by Heather Hunter
Medley blends a delectable menu with cozy, eclectic ambience
NORTHERN NEW MEXICO has a way of pulling people in. That’s the way it was for chefs Colleen and Wilks Medley, who have been living their entrepreneurial culinary dream in Taos since they opened Medley, a wine shop in 2014 and the restaurant next door in 2015.
After Colleen Medley worked in Wolfgang Puck’s kitchen on the West Coast and Wilks Medley worked with the Black Restaurant Group on the East Coast, this ambitious couple decided to escape the big cities in search of a quieter life, where they could enjoy the outdoors and one another. “Colleen worked pastry, I worked savory and our schedules didn’t often match up,” Wilks Medley says. “After working in the industry for fifteen years, we wanted to end up in a place where we could have a better quality of life and a family.”
They purchased the Old Blinking Light building, located north of town in El Prado, and, through sheer determination—and incredible consistency, according to customers—the Medleys have built a righteous culinary destination for locals and tourists. Medley is both a special-occasion restaurant and a neighborhood hangout—with two distinctly different dining areas, as well as an outdoor patio in the summer. The bar does not require reservations, and guests can order off the menu for a more casual dining experience. The dining room requires reservations and features a more formal ambience, complete with banquettes, padded chairs, and earth tones.
Many diners take advantage of the wine store, which features a curated collection of wines using a unique rating system that ranks wines based on their body, ranging from light to full-bodied. The beverage director and sommelier, Molly Steinbach, likes that this approach allows people to choose wines from regions they may have never considered before. “We are opening their eyes and palates to what is possible,” Wilks Medley says. If you buy a bottle of wine to enjoy with your dinner, there is a corkage fee, but this allows customers to “enjoy some really good juice for a fraction of what a restaurant might charge,” he adds.
A decade after opening, the couple still enjoys the freedom of cooking what they love and showing their customers how much they care. The eclectic menu changes seasonally and ranges from cheese and bread plates, which pair well with wine, to creamed green chile chicken enchilada soup—inspired by enchiladas Wilks ate growing up in New Mexico— and gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp) to a loving nod for his southern roots with shrimp and grits and, for steak lovers, Medley offers a well-marbled 16 oz. cowboy ribeye.
“The three dishes we could never remove from the menu are the tuna tartare tostada and the New Zealand lamb chops—both small plates—and the burger, made with grass-fed beef and pulled pork,” he says. There are also creative options for vegetarians, pescatarians and those who are gluten-free, including a handful of seasonal salads, light and tasty small plates, and heartier mains like vegan black bean and quinoa falafel. Wilks Medley says they are always switching out the fish according to migration seasons and availability.
On a sweet note, Colleen Medley creates unique and approachable desserts. “Colleen likes to leave more to the customers’ imagination, so we don’t put the dessert menu online because it makes it more of a surprise when people arrive,” Wilks Medley says. “We are a medley of everything, and we want to keep it interesting. Every time a customer walks in, I want there to be something on the menu that is not expected.”
And the Medleys have been surprising their customers in the best ways for more than a decade. Whether you are planning a date night, a weekend in Taos, a birthday celebration, a casual but fun night out or want to gather a few couples looking for a memorable dining experience, Medley is calling. As for what to expect, let them delight you.
