Restaurant in Santa Fe, United States
Santa Fe's South Indian answer. Book it.
Paper Dosa is Santa Fe's most consistent South Indian restaurant, holding a 4.7-star rating from over 1,300 reviewers and a 2025 Pearl Recommended designation. The kitchen, led by Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton, takes dosas, sambar, and chutneys seriously in a city where the format has little competition. Easy to book, casual in dress, and largely vegetarian-friendly.
If you're comparing Indian food options in Santa Fe, Paper Dosa is the answer — there isn't meaningful competition in the city for South Indian cuisine at this level. With a 4.7-star rating across more than 1,300 Google reviews and a 2025 Pearl Recommended designation, this is the kind of restaurant that earns its reputation quietly and consistently. Book it for your next Santa Fe dinner, especially if your last visit was a quick lunch run. There's more to get out of it than one meal suggests.
Paper Dosa sits at 551 W Cordova Rd in Santa Fe, a city better known for New Mexican red and green chile than for the fermented rice-and-lentil crepes of South India. That gap is precisely what makes this place worth paying attention to. South Indian cuisine — built around dosas, idlis, sambar, and chutneys , is relatively underrepresented in the American Southwest, and Paper Dosa fills that space with enough seriousness to draw a loyal following. The 4.7 rating from over 1,300 reviewers is not the kind of number that comes from novelty alone; it reflects a kitchen that executes consistently.
The physical setup rewards the format. South Indian food is tactile and interactive , sauces arrive alongside, dosas come thin and crisp or stuffed and folded, and the meal builds as you work through the table. Sitting at or near the counter, if the layout allows, gives you a cleaner view of how the kitchen operates and a more direct connection to what arrives on the plate. For a returning visitor, this is the angle worth trying if you haven't already: the spatial intimacy of counter seating tends to clarify the food in a way that a booth at the back of the room doesn't.
Chefs Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton bring professional credibility to the project. Both have serious culinary backgrounds, which shows in the discipline of the cooking. South Indian food has a tight technical logic , fermentation timings, batter consistency, the balance of tamarind and coconut in chutneys , and the execution here reflects a kitchen that takes those details seriously rather than approximating them for a general audience.
For a returning visitor, the practical question is what to push further into. The dosa is the anchor of any South Indian menu and the dish most worth ordering in multiple forms if the kitchen offers variations. Accompaniments , sambar, coconut chutney, tomato-based chutneys , are where the kitchen's palate is most visible, so pay attention to them rather than treating them as sides. If you came once and ate quickly, a slower meal with more of the menu explored is the reason to return.
Booking is easy. Paper Dosa does not require the weeks-out planning that a tasting-menu restaurant demands. For a party of two, walk-in is plausible at off-peak hours, though a reservation is the smarter move for weekend evenings given the restaurant's consistent popularity. Groups of four or more should book ahead to avoid a wait. Contact the restaurant directly for group arrangements; phone details are not listed publicly at this time.
Dress casually. This is a neighbourhood restaurant, not a formal dining room. Santa Fe runs relaxed across its dining scene, and Paper Dosa sits firmly in that register , no dress code, no performance required. Come as you are.
For dietary restrictions, South Indian cuisine is structurally accommodating: the cuisine is largely vegetarian by tradition, with significant vegan options built into the format. Lentils, rice, and vegetables are the backbone of the menu. If you have specific allergies or requirements, contact the restaurant directly before visiting; specific menu details are not confirmed in Pearl's current data.
Paper Dosa is listed in Pearl's full Santa Fe restaurants guide. For more on the city, see Pearl's Santa Fe hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide.
Booking is direct. Walk-ins work at off-peak times, but a reservation is advisable for weekend evenings. For groups, book ahead. Phone details are not currently listed; check the restaurant's address directly at 551 W Cordova Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87505.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper Dosa | Pearl Recommended Restaurant (2025) | — | |
| Santa Fe Bite | — | ||
| Harry’s Roadhouse | — | ||
| Sazón | — | ||
| The Pink Adobe | — | ||
| Tia Sophia's | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Paper Dosa and alternatives.
Paper Dosa is the only serious South Indian option in Santa Fe, a city whose restaurant scene is overwhelmingly defined by New Mexican chile. The focus is on dosas — fermented rice-and-lentil crepes — rather than the North Indian curries that dominate most American Indian menus. It holds a Pearl Recommended rating for 2025, which means it clears the bar for quality in its category. Come expecting a casual, neighbourhood-restaurant format, not a formal dining room.
The dosa is the reason to come — it's the format the restaurant is built around. South Indian menus typically anchor around the paper dosa (a thin, crisp crepe), masala dosa (filled with spiced potato), and idli or sambar alongside chutneys. Without current menu data confirmed, the safest move is to order whatever the kitchen flags as a daily special, as South Indian restaurants at this level tend to rotate accompaniments.
A reservation is advisable for weekend evenings — walk-ins work at off-peak times but are not guaranteed. For weekday lunches or early dinners, same-day booking is usually sufficient. Paper Dosa is a neighbourhood spot at 551 W Cordova Rd, not a high-demand destination requiring weeks of lead time, but don't show up on a Saturday night without a reservation and expect to walk straight in.
Groups should book ahead rather than walk in. As a neighbourhood-scale Indian restaurant in Santa Fe, seating capacity is unlikely to support large parties without advance notice. For groups of six or more, call or check the venue's official channels to confirm availability and any group-specific arrangements.
Casual is the right call. Paper Dosa is a neighbourhood South Indian restaurant on W Cordova Rd, not a white-tablecloth dining room. Jeans and a clean top are appropriate — there is no indication in the venue record of any dress expectation beyond that.
South Indian cuisine is structurally well-suited to vegetarians — dosas, idli, sambar, and chutneys are traditionally plant-based, making Paper Dosa a practical choice if you're avoiding meat. For gluten sensitivities, rice-based dosas are naturally gluten-free, though cross-contamination protocols are not confirmed in available venue data. Anyone with a serious allergy should contact the restaurant at 551 W Cordova Rd directly before visiting.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
