The Love Apple

Amazing. Came for Christmas Eve from Los Angeles and the food blew us a way. Room is beautiful. Prices really good for such great food can’t wait to come back.

Good friendly service and very nice romantic ambiance in a church converted to a restaurant. They had a bonfire going outside in the winter. Husband had the trout which was perfectly cooked and fresh. I had the avocado and beef tacos. Avocado taco was really good and didn’t care too much for the beef taco. The winner of the meal was the homemade dessert. We had the apple turnover with vanilla ice cream. Make sure to make reservations and be aware that it is cash or check only. Was a great place after snowboarding in Taos, however, meal was not filling enough.

They say the «love apple» was what the French called the tomato. I thought the name of this restaurant was cheesy until I realized that. Its in an old chapel, at least 100 years old. The place is designed with real taste. The lighting is perfect. It was hard to decide what to eat. The menu: classic New Mexican style with French influence, progressive and interesting but without any absurd food-​trend ingredients. No bullshit bone marrow dishes or crudo-​everything. Im so glad I stumbled on this place. Its definitely worth eating at, for a number of reasons. Alone, with friends/​family, on a date, whatever.
Oh, and the food was spectacular, of course.

So adorable, intimate, and romantic. If you’re in Taos, it would be a shame to miss out on this gem. As others note, reservations are a VERY good idea.
The wine list is delightfully varied and approachable, so no need to pull another $ 100 out of the ATM before heading over (cash only here!). True to form, we decided to over-​order. Do not miss the cornbread. I repeat: do NOT miss the cornbread. Especially the blue corn. In fact, just ask for a plate full of the blue corn cornbread. And maybe get some of the smooth-​yet-​not-​heavy squash poblano soup to wash it down. But back to the cornbread — while the butter it comes with is great, it’s superfluous. I never thought I’d consider butter unneeded or unwanted, but trust me, just savor the blue cornbread unadorned. I just wrote almost an entire paragraph about cornbread…
Back to over-​ordering. The grilled endive and leeks was a really unique and delicious dish as was the beet and avocado salad. I’m not sure why we were somewhat surprised at the grated beet being raw (since it’s called «Raw beet, avocado, … salad» but we were. The beef bourguinon was memorable enough for my husband to be on a mission to recreate it this weekend. And lastly, the ruby trout is everything everyone says and then some.
You’d be crazy to think we had room for dessert… I was just trying to avoid sharp objects on my way out the door.

Cash or check only! Truly amazing food, with rotating menu so going back time and time again is always exciting. Had antelope one time that was divine. Great wine selection and excellent service.

Nice restaurant, nice atmosphere, food good but not great. The elk was tender and cooked, but the parsley on top was an overdone distraction. The vegetarian open faced tamale with an egg on top was tasty– and different. The waitress brought me the wrong appetizer a different pâté than the one I intended to order but she offered to replace it and charge me the smaller amount. The raspberry sorbet was very good. We had an excellent Bordeaux wine, but I would suggest the wine list was a bit pricey. Overall, for the hefty price I would prefer a dinner a little more perfect.

I found the menu to be creative, and the food an interesting mix of locally sourced items such as antelope, and some interesting bits such as bacon wrapped dates. I believe the atmosphere on the patio area is much more fun and relaxed, we found the inside a bit loud, and lacking in privacy. For these prices, we were hoping for something a bit more intimate. Overall it was nice to come through and check it out, but ultimately, it’s our opinion that there are better locations in town. Service was o. k…but just that… o.k. Gave it four stars because the menu was creative, but probably should lower it to 3 because the ambience just didn’t gel. Sorry.

One of a kind in Taos.
This place came highly recommended by different friends and sources, and it did not disappoint!
The servings weren’t huge, but they were enough, and very well thought out and composed.
Everything was delicious, and the staff was friendly and warm.
I’ll be here again for sure!

If you’re in Taos and looking for great food in a romantic setting, go. Yes, it’s cash or check only, so consider this your fair warning.
The boyfriend and I went up for a little getaway from the Q, and were thoroughly impressed. The atmosphere is dreamy and relaxed, with low lighting and real, honest to god burning candles on the tables (not those stupid faux candle flickering lightbulb things you see so often these days. Ugh.). Although there’s no music, it’s as if there’s an unspoken agreement among the patrons to keep chatter to a mellow level that makes the restaurant feel intimate and very inviting.
So, first, a lovely wine selection, from which we had the nice and tangy Charles Bove Chenin Blanc.
We started with the small house charcuterie, which came with thick, olive oil drizzled sourdough that reminded me of the loaves you get at little old-​school San Francisco bakeries. The plate had a cumin semi hard cheese that was creamy and paired well with the rest of the plate, a hunk of roasted butternut squash that paired amazing well with the tasso ham on the plate, house made goat chorizo and merguez (the latter was particularly impressive, crumbly and rich and well seasoned) and a tomato chutney. This was a substantial and very satisfying appetizer on a cold night.
For the mains, I had the grilled ruby rainbow trout, which must be a specialty of the house given how many times it’s already appeared on Unilocal,and the status is deserved. The fish tender and delicate — even fish neutral people will enjoy this one. The accompanying quinoa-​pinion fritter the only real disappointment. While the cilantro lime relish is nice and bright, the fritter is crumbly and bland, failing to augment the dish. But that, to me, is a minor complaint. The boyfriend got the special, a local boneless ribeye on a bed of mashed yam, for which he felt compelled to order a Chimay Rouge as accompaniment. And wow — medium rare, the meat was a beefy stunner. Not gratuitously fatty, but lovely and rich, and the yam purée was the perfect, slightly sweet, simple companion. I would have licked his plate if he hadn’t gotten to it first. And, because I am that girl and had to get something green, a side of the sauteed kale with pecans — a healthy (tasty) fig leaf to my meal.
For dessert (because, of course, we got kale and felt virtuous) we shared the house made salted caramel ice cream with roasted pecans, and it was epic — incredibly creamy, with the sweetness and salinity of the ice cream accentuated by the topping. Just a perfect, perfect combo.
The service was spot on, attentive but not overbearing. You’ll feel attended to, not hovered over. Perhaps the most amazing part was the price — everything ordered above, and we ended up around $ 150 with tip. I only wish we lived closer, we’d be regulars.

Great service, interior, food and wine. I ate here twice on my visit to Taos. Try the Tamale and the Trout.

Amazing in every way — food, service, décor. Everything we had was absolutely delicious, and our server was friendly but professional. The outside seating is very nice, but the inside is beyond gorgeous. Can’t wait to come back!

An amazing meal at The Love Apple. We came here after we got married two years ago and it was amazing. The chefs and our server Rico were equally as impressive tonight! We enjoyed local sautéed oyster mushrooms with a poached egg and truffle oil, a winter squash apple soup, ribeye steaks with gruyère gratin potatoes and shishito peppers, and for dessert, home made vanilla bean custard with fresh raspberries and blackberry crème fraîche ice cream. All gluten free. Thank you #LoveApple!!! I meant to take pics, but got a glass of gamay burgandy wine, and well, forgot. :-)

If this restaurant were in Los Angeles were we are from it would take 6 months to get a reservation. Very creative, sophisticate, and complicated flavor combinations. Artistic presentations and a wonderful ambiance. We had Peaches, pecans, greens and goat cheese, with a citrus vinaigrette salad. Cauliflower soup and a Vegetable tart for starters. Main entrees were rainbow trout wrapped in corn husk with lime butter and chipotle crème sauce. Tacos avocado and braised beef with a cabbage orange slaw. Desert peach pecan crumble with lavender vanilla ice cream and flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. I had two glasses of red wine and it came to $ 103. People this is a place you should cherish here!

A chef friend in Santa Fe recommended the Love Apple. He was right: our meal was bring-​you-​to-​your-​knees superb. The space itself is gorgeous: a crumbling church they’ve modernized with warm bulbs and reclaimed furniture.
The food fits the space. It’s artful without any fussiness. We were a party of 4 and ate across half the menu. (It’s that good, and we were that hungry.) The stand-​outs: the grilled mushrooms, the charcuterie plate, the gnocchi (get it with the ham), and the trout, which was so flavorful it could’ve passed for salmon.
The service was lovely, as was the wine they recommended (a crisp, summery pino blanc). I’d go again right now if I could.

Probably the highlight of my NM trip. I am so glad I heard about this place and we were able to have a meal during our visit yesterday to Taos. We arrived at around 5:20pm on a Sunday and it was about 30% occupied. By the time we left at around 6:45 pm, the restaurant and parking lot were packed.
Pros:
— super cute place, especially the patio, where we were seated.
— all the food is local, seasonal and organic.
— service was very accommodating. They seemed to have experience with little kids and were able to accommodate whatever we needed for our three year-​old.
— inexpensive.
— phenomenal food! Best known for their cornbread so do not miss this! The stone fruit salad with goat cheese was also to-​die-​for.

Love apple is a very clean and romantic place! The food is locally grown and organic. We had a wonderful time here this evening, the food is delicious and fresh. I would come again!

At the risk of having this Unilocal page sound like a broken record, this is a great restaurant.
I ordered a lamb burger without the bun. It was served with a big bed of kale and some other good stuff. Cost $ 14.

Very trendy food and atmosphere.
Takes me back to when natural food and an earth friendly lifestyle started many years ago when I was in college.
A little upscale for my taste and budget but enjoyable and relaxing.
We had Gnocchi (home made and delicious). Lots of asparagus and snap peas, very filling and enjoyable.
We shared it and split a simple salad which filled us up.

We look for organic eateries who feature locally sourced produce in their menus. The restaurant is converted from a small old church building which makes the ambiance very intimate.
Since all of the food is made from scratch wait times are a bit longer than an average restaurant, however well worth the wait.
Reservations are a must because of its size, we had a 7:45pm reservation and the one couple waiting in front of us in line was turned away due to all tables were booked for the evening.

Fabulous little cozy restaurant in Taos. So happy that I found it in Taos.
Low light, candle-​lit restaurant in traditional NM adobo style. Yet the tables are spread out, giving intimacy and privacy.
Onto the food:
Three mushroom pâté — the mushroom for this dish smelled so amazing. As people often say, smell accounts for 80% of taste. And the aroma just infiltrates your system and makes one appreciate the farm-​to-​table nature of this restaurant and the quality of produce in NM. The portion on this appetizer is pretty big — I would share if you go with a dining companion.
local rainbow trout (Wrapped in corn husks with lime butter, topped with chipotle crème. Served with a quinoa piñon fritter and cilantro lime relish) — I don’t even like trout/​salmon that much but this is probably one of the best that I have had. The sauce, very new mexican in style, was perfect for the trout without overwhelming the authentic taste of the trout. Love the quinoa piñón fritter (i love pinenuts!) and relish as well.