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Surprise! Surprise! There is a fine restaurant located at Tuolumne Meadows, in a remote section of Yosemite National Park, named Tuolumne Meadows Grill. It's the only restaurant for miles around, and the food is surprisingly good, and the prices are quite reasonable, considering the restaurant's remote location.
Photo: Tuolumne Meadows Grill is located in a tent, near the Tuolumne Meadows visitor center, and it's co-located with the Post Office, and the General Store. At the end of the season, the restaurant, store and Post Office are dismantled, and the tent is taken down, as the area is inaccessible during the winter, due to heavy snow accumulation. We learned that September 28th was the last day the grill would be open during 2014, but the first snowfall doesn't typically start until late October.
Photo: We first started coming to Tuolumne Meadows in the early 1960's, and "back in the day," the grill offered indoor dining, but due to the small space the restaurant occupies, all dining is done outside. You enter the restaurant, make your selection, and pay the friendly cashier, and in return, you'll get a "number." I was elated to receive a new identity: "Order #165." You pick up your order to the right. Tips aren't required or expected, but the staff is friendly, and eager to please, so we felt a modest tip was in order.
Photo: The menu is quite limited, and very modest, but considering the fact that Tuolumne Meadows is quite remote, is within Yosemite National Park, and situated in the high Sierras at an elevation of 8600 feet, the selection is definitely adequate, and the prices are surprisingly reasonable.
Photo: Our friendly cashier, Monica, seems to pleased to have just rung up Michael's order. Photo gives a good idea of behind the counter, and offers a peek into the kitchen, through the window in the center of the photo.
Photo: The condiment selection is very basic: Ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. Ketchup must be the favorite, as it seems to be a 2-to-1 favorite over mustard.
Photo: Friendly Monica delivers our burgers. The date of our visit is Tuesday September 09, 2014, and it's 12:30 in the afternoon, exactly. After lunch, we drove up the Tioga Road, and parked near the entrance station, and headed up the Gaylord Lake trail.
Photo: Michael and I pose with our burgers. We have similar tastes, as we both ordered hamburgers. After receiving my burger, and observing orders that others had placed, I wished that I'd ordered fries with my burger.
Photo: The burger arrived open-faced from the kitchen, and garnishes include lettuce, tomato, onion, and a dill pickle slice. I've already applied mayonnaise and mustard to my burger. The meat patty is a quarter pound, and yes, it's grilled, not fried. The vegetables were fresh, and crisp, and the bun was fresh, soft and chewy. The burger was delicious, and considering the location of Tuolumne Meadows Grill, was a surprisingly good value. Dining is outside, and there are many picnic tables located near the restaurant. You have a spectaculor view of beautiful Tuolumne Meadows as you sit under the magestic lodgepole pine trees. In addition to the many human diners, there are many "wannabee" dining companions in the form of blue jays, black birds, Clark's nutcrackers and chipmonks. Guard your food, or one of the "wannabee" diners will be happy to steal your meal. Tuolumne Meadows Grill is the kind of restaurant to wake up to, or if you've spent a long day on the trail, to enjoy a meal at, before you head to your camp site. Good food, reasonable prices, and friendly people make Tuolumne Meadows Grill a great place to enjoy a delicious meal. Tuolumne Meadows Grill Copyright(c) 2014 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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