El Farol Restaurant

I called ahead of time and told them they didn’t have the greatest reviews on here. The manager talked to me and said the GF meant “gluten friendly” but that they could work with me to prevent cross contamination. I was nervous to go but wanted to because it was my partner’s birthday and he wanted to go. When we got there the manager talked to me again and the waiter was knowledgeable enough. If he didn’t know he asked however. They worked with me on every dish and patiently answered all my questions. The food was great and I didn’t get sick!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

A lot of the items on the menu are labeled gluten free but are not! For example the Paella has barley in the rice mixture, the GF bread has rye, and our server told us that most of the sauces would have to be pulled off to accommodate me. I ended up ordering the sea bass but it wasn’t cooked enough and I’ve been up sick all night. The rest of my table’s food looked delicious but I will not be coming back.

Celiac friendly?

No

The menu has a number of options marked GF and our waiter was very attentive. But everything we ordered (multiple small plates as it’s Tapas) was exceedingly salty - to the point flavors of meat and vegetables were overwhelmed by salt. We were with another couple who travel to Spain and they said highly salted dishes are common there so they tolerated their choices. I cook and season with salt and never have an issue in restaurants but this was excessive. I doubt we’ll return because we have so many GF options in Santa Fe.

Celiac friendly?

Yes