The Best Yosemite Eats

Description:

A Yosemite tradition this huge and elegant dining room somehow feels intimate, despite its 34-foot ceilings. For breakfast, you can choose from frittatas or omelets, or enjoy a variety of salads or sandwiches for lunch. The dinner menu features entrees such as Salmon Ahwahnee served with Dungeness crab with bearnaise sauce and wild rice. The restaurant has an extensive and award-winning wine list. Reservations are essential for dinner, and the evening dress code calls for jackets or sweaters for men older than 12 and dresses or pantsuits for women.

Description:

The best thing about this restaurant is the view. The food's excellent too, with an emphasis on local organic ingredients, but the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Yosemite Falls are spectacular. There's not a bad seat in the house. We suggest the grilled chicken breast, which is flavorful and moist, as are the rainbow trout amandine and the Pacific salmon. Meals come with vegetables and bread. Soup or salad is extra. There are entrees for vegetarians and an amazing dessert tray. The Mountain Room also has a good wine list, and the Mountain Room Bar and Lounge (open Mon-Fri 4-10pm and Sat-Sun noon-10pm) has an a la carte menu available.

Our Local Expert Says:

You'll always find locals here; a good sign.

Description:

The Bug is loved by locals, by international visitors and by anyone open to a different kind of casual dining. People are friendly, most are there to see Yosemite, and it's easy to find a conversation with someone from Ireland or a group of rangers gathering off duty. Good coffee, wine, beer and always a different menu of tasty entrees and baked goods. Order off the menu board at the kitchen counter then relax by the fireplace, or in an easy chair with a Yosemite guidebook. The staff will find you with your food when it's ready. Open all year, with easy access to the park.

Our Local Expert Says:

Your napkins have trail maps on them, so you can plan a day's outing at your table.

Description:

The casual dining room has large windows and ceilings with exposed beams. Only open during the summer, this restaurant at White Wolf Lodge serves breakfast and dinner. Breakfast offerings include bacon, eggs, omelets and good, hot coffee. The dinner menu varies throughout the season, but you can count on a New York Steak, fresh catch of the day, and at least one vegetarian dish nightly. The restaurant serves beer, wine, tea, coffee and soft drinks. Breakfast on the sunny deck is a nice treat (dress warmly).

Description:

Degnan's is a social hub for Yosemite Village and it's overflowing at lunchtime. There's a lot to chose from, but their sandwich selection (all named for park landmarks) is great and the soups are just the thing on a chilly mountain day. Lots of beverage fridges, ice cream novelties, chips and candy can round out a meal for a picnic table outside or will fill your daypack for a hike to Mirror Lake or up Yosemite Falls. Open year-round.