It was such a hugeeee surprise for me to find Indian food inside Bandelier Monument National Park. As an Indian person, I couldn't spot even one Indian grocery shop in Santa Fe, buttt seeing a restaurant here serving Indian fusion food felt kinda crazyyy haha lol. This small intimate café has a good mix of New Mexican and Indian flavors and even some fully American options too. They had everything from samosas to chips with guac for starters, and in mains they had all sorts of burgers with bison, beef or even elk meat options and many Indian dishes like tandoori chicken and some fusion dishes like pastas along with different lassi flavors, beers,wines and coke products.
Honestly this is not your regular national forest cafe (where you might be served just burgers and pizzas or have very limited food options) and it feels like a very well curated cafe by a real culinary chef who actually thought through the whole menu, and that definitely is a vibe.
We ordered the green chili elk burger made with New Mexican chilis and the tandoori chicken, and paired it with chilled beer. The guy at the front desk taking orders was super sweet and friendly, and he was suggesting dishes and chatting with us about all the lassi flavors (mango, pomegranate, etc) and the whole fusion dishes they serve there. Service was fairly quick, and I noticed the chef himself was serving food to every table which added such a personal touch. You could see how was single-handedly preparing those dishes and taking all the efforts!!
Each main dish came with a side salad, which I honestly appreciated because that's where we can cut down some junky fries that usually come with burgers and grilled items. I was trying elk burger for the first time, and the patty kinda reminded me of a smoked pork liver flavor but still tasted great, especially with the spicy kick from the New Mexican chilis. The tandoori chicken wasn't the traditional Indian style which is usually made with Indian spices and garlic ginger paste, and tasted more like tailored for international taste buds - a little sweet and spicy, served very hot, and it ended up being a solid diabetic-friendly meal for me because of the salad. Win win situation for me.
Pricing was a bit on the higher side
Approx $19 for the chicken and $16 for the small elk burger and $9 for one glass of beer - because I think the café is inside the national park and there is absolutely no restaurant nearby so no complaints there.
Overall, I loved my experience here and I would totally recommend everyone to eat at this café after visiting Bandelier National Park. read more