Geronimo has long been a standout place to eat in Santa Fe.  It’s in the “Borrego House” that was built by Geronimo Lopez in 1756.  Frankie visited and wrote it up on 11/19 and again on 9/23, which you can click on if you want to see more photos of the place. Located on the busy Canyon Rd where there are tons of art galleries, they do have valet parking if you aren’t close enough to walk.  It’s a quiet and elegant place with music in the background, white cloth-covered tables and art on the walls.  There are seating options outside, at the bar and in a number of interior rooms.  Reservations are a necessity.  Service is friendly yet polished and professional.  Our fine server, Jay has been working here 25 years or as he put it, “he came with the building.”   We passed on dessert but I got a photo of the menu for you.  The place has never let me down and I know it won’t disappoint you either.  Put it on your list.

Set-Up

Food

After your order is placed they bring the bread service which contained slices of white sourdough, crispy flatbread and chile cheese rolls with individual triangles of European butter.  The flatbread was very thin, crisp and spicy from green chile flour.   The rolls were soft and tasty and the bread was very light for a sourdough.

We split the Kabocha squash and lobster bisque which had sweet potato, lobster meat, crispy potatoes and baby wild greens on the side.  They divided the sides in the kitchen and added the broth at the table.  They do charge $3 to split an appetizer for you but I think that way you both get plenty of the side add-ins.  The bisque was a simple creamy soup which was nicer with the addition of the soft vegetables and crispy potatoes.  There were plenty of small chunks of lobster meat but I could have done without the baby greens.  It’s a new item on the menu and a good addition.

Arborio Rice risotto contained lobster, rock shrimp, King crab and lobster Beurre Blanc.  They often have a risotto on the menu but this was a new twist on it and for this, we had individual plates and the risotto in one bowl rather than them trying to split.  The rice was perfectly al dente and mixed with a ton of shellfish.  It was a rich dish but not overly so.  It had a good flavor of parmesan in the background which went great with all the shellfish.  This was a real winner.

The Tellicherry rubbed elk tenderloin comes with roasted garlic fork-mashed potatoes, sugar snap peas, applewood smoked bacon and a creamy brandied mushroom sauce.  The 7 oz. piece of tenderloin was cooked a perfect medium rare with a warm red center and lots of smokey, grilled flavor.  This has been on the menu forever and I think it will stay because it’s that good.  A wonderful sauce filled with bits of bacon and button mushrooms was terrific with the meat and the potatoes under it.  The peas were cooked nicely and gave a balance to the plate.