6 Best Restaurants in The Mojave Desert, California

This boisterous family-friendly restaurant with six flat-screen televisions serves the best burgers—beef, buffalo, or elk—in town. The traditional diner menu also features country-fried steak, turkey dinner, Black Angus beef, and blueberry pie.

Checkerboard floors and life-size versions of Elvis and Betty Boop greet you at this funky '50s coffee shop and pizza parlor. It's the oldest diner on Highway 15, and the fare is basic American—fries, onion rings, burgers, pork chops—with some fun surprises such as deep-fried dill pickles. If you're heading to nearby Calico Ghost Town, it's worth a stop to grab a milkshake or shop for souvenirs and sweets in the five-and-dime store.

This inexpensive pizza place off Interstate 40 is a local favorite and offers a range of specialty pies, hearty appetizers, subs and pasta. Top it off with a mug of cold lager, or a glass of wine out on the small patio.

In addition to all kinds of traditional American fare, this inviting, country-style diner also serves unique dishes, such as medallions of Cervena elk, smothered in port wine, dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts. Try the the Baileys Irish Cream cheesecake or the Grand Marnier crème brûlée for dessert.

Open for three meals a day, this small restaurant next to the Dow Villa Motel is a convenient place to stop for a break while driving along Highway 395. The extensive menu includes everything from omelets and French toast for breakfast to sandwiches and burgers for lunch to grilled steaks and fish for dinner.

Off-roading enthusiasts and locals tend to congregate at The Joint, considered the center of the action (or maybe the only action) in town—with live music on weekends, pickleback shots, and a chalkboard menu reading “Soup of the Day: Whisky.” Dating from 1905, the adobe building originally served as a German steam bakery, and today the bar/restaurant is operated by Neil and Hollie Shotwell, the third generation to keep the family-owned saloon alive since 1955. Stop by on Saturday for guest vendors serving tacos or burgers on the grill. Picnic tables line the dusty road, or you can grab a barstool indoors where flags and currency cover the walls and ceiling.