OLD ROUTE 66: STILL THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN ALBUQUERQUE

Words and Photos by Ungelbah Dávila

Every Sunday on Central Avenue, cars crawl from Eighth to First, then round back again, sometimes detouring down Fourth, sometimes zipping all the way to Old Town. It’s a living parade of lowrider history, from lovingly restored Chevy Impalas and Chrysler Windsors to modern Toyota Supras and SUVs. This stretch of old Route 66 is a patchwork of loss and resilience: A parking lot stands where the Pueblo revival–style Franciscan Hotel was torn down more than fifty years ago, but the midcentury Downtowner Motor Inn reopened in 2025 as the boutique Arrive hotel. Every Saturday morning from April into October, Robinson Park—first laid out in the 1880s—fills with farmers, makers, and food vendors who represent twenty-first-century Albuquerque. You’ll find breakfast burritos and Pueblo pies, but also Chinese crepes and jollof rice. And in the two blocks between Sixth and Eighth, in addition to a showstopping mural by local artists Jesse Littlebird and Thomas Christopher Haag, you’ll find restaurants that pair true New Mexico spirit and grit with classy environs and homegrown flavors.

Curious Toast Cafe

With dining areas that sprawl across three floors of the oldest surviving residential-style building on this leg of Central, Curious Toast Cafe bills itself as downtown’s living room. Step inside and the eclectic, 1905-era rooms, their walls and corners filled with photographs and sculptures and paintings by local artists, will overcome any reservations you may have had about a café devoted primarily to toast. The menu also showcases local artisans, with locally roasted coffee and signature and special toasts served on bread from local bakers. The Burque Melt is toast with a New Mexico twist, something like huevos rancheros meeting the standard American breakfast; there’s avo toast, of course, and many sweet options, but also the Vandame on Mushrooms, named for the café’s owner (and longtime supporter of the downtown arts scene) Victoria Van Dame. For toast skeptics, there’s a slim but solid Cubano, and a rotation of pastries, among other not-quite-toast options. And yes, some of the artwork on display is also for sale.

Oni

Oni began as a pop-up, drawing crowds at breweries across Albuquerque, where they distinguished themselves not only by the well-tuned flavors of their pork bone broth and red chile pecan dashi but by serving their ramen in real bowls. Their opening in the 1924 Quickel building at Sixth and Central was scheduled almost exactly for the first wave of COVID-era shutdowns, and they survived—and helped me survive—by quickly mastering the art of ramen delivery. Now open five days a week for dinner and lunch, the high-ceilinged dining room in the erstwhile Fulwiler Motor Company is arty and industrial, with a few sidewalk tables for diners who want to go all in on the urban vibes. Ramen still centers the menu, but their farm-forward offerings have grown to include a range of small plates that make lunch at Oni just as enticing as dinner. Their excellent steak tartare, made with grassfed beef from the Sweet Grass Cooperative and seasoned with pickled chile and citrus oil, is served with dangerously good house-made potato chips, and an order of dumplings with fried garlic chile oil is practically obligatory. Seasonal specials shine, too, so it’s best to arrive with taste buds ready to meet something new, like the beet salad with watermelon radishes and miso dressing that cycled through in late spring. And, if you’re lunching on holiday or just playing hooky, you can pair that beet salad with a beet margarita or a pint of New Mexico–brewed beer.

Ex Novo Downtown & Sammy’s Cafe & Deli

Many old motor inns and gas stations have been renovated along Route 66, but Ex Novo stands out for its ultra-contemporary style and its ambitions. The transformation of a one-time tire shop into a three-tier restaurant-and-bar complex has reinvented Seventh and Central. And while some might miss the days of popping hydraulics at the old Firestone, the design (led, for once, by local architects), the long drink list, the care given to the food, and the kindness of the entire front of house have preserved the corner as a dedicated hangout. Sammy’s is the surprise hit, offering local bagels with lox alongside a handful of classic—and a few not so classic—deli sandwiches, best paired with a bag of Zapp’s potato chips.

Now under Chef Anthony Gallegos, the menu at the light-filled Ex Novo taproom and restaurant balances pub classics with fancier but still very comfort-forward plates. They offer an old-school cheeseburger with American cheese, lettuce, and tomato, as well as a decadent double-decker smashburger piled with thinly sliced mushrooms, arugula, and blue cheese dressing. Portions trend generous: Take the Lager than Life nachos, liberally drizzled with uber-smooth green chile beer cheese. Upstairs, the Bitter Nun offers a dimmer, intimate cocktail bar vibe with more limited hours. And, of course, there’s beer. Headquartered in Corrales, Ex Novo’s prolific brewing leans into the crushable parts of the spectrum—IPAs and pilsners and Mexican lagers—but they’re not afraid to experiment, as with Honey, I Lav You, a summery honey lavender kolsch.

This series is brought to you by the New Mexico Tourism Department.