Venerable charm
El Farol lives up to reputation for superb Spanish-style tapas
El Farol claims to be the oldest restaurant and cantina in Santa Fe — a stupefying claim in a city several centuries old, but plausible perhaps if it’s the oldest still open. I can certainly remember it from more than a half-century back, and it was regarded even then as a venerable institution. For many, many years, its claim to fame has been its bar (packed with local characters and not-from-here celebrities) and its menu of Spanish-style tapas. It’s known, too, as a popular local music venue and for its weekly flamenco show.
On a recent Sunday night, we found El Farol mysteriously uncrowded. We were, possibly, too early — we left about 7:30, after several rounds of tapas and just as Chris Abeyta picked up his guitar. El Farol is also lodged in one of those old Santa Fe houses that are veritable rabbitwarrens of rooms, so perhaps more was going on somewhere far in the back.
The menu offered tapas hot and cold, as well as entrees ranging from traditional Spanish paella to fish, fowl and steak with trimmings. My guest was intent on exploring the tapas menu, however, certainly one of the main reasons for visiting El Farol.
We ordered six of these “little plates” and found plenty of food for our appetites, admittedly heavily skewed toward eating lightly in the evening. Two of what we thought were the best selections were served first: a warm casserole of artichoke hearts smothered in Parmesan cheese ($9), and gambas al ajillo ($12), or shrimp sautéed with plenty of garlic and a hint of paprika. It took some willpower not to gobble up both immediately.
It was a chilly evening, so we chose mostly from the warm side of the tapas list. My guest selected an unusual combination of sliced Spanish-style chorizo with figs in a red wine reduction ($9). It was quite exotic, harking back to ancient combinations of spice-preserved meats and sweet dried fruit. She enjoyed it, but I confess it was too exotic a combination for me. Also, I found the chorizo very tough — it should have been cut into smaller pieces. The dried figs, though, were luscious with the wine sauce.
Next up was a nice dish of mejillones — mussels in a cream and mustard sauce. That too was unusual, at least to me, but excellent. The mussels were delicious, although quite small. The creamy sauce was a rich foil, though I would have appreciated just a little bit less of the sturdy, whole-grain mustard that finished off the flavors.
We also ordered a bowl of fideo, or Spanish noodles as fine as angel hair pasta and intriguingly garnished with a combination of chorizo and shrimp ($12). In the end, we took most of this home for later, though we both enjoyed the smoky tones of the chorizo together with the shrimp (and garlic).
Our single choice from the cold side of the tapas menu was ceviche ($9), a citrusy combo of avocado and (a very little bit of) fish enlivened by very spicy diced jalapeño.
For the record, my guest pronounced herself too full for dessert. But she agreed to split one between us and made an excellent choice: tres angelitos, a sampler of El Farol’s chocolate and lemon mousses and crème brûlée ($10). (El Farol also offers the very Spanish dates and figs stuffed with mascarpone and topped with chopped pistachios and oranges, as well as churros with chocolate. Flourless chocolate cake with cherry port sauce and tres leches cake, together with, incongruously, carrot cake, round out the sweets menu.)
The service was also very good, although perhaps a little over-watchful for such an unpopulated place as El Farol turned out to be the evening we visited. It was quite clear the wait staff was used to dealing with crowds.
We enjoyed the quirky decor, including murals contributed through the years by various Santa Fe artists. In the summer, the patio is pleasant and the front porch the perfect place from which to see and be seen.