The durable Burro Avenue bar-and-grill — burgers, beer-battered onion rings, breakfast when the kitchen's running, ice cream by the scoop on the way out, and live music most weeks. Run by the Venable family since 1984.
Bar and booths on Burro Avenue. Most of the identity lives in the room — the stage, the regulars, the no-pretension food.
The durable Burro Avenue bar-and-grill where locals actually eat — burger, onion rings, live music, ice cream on the way out, no pretension. Family-run since 1984.
"BBQ bacon ranch burger, beer-battered onion rings, a cold drink. The house-known plate — the closest thing Dave's has to a signature combination."
BBQ bacon ranch burger + beer-battered onion rings
"Breakfast plate if the kitchen is on. Coffee. Ask what morning specials Chuck's running. This is a pre-stroll restaurant, not an endpoint."
Breakfast plate (check availability)
"A scoop of ice cream on the way out. Recently confirmed by the owner, undocumented anywhere else, and a genuinely good reason to end the Burro Avenue stroll here."
Ice cream, by the scoop
Dave's doesn't publish a reliable single weekly schedule. The best approach is a phone call or a quick check of Facebook before walking over.
Hours shift with staffing and season. Wednesdays and Thursdays have been reduced or closed in recent stretches — don't assume those days are open without confirming.
The restaurant posts current hours and specials to its Facebook page more reliably than to any static source. The NetWaiter ordering page suggests online ordering is available when the kitchen is running.
Middle of the Burro Avenue stroll at the 300 block, between Black Bear Coffee (200) and the Exchange cluster (500s). Dave's sits next door to Western Bar & Cafe at 304.
Phone: (575) 682-2127
Email: cafe.daves@yahoo.com
The version of Dave's Café the restaurant actually delivers — and when to choose somewhere else on Burro Avenue instead.
Hours shift with staffing and season. Some Wednesdays and Thursdays have been reduced or closed in recent stretches. There's no single authoritative weekly schedule — a phone call or a quick look at the Facebook page is the reliable way to check.
Facebook posts about temporary closures, specials, and live-music dates are the most current signal. Plan spontaneous visits around weekend evenings where the music rhythm tends to be steady.
Bar plus booth seating — useful if you're solo at the bar, on a date in a booth, or in a small group that wants a quieter corner. The restaurant is right in the middle of walkable Burro Avenue, so parking is village-level easy and the surrounding shops, bakery, and coffee stops are all a short stroll.
Cards accepted. Tipping is standard for table and bar service.
Dave's is one of the Cloudcroft businesses that hosts live music through the week — the Cloudcroft Reader has noted it explicitly. Timing varies; check the Facebook page for dates. Families are welcome; this is a bar-and-grill, not a cocktail-only room, but expect bar noise on weekend nights.
Ice cream by the scoop (recently confirmed) makes Dave's a natural last stop on a Burro Avenue walk with kids.
Online ordering is available through NetWaiter at davescafe1.netwaiter.com. For delivery, patio seating, or alcohol service, call ahead.
"Dave's isn't where you bring visitors for the Cloudcroft dinner-of-a-lifetime. It's the Burro Avenue room that still feels like Cloudcroft — bar, booths, burger and onion rings, live music on Saturday, a scoop of ice cream on your walk home. Forty-plus years under one family, no chain on the strip to dilute it. When it's open, it's exactly what a mountain-town main-street restaurant is supposed to be."
Three peers within a five-minute walk — or jump back to the full dining guide for all 19 independent spots in town.