Both a local bar grub staple and a biker outpost, the Mineshaft Tavern and Cantina gives visitors a taste of the Wild West, with wood-paneled walls and live music. Menu highlights include the mad chile burger, which consists of your choice of meat — including New Mexico-raised Wagyu beef — topped with both fried and chopped hatch chiles, aged cheddar, and chipotle dijonnaise.

A Madrid institution, Java Junction is the hub of this artsy desert community (and bona fide ghost town) nestled 20 minutes outside Santa Fe on the Turquoise Trail. The coffee beans, brewed in house, are roasted only 18 miles north of the shop. Be sure to sample the homemade pies, like rhubarb and blueberry, which rotate daily. The coffee shop also has an adjoining store as well as a bed-and-breakfast for those who want to stay the night.

Santa Fe Brewing Company has steadily expanded across Santa Fe and Albuquerque with six locations, and it’s clear why the brewery is so popular at the expansive Beer Hall at HQ location. The bar offers an expansive outdoor lounge area and 27 taps of beer, ciders, and beyond. Check the website for the latest food truck, from barbecue to Cubanos, to pop up in the courtyard as well.

With three locations around town, Second Street Brewery is a standby among locals for burgers, beers, and live music. The spacious Rufina Taproom outpost is conveniently located near the popular immersive art space Meow Wolf, making it great for pre- or post-visit refreshment. You’ll find the brewery’s bread-and-butter staples alongside Cajun-inspired dishes, like the fan-favorite spiced tater tots.

This low-key gastropub features a wide selection of sour beer and farmhouse ales alongside a varied slate of bar bites that range from sandwiches to risotto. The seasonal clam chowder is particularly impressive for a high-desert bar menu.

Chef Ahmed Obo combines the Swahili, Indian, Arabic, and European culinary influences of Kenya’s Lamu Island, where he was raised, to provide a taste of East Africa. At Jambo Cafe, opened in 2009, check out the coconut pili pili shrimp, which features wild shrimp over spicy coconut tomato stew and basmati rice, alongside fan favorites like grilled jerk chicken and vegetarian dishes.

Maria’s has been a Santa Fe institution since 1950. The restaurant has changed hands among multiple families and friends over the years, but they have all maintained the humble, home-cooked New Mexican classics. If you’re looking for red or green chile, be sure to ask which one is spicier that day to suit your taste. Maria’s is perhaps most famous for its menu of more than 150 margaritas and 170 tequilas, which you should definitely explore too.

Chef Paulraj Karuppasamy uses local ingredients as the base for his innovative South Indian cuisine. The dosas are large but light, and the specialties, like the green chile cheese dosa, weave local food traditions into traditional favorites. For something a touch lighter, try one of the uttapams filled with a mushroom medley. Vegetarian dishes anchor the menu, which draws regular crowds. The wait is worth it.

Since it opened its doors a little over a year ago, this airy breakfast and lunch spot has become one of Santa Fe’s best daytime options. The small kitchen serves Slovakian-inspired food in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. The Hungarian goulash alone, made with locally sourced lamb bone broth, is worth the trip. But the house-made cakes, pies, and other pastries are equally unmissable. For a treat to go, pick up some fresh gingerbread and a jar of lemonade mixed with turmeric, ginger, honey, and cayenne.

This upscale Mexican restaurant makes its tortillas from local landrace blue corn that’s nixtamalized in house. The result is a complex flavor that elevates Paloma’s tacos — topped with carne asada, sea bass, or cauliflower — into some of the best in town.

One of Santa Fe’s most established coffee roasters, Iconic has two other cafes in town, but the Lupe location opens the earliest, at 7:30 a.m. It’s a favorite morning haunt for a leisurely cup and a simple breakfast of dukkah-spiced avocado toast or yogurt with granola and berry-mint compote.

This soup and salad shop may look like a casual downtown cafe from the outside, but the menu includes all kinds of surprises. The must-try dish is the jalapeno-studded Fire Ramen Noodle Soup, a customizable bowl that can be made with vegan or bone broth. Rice bowls with house-made teriyaki sauce are another fan favorite, with a range of toppings like unagi, kimchi, and tofu.

Ji Wang Noodle Shop is tucked right off the main corridor of the Plaza Galeria mall, a stone’s throw from the Palace of the Governors. The small but mighty restaurant serves flavors from across Southern China, including rich soups, steaming plates of handmade noodles, Hong Kong-style chicken shu mai, and xiao long bao with an assortment of fillings. A fan favorite is the Chinese tamale, a take on the New Mexican classic that’s similar to Chinese zongzi, stuffed with rice, pork, Chinese sausage, chestnut, and shiitake mushrooms and wrapped up to steam in bamboo leaves. There are few restaurants as tranquil in the middle of downtown.

Since debuting La Boca in 2006 in downtown Santa Fe, chef James Campbell Caruso has merged regional Southwestern ingredients with methodical Spanish technique, transporting eaters from New Mexico to Spain. Caruso pairs small plates like trio de califlor — roasted cauliflower with harissa barbecue sauce and manchego cream — with an impressive selection of Mediterranean and South American wines.

A visit to Palacio Café feels like an extension of chef-owner Damian Muñoz’s own dining room. The breakfast burritos smothered Christmas-style with red and green chile sauces are as soul-satisfying as they are famous. (Breakfast burritos are said to have been invented in Santa Fe.) Though you came for those lauded sauces, no one would blame you if you opted for one of the paninis, like the Cuban Reuben with corned beef, maple-cured ham, pickles, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing.

This quiet alternative to a coffeehouse provides a wide selection of hot brews inspired by chocolate traditions from around the world. For those averse to sugar, the small but intense Aztec Warrior elixir — an unsweetened cup of chocolate mixed with chile, flowers, herbs, and nuts — is uniquely satisfying. But if you appreciate a sweet treat, there’s plenty more to drink, as well as a number of truffles, bars, caramels, and even chocolate-dipped chiles sold to go.

Nestled within a cozy adobe home built in 1756, Geronimo is famed for its five-star experience, from the valet who takes your car to the impeccably plated dessert to finish a meal. Fans are especially fond of the stunning meat preparations like elk tenderloin, rack of lamb, and foie gras, which make this iconic Santa Fe institution ideal for a celebration. Stop by for major holidays like Christmas or New Year’s to experience the prix fixe menus and wintry ambiance. The wine menu is extensive, and servers are quick to pair dishes with a bottle at any price.