The Compound Restaurant has a heritage that is rich in history and regional influences. Before its incarnation as a restaurant, the Compound was the centerpiece of a group of houses on Canyon Road known as the McComb Compound. In the earlier part of the 20th century, when Santa Fe was a long way from the rest of the world, movie stars, industrialists, and socialites visited, where they could rent a house in relative seclusion. Eventually, Will and Barbara Houghton acquired the main house and converted it into a restaurant. It was their decision to bring in designer Alexander Girard, who gave The Compound Restaurant its distinctive look and who is best remembered for his generous donation of more than 106,000 pieces to Santa Fe's International Folk Art Museum as wells as, the design of New York Restaurant, La Fonda Del Sol.

  Continuing with one of The Compound's long time legacies,Kiffin offers a fine French and rare wine list. Kiffin celebrated flair for wine selection and attention to professional service complement the dining experience with the details and small touches that make a guest feel welcome and want to return.

  A recognized leader in Southwestern cuisine, Kiffin has chosen to create and focus his menu around the true regional ingredients brought to the Southwest United States by the Spaniards. When a group of Spanish settlers from Mexico City founded Santa Fe in the late 16th Century they forever altered the course of cuisine in the Southwest. The first Spanish settlers brought many food items that were not indigenous to the region such as cattle and wheat. As Santa Fe was at the end of the 1500-mile Camino Real from Mexico City, its Plaza eventually became the trading center where cattle were traded and a new variety of seeds were sold for harvest. It is from these New World influences, along with the influences of the Mediterranean, that Kiffin has created his dishes as Contemporary American Cuisine.