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La Casa Sena has a beautiful patio, classic indoor dining room and lively cantina. (Journal File)
It’s hard to beat the lovely enclosed courtyard at La Casa Sena, shaded by old trees and umbrellas. Located in the center of Sena Plaza, just a block from the Santa Fe Plaza, this popular restaurant has long been one of Santa Fe’s prime, pristine outdoor dining spots. This lovely ambience sets the stage for a fine meal.
La Casa Sena went dark briefly in June for a touch of remodeling and to gear up for a new menu. As part of the change, the courtyard now has its own bar and cozy La Cantina, open for lunch and dinner, has two TVs. The food update eliminated separate menus for the patio, the Cantina and the elegant indoor dining room. Now what arrives from Chef Patrick Gharrity’s kitchen depends not on where you’re eating, but when.
The dinner menu, available from 5 p.m. until closing, reflects the restaurant’s gourmet side with options such as an appetizer of Foie Gras served with an ounce of specially selected wine for $37. Or perhaps a main course of venison osso bucco with sweet pea puree.
The lunch menu my friends and I sampled is available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the early dinner menu is served from 3 p.m. Both include many of the same choices: a green chile cheeseburger, enchiladas, mussels, a wild mushroom tamale and the seafood sampler with lobster sausage, halibut ceviche and tuna sashimi. If you can’t find something to eat here, you’re probably not hungry.
First, acknowledgment of the best of what I tried. The grilled New Mexico hanger steak was super. The tender beef arrived perfectly cooked to order and beautifully plated with broad, thin strips of grilled zucchini and yellow squash as its base. I could eat this steak several times a week. The quinoa and mango side dish served with the salmon was exceptional: light, fresh, tasty and creative.
Two of the three desserts we tried, the unique chocolate banana bonbon – ice cream in the center of a dark chocolate shell with blueberries around the edges – and the decadently delicious lemon crème brûlée hold their own with desserts any day in any town. Save room for them, or make a special trip to Casa Sena for coffee and dessert on the beautiful patio or, perhaps, with the music offered nightly in La Cantina.
Most of the rest of our food was good. The soup of the day, melon-cucumber gazpacho ($8), was light and refreshing, a treat for a late summer afternoon. It was garnished with a tasty blue crab salsa. I liked them both, but better separately than together.
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La Casa Sena LOCATION: 125 E. Palace Ave., Santa Fe, 505-988-9232 HOURS: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily FULL BAR, EXTENSIVE WINE LIST |
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The luncheon salmon ($17) served with the quinoa mentioned earlier, was still juicy and an ample but not excessive serving. The barbecued pork Po-Boy ($12) had plenty of meat, and the sides of slaw and beans were satisfying. I liked the multigrain bun, too. The salad of the day, sliced fresh peaches atop fresh spinach tossed with some soft cheese crumbles and a nice blood orange viniagrette, was both attractive and yummy ($10).
A few dishes missed the mark. According to the menu, the chile relleno that came with the steak was stuffed with “cheesy garlic mashed potatoes,” but ours had bland, unseasoned potatoes that needed a makeover, especially considering the mildness of the chile itself.
The hummus dotted with roasted piñons in the vegetarian sampler ($11) was great, but because of the way the dish was advertised, I was disappointed. In addition to the dip and a few triangles of pita bread, it had one 4-inch cob of fresh corn and two tiny eggroll-like squash flautas filled with perhaps a teaspoon of fried vegetables. Before I ordered, I asked the waitress if the sampler would be appropriate to share among our table of six. She was enthusiastic about it as an appetizer. Wrong. So wrong, I wondered if she had ever seen this dish.
After I saw it, I ordered the guacamole ($9), a cup of fresh but otherwise average dip, which came with plenty of crisp, salty corn chips and was made for sharing. Why didn’t the waitress recommend this?
Apart from the sampler disaster, there were other service problems. It seemed as though no one was in charge of or responsible for our table. We had long waits for drinks and food. We could see idle servers standing under the portal, but we had to signal them so we could ask for refills of water, iced tea and coffee.
Even at a less expensive restaurant, the inattentive service would have been an issue. But when you’re paying $18 for a soup and salad lunch, I believe customers have a justified expectation of better treatment. To make things worse, because we were a party of six a 20 percent tip was automatically added to our bill for service that didn’t warrant 15 percent.
La Casa Sena sets high expectations with its history as a fine restaurant, first-rate desserts and many of the creative new food choices. Because the menu is new and the chef experienced, I predict that the food quality will quickly rise to consistent excellence. And even with the spotty service, La Casa Sena’s sensational Santa Fe ambience warrants a visit.
