The doors to Santa Fe bistro (12316 Olive) opened quietly early last week. There were no social media announcements, no live website, no balloons, no sky-scanning searchlights, no inflatable dancing tubes…and it was all by design.
“Every restaurant—no matter how experienced the staff or the owners—needs and deserves a chance to work the kinks out before the place gets crazy,” says owner Amer Abouwardah, “and so few of them get that opportunity. So we tried to limit the covers, mainly spreading the news by word of mouth, so the staff wasn’t overwhelmed and the early guests had the experience we want them to have.”
Abouwardah, who also owns Oceano Bistro (44 N. Brentwood) in Clayton, has set the ribbon cutting and grand opening for tomorrow, July 21, at 10 am
The Atmosphere
The 7,000-square-foot space—which previously housed EdgeWild Bistro & Tap, WildSmoke, and Culpepper’s, seats 150, including a small private room with a sliding barn-hinge door. There are also two patios, with 14 seats in front and another 30 around the side, adjacent to a manicured terrace.
The footprint is unchanged from the previous tenant, with the bar (and bar seating) to the right and the dining room on the left. One bank of large booths was removed in lieu of traditional tables and chairs. Several other booths still retain the same “faux hide” upholstery held over from WildSmoke, which served barbecue in a more upscale setting.
The barnwood beams and knotty pine décor adornment remain as well. The wall art, a work in progress, includes larger pieces collected locally as well as from Abouwardah’s travels in the Southwest. The are also azure-blue upholstered chairs and bars tools.
The focal point are two custom-made beaded coyotes, hand-beaded in Spain, which rotate in the entryway. (In Native American culture, coyotes are considered a supernatural creature, a creator.) “Everyone wants to examine them and touch them, but the beading is so delicate and fragile,” Abouwardah says. “People are going to have to admire them from a distance.”
The Menu
Leading the kitchen team is executive chef Armando Salazar, who’s been with Abouwardah since their days working at YaYa’s Bistro 23 years ago.
As the restaurant’s name implies, the menu leans toward Southwestern fare, a melting pot of cuisines distinguished by the liberal use of chile peppers, especially the hatch chile, a pepper grown and harvested in the Hatch Valley region of New Mexico.
Appetizers include expected items such as made-to-order guacamole, Santa Fe shrimp pan-seared in chile butter sauce, and crab cakes (made using the same recipe as Oceano Bistro but prepared slightly differently). Then there are the totopos and campechana: the former is akin to nachos, and comes topped with chicken, beef, or shrimp, while the latter conjures the Mexican staple, shrimp cocktel, a cold, mixed seafood cocktail that’s served in a similar, albeit larger glass goblet. Both dishes include hatch green chilies.
Specials include American crowd-pleasers, such as shrimp tacos and enchiladas, as well as Spanish specialties: tacos dorados (protein and potato filled then fried corn tortillas). Entrées include Beef Tenderloin al Pastor (strip steak with salsa roja and goat cheese) and several fresh seafood items a la Oceano, such as grouper, grilled swordfish, and salmon, tinged with Argentinean, Spanish, and Mexican flavors. Half a dozen 12-inch wood-fired pizzas, several of which are Southwest influenced, are all priced the same. Early devotees have noted the sizeable portions and the reasonable prices.
Standouts on the lunch menu include a selection of personal-size pizzas, sandwiches (such as a Smoked Salmon Guacamole Grilled Cheese sandwich on rustic bread), as well as standard salads, bowls, wraps, and bowls.
Featured drinks include four tequila-based cocktails, all of them summertime refreshers. The glass wine pours are generous, by the way, just as they are at Oceano.
Comments are closed.