Turquoise Room at La Posada

John Sharpe trained in classical European cuisine in the 1970s and 1980s before relocating to the American Southwest in the late 1980s and working in multiple kitchens across Arizona and New Mexico. By the late 1990s he had developed a substantial reputation as a Southwestern chef with serious technical chops, and Allan Affeldt and Tina Mion recruited him to develop a destination restaurant inside the restored La Posada as part of the hotel's reopening. The Turquoise Room opened in 2000 with Sharpe as chef-proprietor — an unusual arrangement in which Sharpe owns and operates the restaurant under a long-term lease arrangement with the hotel.

Sharpe's menu philosophy combines three influences. The classical European foundation provides technique — proper braising, restraint with seasoning, careful sauce reduction, attention to plating. The Southwestern American tradition provides ingredient palette — chiles, corn, beans, beef, lamb, regional fish and game. The Native American influence provides the most distinctive layer — Hopi blue corn, Apache white corn, prickly pear, traditional preparations and combinations that reflect Sharpe's research into pre-Columbian and continuing Native American food traditions.

The kitchen sources extensively from regional producers. Lamb comes from Navajo Nation ranchers (typically churro lamb, the traditional breed). Beef comes from regional grass-fed ranches. Corn comes from Hopi and other Native American growers. Chiles come from New Mexico farms (Hatch chiles when in season, Chimayo chiles for specific preparations). Fish includes some flown-in saltwater species but also regional freshwater fish when available. The seasonal sourcing produces a menu that genuinely changes across the year and rewards return visits across multiple seasons.

The Turquoise Room's signature dinner entree across most of its history has been the prickly pear cactus rib roast — a slow-roasted bone-in beef rib roast glazed with prickly pear cactus reduction, typically served with seasonal vegetables and a starch that varies seasonally. The dish is genuinely distinctive (no other restaurant on Route 66 serves a comparable preparation) and combines the European technique foundation with the Southwestern ingredient palette in a way that defines the restaurant's identity. Per-portion pricing typically runs $45-55 depending on cut and accompaniments.

The churro lamb stew is another signature — slow-braised lamb shoulder from Navajo Nation ranchers, served with traditional accompaniments. Churro lamb is a heritage breed maintained by Navajo shepherds for centuries, with a more pronounced flavor than commercial domestic lamb breeds. Sharpe's preparation honors the traditional Navajo treatment while applying classical European braising technique. The dish runs roughly $35-45.

The signature corn dishes are the most distinctive aspect of the menu. Hopi blue corn is incorporated into multiple preparations including blue corn pancakes (a breakfast signature), blue corn tortillas served with several dinner entrees, and blue corn polenta-style sides. Apache white corn appears in similar preparations as a counterpoint to the blue corn. The corn-focused dishes are some of the kitchen's most successful — substantially distinctive from typical Southwestern restaurant menus and genuinely reflective of Native American culinary tradition.

The Turquoise Room operates a three-meal daily schedule — breakfast roughly 7-10am, lunch 11am-2pm, and dinner 5-9pm — with somewhat different menus across each service. Breakfast is the most casual service and features the signature Hopi blue corn and Apache white corn pancakes (typically priced $15-20), traditional American breakfast items elevated with Southwestern touches (huevos rancheros, breakfast burritos, posole-based preparations), and standard egg-and-bacon style options for travelers who prefer familiar formats.

Lunch covers a wider menu range — soups, salads, sandwiches, and smaller-portion versions of several dinner entrees. Per-person lunch spend typically runs $20-40 including a beverage. Many Route 66 travelers schedule their Winslow visit specifically to include a Turquoise Room lunch — the combination of the historic dining room, the high-quality food, and the mid-range pricing makes lunch the most accessible meal for travelers who can't easily commit to the higher dinner spend.

Dinner is the kitchen's most ambitious service. The menu includes 6-8 entree options spanning beef, lamb, seafood, and vegetarian preparations, with seasonal specials that change roughly monthly. Appetizers include several preparations of corn, regional cheese boards, and traditional Southwestern starters. The dessert program is competent and includes both classical Southwestern desserts (sopapillas, prickly pear sorbet) and contemporary American options. The wine list is substantial — roughly 100 bottles with strong concentration in California, Arizona, and New Mexico wines plus selected international options.

The Turquoise Room occupies a portion of Mary Colter's original 1930 dining room space, restored during the late-1990s La Posada renovation. The restored space features the original ceiling beams, custom Colter-designed lighting fixtures (recreated from her original drawings where the originals had been lost), antique furnishings selected by Allan Affeldt and Tina Mion to match the imagined hacienda backstory of the broader building, and walls decorated with Mion's contemporary paintings alongside historic Harvey House menus and photographs.

The dining room is intimate — typically 60-70 seats — which produces a substantially different ambiance from the original 1930 mass-feeding railway-passenger format. Tables are spaced generously, lighting is dim and warm (with most light coming from custom Colter lanterns and table candles), and the overall atmosphere is more suited to leisurely destination dining than quick travel meals. Service is genuinely attentive without being intrusive; many of the longest-tenured servers have been at the Turquoise Room since the restaurant's 2000 opening.

The Turquoise Room's distinctive ambiance makes it a genuine destination dining experience even for travelers who are not staying overnight at La Posada. Many Flagstaff and Sedona-based diners drive to Winslow specifically for dinner at the Turquoise Room — typically a 60-90 minute drive each way — and the restaurant's combination of historic setting, distinctive cuisine, and reasonable pricing relative to comparable destination restaurants justifies the drive for special occasions.

Reservations are strongly recommended for dinner and recommended for lunch and weekend breakfast. The dining room is small (60-70 seats) and frequently books out 1-2 weeks in advance during peak tourism months (April through October) for dinner service. Reservations can be made by phone or through the La Posada website. Walk-in availability is sometimes possible for lunch and weekday breakfast but should not be relied upon for evening or weekend visits.

Dress code is casual to business-casual. Closed-toe shoes are appropriate; ties and jackets are not required but nicer attire is welcomed. The restaurant attracts a mix of customer types — La Posada overnight guests, Winslow day-trippers, Route 66 road-trippers, and destination diners from Flagstaff and Sedona — and the management is genuinely welcoming across the range.

Best timing for a Turquoise Room visit is typically a weekday lunch (Tuesday through Thursday at noon or 1pm) — the dining room is at its best ambiance with daylight through the windows, the kitchen is at peak quality, and the service pace is unhurried. Weekend dinner reservations are the most heavily booked time and require the most advance planning. Combining a Turquoise Room lunch with morning visits to Standing on the Corner Park, La Posada hotel tour, and afternoon visits to Meteor Crater (18 miles west) produces an excellent full-day Winslow itinerary.