Our last stop as we returned to Santa Fe after driving the Turquoise Trail was to have dinner at the Mine Shaft Tavern. This is a historic restaurant & bar that was originally built for the local miners; after the original building burned down, it was rebuilt on this site ca. 1947, and that is the place as you see it today. Our food was excellent, and our server was attentive & friendly. The only negative about the restaurant was that it was REALLY cold; they had just started up the fireplace when we arrived, but all the diners including us had their coats on while they ate. One caveat about the place: one of the reasons we stopped there was that we'd heard there was going to be live music. It turns out that the restaurant and the cantina are two separate spaces, so after we ate, we went next door to the cantina to hear the music. I don't know if we just picked a bad moment, or if the vibe is always like this, but we were absolutely glowered at by some sketchy-looking patrons as soon as we walked in. I'm not going to speculate here about why that might have been, but it made us both uncomfortable enough that we didn't stay. But, as I said before, the restaurant was a completely different experience, and really good.
Steve B
Service was great as was the food. Madrid is an interesting place. It was formerly a mining town and some evidence of that heritage is visible. Hence the Mine Shaft name for this place. Vegetarian friendly.
Venture03957417479
Such a quaint and different little town where Wild Hogs was filmed. Loved Maggie’s and the mine shaft tavern had the best burger I have had in quite a while.
balloonh2022
I grew up in Santa Fe, and have stopped by the mine shaft on and off since I was a little kid. My uncle's band used to play there in the 90's. It has a uniqueness for sure, but the food has never been top notch. Back in the day, it was a cult favorite, mainly because the town itself was so oddball, but anymore, (like the majority of Madrid), it's become little more than a tourist trap. Not bad by any means, but nothing special.
thewanderingmeatball
Good food and beer in a historic establishment with a lot of history and probably a few ghosts. Looks like they also have a stage and do live music.
beachsunwaterskisand
We stopped here on our way from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and boy are we glad we did. The food and drinks were delicious but the highlight was our server Barbara. She gave us great service as well as a history of the town and quite a few laughs. We could have listened to her all afternoon!
OnTheRoadAgain8180
We decided to stop here for a drink and bite to eat during our travels down the Turquoise Trail and found it to be an excellent choice. It was very busy but even though there were a few tables we opted to eat at the bar. We're glad we did as the bartender, Cash, was very fun to talk with. The burgers were excellent and so were the beers. An added bonus was some good music and fun with a gentleman named Gene Corbin, who has been playing there 30+ years I think he said. A very good time indeed!
jim p
Ate there after a great horse backing ride in nearby Cerillos. Cool to visit the place that was the Red Pony. Food was good and inexpensive. Was a great place to cool off after outside activity in New Mexico.
Martha S
Stopped by on our drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe via the Turquois Trail. We got their signature Mad Chile Margarita and had them stamp our Santa Fe Margarita Trail passport. We also ordered their house-made guacamole and chips. Everything was yummy!
sc52017
I think their green chili cheeseburger is probably one of the most known in the area. My husband wanted to try it. It is HUGE. Besides the chopped green chili's they put on the burger, there's also 2 BIG fried green chili's. One on the burger and one on the plate. Little over kill. I didn't care for them. Little tough to chew so left them on plate. Otherwise the burger and french fries were very good. One burger is enough for 2 people to share. I think it's one of those things you want to try at least once. My husband would probable order again, but once was enough for me. The service was good. I don't know about any of the other items on the menu.
I’m sure this place meets today’s, current safety codes but it certainly looks like the 1800s. I think it’s meant to resemble an old west saloon. And it does. We originally stopped with hamburgers on our mind but when we saw the portions, we knew that was way more than we were ready to consume. we settled for margaritas on the wife side and a pale ale on my side and identical Chicken Avocado Salads. We certainly made the right choice. The Margarita knocked my wife’s socks off, the pale ale was from a local brewery and was really interesting and the salad were huge, with great portions of grilled chicken and a salad dressing that was really unique. I can guarantee you the early miners never ate this well.
onekbear
The town is in the middle of nowhere. But it’s an interesting place to walk around. The food is very good and fairly priced. We liked the Bison burgers. Great local beers too. And a nice outdoor terrace. Definitely worth a stop.
Pamrr94
Our final server was nice and helpful but others not so much..I ordered the Mad Chili Burger, which I had seen when researching our vacation, it was good, I ordered medium rare and I really should have sent it back seeing as the hamburger meat was raw in the middle, it was also dry for lack of mayo or spread that they attempted to put on it, but I ate half thinking if I microwaved the other half at the hotel it would cook the rest of it, so that wasn't that great..the fries were cold..my husband had shrimp and grits..he said they were ok...glad we went, but we probably wouldn't go back..
BestTravelsNow
Oh my! Mad Chile Burger with Fries and Mad Chile Margarita!! Would be very difficult to find food to match up with this. Flavor and presentation was just amazing. Came with two fried hatch chiles. Cannot wait for a return trip to have a whole appetizer of the fried chiles. Staff extremely attentive and helpful with choosing menu selections. And friendly & fun. We'll most likely make this a regular short drive when visiting Santa Fe.
jaded2002
We dined at Mineshaft Tavern twice during our eight day trip. The first time being when we visited the small town of Madrid and the second time we went out of our way to return. From someone not huge on burgers and fries, Mineshaft's beef burger was excellent. Flavorful, non-greasy, and crispy on the outside. The fries were crispy and freshly cut with skins still on the potato. My picky grandma really enjoyed the fish and chips. Delicious drinks as well. Highly recommend the chili margarita, cucumber-y yet spicy and refreshing. Nice size portions, left full and satisfied. Very open and welcoming atmosphere. Service was great. Seems like "the hub" of town. Highly recommend!
Our last stop as we returned to Santa Fe after driving the Turquoise Trail was to have dinner at the Mine Shaft Tavern. This is a historic restaurant & bar that was originally built for the local miners; after the original building burned down, it was rebuilt on this site ca. 1947, and that is the place as you see it today. Our food was excellent, and our server was attentive & friendly. The only negative about the restaurant was that it was REALLY cold; they had just started up the fireplace when we arrived, but all the diners including us had their coats on while they ate. One caveat about the place: one of the reasons we stopped there was that we'd heard there was going to be live music. It turns out that the restaurant and the cantina are two separate spaces, so after we ate, we went next door to the cantina to hear the music. I don't know if we just picked a bad moment, or if the vibe is always like this, but we were absolutely glowered at by some sketchy-looking patrons as soon as we walked in. I'm not going to speculate here about why that might have been, but it made us both uncomfortable enough that we didn't stay. But, as I said before, the restaurant was a completely different experience, and really good.
Service was great as was the food. Madrid is an interesting place. It was formerly a mining town and some evidence of that heritage is visible. Hence the Mine Shaft name for this place. Vegetarian friendly.
Such a quaint and different little town where Wild Hogs was filmed. Loved Maggie’s and the mine shaft tavern had the best burger I have had in quite a while.
I grew up in Santa Fe, and have stopped by the mine shaft on and off since I was a little kid. My uncle's band used to play there in the 90's. It has a uniqueness for sure, but the food has never been top notch. Back in the day, it was a cult favorite, mainly because the town itself was so oddball, but anymore, (like the majority of Madrid), it's become little more than a tourist trap. Not bad by any means, but nothing special.
Good food and beer in a historic establishment with a lot of history and probably a few ghosts. Looks like they also have a stage and do live music.
We stopped here on our way from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and boy are we glad we did. The food and drinks were delicious but the highlight was our server Barbara. She gave us great service as well as a history of the town and quite a few laughs. We could have listened to her all afternoon!
We decided to stop here for a drink and bite to eat during our travels down the Turquoise Trail and found it to be an excellent choice. It was very busy but even though there were a few tables we opted to eat at the bar. We're glad we did as the bartender, Cash, was very fun to talk with. The burgers were excellent and so were the beers. An added bonus was some good music and fun with a gentleman named Gene Corbin, who has been playing there 30+ years I think he said. A very good time indeed!
Ate there after a great horse backing ride in nearby Cerillos. Cool to visit the place that was the Red Pony. Food was good and inexpensive. Was a great place to cool off after outside activity in New Mexico.
Stopped by on our drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe via the Turquois Trail. We got their signature Mad Chile Margarita and had them stamp our Santa Fe Margarita Trail passport. We also ordered their house-made guacamole and chips. Everything was yummy!
I think their green chili cheeseburger is probably one of the most known in the area. My husband wanted to try it. It is HUGE. Besides the chopped green chili's they put on the burger, there's also 2 BIG fried green chili's. One on the burger and one on the plate. Little over kill. I didn't care for them. Little tough to chew so left them on plate. Otherwise the burger and french fries were very good. One burger is enough for 2 people to share. I think it's one of those things you want to try at least once. My husband would probable order again, but once was enough for me. The service was good. I don't know about any of the other items on the menu.
Restaurantji Recommends
I’m sure this place meets today’s, current safety codes but it certainly looks like the 1800s. I think it’s meant to resemble an old west saloon. And it does. We originally stopped with hamburgers on our mind but when we saw the portions, we knew that was way more than we were ready to consume. we settled for margaritas on the wife side and a pale ale on my side and identical Chicken Avocado Salads. We certainly made the right choice. The Margarita knocked my wife’s socks off, the pale ale was from a local brewery and was really interesting and the salad were huge, with great portions of grilled chicken and a salad dressing that was really unique. I can guarantee you the early miners never ate this well.
The town is in the middle of nowhere. But it’s an interesting place to walk around. The food is very good and fairly priced. We liked the Bison burgers. Great local beers too. And a nice outdoor terrace. Definitely worth a stop.
Our final server was nice and helpful but others not so much..I ordered the Mad Chili Burger, which I had seen when researching our vacation, it was good, I ordered medium rare and I really should have sent it back seeing as the hamburger meat was raw in the middle, it was also dry for lack of mayo or spread that they attempted to put on it, but I ate half thinking if I microwaved the other half at the hotel it would cook the rest of it, so that wasn't that great..the fries were cold..my husband had shrimp and grits..he said they were ok...glad we went, but we probably wouldn't go back..
Oh my! Mad Chile Burger with Fries and Mad Chile Margarita!! Would be very difficult to find food to match up with this. Flavor and presentation was just amazing. Came with two fried hatch chiles. Cannot wait for a return trip to have a whole appetizer of the fried chiles. Staff extremely attentive and helpful with choosing menu selections. And friendly & fun. We'll most likely make this a regular short drive when visiting Santa Fe.
We dined at Mineshaft Tavern twice during our eight day trip. The first time being when we visited the small town of Madrid and the second time we went out of our way to return. From someone not huge on burgers and fries, Mineshaft's beef burger was excellent. Flavorful, non-greasy, and crispy on the outside. The fries were crispy and freshly cut with skins still on the potato. My picky grandma really enjoyed the fish and chips. Delicious drinks as well. Highly recommend the chili margarita, cucumber-y yet spicy and refreshing. Nice size portions, left full and satisfied. Very open and welcoming atmosphere. Service was great. Seems like "the hub" of town. Highly recommend!