Just back from five days in Santa Fe, and having benefitted greatly from the comments in this thread I thought I would share some of my own impressions.
Josephs – our first dinner and were excited to check it out. Cool vibe, very interesting menu, excellent wine list. Unfortunately every dish we had was just a bit off – overdone seabass, oversauced duck pad Thai, too much caramel on the butterscotch pudding. It’s too bad because we really wanted to like the place. I can see why it appeals to others, and had they executed I can see loving the place. Would give it another try.
La Casa Sena – Wine shop and restaurant. Hit the expansive wine shop in the afternoon and talked them into letting us choose a bottle, open it, and save it for our dinner 6 hours later. In addition to a broad selection across a few rooms, the have a glassed-in refrigerated space with a bunch of crazy gems (DRC, Rousseau, Vietti, DP, etc.) they were kind enough to allow me into to poke around. Ended up with a bottle of Rousseau 2015 priced at W-S low, and no upcharge to have it in the restaurant. Dinner on their patio was very good but again just a bit off here and there. Would definitely go again (especially for the wine selection at the shop) and can imagine it being a fantastic overall experience with just a bit better execution.
Compound – More of a white table cloth experience. Lovely, sedate, excellent food, great service, and fantastic wine list. Didn’t blow us away, but very enjoyable and would do again when in the mood for that kind of experience.
Arroyo Vino – Not listed above, but highly recommended. Located about 10-15 minutes outside of town adjacent to the Las Campanas gated golf course development. Another wine shop cum restaurant, with a semi-casual vibe, outstanding food, and a really well-chosen, medium-sized wine list. Sat outside on the covered patio watching a couple of thunderstorms roll across the arroyo at sunset, and just enjoyed every minute of the great food, wine and service. Would absolutely visit again, though maybe our modest expectations had something to do with my evaluation.
Also had a number of delicious breakfasts at various places around town (shout out Plaza Cafe), and was just really impressed with the food and wine scene overall. I look forward to going back at some point to revisit a few of these and try some new places.