10 Best Restaurants in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Opened in 1891, this double-colonnaded dining room off the lobby of the Lake Yellowstone Hotel is the park's most elegant dining spot, and with a menu that focuses on regional ingredients. Arrive early and enjoy a beverage and the view in the airy Reamer Lounge, which debuted as a sunroom in 1928. The dinner menu includes such enticing starters as a charcuterie sampler with Montana cheeses. Favorites among the main courses include steelhead trout with spring pea puree, and bone-in maple-glazed pork chops with an apple-cider vinaigrette. The wine list focuses on California and the Pacific Northwest. Reservations aren't needed for breakfast or lunch, but they're required for dinner; advanced dinner reservations of up to 30 days are available for anyone staying overnight in park lodging or campgrounds (60 days for guests staying at Lake Hotel). 

The Old Faithful Inn's original dining room—designed by Robert Reamer in 1903 and expanded by him in 1927—has lodgepole-pine walls and ceiling beams and a giant volcanic rock fireplace. Note the whimsical etched-glass panels that separate the dining room from the Bear Pit Lounge; the images of partying animals were commissioned by Reamer in 1933 to celebrate the end of Prohibition. The dinner buffet favors quantity over quality, so it's wiser to order from the à la carte menu, which features dishes like wild sockeye salmon, New York strip steak, and pork osso buco, and at least a couple of vegetarian options.

You can grab a quick bite and not miss a geyser eruption at this snack shop in the Old Faithful Inn. Salmon, black-bean, and beef burgers as well as several sandwiches are available throughout the day, as is hand-dipped ice cream. There's a small seating area.

Diners pack this mid-century-modern–inspired restaurant for casual breakfasts, as well as lunches and dinners that deviate from your standard national park fare. Design your own wok meal with veggies, meat, and toppings, or choose a protein and sauce on a three-item combo plate. It's nothing special, but it is the best of the dining options in Canyon Village.

Although the passable food here isn't the main event, the floor-to-ceiling windows of this waterfront restaurant provide dazzling views of Yellowstone Lake through the thick stand of pines. The pine-beam ceilings, cedar-shake walls, and contemporary decor lend the place a homey feel. Entrée choices at dinner range from pasta and trout to pork carnitas and elk meat loaf. Breakfast is also served.

A wall of windows in the handsome Art Deco–style restaurant overlooks an expanse of green that was once a military parade and drill field. While enjoying breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you might catch a glimpse of elk grazing on the lawn. Montana beef, bison, boar, and trout receive pride of place at dinner, which always includes a few vegetarian entrées. Dinner reservations are not taken in summer, but are essential in winter.

Although the exterior looks rather elegant, this is actually the casual option at Mammoth Hot Springs, a good bet for simple fare like hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken tenders. Continental breakfast is offered all day. Take a break and wander the volcanic-rock terraces outside.

From the wood-and-leather chairs etched with animal figures to the intricate lighting fixtures that resemble snowcapped trees, there's ample Western atmosphere at this relatively intimate dining room inside the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. The huge windows give you a view of the Old Faithful area, and you can sometimes see the famous geyser as it erupts. The French onion soup will warm you up on a chilly afternoon; among the main courses, standouts include pasta with homemade elk-and-bison bolognese sauce, and pecan-cornmeal-crusted Montana trout. It's one of the only full-service park dining options open in winter.

The menu at this atmospheric log cabin in a pine forest includes appropriately rustic options like skirt steak, mesquite-smoked chicken, and blackened ruby red trout, but you'll also find simpler comfort fare, like carnitas nachos and fried green tomatoes. For a real adventure, make a reservation for the Roosevelt Old West Dinner Cookout, which includes a horseback trail ride or a stagecoach ride.

The former Lake Lodge Cafeteria was upgraded and rebranded as Wylie's Canteen in 2019 and still offers quick and casual bites with awe-inspiring Yellowstone Lake views, but the quality of food has improved. Try the breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches in the morning, or build-your-own burgers (bison, beef, chicken, Beyond Meat, or salmon), fried chicken, and salads later in the day.