Vicky's of Santa Fe has expanded its menu to go along with its live entertainment.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY VICKY'S OF SANTA FE
Vicky’s of Santa Fe
45100 Club Drive, Indian Wells
760-345-9770
vickysofsantafe.com
Take a break from midcentury modern architecture and head to Vicky’s of Santa Fe, an adobe-style restaurant established in 1989 that’s now operated by Vicky’s nephew, Marc Laliberte. The original five-item menu has expanded alongside the local food scene, but the old-school piano bar and regular lounge entertainment keep the nostalgic supper club era alive. The venue showcases top Southern California (and sometimes Broadway) performers taking on jazz, classic rock, blues, and R&B.
Vue Grille & Bar
44500 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells
760-346-4653
indianwellsgolfresort.com
Indian Wells Golf Resort’s restaurant and grill boasts sweeping views (or is it vues?) of the verdant course that diners can take in through walls of glass or on the elevated outdoor patio. Heavy on globally inspired dishes, the menu spotlights colorful salads, shareable plates, and entrées including moules frites and crispy veal Milanese. Happy hour is as good an excuse as any to try a cool new cocktail like the blackberry-and-vodka Birdie Putt.
IW Coffee
74995 Highway 111, Indian Wells
760-346-6757
instagram.com/iwcoffee
This is the epitome of coffee-shop cool, with concrete floors, whimsical chandeliers, communal seating, a breezy patio, and soaring windows that provide a fix of mountain views along with the hit of caffeine. You’re likely to wait in a line to order your drink. But that’s because the coffee is so good; the shop’s go-to roasts are from the organic, High Desert–made Joshua Tree Coffee Company. There’s also a smattering of salads, sandwiches, breakfast items, and freshly baked pastries.
Don Diego’s of Indian Wells
74969 Highway 111, Indian Wells
760-340-5588
dondiegoiw.com
Homemade tamales star on the menu at Don Diego’s, a mainstay that has been crafting authentic Mexican cuisine in Indian Wells for more than 35 years. With plenty of veggie options in addition to the classics, the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and, during season, hosts an epic “fiesta hour” with well-priced tacos, appetizers, and wings in the bar.
IW Live
76661 Highway 111
Indian Wells
760-797-8700
indianwells
resort.com
Step inside the Indian Wells Resort Hotel, and IW Live takes center stage. Inspired by Rat Pack–era supper clubs, the lobby restaurant and lounge cultivates a retro atmosphere with black-and-white photos on the walls. Staged evening entertainment harks back to the groovy performances that this valley was known for back in the day. Regular dinner shows beginning at 6 p.m. serve up a mix of Broadway favorites, crooner classics, and throwback rock.
Mondays feature singer Larry Capeloto. Tuesdays it’s songwriter Patrice Morris. Wednesdays alternate between Latin-fueled Johnny Meza and a one-woman Barbra Streisand tribute by songstress Rebecca Clark.
Thursdays feature Christine Love, and Fridays and Saturdays it’s Marc Antonelli performing songs and arrangements by the likes of David Foster, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, and Michael Bublé.
IW Live is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and offers a full bar. Reservations are recommended, especially for the regular dinner shows.
Eureka!
74985 Highway 111, Indian Wells
760-834-7700
eurekarestaurantgroup.com
The cool, casual concept restaurant boasts a big-time burger menu. There’s an option topped with fig marmalade and goat cheese, one with pickled jalapeños and a fried egg, and another adorned with bone-marrow butter. A housemade beet-and-kidney-bean patty will satisfy veg-heads. The industrial space — with a sizable patio — also doles out salads, starters, and chicken sandwiches. Of course, the eatery is just as well-known for its bustling bar, which serves an impressive roster of craft beer and small-batch whiskeys.
The Pink Cabana
44985 Province Way, Indian Wells
760-321-3771
sandshotelandspa.com/dining-bar
If you’re one of those diners who feels compelled to photograph their food before eating it, it’s likely your camera will never leave your hand upon entering The Pink Cabana. The Sands Hotel & Spa restaurant — designed along with the rest of the property by Moroccan-modern-fusion master Martyn Lawrence Bullard — is Instagram eye candy.
Gold barstools line the turquoise-tiled bar, behind which drink artists mix up old fashioneds with orange-fig marmalade and mojitos with rose water. Booths are decked in pink linen, walls are papered in palm print, and the ceiling is painted pink. Moroccan-influenced Mediterranean cuisine makes up the menu — think scented olives, artisan cheese and charcuterie, fresh-from-the-farm salads, and a curated mix of pastas, seafood, and prime beef.
The Nest
75188 Highway
111
Indian Wells
760-346-2314
gotothe
nest.com
Locals queue up around the building most nights to get into this restaurant and watering hole for live entertainment, dancing, and a buzzy atmosphere. Husband-and-wife owners Kevin and Dodi Henry are impeccable hosts who know how to have a good time (you’ll often find Kevin behind the piano).
But the food’s good, too! The kitchen makes a little bit of everything — seared ahi, filet mignon, sole picatta, eggplant Parmesan — with a bent toward “Mom’s favorite” Eastern European dishes, harking back to Dodi’s childhood, which you’re unlikely to find elsewhere in the valley: goulash, stuffed cabbage rolls, and moussaka.