Escondido Santa Fe is the debut restaurant from Chef Fernando Ruiz, a three-time Food Network champion who won Guy's Grocery Games and Chopped before beating Bobby Flay on his namesake show. Set in Edgewood, the restaurant positions itself as high-end casual Mexican, built on a fusion of Coastal, Central, and Northern Mexico cooking.
The menu splits between two identities: world-class ceviches, agua chiles, crab cakes, and fish tacos made from sushi-grade seafood channeling Pacific Coast flavors, and Northern Mexican staples — chicken mole, barbacoa, al pastor, carne asada — sourced from Northern New Mexico ranches and the broader Southwest.
The Santa Fe Reporter named Escondido to its 2025 Best Of list, and the James Beard Foundation named Ruiz a semifinalist for Best Chef: Southwest that same year.
The menu splits between two identities: world-class ceviches, agua chiles, crab cakes, and fish tacos made from sushi-grade seafood channeling Pacific Coast flavors, and Northern Mexican staples — chicken mole, barbacoa, al pastor, carne asada — sourced from Northern New Mexico ranches and the broader Southwest.
The Santa Fe Reporter named Escondido to its 2025 Best Of list, and the James Beard Foundation named Ruiz a semifinalist for Best Chef: Southwest that same year.