4 Best Restaurants in Monument Valley, Northeast Arizona

It's hard to miss this low-slung, roadhouse-style restaurant in Bluffs—it's tucked beneath a sandstone ridge crowned by two rock pillars that look as though they might topple in a bad storm. Here you'll find the most varied menu in the region with everything from country fried steak to a Navajo burger using fry bread.

The tables are packed with locals who frequent this small establishment, where everything is made from scratch. The delicious frybread is the real draw. If you've never had a Navajo taco or Navajo hamburger, this is a good place to be initiated. The café also serves excellent Mexican fare and traditional American dishes. Dine on the adobe-walled patio in warm weather.

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.

Connected to the View Hotel through a second-floor breezeway, this airy space comprises a few high-ceilinged rooms with massive plate-glass windows framing mesmerizing views of the valley—in warm weather you can dine outside on a terrace, awed by the same panorama. Navajo rugs and local art hang on the walls above the light-wood tables and chairs, and the tribal visitor center's extensive curio shop is attached. The food has continued to improve over the years as more-experienced chefs have come aboard, adding fresh, local ingredients, Navajo influences, and an artful flourish to typically Southwestern fare (although meals can still be hit-or-miss). Consider red chile–posole stew, the Navajo taco, fried chicken, and the like. There's also a smaller self-serve section, where you can grab sandwiches and light snacks.

Note that after 7 pm the restaurant is open to hotel guests only.