8 Best Restaurants in Northeast Arizona, Arizona

The westernmost branch of the beloved New Mexico chain of old-school burger joints is technically in the Land of Enchantment (i.e., New Mexico) but just a few hundred feet over the Arizona state line, and within walking distance of the Quality Inn and Window Rock museums. Blake's began in 1952 in Albuquerque and enjoys a cult following for its Angus-beef green-chile cheeseburgers, seasoned fries, breakfast burritos, and milkshakes.

The lobby restaurant at Chinle's Holiday Inn is low-key, a bit lacking in natural light, and rather ordinary, but people come here because it is one of the area's only non–fast food dining options. You can count on well-prepared Navajo and American fare, such as frybread topped with chili and cheese, but be prepared for slow service and no alcohol. It's a reliable—if unspectacular—choice for dinner. It also sells a box lunch.

At this restaurant inside the Cameron Trading post, you can sample Native American specialties including Navajo tacos made with fry bread and ground beef, Navajo burgers served with fry bread instead of a bun, and Navajo beef stew accompanied by—you guessed it—fry bread. Sandwiches, Mexican favorites, and entrées off the grill round out the menu. In the morning, savor hearty egg breakfasts, prickly pear–stuffed French toast, huevos rancheros, and more.

The floating, sandstone restaurant and lounge at the Navajo-operated Antelope Point Marina serves decent American food with contemporary accents—wood-fired pizzas, fish tacos, Angus burgers, and rib eye steak with garlic-herb butter—and has one of the region's better wine lists. It's a long walk from the parking area to the front door, but staff whisk visitors to and fro in golf carts. The restaurant's name is Navajo for "Antelope Springs."

Note that there is a $25 charge to park at the marina unless you have tickets or a receipt from an Antelope Canyon tour, in which case it's $2.

This typical no-frills roadside diner with Formica tabletops offers both American and Native American dishes, including Navajo tacos heaped with ground beef, chili, beans, lettuce, and grated cheese. Daily specials may include anything from barbecued ribs to lamb chops to crab legs. There's an ice-cream stand in the same building. Come early—both the diner and ice-cream counter close around 8 pm.

Hampton Inn hotels aren't known for their restaurants, but this attractive spot just off the lobby serves the best food in town. Upholstered Navajo-print chairs with rustic lodgepole frames, hammered-tin sconces, a wood-beamed ceiling, and a mammoth adobe fireplace set an inviting mood for the American fare with a regional bent. The Mazalon club sandwich (ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato in a Navajo taco) is a local favorite, but also consider the rosemary-citrus chicken, New York steak with grilled shrimp, fajitas, or barbecue chicken pizza with house-made barbecue sauce.

Across the parking lot from the Best Western Canyon de Chelly Inn, this sun-filled, airy dining room with cream-color walls, a long granite counter, and a mix of attractive booths and tables has a cheerier feel than any other restaurant in town. Specialties include posole and sheepherder's sandwiches (a tortilla or fry bread stuffed with steak, Swiss cheese, grilled onions, chiles, and tomatoes).