Restaurant review: Osteria d’Assisi (Santa Fe)

Recommended by my folks in their various peregrinations to Santa Fe, this Italian restaurant is located north of the Plaza, just across the street from the Federal Courthouse.

Overall
Food		Service
Ambience		Prices

Food:  Mmmmmmm.  Full course Italian dinners are available (each course a la carte) and everything sounded fabulous.  We opted for a more abbreviated, less bloated dinner.  Margie had a nice carpaccio antepasta, while I had a Caesar Salad (listed as a house specialty, but only nice, not great).  We skipped the terribly tempting pasta course, and went straight to the “second” entrees.  Margie had a rib-eye steak which was flavorful-to-die-for (and huge); I had the osso bucco (because, really, given the choice, how could I not?) which was melt-in-your-mouth savory and sweet.

Yum.

There was a long wine list — mostly Italian (red and white) but with various Californian (more expensive), too.

Service:  We got there around 6:30p on a Wednesday, and were promptly seated.  Waitstaff scurried about, and everything appeared quickly, was taken away quickly, and/or was dealt with quickly.  Friendly and professional.

Ambience:  A pretty little dwelling in downtown Santa Fe, done up nicely.  There was also patio seating (which we didn’t ask for, as thunderstorms were a-brewin_.

Prices:  Dinner — entrees plus one extra course each, plus a bottle of house wine — set us back $120.  I didn’t feel cheated, but didn’t think we were getting any particular bargain.  A same-vintage same-location Silver Oak that was $95 at El Nido was $125 here.  Didn’t feel things were priced extravagantly, and no complaints about food or portion, but the prices weren’t any bargain, either.

Overall:  It’s not tops in any of the guide books, but I could easily visit here multiple times and have something different each time (and almost certainly enjoy it).  A nice experience.

Osteria d’Assisi – just two blocks from the Santa Fe Plaza at 58 South Federal Place, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, (505) 986-5858