Big Chief Roadhouse Keeps Route 66 on the Table

A plate of smoked pork steak or a towering order of pulled-pork nachos is a fine way to pause a Route 66 drive. At Big Chief Roadhouse, the old-road atmosphere is not a decorative afterthought; it runs through the restaurant’s identity, from the highway-minded setting to the historic Route 66 décor around the dining room.

Big Chief is among the original Route 66 restaurants still operating, and it carries that roadside spirit into a broad, unapologetically substantial American menu. Come hungry, especially if the table plans to sample fried starters, smoked meats and dessert in the same visit.

The setup is flexible enough for a casual lunch, a family dinner, a group gathering or a meal after a nearby outing. There are booths and tables indoors, bar and counter seats for a more casual stop, and a patio for days when eating outside sounds better than settling in under a roof.

The menu gives different appetites plenty to work with. Burgers, sandwiches, salads, nachos, smoked meats, fried appetizers and a long dessert list all share space, so one person can order brisket while another goes for a sandwich or a plate of fried bites.

Smoked brisket is one of the recurring favorites. It can arrive with spicy barbecue sauce, creamy coleslaw and sweet potato waffle fries, a combination that covers smoke, heat, sweetness and crunch without requiring a side-order strategy meeting.

The smoked brisket horseshoe takes a more plate-filling route, pairing the meat with crisp, flavorful fries. Smoked brisket chili offers another way to put that same slow-cooked flavor to work, particularly welcome when a bowl sounds more appealing than a sandwich.

Smoked pork steak is another signature order that appears regularly on the menu conversation. It is a distinctly hearty choice, well suited to a roadside restaurant where restraint is not the governing principle.

Burger fans can take the conventional route or branch out. The Stampede Burger is on the roster, while the bison burger provides a meatier alternative served simply on a bun that lets the patty remain the focus.

The Ranchero Chicken sandwich gives the sandwich side of the menu its own personality. It is useful to have an option like that on a menu so dominated, in the best sense, by barbecue, burgers and fried food.

Large portions are a regular feature here. That can mean an entrée carries the meal comfortably on its own, or it can mean the table is better off ordering with a sharing mindset and leaving a little room for something sweet later.

The appetizer list has the cheerful abundance of an old-school roadhouse menu. Fried banana peppers are a particularly notable choice, bringing a little tang to the usual pre-meal fried-food lineup.

There are also fried mushrooms, fried green beans and t-ravs, the fried ravioli-style snack familiar to many Missouri diners. A table that orders a mix gets different textures and flavors instead of three baskets of the same thing.

Pulled-pork nachos go beyond a token topping of meat. Nacho cheese, barbecue sauce and jalapeños give them a sweet-smoky-spicy direction, with enough pork and toppings to turn the platter into more than a starter if the mood strikes.

Dessert is not an afterthought at Big Chief. Cookie pie, gooey butter cake cheesecake, turtle cheesecake, chocolate cake, carrot or spice cake, regular cheesecake and Blue Owl desserts give the final course its own considerable stretch of menu.

The cookie pie is especially easy to picture lingering in the middle of the table: a gooey cookie served with vanilla and chocolate sauce. It is large enough to share, which is fortunate after brisket, pork steak or a burger and fries.

The Blue Owl connection adds a recognizable regional name to the dessert case. A slice of cheesecake may be the tidy choice; the cookie pie is for the table that has accepted that tidy is no longer the plan.

Inside, the dining room mixes small-town roadside character with Route 66 memorabilia and historic-themed décor. Booths work well for a leisurely meal, while the bar and counter seating make sense when the stop is more spontaneous.

Multiple televisions add an easy option for following a game over dinner. The restaurant can accommodate smaller parties as well as larger groups, so the room does not have to be reserved for a two-person road-trip meal.

Outside, the patio creates another setting for burgers, barbecue and dessert. Outdoor heaters have been used there in cooler weather, though patio seating and heaters naturally depend on the conditions.

Big Chief has a small roadside oddity beyond the dining room: a large Big Chief figure stands behind the back parking area, visible through a fence. It is the sort of slightly quirky sight that belongs on a Route 66 stop, where a meal and a roadside landmark can share the same address.

The patio-side rear entrance leads toward the host station, and the front entrance connects through to that area as well. It is a useful bit of orientation in a building with more than one natural-looking way in.

Parking is free and has been described as plentiful, with lot or garage options. That removes one common irritation from a meal stop near a busy day of driving or sightseeing.

The surprise comes after dinner. Upstairs, Big Chief has a separate speakeasy that shifts the mood from roadside roadhouse to a Prohibition-era setting, with period-inspired furniture, décor and bar styling.

It gives a visit a second act without requiring a second destination. Finish with cake downstairs, or save the lingering for the bar upstairs and let the evening take a different turn.

The speakeasy is upstairs, and its hours, access arrangements and accessibility details are not established here. It is worth treating it as an added possibility rather than assuming it will be available at every visit.

Big Chief Roadhouse fits naturally into a Route 66 outing, but it can also anchor a day that includes nearby Route 66 State Park or a visit to Six Flags St. Louis. The menu is broad enough that a mixed group does not have to agree on one narrow food craving before walking in.

For a quick meal, a burger and fries will do the job. For a longer stop, the better route may be smoked meat, a few fried starters, a shared cookie pie and, when it is open and accessible to your plans, a final drink upstairs.