I came here for a bachelorette dinner with a group of friends. The atmosphere is nice for a quiet meal with drinks. We sat in the inside area and got the popcorn, spinach salad, tapas board, papas bravas, grilled asparagus, and the chicken pintxos. When I made the reservation I was informed that there was a limited menu due to there being only one chef in the kitchen, but you really couldn't tell. The food came out quickly and was so delicious. The group ordered several different cocktails and the bar even offers Bubly and some of their cocktail as mocktails- which was great for our group because half the ladies don't drink and I'm pregnant, so it was nice to get to order something besides water. The staff was polite and welcoming. I like the gift shop at the front as well and the outside seating looked very peaceful. I don't live in ABQ, but I would come here again when I visit. Just FYI they do not have high chairs, so be prepared to hold your smaller kiddo/s if you happen to bring them with you. I brought my 1.5 year old daughter and she sat on our laps which wasn't a problem for us.

This was our first visit here. We enjoyed our selves. We had drinks and food. The wait staff was very frendly. It is a small venue and was very pleasant. The food was tasty although portions were small (tapas size). We decided to order the paella, it is a 55min wait, but drinking with friends made the time go fast. The flavor was good, although slightly salty. We enjoyed the meat balls, the papas, the chicken skewers and the tapas platter. They do have drinks other than wine (which we were told are all dry). They have brandy (aged and young) and whisky (no other alcohols). For 2 people with drinks and food we spent about $130. We gave it 4 stars because we did enjoy it, but the limited spirit selection and slightly salty paella kept us out of the "love it" rating. We will be returning.

I came with my mother for the Spanish Tapas Brunch it was wonderful. We had a full wine tasting and some great tapas. There was live music outside and plenty of shade and tables to sit at. The person who did our tasting gave us the Vara story and explained so much about the different wines. This is a new place but with vision. The wines were all excellent. Highly recommend coming.

What do you see as a waitstaff… I see empty glasses. Would have loved to have had them Refilled but no one asked for 20 minutes. They did remind us at the beginning they were short staffed, but as we sat there we could count no less than 8 wait staff and only 5 indoor tables. Staff looked over and past us more times than I can count. Chef was funny, food was okay. Disappointed to say the least, we had wanted to try this place for a long time. Off to fill out glasses elsewhere…

I took my mother for her 70th birthday. It took 15 minutes for waitstaff to acknowledge us. Very few customers were present. When we asked about the wine she was unsure. The Operational Director then came after 15 minutes and suggested some wines. I asked him if we could have a description of the wines. He quickly became bothered and short. I told him we would pass and he turned and walked away. The Operational Director needs training in customer service. I will never return nor recommend Vara.

The tasting room is right on the wine cellar, well spaced and clean. The Vara sparkling wine was good with tapas. Arugula salad was excellent, fresh and tasty. The patatas bravas was ok, a bit too crispy brown and small (over fried), not like the chunky ones in Madrid. The truffle popcorns were excellent. Very creative. The chicken pintxos were ok, over cooked and brown outside and not as tender on the inside. While the wine is excellent, some tapas could use more care. The staff was attentive and friendly.

I would highly recommend this place to any foodie. My husband took me on a date and we sat inside. It has a very industrial feel, so to be more romantic I would recommend to sit outside. The food at this restaurant is exquisite. we ordered the seafood paella and duck. I wish I could have ordered 3 more plates of duck. It was small but savory, rich and decadent. The small paella was enough to feed a small family. I would definitely go back and order the same thing!

This place was an outstanding find! Great wine, whiskey and a fabulous charcuterie board! Keri was super fun and very knowledgeable about the pairings, and service was outstanding! Will be back if we're in the area again.

Go to any other winery/tasting room and save yourself the disappointment of this establishment. We’ve eaten here three times. The first time the food and service were excellent. The second time the food was excellent but the service was terrible - our server was a woman with a giant chest tattoo that certainly treated us like she had better things to do than her job. The third time the food and the service were absolute trash. We had the same server with the same entitled attitude and made us both feel uncomfortable. We ordered the paella bombas which had no seafood inside and when asked, the manager said it’s minced into the bombas. Not true. I crushed up all three bombas and found no meat or seafood, just dirty seafood-water cooked rice. We also ordered the scallops which were absolutely the scallops from a frozen Trader Joe’s bag. They were tiny and incredibly fishy and covered in a thick lukewarm orange sauce similar to orange chicken sauce, which I assume was to cover how fishy they were. I asked if we could exchange them for the corn instead for those reasons and the server and manager both made us feel like we were putting them out, made no apology, gave no explanation, just “here’s your corn” with an attitude like we should apologize for expecting quality ingredients from food priced like it should be higher quality. We both finished our meal and left as quickly as we could seeing as our service practically stopped after that. Even in Albuquerque where the bar for service is generally very low, they somehow managed to knock that bar down to the ground. We will not be back until management steps up quality control of its servers and it’s food.

What a "great Santa Fe Tasting Room" This was a delightful experience and look forward to returning soon! So much fun and just had to get a picture from instagram to share!

Quiet Little place with great wine and spirits. Good boards and tapas. Great for the whole family.

I had a wonderful experience here. The serving staff made me feel welcomed and were extremely helpful when I had to decide on what wine flight to get. The sweet vermut I had was delicious and the pours were generous. I definitely reccomend going here.

Love the lawn setting and have always loved the food - New menu tho - and I hope they aren't jazzing up the simple tapas food too much. Pan tomate has changed - a lot - now we have marinated mushrooms on it - too much - flavor does not go with the simple and classic tomato. Patates Brava excellent - as always. And paellas good - plentiful seafood, but I wish there were chunks of chorizo it. But the lettuce leaves - arugula even - on top of the paellas were all wrong. Of course, great wine!

Nice flight of Spanish style bubbles and a tapas plate. Attentive and helpful staff, relaxed vibe with an older crowd.

We were here 4 years ago and now they have expanded to the next level. Our host was so friendly and informative, she recommended Vermut sampling and we loved it . You can sample Wine, spirits ( Whisky/ Gin ) and have really delicious cocktails. We had different cocktails and wines and quite few plates and dishes and like them all . Vara is one of the finest places to hang out with friends while having drinks and small plates. For now I give them 4.5 ⭐️ till I go there and have more experience.

I went with my family on a Friday for paella. We went in and the staff were very kind and set up a table for us in the lobby area because it was pretty packed. The sangria was good and not too sweet. The paella was amazing. I've been to several cities in Spain and tried many different delicious paellas and I would say the one here is definitely comparable.

An afternoon tasting with friends became a memorable experience. Waitstaff were lovely and knowledgable. Had such fun. Purchased the cava silverhead brut for New years. Lovely taste. We will definitely be back with more friends!

Great vibe. Solid wine and cocktails. Membership is worth it.