El Farol Restaurant

We went to the Flamenco Dinner show and it was wonderful. The menu was delicious, the servers were attentive, and show was great. Would come back again and recommend.

My wife and I were extremely excited to have dinner and see the flamingo act.However, the food was totally disappointing. Both our entrees were different and low quality.The service was the only bright spot.The bill for the two of us was over $342.00.Never again.

While on vacation, we walked over to this restaurant. We had our dog so we sat at the patio. The goal was to have a few beverages on the Margarita Trail. I had the prickly pear and the smoking bull (my favorite of the 2). My husband had the classic margarita and a vodka tonic. He said the vodka tonic did not taste like it had alcohol. Maybe because they specialize in margaritas?For this trip no food but would definitely go back to try. The atmosphere was the best part, being right on Canyon Road. The service seemed attentive for us being outside but drinks came out super slow.

Nice atmosphere. Great musical act. We enjoyed the chiccarones, the jamon Serrano and the gambas. Small portions that don't fill you up too much and left room for their delicious desserts. Not as crowded and loud as other tapas restaurants in the area, with as good food if not better.

Interestingly, this place is owned by the same people who have the Tea House, which has also gone down the tubes lately. Last night I tried to order their $30 signature burger for take out. I called the restaurant FIVE times and nobody picked up the phone. Then I drove over. An assortment of waiters were lounging at the bar in an almost empty restaurant and the hostess was nowhere to be seen. Waited for 10 minutes. Nobody approached me to ask if they could help. Left again. Called for the sixth time. Went in again and stood conspicuously at the front counter. A middle aged waiter wandered over at this point - the same one who had done nothing to help this regular - and the hostess also appeared, in what seemed to be a fugue state, and half-heartedly asked if she could help. I will never eat here again. EVER.

This is more of an elegant and expensive restaurant. The indoor decor is wonderfully traditional with exposed beams and murals. There is a separate bar area and outdoor patio. The paella and custard desert were excellent. Portion sizes are on the smaller side. Staff were very attentive but a bit slow. There is no parking so you will have to pay $10 in the lot across the street or park several blocks away and walk. They do have happy hour until 5:00pm. If you are willing to spend a little more money this is a great place.

We booked a night with the Flamenco dancing which was probably the better part of the night. However, given that the menu was fixed, and 70$ per person not including gratuity or beverages, I mistakenly assumed the show was included. This speaks to bad assumptions on my part as well as misleading advertising.Three in my party had the paella which was overcooked and over salted. The medallions were also a disappointment, with the meat being a bit tough and the broccolini being over salted.

I made an 8 pm reservation to celebrate my anniversary with my husband--late for Santa Fe, I know but they had the time listed in their system and accepted it. Less than half way through our meal the restaurant starting closing down and we completely ignored. When I say completely I truly mean it. The staff started closing down all around us and treated us like we are invisible. The bar closed completely and it was a feat just to get water, let alone the check. Our table was never cleared and our waiter at long last tossed the check on our table without so much as basic eye contact after we had to chase down another staff member to get him.And to top it off I got viscous food poisoning, probably from the mussels we ordered. We spent $165 to feel ignored and downright disrespected and then I got sick on top of that.

So much fun after the concert at the Lensic. Tapas galore and lots of laughs. Great food. I had the hamburger along with the table full of tapas. Yum. My wife had the beef medallions. Cool servers. We had 6 in our party. Make reservations for sure.

The good was excellent. The polenta was fantastic (and I don't even like polenta) as well as the fried calamari. Also really enjoyed beef skewers. In historic romantic location. Wish the space could be bigger, could help to be less crowded. Definitely returning.