Santa Fe isn't the first town that springs to mind when you're hunting down a proper slice. In this destination-dining city, the dominant red-or-green chili debate usually overshadows tomato sauce. Folks hankering for a pizza often find themselves steering toward long-time staples like Upper Crust or Back Road Pizza. But buried right off the historic Plaza inside the lowrider-themed Low 'n Slow bar at Hotel Chimay, Hawt Pizza Co. is quietly staking a claim with a very specific, ambitious hybrid pie.
After being turned away at the Coyote Cafe Rooftop bar because we had our dog with us, we needed to rescue our dinner plans. Hawt Pizza Co. began in Albuquerque's Sawmill Market before expanding to its low-key location tucked inside the bar at Hotel Chimay. Hawt operates on a distinct premise: high-temp, wood-fired execution with an eye on clean, non-GMO ingredients.
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| 125 Washington Avenue |
From their Website: "Why the name Hawt? HAWT is an acronym for "Have A Wonderful Time. HAWT is also an adjective for sexy or attractive (pronounced HOT). We've been told that our pizza is pretty darn sexy, and we agree. And then there's our oven ... Ideal at about 850+ degrees, it is definitely HAWT!"
We took a table outdoors with our dog on a crisp, stunning summer evening after a brief light rain shower. The menu revealed that Hawt has developed its own hybrid of a New York-style foundation baked with Neapolitan sensibilities. Our 12" pizza was plenty for two people.
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| Inside the Low 'n' Slow Bar |
The thin crust yields a impressive, substantial chew paired with a mostly crisp undercarriage and a handsome, puffed-up cornicione. You get a slight structural flop right at the tip, but to be fair to the pizzaiolo, that's less of a dough integrity issue and more the result of a generous heavy cheese load. The dough itself carries real flavor, suggesthing that it was fermented long enough to give some depth beyond raw flour.
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| The pepperoni pizza |
The sauce is applied judiciously: bright, tangy, and tomato-forward without being bogged down by excess herbal or sugary notes. Over top sits a blanket of fior di latte. While the quality of the fresh mozzarella is high, they lay it on in full-throttle NYC street-slice proportions. I found it to be a touch heavy for a wood-fired hybrid, though hardly a dealbreaker.
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| Beautiful char at 850 degrees |
The real showstopper, however, is the pepperoni. These are high-grade, thick-cut spicy cups that curl up into tiny pools of render, delivering a massive hit of savory umami to balance out the bright sauce and creamy dairy. Overall, it's a remarkably balanced pie in both texture and profile.
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| Nice puff and structure at the cornicione |
Stepping off Washington Avenue into Low 'n Slow feels like ducking into a neighborhood living room. The vibe is distinctly local - alive with organic, easygoing chatter between patrons at the bar and a charismatic barmaid keeping the room warm. You order at the bar, grab your own plates and napkins, and wait for the pie.
Sitting under the high-desert twilight with a hot pie, a fresh arugula salad with lots of shaved aged Italian cheese, and cold lemonade - all landing under $30 before tip - felt like a quiet miracle in a tourist-heavy hub where Plaza-adjacent dining usually demands a heavy toll both in the quest for a table and the eventual tab.
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| That lovely undercarriage |
While Santa Fe boasts legendary institutions from the red chile-soaked enchiladas at The Shed on the Plaza to world-class opera nights out in the foothills, finding an unpretentious, dog-friendly spot with a legitimate craft pie at a modest price is a rare win.
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| The open-air Santa Fe Opera |
Santa Fe may be a town built on turquoise and silver jewelry and red chile, but Hawt Pizza proves you don't have to sacrifice crisp crust and good char when you're crave-hunting near the Plaza. I came for 3 days in Santa Fe primed for that classic New Mexican cuisine, but two of my favorite meals were at the lovely Japaneses restaurant Izanami (like the Opera, an idyllic setting in the foothills) and this lucky pizza find right off the plaza.
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