The Crown Railroad Cafe

This place just says restaurant on the side and I've been driving by it for decades and never stopped in. Turns out it's a train themed restaurant attached to the hotel and they even have a giant marble train that drives around the roof on the inside.
The food is kind of a diner type food but they do it very well. The club sandwich had a zillion slices of bacon and a nice piece of turkey and mayonnaise with a nice stack of french fries. We also ordered a chocolate banana milkshake and you can see the guy hand scoop it and cut the bananas and whip it up and it comes in a nice malt cup and then you get the whole rest of it in that silver tin.
Somebody else in the group God grilled cheese and a side of chili to dip it into and the bread and the cheese inside were melty and gooey and looked fantastic The chili is nice tomato, bean and a little bit of spicy mix.
Parking is in the motel parking lot which is super easy and the restrooms are adjacent to the kitchen and we're very clean.

There's very few restaurants open in the town of Flagstaff, near where we were staying, past 8pm. We picked The Crown Railroad Cafe because it was open till 9.

We were skeptical at first, being a Saturday night and walking into the almost empty restaurant, but the good reviews gave us hope.

Turns out the reviews are spot on! The lunch counter gives it a nostalgic, old time diner feel, with a vintage electric train running around the top perimeter of the restaurant.

I ordered the southern bbq sandwich which was delicious! Awesome fries, too.

One of my friends had the cheese burger, the other ordered the french dip. Everyone was beyond happy with their choices.

The waitress was happy to see us, even though we arrived near closing time.

Trust the reviews! The place doesn't look like much upon first glance, but its a winner!

Busy because it's good Ordered online to pickup. They were busy & backed up. I knew my spinach omelette with mushrooms would be great. Sadly they forgot my hash browns. But I enjoyed my big breakfast.

It does not look like much on the outside for sure the food was good dinner food. There is tax and then a flagstaff fee which was not too much. It was so much better than fast food would come again

Stopped in here after hiking the Grand Canyon, it is the definition of a hole in the wall, absolutely incredible. There's a cute train that runs around the roof and the other decorations were perfect for the café ambiance. Also, it is on the historic Route 66 and was a pretty convenient stop.
Pretty sure this place was known for its 66 different kinds of Omelettes, but I prefer the classic eggs and bacon brunch. I was so incredibly hungry at the time of this meal since we had just gone on a hike, and the food absolutely revived me.
Loved the small town vibe of this diner, I would recommend it to anyone stopping through Flagstaff.

If you're in the area and want some great food stop here!
Ask for the BBQ bacon cheese burger and fries... you can't go wrong!
We showed up in the middle of heavy snow falling and were treated like family

Unfortunately it's been a few weeks since we all ate there and my memory is quite dim now. But I do remember thinking "man, I gotta write a review for this place on Yelp, it's awesome!".

So...yeah, it's awesome.
You're welcome.

I also remember the enormous portions, wonderful taste of just about everything on our plates, and fast and friendly staff.

I had the Denver omelette which was probably about the size of actual Denver. Juicy, cooked perfectly, and nestled by fingerling potatoes. Beats the IHOP Denver omelette. I know, I know, heresy.

The little man loved his big plate of pancakes, which were the size of his 6 year old head.

My wife had one of the huge subway sandwiches but I can't remember which one. Either way, she said she really liked it. It was the size of an actual subway (no, this comparison joke never gets old!) so she took half of it for the ride home.

For as good as the place is, it was surprisingly not busy (Sunday around noon IIRC). Service was understandably super fast and friendly. Nice!

I wish I could remember more and find some of the other photos we took of the food. If/when we do, we'll update this review.

For now: recommended!

The food was good. Big portions. Kids portions were way too much. Service was good. Atmosphere was that of an old diner. The bill though was a shock. 2 double burgers and 3 kid meals = 80+ dollars tax, service fee and 18% tip added. I understand a person has to make a living but I also don't want to pay an arm and a leg for lunch.
As someone passing by I might just keep going next time I am in town.

Great place with a railroad theme. Food was plentiful and service was friendly. We were driving through town and glad we stopped here

Went there for breakfast. Was on the old Route 66. Good food and great service. Plenty of parking.