Craving that classic diner experience while road tripping Route 66? This Albuquerque restaurant has it all: vintage design, neon lights, memorabilia, photos ops, an exemplary menu, and some of the best milkshakes on The Mother Road. Pull over for for lunch or dinner and step into the 1950s at 66 Diner in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
66 Diner is located on Route 66 Albuquerque, New Mexico. The restaurant is housed in a converted old-school gas station. The authentic art-deco style building is lined with neon lights that glow as the sun sets over the city.
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Inside the diner is as authentic Route 66 as you can get. It features vinyl turquoise booths, jukeboxes, boomerang formica countertops, and memorabilia and murals at every turn. While you’re dining be sure to look up and to see one of the world’s largest collections of PEZ dispensers that is proudly displayed throughout the space.
As for the menu, this Route 66 restaurant features all the diner classics you would expect at such an establishment: chicken fried steak, meatloaf, liver and onions, hamburgers, and hot and cold sandwiches. They also serve a few New Mexican favorites, like Huevos Rancheros, breakfast burritos, and their signature Pile Up (a pile of pan fried potatoes, chopped bacon, chopped green chile, two eggs any style, and cheddar cheese topped with red or green chile sauce).
Personally, I was craving some veggies the night I stopped for dinner, so I went with a fried chicken salad (hey, it was still a road trip dinner, so I had to top my vegetables with something fried!).
And don’t leave without getting one of 66 Diner’s famous milkshakes. Voted “Albuquerque’s Best Milkshakes” by readers of Albuquerque The Magazine, these thick and abundant shakes are properly made at their authentic soda fountain. There are plenty of standard flavors to choose from, like Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry, but you’ll probably want to try one of their Deluxe Shakes. These have fun flavor combinations like Dreamsicle, Mud Pie, Chocolate Covered Banana, and Turtle. They also have two specialties: The Elvis (Peanut Butter and Banana) and the 66 Diner Pink Cadillac milkshake. That one has strawberry ice cream mixed with crushed Oreos.
I could not pass up that Pink Cadillac milkshake, which came in a tapered glass with the overflow served on the side in the stainless steel cup it was made in. There was so much extra milkshake in there that I was able to refill my glass twice!
Before or after your meal be sure to stop for photos with one of the best Route 66 attractions in Albuquerque: the wall of signs in the 66 Diner parking lot. The collage features an assortment of vintage advertising signs for businesses like Phillips 66, Coca-Cola, Quaker Oats, GM, and Pennzoil and road signs like Bump, One Way, and Dead End. It creates a fun background for your travel selfies to commemorate your Route 66 road trip and stop at the 66 Diner!
More photos of the 66 Diner in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Love this New Mexico Route 66 restaurant? Here are some more local attractions to add to your road trip itinerary: the Giant Red Arrow, Tinkertown Museum, Singing Highway, Owl Cafe, and the American International Rattlesnake Museum.
66 Diner
Address: 1405 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Hours: 11am-9pm Sunday-Thursday, 11am-10pm Friday-Saturday
Cost: Sign Wall is Free to See, Menu costs vary
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