Blu Inn

Nope. They say they can’t exhaust the cook enough to add simple cheese to fries cuz it’s too «special» on a busy weekend, yet charge $ 1 for 2 oz side of ranch, $ 15 basic sandwiches that take 45 min to make, the staff are having blow up fights in front of customers, oh and yeah the poor staff could use an industrial style blender for the shakes, and a real can opener for their #10 sized cans. Sheesh. What a pity.

What can you say… There’s not really any other place to eat in the desert. But when you’re totally over cooking for the weekend & still want sustenance, go to the blu inn. Yes, everything is somewhat mediocre, but it is real food that will fill you up without you having to do any work. In all fairness, the food is obviously good enough to keep people coming back over the years, but you clearly can’t think you’re going to find an epicurean jewel out in bfe. They also have you by the balls on pricing, yet don’t really seem to gouge patrons. I especially love the waitress. Sweet as pie unless you’re gonna be a dick to her… Then she has no problem holding her own in an argument (not with us). Extra tip for the entertainment! Also functions as a small convenience store for snacks, random gear, Otc pills, etc. I’ve never seen them actually have gas for sale. Clean bathrooms with soap!

Good food, good service. It’s the desert not a city bistro. we always enjoy our time at this place

Not exactly the best restaurant. But it’s the only one for miles. They’re very nice people. The menu is small. The food is edible. The French fries were the best thing they had. The Blt was decent. Grilled seemed to trip em up. They screwed mine & my sisters up. I’m sure I will go again. Like I said it’s the only place around.

Very disappointing as we were all ready to get a nice meal but the lady in control just did not want our business. We came up on the place and there were no tables, most had people just sitting and drinking beer (from cases of cans sitting on their tables) so we decided that we could just sit by out bikes and eat. Nope, this could not happen since the nasty lady ordered the waitress not to even take our order even though the waitress told her that there were no tables. This lady’s entire life was to just say, that we could only order food if we were sitting at a table, not because we were hungry and there were no orders waiting. We were ready to order food and floats… Not chump change but the nasty lady must have made too much money that day and just wanted her waitresses to stand and not earn any more tips. There were more people also coming in and when we said that we could not order since we did not have a table, they also looked and said to the nasty lady that there were no tables. We walked out at that time and they soon followed, empty handed. The rest of our crew was buying a tee-​shirt and they saw that were were empty handed and asked. When we told them that we could not order, the guy selling shirt said, «really, that is stupid.» So if you can’t get a seat in one of the few tables, just skip this place. The nasty lady just has too much money and does not care if you are hungry.

Beyond awesome place excellent burgers excellent fries and shakes excellent cheese steaks! Never have had a bad experience here good people owner is fantastic that runs it great selection of sodas and essential needs for the desert. Try the Oreo shake it’s phenomenal!

I’ve only been here for breakfast, which is simple but tasty. The supreme platter with biscuits and gravy, choice of meat, and eggs, is a real filler that sticks with you for the day. And quite tasty. Prices are good, service is good.

Love this place, which is not based on the diner… it’s about the whole experience. I’ve been here twice with my family & friends. It’s clean, the staff are friendly, it has a pool and a jacuzzi. They have clean restrooms and showers but the shower are 12 min per token and tokens are $ 2 each. The other folks are nice and it’s a great place to hook up your RV and have a nice weekend with your family. In case, you run out of something they have a little market too. However, it is expensive which is why I took a star away. Prices at the market are def higher than usual.

So you’re in the middle of the desert. Maybe you’re riding an OHV, maybe you’re just driving past and want to stop to take-​in the desert ambiance. Whatever, you’re here much like I was so here’s what I thought of the place.
First of all my friends and I were there on an incredibly windy, dusty, sand-​blowing day. We were mid-​way through a 50 mile loop of the OHV park and were in desperate need of a place to stop, eat and get out of the wind for a while, to that end this place filled the bill nicely.
It was moderately crowded but we were able to find a table inside, our waitress was very friendly, though we were all a bit unaccustomed to giving the waitress taking our order, then her handing us back our ticket so I could take it to the register and pay for it then put it on the ‘wheel’ in the kitchen. Sort of an odd way to do it but whatever.
The food we ordered was decent however there was a problem with a burger someone in our party ordered. Rather than fix just fix it the manager/​cook and waitress mde a huge deal out of going through the ticket then lambasting a 14 year old for not clearly ordering what she wanted (she ordered a hamburger, they put cheese on it, she can’t eat cheese). Rather than just making a new burger the Manager and waitress made a huge deal out of it and chastised my friend’s daughter. I ended-​up just buying the kid another burger, though considering I had just dropped $ 75 of food for five people you’d think they would have just thrown another burger on the grill. We know for next time I guess.
Oh, and they sell bits and pieces for ATV’s and MC’s there, oils, brake levers, cables, common parts, though the mark-​up seemed to be 100% ($ 10 for a quart of Valvoline conventional ¹⁰⁄₃₀ motor oil). Guess if you need something though it’s nice that they have it.
Great Root Beer floats though!

Firstly, it’s spelled Blu-​In. It’s a play on words — it’s not Blue, and it’s not an Inn. It’s a tiny diner, an inconvenient convenience store, and a gas station without the gas. It’s a tumble weed that blew in — get it? They misspelled blew and allude to it being a motel for no apparent reason other than to craft a desert pun.
I’ve had a couple of decent experiences at the Blu-​In over the years. Riding 20 – 30 miles in the rain; each drop stinging your cheeks with fierce cold will make for the best cup of hot chocolate there can be. I’ve also had a burger or two and they’re just fine — the desert has a way of making average food taste pretty good.
Overwhelmingly though, I’m let down time and time again by the Blu-​In.
Two years go, on my first trip back to Anza-​Borrego (since 2005ish) we counted on gas at the Blu-​In, like in the good old days. Our trip was cut short since they were dry (and still are). I gleaned that gas was expensive to get to the middle of nowhere and it goes bad in a couple months. All understandable, but on my most recent trip I could barely park my truck. I guess a lot full of buggies, bikes, quads, rhinos, and trucks wouldn’t buy enough gas to turn a profit for a couple months a year. Sign of the times perhaps.
Point is, the Blu-​In is basically just a 4 seat diner and an even smaller convenience store. They’ve got one or two stand up coolers with the bare minimum selection of soft drinks, a pot of coffee and maybe a dozen or so snack choices and that is it.
One of my recent trips led me there in the morning for a quick breakfast in the truck and I expected to get a cold sandwich for later. Apparently the cooks can’t manage to put sliced meat in bread so early — but they have no problem toasting the bread, cooking eggs and bacon then melting cheese and plating with a side of potatoes at 9:00 am.
Instead of letting scrambled eggs swelter in my truck ’til 2:00, I figured I’d assemble my own lunch from of their snack section. I could have made a bento box out of beef jerky, nuts, a Milky Way and a Monster but I decided against it.
Instead I made the drive down to the Split Mountain store. They got a much better selection of sundries and I accomplished what the cooks at the Blu-​In couldn’t. I assembled a sandwich before noon. My favorite general purpose store though is Desert Ironwoods. They’ve got a similar selection of beer, sundries, ice and anything else I might need last minute; if you forgot s’mores stuff or firewood, they’ve got you covered, and their prices seem more fair. Unlike the Blu-​In, Desert Ironwoods actually is an inn.
For gas, I top off in Borrego Springs when up north and the AM/​PM out by Salton City when I’m out east — both areas with better stores and better restaurants. The Blu-​In has nothing for me anymore.

This is the perfect place to go when you wake up dusty and with a gnarly hangover in the desert. It’s small, and the wait can be kinda long but the food is good. Definitely a go to while out in ocotillo.

Perfect spot to go to in the desert!

I disagree with the rest of you about the quality of the food. I have been coming here for 8 years or so. Only spend a few weekends out in the desert every year but they have had the best hangover breakfast /​lunch (if you get there too late for breakfast). The breakfast burritos are pretty good, but the philly cheesesteak is scrumptious.
I do always laugh a little bit at the fact that they never have gasoline. Salton City and Borrego Springs are 20 miles away. They should be making a killing off of their gas station. Doesn’t make any sense.
Renting out camp sites, selling food, beer, and off road gear… But can’t fill up your fuel tanks???

You can’t get more «local» than the Blue Inn. Especially during a stop in while messing around out in the desert on a sweltering May Saturday. This great little Oasis is situated a few mile east from Split Mountain Rd right along the 78 freeway in Ocotillo Wells. You can’t miss the giant antenna tower with the flashing light! Everything from the dirt parking lot, the counter only seating to the wall covered in sharpie signatures just makes you want to pull up a chair and soak in all that this little stop over in the desert has to offer.
This past weekend my brother and I were out driving the buggy around Ocotillo and felt the need for some good, down home, breakfast… The Blu Inn delivered! We parked our ATV and sauntered in (Yup I have been known to saunter from time to time) and sat at the counter. My brother ordered the breakfast sandwich and I ordered the supreme biscuits and gravy. Both were served up by the fantastic lady who’s name I can’t recall, but she was one of the owners I think she said and she is an absolute doll! The breakfast sandwich was on nice thick toasted bread with a pile of home fries, and well… The pictures of my «gravy with a side of biscuits» speaks for itself! She makes the gravy homemade here and it is worth every sausage laden bite.
They also have a great little «general store» going here with everything from T-​Shirts, to beer, toiletries and some misc off-​road vehicle parts for all you desert rats. Stop in at the Blu Inn! You will be glad you did!

THIS IS A GREAT PLACE! Alot to offer more than other places we have been riding too! Beers burgers funnel cakes apperal, everything available under the sun!

The 5 Stars is based on the whole experiance. If the place was cleaner and the food was way better and the people were «the customers always right» kinda people, then it would deserve a lower score.
This is the place where all riders converge to refuel the body and the gas tanks. We used to park close to hear but we would hit it toward the end of a ride. I would occationally ride over for some sort of breakfast dealio if i didnt feel like messing up the dishes in the motorhome.
I have bought many a spark plug or break/​clutch lever to get us out of a jam. I have had a couple beers on the patio and i have had a few breakfast sammys. The staff is cool, the patrons are great and its just a fun place to hang.
It may not sound all that great to those of you who only drive cars but when you can ride 20 miles across the desert and pull up on the bikes and eat something. It gets you the five star rating pretty quick. Trent knows what im talking about.
Ride safe.

If you’re going to read this review from the perspective of someone looking for a good place to take the family for a nice quiet dinner then here is my honest review: Food = not great, service = eh… ok, cleanliness = as clean as it can be for location and patrons.
You may be asking yourself why the 5 stars with sub par stats. It is because the Blu Inn is all apart of a much bigger experience. imagine sleeping in your car, tent, or trailer and waking up as the sun comes up with one of the worst hang overs ever splitting your skull. It’s about 33 degrees outside while you stumble into ridding boots and gear and fire up your bike (quad, rhino, or whatever ride you have). At this point the sun has peaked it’s head up to show you the most awesome array of colors as you set out on a multi mile journey through countless whoops, washes, rutts, and everything else the open desert can throw at you. As you see the antenna, which is located next to the diner, getting bigger and bigger you feel your stomach rumble for some ¾ quality grub. Park your ride along the dozens of others and cram your way in. Now you’re the happiest 26 year old kid on earth knowing that the coffee will cure that gnarly hangover and the amazing food will fuel you through another incredible day that is exponentially better then the 30 minute trek to breakfast.