Coyote Cafe opened on West Water Street in 1987, when chef Mark Miller set out to rework native Southwestern ingredients — chile, corn, regional produce — into contemporary dishes. It became one of the restaurants credited with pioneering that approach nationally, pairing local staples with combinations that hadn't been used before, like porcini and prawns over corn cakes or rib-eye steak with chili onion rings.
The building holds two separate operations. Downstairs is the formal Coyote Cafe dining room; above it, reached separately, is the walk-in Coyote Cantina, a rooftop space looking out over the street below.
The kitchen has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation multiple times, including a Best Chef win in 1996, a finalist nod in 1991, and semifinalist recognition in both 2009 and 2010.
Elk tenderloin, banana cream pie, cornbread, and prawns are among the dishes that keep coming up with regulars, alongside the chile-and-corn-driven cooking the restaurant has built its identity around since it opened.
The building holds two separate operations. Downstairs is the formal Coyote Cafe dining room; above it, reached separately, is the walk-in Coyote Cantina, a rooftop space looking out over the street below.
The kitchen has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation multiple times, including a Best Chef win in 1996, a finalist nod in 1991, and semifinalist recognition in both 2009 and 2010.
Elk tenderloin, banana cream pie, cornbread, and prawns are among the dishes that keep coming up with regulars, alongside the chile-and-corn-driven cooking the restaurant has built its identity around since it opened.