years and never disappoints. Â Their hours are wonderful, especially around the Plaza where it's hard to find dinner late!
The dishes are all well-thought out and original. Â Specials vary the menu and highlight the talents in the kitchen! Â We've been here with adults and with our kids, it's always comfortable. Â Portions are just right to large for adults and our kids (11 and 9) always leave full ordering from the kid's menu. Â
The wait staff all seem to have long tenure and know their menus. Â We usually ask for recommendations instead of using the menu. Â There was a dessert special that had a caramel chili sauce on it a while back. Â We asked for that sauce on our flan (yummy!). Â
A year later we asked about the caramel sauce. Â While it was not available that night, the owner or manager remembered the sauce and was amazed we'd asked about it! Â
This is a consistent, yummy favorite that has not disappointed in over five years!
Ate here last night. It is located on the second floor.
I had the blue corn chicken tacos. The waiter asked if I wanted the lighter lunch portion even though it was dinner hour. So I opted for that. Two tacos instead of three. The tacos are hard shell, but not break your teeth hard. Just crunchy enough without being annoying when biting into them. They only have what they call "prickly pear" iced tea. That was fine too.
Even though it was a friday night, it was not full up. We only had to wait a few minutes. Service was fine. Â The inside is nothing fancy, but the food was fine.
Thumbs up if you want a bite to eat without spending a huge amount at some of the other fancy places in town.
Of the 3 breweries I visited in Santa Fe, this was my favorite. Â The IPA is solid, and they sell it to go in 6 packs! Â
The gals ate Queso, and I had Carnitas Burritos, all very tasty.
Lots of good NFL helmets, TVs and such make for good atmosphere. Â
(The only issue I had was with the photo of Joe Montana in a Kansas City Chiefs uniform(?!) Â Blasphemy!)
Popped in for a quick lunch, after I was sent here based on their local brew selection. Â Beer is good but the food is unmemorable.
Bartender looks too young to be behind the bar and had a sort of Keanu Reeves bad acting sort of surfer laziness to his attitude. Service wasn't bad - just a strange character.
Zero ambiance whatsoever during the lunch time frame.
There was nothing bad exactly, just nothing memorable either.
There's nothing I hate more than a waiter who completely forgets to bring you something you ordered but has no problem forgetting to charge you for it on the check. Â
Oh wait, I also hate when a waiter rushes around as if they are soooo busy they cannot be bothered with you and you are no more than a bothersome burden...until, of course, it is check time & then it's all "Thank you!! Hope you have a wonderful day!!" and they flash you their best I-Deserve-A-Nice-Tip smile. *Ding!*
Our waiter at the Blue Corn Cafe was an exceptional individual possessing both of these fantastic qualities. Â It made our 1st visit to this restaurant -- the first place we ate our first time visiting Sante Fe in general -- just lovely.
The waiter made me feel like I needed to apologize for him forgetting the appetizer we ordered, never received, and got charged $10 bucks for. Â He overheard me accepting a taste of my boyfriend's beer & actually yelled to us that I couldn't do that unless I had ID. I said I did & he continued, saying how people have been trying to pull the giving of alcohol to the under-aged in the restaurant and how if you're caught you're out of there, blah blah blah -- helloooo! I just said I had ID. Here is it. Look at it. Quit yelling at me from your server booth like I'm doing something illegal & making me feel bad. Â Funny how you heard that but didn't hear us order that appetizer, hmmm?
Other than the annoying, bad service (the hostess was pleasant though), the food was okay. Â The root beer is pretty yummy & the End of the Trail Brown Ale beer was good too. Â The highlight of our meal though was the sopaipillas. Â Warm, fluffy & drizzling with honey -- yum!! Â I'd go back just for the sopaipillas...but I'd probably just get them to go.
Price-wise, it was what we expected. About $10 an entree and lunch specials too. Â An okay place, just beware of certain servers...
My party of 12 visiting NM from a few western states had an absolutely wonderful time at this place. Â We were broken into two tables of six, and even the table cleaning staff were nice to us!
The beer is wonderful and flavorful (and cheap in price!) - and I'm quite snobbish with beer - and the green chili macaroni and cheese was so good it alone makes me want to drive back from Los Angeles, CA to taste the heaven once more.
We had a birthday girl who was treated extremely well, and we easily had one of the best waitresses I've ever had at any restaurant.
Don't let these 3 star reviews fool you! Â Snag yourself a few beer tasters and a green chili macaroni and cheese. Â If your taste buds still work at all you'll thank me.
Eh, Blue Corn Cafe is just okay. Â Being in the middle of the plaza is a draw but there are so many better places to get great New Mexican fare. Â
I was hungry, the place was right there and it was open so in I went. Â I had the pinto bean stuffed sopapillas, smothered in Red. Â It was good but not great. Â
My server was very attentive and sweet so one extra star for good service.
Came here with a group of 6 on a Saturday night. Should have known by the lack of population that it wasn't the best idea to eat here, but we were hungry.
I don't know if this is a typical santa fe thing, but their guacamole was almost completely bereft of salt. Now, avocados are delicious, but don't have a huge amount of flavor without it. Bland, and oddly scooped onto the plate in a way that was strongly evocative of boobs. Not only does that mean it comes from a huge vat of premade stuff, but you should really be mindful of presentation, guys.
I got the green chili cheeseburger. Old New Mexico staple, right? Well, I ordered it medium rare. It came... burned to death. It was like they threw my burger INTO the fire for half an hour while cooking the dishes for my table. Green chile had little flavor, and the whole thing was just a letdown. I scooped some boob guac on it, but to no avail : this was just a horrible burger. We fed the rest of it to the dog when we got home, and I'm sure he would have preferred kibble.
The margaritas were pretty good, actually. But I would have needed a bunch of them before thinking the food was worth eating.
Being the yelp nerd that I am, before coming to Santa Fe I had researched all of the restaurants that I wanted to dine at and weeded out the ones to stay away from. After a slight change in my itinerary on my last day in Santa Fe, I found myself searching for someplace to have lunch after my intended restaurant options seemed a little too out of the way to walk to in the short timeframe that I had before having to catch the airport shuttle back to Albuquerque.
Let me just say that the Blue Corn Café & Brewery was NOT on my list of restaurants, and I was disappointed by having to eat here for the lack of other options (since certain restaurants are closed on Sundays). Their green chile stew (although not bad and very reasonably priced) was not what I wanted my last meal in Santa Fe to be.
NOTE TO SELF: Smack yourself upside the head if you even remotely think about eating at a commercial-like chain brewery that serves food at lightning speed.
I had high hopes for the Blue Corn Cafe and I was a little let down I have to admit. Â It isn't that the Blue Corn Cafe wasn't good it just wasn't great and after hearing about it, I thought it would be great.
The prices were a little high for what I think you get though that may be because the portions are huge - far to big for me to finish and since I was there on vacation there was no way for me to eat leftovers.
The margarita special I got was tasty though and our waiter was friendly and helpful so those were two good pluses. Â I think this is a fine place to eat, it just didn't blow my mind.
I typically come here at least once each trip to Santa Fe. Â It's not great, but for the price and convenience of location it is an overall winner. Â It's at least as good as most of the places around and it's spacious and decent for largish groups, not very noisy, the food quality is above average, the drinks are reasonable, the service is usually good, it's clean, and ...did I mention is very conveniently located if you're around downtown? Â There are other similar places around, but this is my favorite of this sort especially because I'm usually going in a large group. Â So there it is. Â
The small outside seating area is often pleasant too.
I read that Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery was a good place for an inexpensive meal. "Okay" sums up this place.
After trying samples of about 7 of their beers, none really stood out. Maybe the Atomic Blonde (if you held a gun to my head and made me choose)?
We ordered the chicken enchiladas and carne adovada (like pork stew with pinto beans, rice, and 2 thick tortillas). Our food came out extremely fast, like 5 minutes fast, and was okay but on the bland side.
Décor is hideous. There are much better places to eat nearby.
There is a reason that I have not yet been able to get into The Shed, and the Blue Corn Cafe was practically empty at 12:30 on a Saturday.
My table of seven was immediately seated a large booth in galley-like room that was also set for a large party. An overly chipper server who really liked to ask "red, green, or Christmas?" when it came time for the diner to choose the spiciness of his entree, did an alright job. When his party of 20 came in, he still managed to tend to us.
My enormous craving for ceviche aside, I must say that I was extremely disappointed by the blahness of the menu; there is no creativity in sight. Upon reflection, I should have ordered the Southwest Cobb salad, but instead I put my faith in the bowl of the green chile stew. It didn't arrive completely hot, but it did have an alright flavor. The best thing about my meal was the sopapilla served alongside my stew.
Tommy A's description of the place as "sterile" is completely accurate; Chile's has more personality! Â As I observed the servers while I ate my lunch, I couldn't help but think of the bland wasteland of "Office Space." And no chips and salsa before the meal? So chintzy!
The Blue Corn is the epitome of everything that sucks when white people take over mexican food. Â Bland. The micro-brewed beer is the only thing worth a damn and if you are downtown and want a draft beer and some air-conditioning, I guess this place is your man.
Maybe I have a little bit of a bad association since I was sitting at the bar drinking beer here when I watched George Bush get re-elected. Â George Bush or not, you can find far superior mexican food in close proximity for less.
Well, we definitely didn't dine here for the service. Â Even though the food was pretty good (I recommend the chipotle corn chowder), the service was piss poor.
Our waiter didn't seem to understand the concept that the appetiser dishes should be bussed before the entrees are served, and that the appetiser and entree dishes definitely need to be bussed before dessert is served. Â Even after we started stacked all of our plates at the end of the table, he didn't get the idea that we were running out of room. Â I was sticking my elbow in my dinner dish every time I took a bite of dessert. Â The service was also slow.
As for food recommendations, if you like spicy corn chowder, the chipotle corn chowder is pretty good, very tasty and hearty. Â The Spanish flan was also pretty good, not too sweet.
However, steer clear of the pear iced tea and the "famous" blue corn root beer. Â The iced tea tasted like crap; it just wasn't any good. Â And, the blue corn root beer, at $2.50 a pop, you could buy five cans of root beer from Costco and get the same taste. Â The sopaipillas were like flat bread, heavy and well... flat.
Expect to spend a good tourist dollar here. Â It is in historic downtown Santa Fe.
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