5 Awesome Restaurants on Route 66! USA
When doing a road trip like Route 66, you pass through hundreds of little towns, all with places to stop and eat, it’s impossible to stop at every single one without either bankrupting yourself or returning home double the weight of what you were when you started!
To save money, for some meals we stopped at gas stations and supermarkets such as Walmart and ate the complimentary breakfasts at the hotels, this way we only had to pay for a full meal once a day. Here are 5 of my favourite restaurants along Route 66!
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Restaurants on Route 66
Table of Contents
ILLINOIS
Cozy Dog Drive In – Springfield
🗺️2935 S 6th St, Springfield, IL 62703
The Cozy Dog Drive In is said to be home of the Corn Dog on a stick! Cozy Dog have been around since 1946 (although not in the same location). It’s a typical fast food restaurant selling mainly corn dogs and fries, but with lots of Route 66 decor and a little gift shop.
As a Brit, Corn Dogs (and food on sticks in general!) are a bit of a novelty so for us it was great stop.
OKLAHOMA
Pops – Arcadia
🗺️660 W. Highway 66, Arcadia, OK 73007
Pops Soda Ranch has over 700 flavours of soda on offer! The majority of the 700 are in glass bottles (bottomless fountain drinks are cheaper).
The menu is GIANT, I made the mistake of finding one I wanted on the menu and then the waiter told me to go and find it in the fridges. I think it would have been easier to have browsed the fridges first and then picked one, I struggled to find it!
The main meal portion was large, we didn’t have enough space for dessert! Everything on the menu was under $10 too, making it very easy on the budget! The glass building is very modern, the bottles are displayed in the window to make it look extra colourful!
On their Forecourt is a 66ft tall soda bottle, you can’t miss it! At night the bottle is lit up.
TEXAS
The Big Texan – Amarillo
🗺️7701 Interstate 40 Access Rd, Amarillo, TX 79118
The Big Texan is known for it’s 72oz Steak Challenge…eat the steak and all the sides within an hour and you get it for free! It’s even been featured on the TV show ‘Man Vs Food‘. Needless to say, I didn’t do the challenge, I’m only tiny and the steak was literally the size of my body, where would I have put it?!
Still it was a great meal, my soda was served in a plastic boot shaped take home cup and there was a giant Route 66 gift shop attached to it. The restaurant is large but we did have to wait for a table for an evening meal.
They also offer a free shuttle service to and from nearby hotels, the bull horned cars becoming inspiration for one of the Disney Pixar Cars characters. However the The Big Texan Motel right next door makes for a unique stay!
The Midpoint Cafe – Adrian
🗺️305 W Historic Rte 66, Adrian, TX 79001
A milestone for people driving the route, it’s located half way between Chicago and LA (1139 miles away from the start/finish points)! There’s a sign across the road that of course we had pictures with! The cafe itself was inspiration for Flo’s Cafe in the Disney Pixar Cars movie.
A popular item on the menu is ‘Ugly Pies’, nothing ugly about the taste, it’s just the crust is shaped free hand! The restaurant has changed ownership since my visit, but they’ve even added a painted ‘half way’ line across the road too!
ARIZONA
Joe & Aggies Cafe – Holbrook *Closed*
🗺️120 W Hopi Dr, Holbrook, AZ 86025
Unfortunately since my visit Joe & Aggies Cafe has permanently closed, which is a shame as it was one of our highlights!
The owner and the waiter made our stop at Joe & Aggies so memorable! They were hilarious, really friendly! We loved them so much we even went back the following morning for breakfast.
Once we returned home, we sent them a photo of us with the staff for their visitors scrap book, would be interesting to see if they included it! The menu is an American/Mexican mix, their peach burrito was AMAZING!
Recommended Guide Book
I recommend using EZ66 as a Route Guide Book. It was our life line with step by step driving instructions and it lists things to do and see and places to eat etc. If you plan on sticking to the old Route as much as possible, this guide book is definitely for you!
Route 66: EZ66 GUIDE For Travelers – 4TH EDITION
Related Reading: Route 66 16 Day Road Trip Itinerary
Do you have a favourite food stop on Route 66?
About the Author – Kylie
My travels have taken me to over 40 countries worldwide (& I lived in USA for 4yrs). I hold a BTEC National Diploma in Travel & Tourism (triple distinction) and have been writing on Between England & Everywhere since 2015.
Expert in: Adventure travel🎢, beach destinations🏖️, and packing light (mid-budget backpacker)🎒
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Last Updated on April 26, 2024
Really enjoyed reading this! I came over from Girls vs. Globe FB group 🙂 I’d absolutely love to do this drive.
Thanks for sharing and happy travels 🙂
Thanks Lauren! 🙂
You missed Yogi’s Pizza in Conway Missouri
Awh I’m sorry I never went there! I’ll have to swing by if I do it again 🙂