Rancho De Chimayo Restaurante

First thing to over come is finding the restaurant. That took us several tries before we realized we kept driving by the driveway. The restaurant is tucked into an off the beaten path road. Ambiance was really pretty cool. We were happy that we had reservations because for Saturday afternoon, it was packed! We were seated in the greenhouse area. The different chips and salsa was my favorite part. Our Margaritas were as good as can be. I was underwhelmed with the food overall. It was fine, just nothing special. What was off putting was the very rude service. The server was very sarcastic when I asked questions about the menu and tried very hard not to look at us during our time. Waving her down for more water and the bill was a chore. Overall, we are glad we visited for the experience. It's a fine restaurant. Perhaps our server was having a bad day.

OK, so looking at all the reviews, it seems to depend on the time and the season you go, which will depend on the quality of food you get or how crowded it is in the restaurant. That makes sense, right? It is what it is, I guess... but after looking at other reviews, I will say this. I would never be dumb enough to order the trout almondine there and then comment that it's maybe too dry...in the middle of summer. Seriously? Did you think that they would go down and catch a warm water trout in the nearby lake and serve it fresh for you? Here's a hint... There's no such thing as a warm water trout. Stop ordering trout in the summertime!OK, I digress a bit... Personally, I have always enjoyed the food here. It is classic Northern New Mexico food. I'm not sure how you can mess that up real bad (unless you are so high maintenance that you are never going to be pleased anyway...or if you are so pretentious that you refer to yourself as a "Foodie"...gimme a break!)...and I'm not sure how you can dress it up real well, although a couple of the fancy places near the plaza try that to some success. But I'm not (ever) in the mood to spend $200 for a plate of New Mexican food.Seriously, what you come to Rancho de Chimayo for, is a really cool setting in a really interesting area that is really remote, quiet and peaceful. I live only a couple miles away, so it's not a stretch for me... And I've been there many times. Again, the food is always perfectly adequate NNM food, and if you have a couple of their super strong margaritas and (pay for!) the chips and salsa, with an entrée, you will get out of there for around $110/$120 for a couple. Not bad, right?OK, so why the three stars? This has happened to me again...maybe the fifth of the dozen times I've been here since I've lived here, so the camel's back finally broke....sorry!I almost always go on a weekday, and I almost always go before the dinner rush. It's the advantage of living close by. OK, so go in, ask for a table for two, get greeted by one of the lovely hostesses or waitresses, and get taken back to your table... pass by the very sour looking owner or manager sitting at her desk, whoever she is... But she has a business to run, so, whatever! More often than not, we get seated in the greenhouse (of the twelve times...we were seated twice in the main dining room, once in a side room off the retail space, and the other nine times in the greenhouse. Not a problem... It's lovely, and it's currently decorated for Valentine's Day. But here is where they lose two stars, five out of 12 times. Well, forever now...For some bizarre reason... And I understand restaurant zoning for serving staff tables, I'm not an idiot ... but if there is one couple sitting inside that greenhouse when we arrive, we are always seated RIGHT NEXT TO that couple. Then, 15 or 20 minutes later, the next couple or group is seated RIGHT NEXT TO US, and so on, and so on. On my last particular night, the greenhouse never filled up... Maybe four tables... But we were all grouped together - over two different server's zones - so we could hear every single conversation and practically touch each other. So much so, that the woman behind me was jealous of my beautiful flowers on the table, so I reached over and gave her mine because she didn't have the Valentine's Day carnations on her table.She was grateful, I was gracious, but I was annoyed as hell!I tried to explain this unnecessary crowding to the hostess, and she looked at me with a blank smile, as if I were speaking kryptonian, so I knew it would fall on deaf ears, as it has the previous four times this has happened to me and I have commented about it... Every time.All I'm saying is, if you like to go early as I do, and HOPE to have even a relatively quiet or private conversation while you're dining, it's not going to happen for you. You will be seated next to whomever is there regardless of the vast amount of space in the restaurant. If you ask to be moved by one table, you will set a vortex in motion, which will throw the space time continuum completely out of balance, and your hostess will short circuit and probably fall over in front of you. Probably because the grumpy looking lady behind the desk is staring at her and making sure that she doesn't breach protocol.To me, that is bad ...no... it is ridiculously inconsiderate customer service... and for that, Rancho de Chimayo will ALWAYS lose two stars.

My first time to enjoy this iconic restaurant.The traditional new Mexican food was delicious. Enjoyed eating outdoors on one of the patio/terraces. Loved the sopapillas served with honey.I will definitely return the next time I visit the area.

Nice homey atmosphere. We didn't have reservations but got a table for two fairly quickly. Started off with frozen prickly pear margaritas, a little on the sweet side but good. Then we had the guacamole, salsa and queso combo with fresh chips, Very tasty, everything you'd want in chips and dip. For entrees we shared the blue corn shrimp enchiladas with Christmas sauce and the sopapillas relleno. Both were very good, I especially enjoyed the shrimp enchilada. Would most definitely come back here again.

Hadn't been here in a couple of years while visiting as I was disappointed with our (lunch) meals. This time around we decided to have dinner and it was a much better experience!We started off with the chips and salsa (lots of chips, but they charge now: 5.45)! My mom and BFF ordered the chile rellenos and I ordered the stuffed sopaipilla with shredded chicken (breast). I got mine with Xmas (red and green chile) and the rellenos automatically come with green (assuming you ask for red otherwise). Both were very flavorful with the green being hotter. At first glance, everything on the menu seems pricey; however, the portions are HUGE! You also get a complimentary basket of sopaipillas and our server gave us a total of six so we took some home. When we received our check, it was 85 bucks via debit/credit card & 82 bucks cash (not including a tip) which wasn't bad for three people! The only cons about our visit was the service was very slow, but our server was very nice and kind! The 2nd con was I the extra surcharge to use a debit/credit card. I understand merchants have to pay a fee for the service of offering this payment method, but that's a cost of doing business and they shouldn't pass this on to their customers. Regardless, I will definitely be back (for dinner).

We are locals and eat here a few times a month. There are a couple of absolutely awesome servers. Tonight we had Karen. She's spot on, super sweet and always looks at the table to see if we need more drinks. The ambiance is very inviting.

We made a reservation for a party of 5 before coming because of the size of our group, but there were plenty of walk ins as well on a Friday afternoon. We made our reservation by calling them a few days in advance. We admired their relaxed environment and small gift shop. Our table shared the Appetizer trio, which was their house chips plus their salsa, queso and guacamole. All were very good, my favorite was the queso. Chips and dip are a tried and true opener. I ordered a spicy margarita which came with a tajin rim to accompany by Combinacion picante. The margarita was wonderful-it was balanced well and it had a nice kick to it. It was hard to pick an entree so getting a little bit of everything was the right call here. My favorite item of this dish was the carne adovada, but everything it featured was wonderful. The posole they make in house is excellent. We enjoyed good service and had a lovely time. We would definitely return!

Stopped at Rancho De Chimayo on a weekday afternoon. The dinner service was just starting, so no wait. Start with the location, about 15 minutes outside Espanola or a little under an hour from Taos. Picturesque adobe in a beautiful setting. The hostess was friendly, got us seated quickly and our server was right behind. Oyr server was friendly and knowledgeable. Food was great, from the trio appetizer (chips, Guac, salsa and queso) to the carne adavado, enchiladas, tamales and finally pork flautists. All fresh and well prepared. The adavado was just the right amount of heat and the port fell apart on the fork. The masa on the tamales was exceptional. I really liked the posole as a side. Sopaipilla and honey is part of every meal. Desert was flan, which was smooth and rich.There's a cute jewelry store on site, a gift shop and wonderful area outside to take in the natural beauty. If you're in the area and looking for a great side trip, highly recommend.

Rancho is indeed a very comfortable, quaint and picturesque venue. It is pretty far back into the countryside so it's a destination restaurant. The architecture is pure NNM: adobe exterior, appropriately and tastefully decorated. It's is larger inside than you'd expect, and there are several outside or semi-outside dining areas. It's lovely, to deal in cliches. Some drives out from Santa Fe are picturesque and scenic. Others travel though depressing poverty.We were greeted cheerfully enough and shown to our table (reservations are encouraged). Service was initially slow, and we waited a while for our waiter to fund us. Past that, it was prompt and solicitous. Everything came out promptly, and our water glasses were kept full.The chips and a salsa (which you do pay for here) were very good, particularly the red salsa. Just enough kick, thick in texture and adequately spiced. For my entre I had the Combinacion Traditionale - a pork tamale, an enchilada and a crisp taco. The tamale and the enchilada were covered with New Mexican red chile, which is ubiquitous in NNM cuisine. It varies from restaurant to restaurant. Rancho's was superb - thick, full of chile flavor with enough added spices to deepen its complexity. The tamale was well executed - not encased in a metric ton of masa. The meat was well spiced but not too spicey. Very savory. The same applied to the enchilada - everything well crafted. The taco was a disappointment though. The ground beef was dry and lacked any intensity. Applying some of the red salsa to it only marginally improved it. And that shouldn't have been necessary. The side of rice was hard and undercooked, and the beans were average. All in all, a bit disappointing given their reputation and the James Beard Award history. And considering the distance you have to travel.

Rancho de Chimayo, despite its prestigious awards, is an average restaurant at best as of January 2025. Being self proclaimed foodies, we were so excited to make the drive for this James Beard winning, not just nominated, but winning restaurant. Maybe the over excitement and anticipation were our biggest issues with this restaurant.We walked into the lobby to an unbelievably strong smell of backed up sewer. This doesn't mean there was a backed up sewer near the food prep, but the odor was definitely present at the gift shop area and was very off putting. The smell went away as we walked to our table in the sunroom side of the restaurant. The ambiance otherwise was nothing special.We ordered a trio of chips, guacamole, queso and homemade salsa. The salsa was very flavorful and spicy to a perfect level to feel just enough heat on our tongues. The chips were perfectly made in house; not too thick and just enough crunch. The guacamole was basically flavorless, and the cheese was just not good. At over $20+ this was highly disappointing.I ordered a beef burrito and she, a vegan, ordered the vegetarian platter with no cheese although soy cheese was offered. This is a nice option for vegans. Again, the shredded beef had almost no flavor, spice or real appeal. It was actually very dry. I wouldn't have eaten much of it, but the cost caused me to chew where it might've otherwise sat on the plate at a $10 lesser price. The vegan dish was equally...ok. The food was absolutely edible, but not worth the drive to the distant rural location and not deserving of the reputation of a James Beard award winner. Very underwhelming.If your expectations aren't very high as ours were going into the meal, you might not be as disappointed as we were. The smell of sewer gas absolutely needs to be addressed. This review was two stars and not three because it was exceptionally expensive for New Mexican cuisine.