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Plaza Café

Name: Plaza Café
Address: 54 Lincoln Ave, Santa Fe, NM, 87501, US
Telephone: +1 505-982-1664

Diner
In Santa Fe, New Mexico
0.2 mi from Route 66

Plaza Café is a family-run diner on the Santa Fe Plaza in Santa Fe, NM. It dates its start to 1905 and is often called the city's oldest restaurant, and the Razatos family has run it since 1947. From 1926 until the late 1930s, Route 66 came through downtown past the Plaza, so a meal here is a good way to picture the town in the road's early years.

What is Plaza Café?

Plaza Café is a classic diner facing the Plaza in the historic center, with a glass dessert case inside.

The menu draws on three kitchens: New Mexican dishes built around red and green chile, Greek plates and American diner standards, with breakfast served all day.

History of Plaza Café

Dan Razatos (Dionysios), who had emigrated from Greece, took over the café in 1947. He and his wife Beneranda raised six children, who worked in the restaurant. In 2022 the café marked 75 years of family ownership, and their son Leonardo Razatos owns it today.

A kitchen fire in 2010 closed it for a long time before a restoration. In fall 2026 the University of New Mexico Press published The Plaza Café Cookbook, with more than ninety of its recipes.

Visiting Plaza Café: tips

Route 66 ran past the Plaza and La Fonda, about a block east of the café, until the late 1930s, when the road stopped going through Santa Fe. Plan a sit-down meal, then walk the Plaza. The hanging "Since 1905" sign makes an easy photo.

Updated October 14, 2026 · Written by Route 66 Trip Guide

Practical info

Address: 54 Lincoln Ave, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: +1 505-982-1664
Website: plazacafedowntown.com
Hours: Daily 7 am–9 pm
On site & nearby

Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix

On the map

Full map

Plaza Café with the 6 closest stops and another place to eat (fork and knife). Tap a marker for details.

Tap a dot to see that stop here.

Stops near Plaza Café

All of New Mexico

American Vaudeville Museum

Edgewood, New Mexico · 4.3 mi from Route 66

A former vaudeville memorabilia museum in Edgewood whose collection now lives in Arizona and online.

Museum

40.9 mi from Plaza Café

Wildlife West Nature Park

Edgewood, New Mexico · 0.4 mi from Route 66

A 122-acre nature park in Edgewood that cares for animals unable to return to the wild.

Nature & parksPhoto credit

44.9 mi from Plaza Café

US Southwest Soaring Museum

Echo Ridge, New Mexico · 1.4 mi from Route 66

A small aviation museum in Moriarty dedicated to gliding history across the western United States.

Museum

48.7 mi from Plaza Café

Tijeras Canyon

Tijeras, New Mexico · on Route 66

The mountain pass east of Albuquerque that Route 66, and now I-40, uses to cross the Sandia–Manzano range.

Nature & parksPhoto credit

48.9 mi from Plaza Café

La Puerta Lodge

Albuquerque, New Mexico · on Route 66

A 1949 motor court named for its carved wooden door, now closed and fading on Albuquerque's east side.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

54.3 mi from Plaza Café

Luna Lodge

Albuquerque, New Mexico · 0.1 mi from Route 66

A 1949 motor court at Albuquerque's eastern edge, rescued from ruin and turned into affordable apartments.