Dinner at the famous Mountain Room Restaurant in the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls is an experience you won’t likely forget. It wasn’t a perfect dinner but there were more than enough good qualities to make the total night enjoyable.
First off, as nice as the Mountain Room Restaurant is, allowing casual dress was a great option for the restaurant. The Ahwahnee Dining Room has a comparable menu, but the higher-level dress code can steer away people who are in a camping environment but want a decent meal for at least one night at Yosemite. When you enter the Mountain Room, the first thing you notice is the spectacular view (for which I forgot my camera. Ouch!). To the back of the room is a large open window that offers a magnificent shot of upper Yosemite Falls. It almost seems like the falls are indeed going to splash onto as you eat because the view is so clear.
The service we received was slightly better than o.k. Our waiter was very polite and detailed every time he visited the table, but he didn’t visit often enough. We were at the Mountain Room lobby waiting for it to open, so we were one of the first customers. However, my wife and I did notice that during the course of dinner a few of the meals were being taken back to the kitchen for replacements and incorrect orders. That seemed to occupy our waiter’s time.
Onto the menu: The Mountain Room is definitely fine dining. We were prepared for that and the prices didn’t seem too far out of range for what was expected. Several types of fish and meat dishes were offered such as the Pacific Yellow-fin and Pork Diane. Also, all the ingredients were local-grown in the California area. The menu also featured which wine pairings would be recommended for each dish. My wife ordered a chicken and penne dish while I ordered the flat-iron steak meal (medium well) complete with mushroom glaze, new potatoes and asparagus tips for $21.
The children’s meals gave us a bit of surprise for prices (up to $9 for some of them) but offered many options besides chicken nuggets and fries. Organic pasta with fresh marinara sauce and chicken breasts were featured. My daughter got the spaghetti and my son ordered the grilled cheese sandwich. The Mountain Room did not skimp on the kids!
When my steak arrived, it seemed a little smaller than I was expecting. There also wasn’t much to the sides offered in terms of serving size and the steak was cooked to almost well done. Upon first bite, however, I knew this little steak was going to fill my belly. Despite it being well done, there was almost no fat to the steak yet it was extremely tender and worked well with the glaze. I still could have used more potatoes but as we watched other plates were being taken back I didn’t want to wait.
My wife’s chicken-and-pasta dished faired better and looked very filling with it’s oversized mushroom slices and larger-than-life penne noodles. I had a piece of the chicken and it, too, was very tender and filled with flavor. The kid’s meals weren’t too bad, either. They finished every bite when I told them that ice cream was included as a dessert.
The dessert menu was generous with options. Mountain Mud pie, chocolate torte, and deep dish apple pie a la mode were up for grabs, but we chose the New York Style Cheesecake. It arrived with enough portions for two people. Since my wife is allergic to chocolate she asked if it could be replaced with a caramel topping. Our waiter obliged and surprised us with a caramel topping that was quite “loaded” with what tasted like Bacardi. This was the perfect way to end a meal.
Overall, I would recommend the Mountain Room Restaurant for a good night of dining in Yosemite. Get there well before the Mountain Room opens so you can avoid the rush and get the best seats for a view of the falls. You won’t waste a dollar for this fine dining experience in casual dress.
