Executive Chef John Rivera Sedlar announced his return to his native New Mexico to open his newest restaurant, Eloisa, at the Drury Plaza Hotel.
Now serving dinner and featuring a stunning bar with specialty cocktails, Eloisa presents a Latin and Southwest-inspired menu focusing on the delicacies of the Northern New Mexico region.
Eloisa, named after Chef Sedlar’s maternal grandmother, pays homage to her and motivates the feminine design.
The feminine aesthetic, reflected in the shape of the food on the plates, the round, earthy table settings, the choice of a female mixologist and the timeless metropolitan-inspired interiors by local designer Laura Carpenter. Additionally, a tasting menu created in honor of Georgia O’Keeffe will be served, a nod to Sedlar’s great aunt who cooked for the artist for 14 years.
“I am excited about coming back home to my New Mexican roots,” Chef Sedlar says. “The flavors of Northern New Mexico have had a wonderful impact on my culinary career and I look forward to bringing a fresh perspective to New Mexican cuisine.”
Carpenter has created a soft, neutral interior that preserves the building’s original 1950s masonry while introducing modern details and uniquely architectural flatware by Italian designer Gio Ponti. Chef Sedlar describes the restaurant as “a beautiful palate where guests look great and the food pops.”
Eloisa's menu combines small plates served tapas style and larger plates that can be shared. Many of Chef Sedlar’s grandmother’s recipes will be recreated, notably her Northern New Mexican lamb dishes, empanadillas and biscochitos as well as a number of dishes focused on the apricot.
Upon entry, guests will be greeted by a traditional tortilla maker engaged in grinding masa into flour, rolling dough, and pressing fresh edible flowers like petunias, rose petals, and nasturtiums into the tortilla to create tortillas decoradas.
The prominently featured, state of the art kitchen, finished with granite, marble, and white subway tiles will invite guests to watch Sedlar and his team create exotic dishes that juxtapose precise French cooking techniques with fresh interpretations of Meso-American classics like carne adovada.
Eloisa’s dining room seats 120 guests inside with an additional 65 seats on the patio, which will open mid-May. General Manager Walter Gallegos, formerly of The Compound, crafted the wine list and refreshing cocktails were designed by mixologist Dede Roybal.
Lunch will be served 30 days after the opening, and breakfast will eventually be served as well. Bar Alta, on the Drury Plaza Santa Fe’s rooftop, is also Sedlar’s domain and will have a casual dining menu and a full bar with specialty cocktails.
“I am proud to be returning home to establish a restaurant that not only pays homage to my family’s heritage but also recognizes the thriving world-class destination that Santa Fe itself has become,” Chef Sedlar says.
