Thunderbird Cafeteria — Restaurant in Chinle Agency

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...

The decor is dated, with the exception of the vault. There, that's the negative part of the review. The vault is worth visiting.

Now - when we went in for breakfast, with a party of six, they had fresh food and were willing to work with shy kids who had a hard time ordering. That by itself would be a solid four. The general run of food was cafeteria breakfast food, and it was general-purpose cafeteria food. I've eaten a lot of military dining facility food, and it was in the top half of that, but it was standard-issue cafeteria breakfast food, well-done but uninspiring, right up until...

Until the fry bread came out.

I do not exaggerate when I say that the fry bread is the best I've had, and I specifically went to Canyon de Chelly because of various fry-bread-related experiences at Bosque Redondo, Four Corners, and Grand Canyon. As a family of six I put in three orders and my entire family was able to have as much as they wanted, fresh and hot, to their satisfaction.

Fry bread is a deeply divisive dish, because it's an improvised Indian-ration dish, but those three orders gave my family a hot, fresh communal experience that they desperately needed after three weeks of travel. Strictly fry bread versus naan, I'd match this place against any Indian place I've eaten.

Go, visit the Canyon, and eat...

First morning, breakfast was not what i would consider worthy of $14. Next morning, breakfast was better. Not a 5 star but a close 4. Dinner. The hamburgers were recommended by close relatives, but it wasn't what I expected. The patty to bun ratio was no joke. A small patty and huge sesame bun. The patty tasted like it was grilled but also tasted processed and frozen. I was greatly disappointed. Oh. BTW. The description of the burger is not what I got. It was the bacon cheese burger. I don't recommend it.

The interior is not what i remember it to be from long ago. It certainly needs a good renovation. I'd recommend eating else where but I haven't tried the other places too, besides Burger King and Church's Chicken.

I could've given 2 stars total, but the staff that served me were...