After arriving in Chama, we decided to have a smaller dinner, since we had a late lunch. Â My wife had a bowl of delicious mushroom and a garden salad. Â I had a garden salad and an order of mozzarella stix. Â Service was excellent. Â We overheard from a nearby table how much they had enjoyed their meals.
Review Source:This is a place worth stopping for. We shared the Green chili chicken fried steak. Â It was hand breaded, crispy and tender. Â There were six of us and everyone loved their meal. Â I wish we would have gotten the waitresses name because she was more than awesome. Â She was waiting on the entire restaurant, about 10 tables and/or 25 to 30 people most of which came in about the same time. She never missed a lick even when we asked for an extra salad she had it out in 30 seconds and with a smile on her fave. Â My husband gave her an tip for her hard work.
Review Source:This would be a run-of-the-mill diner anywhere else, but in Chama, it's the hotspot. It seemed half the small town and every single out-of-towner was here every time I came for dinner.
The food is decent comfort food, the kind of stuff you would expect from a greasy spoon. I had chicken fried steak, trout, and a butter chicken dish on my three visits and all were good, if near heart-attack inducing. The salads and dressings that accompany your meals are of the school cafeteria variety and not really offering anything in terms of health value.
The bar deserves some kudos for having plenty of local craft beer from Albuquerque, Durango and Ft. Collins, so that was appreciated.
Overall, reliable and relatively cheap, so no complaints. Oh, and the service is friendly, quick and attentive.
Great Local Restaurant
Enjoyed dinner two nights while in town. Â It is the best place to eat. Â Food was well prepared, staff in bar were excellent. Â Enjoyed local scene. Â Great draft beer selection. Â First good meal was the trout special, pan seared, cornmeal encrusted. Â Very flavorful. Â 2nd meal shared a Porterhouse steak for two. Â Wonderful is all I can say. Â It was tender, full of flavor and ample to share. Â Like to think it was the best steak in a long, long time. Â People at next table enjoyed not only the trout but also the shrimp dish that was on the menu. Â Enjoyed the bar ambiance better than the restaurant so ate both times at table next to fireplace. Â We could also enjoy the bucket of peanuts on the table while waiting for our cold draft beer.
July 2012 -
Context: chama is clearly a town that has seen better days and there aren't many eating options. This placed was recommended as "best in town" by our hotel, but we were warned that Friday nights could be crazy and busy because they had live music. Sounded good to us so we thought we'd give it a shot. Â Given the options we gave this four stars as best in the area
Atmosphere: we entered through the bar where they were setting up the live music in a tiny corner. The bar is a true bar with peanut shells on the floor, regulars and tourists at the bar and a few small tables in the dark room. The restaurant is in the next room. You can hear the music from the next room, but it's not loud. The restaurant was busy and crowded but it has lots of tables and we didn't have to wait when we arrived around 6:15. When we left around 7:30 there was a wait.
Service: we were greeted and seated quickly. Service was also pretty efficient but a bit confusing because they've got people asking for drink orders that can't serve alcohol and then your waitress who can. Â Water was filled efficiently. The waitress was attentive even in the midst of the hustle and bustle.
Food: the menu is a mixture of southwest and steak oriented dishes. There are ten or so beers on tap, wine and some cocktails. We ordered a really good local porter and a lager as we perused the menu. We settled on the smoked chicken, which, unfortunately, was very dried out. The mashed potatoes served with it were very good and creamy. The Mexican pork dish I ordered Christmas style and it came with posole and pinto beans. The pork was moist and tender but the sauces were more salty than flavorful. But the posole and pinto beans seemed undercooked, but I kind of liked them anyway. We also had salads which came with a very greasy Caesar dressing which closely resembled mayonnaise and some packaged shredded "Parm". The cheese enchiladas came with red or green chile and were fine. They were also served with pinto beans and posole. Bread and butter were brought to the table.
Food was VERY GOOD! Excellent house salad made with mixed greens (no iceberg) YES! In house made fried zucchini and mushrooms YUMMY! Burger and Chicken Fried Steak ordered and both good. CFS was a little small--Good service and fast! The place was pretty full on a Monday for lunchtime. Good iced tea! Â Would go there again,
Review Source:Just had dinner there this weekend; have been there over the years, but the new owner is doing a great job. Â Food was excellent; I had Mexican food, the others in the party had salmon. Â Rave reviews on all counts.
wish they served the marguaritas in the proper glass; but what the heck the taste was great anyway.
Great live entertainment as well.
Superb and consistent.