The first time I went to Opuntia Cafe was a few years ago. I had a rice bowl for lunch. It was not impressive and the waiter was kind of arrogant. However, we did see Ali McGraw there and she looked beautiful.
We were hoping that at the new location we would like Opuntia Cafe better. It was. The food was better and the service wasn’t arrogant. We didn’t see Ali McGraw but that was ok. We were there to have lunch with friends and to go see a movie at Violet Crown movie theater. All good.
When you walk into Opuntia Cafe, you are greeted by this lovely pastry board. By ordering at the counter, you can take in all these beautiful creations. Your food is then brought out to your table.
We ordered an artichoke galette (4.75)for the table as well as a berry galette for desert (4.75). We made quick work of both.
I decided on the beet salad with watercress and arugula(14). The roasted beets were fabulous and there were plenty of them. It was truly a beet salad. I liked the toasted walnuts. I thought I had a mandarin orange but the menu stated it was actually a satsuma tangerine The salad had a light walnut vinaigrette. The arugula was ok. I forget that not all arugula is going to be as sweet and tender as my homegrown. I totally missed the watercress but I was talking. I might have just missed it. There was plenty of goat cheese and walnuts. I like some kind of nut in my salad. It makes me think that I am eating something a little more substantial than just a salad.
The grilled cheese sandwich(13) didn’t look grilled, maybe it’s just me. The cheese was gruyere and fontal with some nicely caramelized onion with a wholegrain mustard with house-made sourdough multigrain bread served with either fries or a side salad. The grilled cheese also came with some pickled vegetables.
This is the inside of Opuntia. It was a beautiful setting with a koi pond in the middle of the restaurant. The windows to the east have a view of the Santa Fe Railyard. It is located above the parking garage. We got there just before 12 and beat the lunchtime crowd. There was a long line. This is a very popular place. It was also very warm. Several portable air conditioners were doing the best they could to make the space cool.
A beautiful place for beautiful people. I thought that the take-out box was impressive and it was recycle-able.
All the prices were taken from Opuntia’s stunning website. The food photos were spectacular. I found the prices on the to-go menu because only the descriptions of the food are listed in the menu.
Opuntia is located at 1607 Alcaldesa St. on the second floor. There is an elevator. Opuntia Cafe’s phone number is 505.780-5796.
Hours are Weekdays 10am-4pm and Weekends 9:30am-4pm. The menu did state that dinner was coming soon.
Santa Fe City Different Foodie 
Spot on with this write-up, I actually think this amazing site needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be back again to see more, thanks for the advice!
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