by Lynn Cline on
NEARLY 40 PEOPLE line up on a Saturday outside Market Steer Steakhouse for happy hour. When the doors open at 4 p.m., the crowd steers toward the Tack Room’s sleek midcentury-style bar, leather-topped tables, and plush Chesterfield sofas. Within moments, the place is packed and humming.
Opened in 2018 in Santa Fe’s Hotel St. Francis, Market Steer quickly carved out a meaty reputation for sublime steaks and warm hospitality. That following grew even stronger in 2024, when co-owners—executive chef Kathleen Crook and her wife and general manager, Kristina Goode—moved the restaurant into a larger Washington Avenue space. The stylish dining room, anchored by a dramatic handblown glass chandelier, showcases medals and other memorabilia from Crook’s time as a rodeo champion—an achievement rooted in her upbringing in a ranching family in Artesia.
The modern steakhouse’s signature dishes include an 18-ounce Prime Cowboy Ribeye and a juicy 24-ounce Prime Porterhouse. But it’s the restaurant’s Tack Room bar that has become one of Santa Fe’s hottest hangouts. The lively happy hour draws a mix of locals and visitors for a playful—and more affordable—menu alongside expertly mixed cocktails.
As servers circulate the bar with martinis and confit duck wings, my companion and I share the famous Caviar Frito Pie, a clever twist on a local favorite with house-made potato chips tucked into a Frito bag and topped with luscious caviar, crème fraîche, shallots, and chives. I sip a cosmo with sweet notes of orange liqueur, cranberry, and lime as we nibble on a trio of deviled eggs, each filled with a tender lobster morsel. Happy hour, indeed, I think, taking in the joyous scene.
“We’re grateful that Market Steer has become a place where people are excited to gather,” Goode says. “There’s a natural energy in the room.”
The James Beard Foundation recognized Crook as a TasteTwenty Chef for 2025–2026, naming her “one to watch” in the restaurant industry. Regulars, though, have always kept an eye on Market Steer. “Our focus is on pairing thoughtful, well executed food with genuine hospitality, so every guest feels welcomed and part of something memorable,” Goode says.
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