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Most small towns in the Sierra Nevada have at least one restaurant. Standard American fare is the norm, but you'll also find sophisticated cuisine. With few exceptions, dress is casual. Local grocery stores and delis stock picnic fixings, good to have on hand should the opportunity for an impromptu meal under giant trees emerge.
This culinary oasis—stunning for its understated elegance, gorgeous setting, and impeccable service—is one of the best restaurants in the region. Earthtone walls and wood beams accent the high ceilings, and arched windows reflect the glow of candles.
The lake is one of the most spectacular spots in the Eastern Sierra, and the food at this hotel restaurant lives up to the view. From pan-seared local trout and beef Wellington to rack of lamb and Long Island duck, the menu is refined, and there's an award-winning wine list to match. The woodsy room has a vaulted knotty-pine ceiling and a copper-chimney fireplace. Although the main restaurant only serves dinner, you can grab breakfast or lunch at the hotel's casual Aspen Grill and sit at a table outdoors under the white-barked aspens.
Locals pack this family-friendly, industrial-chic restaurant to socialize and savor small-lot beers, crafted on-site, along with tasty meals. The creative pub fare runs a wide gamut, from thin-crust brick-oven pizzas to fish tacos, fish-and-chips, and vegan black-bean burgers.
Established in 1966, this is one of the best restaurants in the Central Valley. The California–continental cuisine includes dishes such as French escargot with a white-wine sauce and filet mignon with a cognac-mustard sauce.
Smack in the heart of the Village, this bustling restaurant greets you with the sound of martini shakers and the smell of Italian classics prepared by Food Network/James Beard finalist/Michelin-starred brothers Michael and Bryan Voltaggio. Grab a table near the swanky bar, or nestle into one of the globe domes on the patio. Here, servers deliver piping hot plates of lamb ravioli, crispy octopus with creamy gnocchi, or Voltaggi-O’s—a nod to the childhood classic SpaghettiOs (only the brothers’ version is made with homemade annelini pasta and a giant meatball). For shared plates start with the caprese, prosciutto di parma, or the white sauce pizza topped with mozzarella and fontina. In the open kitchen, you can catch a glimpse of the brick oven (imported from Italy) that cranks out consistent perfection.
Warm up by a crackling fire in the stone fireplace while fueling up on healthy, made-from-scratch breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes at this ski-lodge-style eatery. The flexible menu allows for lots of choice, including a DIY breakfast with more than 20 mix-and-match items, five types of hash, keto selections, grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, burgers, and soups. Come for bingo on the third Tuesday of every month.
Come hungry to this bustling restaurant, which is known, appropriately enough, for its burgers as well as its mountainous portions. Grab a table on the diner-esque ground floor, or head upstairs to the modern dining room with a full bar. At lunch try the sourdough patty melt, at dinner the pork ribs; salads are great all day. The seasoned French fries are delicious.
Centrally located Charles Street, its rustic decor heavy on the wood and Old West adornments, at once evokes both the gold-rush days and the 1980s, which is when it opened. The extensive straightforward menu includes hand-cut steaks, honey-barbecue baby back ribs, several pasta dishes, chicken, pork loin, lamb, a few well-adorned burgers, and some vegetarian options.
With elaborate chandeliers sculpted from deer antlers, the lodge-style restaurant at Ducey's attracts boaters, locals, and tourists with its lake views and standard lamb, beef, seafood, and pasta dishes. It's also open for breakfast: try the lobster-crab cake eggs Benedict, huevos rancheros, or the Rice Krispies–crusted French toast.
The view's the draw at this roadhouse that overlooks the Kaweah River as it plunges out of the high country. The Gateway serves everything from osso buco and steaks to shrimp in Thai chili sauce; dinner reservations are essential on summer weekends.
Open for three meals a day, this small restaurant next to the Dow Villa Motel is a convenient place to stop for a break while driving along Highway 395. The extensive menu includes everything from omelets and French toast for breakfast to sandwiches and burgers for lunch to grilled steaks and fish for dinner.
Brewing since 1995, this Village operation lures hungry patrons with 14 craft beers on tap, elevated grub from the on-site restaurant, tasting flights, a contemporary vibe at two spacious bar areas, and a beer garden. The dining menu changes constantly, but reflects a locals' twist on pub food with pork belly tacos, black-currant-and-goat-cheese flatbread, or house-made sweet-potato tots. The burgers, topped with smoked gouda and kale, keep those lines long during ski season, but it’s worth the wait. You can pass the time in the game room on the bottom floor, or watch a match on the top level framed with big-screen TVs.
Come here for straightforward steaks—top sirloin, New York, filet mignon, prime rib, and T-bone. The only catch is that the waiters cook them, and the results vary depending on their skill level; but generally things go well, and kids love the experience. Expect typical steakhouse sides like soup, salad, and rice pilaf. Vegetarians might want to look elsewhere.
This boisterous family-friendly restaurant with six flat-screen televisions serves the best burgers—beef, buffalo, or elk—in town. The traditional diner menu also features country-fried steak, turkey dinner, Black Angus beef, and blueberry pie.
A Wine Country–style establishment that sources ingredients from the on-site gardens and surrounding farms and orchards, this popular restaurant occupies a redbrick 1921 schoolhouse in the town of Sanger. Chef Ryan Jackson, who grew up on local fruit farms, creates seasonal menus from the bounty of familiar backyards, mostly filled with classic American dishes with a contemporary twist.
In addition to all kinds of traditional American fare, this inviting, country-style diner also serves unique dishes, such as medallions of Cervena elk, smothered in port wine, dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts. Try the the Baileys Irish Cream cheesecake or the Grand Marnier crème brûlée for dessert.
This might be the only gas station in the United States serving craft beers and lobster taquitos, but its appeal goes beyond novelty. Order at the counter, and grab a seat inside, or sit at one of the picnic tables on the lawn outside and take in the distant view of Mono Lake.
A passionate baseball fan, chef Matt Toomey designed this casual space near the Village Gondola to resemble a dugout, and decorated it with baseball memorabilia. Swing by pre–outdoor adventure for coconut mascarpone pancakes or soft bagels topped with smoked trout and chipotle cream cheese. Later in the day, fill up on buffalo meat loaf, seafood jambalaya, or a New Zealand elk rack chop. You can also get a taste of Toomey’s at home: its signature seasoning is sold online.
