Thunderbird Cafeteria - Chinle, Arizona

T H.

I visited here in December 2024 with a friend after spending time at Canyon de Chelly.

First off, I’d like to address the 1-star ratings here. If you read them, you will see most of the people who gave this place a poor review and didn’t like the food are EUROPEANS who clearly have poor understanding of Indigenous Peoples’ cuisine.

It’s hilarious how these Italian, French, and German tourists are eating traditional Navajo foods with:

1) clearly no understanding how Navajo foods are seasoned. Or quite lightly seasoned. And

2) these Europeans are eating food in a CAMPGROUND CAFETERIA! What did you expect, a Michelin-star rated restaurant?!?

lol - and to the guy who was appalled at the $23 prime rib steak was well done at (wait for it:) A CAMPGROUND CAFETERIA is beyond hilarious to me. You’re not getting a quality cut of Prime Rib for $23 in the middle of the desert which is not Cattle Country, BTW. Nor can you expect they will be cooking it rare. Your cultural incompetence is concerning. Your lack of critical thinking skills is obvious. If you want a great steak for $23 - get one in Texas.. not in the middle of the desert in Arizona 🙄

With that out of the way, I found the attendants who were serving food to be very outgoing and polite.

We had the small Navajo taco (it’s so filling and huge), the green chile stew (absolutely delicious), and the posole (great comfort dish on a December afternoon).

The dining area is cheerful and clean, and the bathroom is very clean and tidy.

I was very happy with the quality and value of our food and I hope to be in the area again - I will definitely drop in for a big bowl of that fantastic green chile stew!

Daisy W.

The Navajo Taco beans smelled burnt. It was not good and we didn’t finished eating the taco or the fry bread. My cousins had been there in the past and said the quality of the food was not the same. We waited so long for the Navajo Taco that we went up twice to check and see if it was ready. The Navajo burger was ok.
Breakfast the next morning was good with fresh made food.

Megan R. (.

Nice employees! We really enjoyed our fish and it was nice to see a lot of options, we went with what was already made but you have the option to order food on the menu that they will make fresh
It was conveniently located within the park and serves breakfast from 7-1030 and lunch afterwards. They are open til at least 8pm!

Miguel R.

Excellent restaurant for meals when you’re staying at the cottonwood campground, or visiting Canyon de Chelly. The food is delicious and the staff is friendly. The prices are very affordable perfect for camping . I had the cod and fries.

Edward W.

10/26/21

Now this place is a bit dated, after all it's a national treasure. But the food is Good!! I ordered their spacial: Grilled Pork Sandwich on a homemade Tortilla with lettuce, tomatoes, sliced onions, and a roasted green chili. DELICIOUS!!
If that's on their menu, I'm ordering it Again!!! The staff were very helpful and courteous.
Plus the history of the place is nice.

Michael B.

Decent food at a great value! Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. Everything was clean, and the staff were friendly. The blue corn pancakes were tasty!

Neil C.

The Navajo Burger is two patties in a piece of fry bread. This is my new favorite way to have a burger!

Ann B. G.

Excellent breakfast (blue corn pancakes)and the nicest people! We also had dinner (steak cooked to order) and lunch (grilled Turkey club) and, while it is cafeteria style, there are several items you can request made to order. We gobbled up our food so fast I didn’t get any photos.