Let's start with the good here...solid exceptional cookie pizza.
Now, the medium...super friendly servers, easy to get into after a long day in Yosemite given we were staying at Teyna.
And more medium...the overall food. It was just ok, not horrible by any means and not great. The wienerschnitzel was OK and I got the mashed potatoes but the fries I stole from my kidio were better! The wife had the Steak Frites. Both were missing something...hmmm...what could it be....flavor(!) or something, who knows, maybe something to give it a little...flavor! But it was all just "OK" and let me again say, all editable just not blow your socks off.
Oh, they have a Bar! That counts for something important, right!?!
This place is good if you are tired, want food and want to go to bed. Otherwise get off your lazy butt, go to Oakhurst and eat!
It took a while for them to figure out who was waiting our table, but once we had a waiter things proceeded nicely. Â
- Good bar; they made a very nice Martini
- Onion soup was very good
- Potstickers were OK; could have been cooked at higher heat
- Burger was fine
- Weinerschnitzel was a modest disappointement -- had a not-so-good lemon caper sauce on it and the breading was panko-esque, not traditional. Â Personally, if you're going to offer weinershnitzel, then do it right -- fine breading, and some sliced lemon on top.
Prices are high, as you might expect given that you are something of a food hostage unless you want to drive, potentially a long way, in some direction. Â The service was friendly -- very good, in fact -- perhaps because we had a pair of waiters (a real one serving us, followed by a traininee helping out).
Prices are very high, but options are limited in this area. Â I would recommend heading down to Oakhurst. Â
We were surprised when our food arrived in the room service trays, and sure enough the menu and prices were the same as the room service menu. Â So, little benefit to eating here as opposed to your room. Â I guess if you want to "Get out" that is fine. Â There were more items on this menu. Â
The food was okay, nothing special. Â I will do anything I can to avoid going back, which included having a very nice dinner the second night in Oakhurst.
We got in late after a long day in the park and were one of the only people still dining, but our waitress still managed to leave us unattended for long stretches of time, messed up both our drink and food orders, and in the end, the food was mediocre for the price anyway. Maybe it was just our server and the very late dinner time, but judging by the other reviews, this place knows it's one of the only options around and doesn't have any competition to keep them on their toes. Skip the food, just grab some drinks at the bar, at least the decoration is nice.
Review Source:I would give Jackalope's 3 1/2 stars.
We stayed at Tanaya Lodge for two nights and ate here on both. After reading all the reviews we were a little worried, but our dinner turned out fine. Yes, this place is expensive for the stuff it churns out, but I'd like to point out that Oakhurst is a 20 minute drive, if you really don't want to eat here, then drive out!
On the first night there, I ordered the BBQ Burger and my husband the California Burger with a side salad and sweet potato fries. The sweet potato fries were soggy and only so-so. The salad came with their house dressing, which was tasty. The burgers were both excellent. We asked for them medium, and they came medium. The meat was soft and flavorful. My husband's burger lacked a little salt, but that was easily rectified. What tied the whole meal together were the pickled peppers that came with both burgers. They were a little spicy, and the tangy flavor of the vinegar really enhanced the taste of the burgers. All in all, these burgers were as good as a lot of burgers I've eaten, and better than some big city places with comparable prices.
For dessert we ordered the cookie pizza. At least I think it was called that. It was a hot, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, served with ice cream and a fudgy sauce and it was divine! I highly recommend it. So good that the next night we were contemplating ordering one entree to share and then having two desserts.
The secong night, neither of us were in the mood for a burger and neither of us wanted to spend $35-$40 on a steak, so I ordered the Chopped Salad, and my husband the Club Sandwich. My salad was HUGE and very tasty. The lettuce and other veges were fresh-tasting and crispy. I would give this salad 4 stars only because the chicken that came with it was cold. If it had been warm, this salad would get 5 stars.
My husband's club sandwich was tasty but nothing out of the ordinary. It came with sweet potato fries, which tonight, were excellent - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and piping hot. Just the way we like them. The sandwich was big but a little dry. I wish it had come with those pickled peppers, that would have given it a really flavor.
After all that we were too full to eat dessert immediately, but after the cookie pizza I really wanted to try something else. Room service had already ended for the night, so we were wondering what to do. The waiter was really nice, and offered to put it on our bill at the restaurant and then bring it over to our room himself. But we didn't really want to drag his across the parking lot to the cottages, so we asked him to bring it out to us to go, which he very obligingly did. We ordered the Chocolate Bundt Cake (don't remember the name) and ate it about an hour and a half later. It was excellent too. Really dark and chocolate-y. Perfect. So nice that we finished it for breakfast the next morning! :)
So, to everyone who wonders if it's worth eating here - It's expensive! So if you don't want to spend $14-$18 per entree then drive out to Oakhurst. But the food was nice. Yes they are out in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no competition so I think they are entitled to price it however they want.
Perpetually understaffed - the restaurant will be 75% empty and you will still have to wait 45 minutes for a table. 4 years ago it wasn't as bad, maybe it's the economy, but it's totally ridiculous.
Food is typical bar food, not worth a 45 minute wait either. Drive down to Oakhurst instead.
This is the best bet for miles around. When choices are limited by the terrain, and I am glad they are, some people get extra grumpy, not me! I found (and this is not my first trip to this establishment) I have had better and I have had worse, and I am happy that they are in place. I pay extra for the privilege of the location. The staff who waited on us were very pleasant and happy to help. The Caesar salad was crisp an bathed in a nice dressing. The steak and shrimp and garlic mashed with grilled spring vegetables was all cooked properly and delivered promptly.  Anet commented quite favorably on  her apple rice burger! The beer choices were adequate, and and my ruby port was a nice finish. It is not a five star in the big city, in the woods it is a place you want to find. ( oh and try the old vine zinfandel on the wine menu it was very nice on our last trip)
Review Source:If you transported this place to any major city, it would go out of business in a week. Lackluster food, sub-par ingredients (iceberg lettuce!), and uninspiring choices rule the day.
Yet, it is not anywhere near a major city. So if you stay near the South Gate to Yosemite, you will likely eat here. And you will part with your $15 for a burger of sadness.
Must be nice being a monopoly.
Service was slow initially. Â We came to find out that was because they were greatly understaffed that night for servers. Â But our waiter was very polite. Â My wife and I had signed up for a night tour that was to start in 45 minutes from when we were seated, so we weren't sure if we would be able to eat it or take it with us. Â The food came out in 15 min easy. Â If they were hurting on wait staff, they certainly weren't hurting in the kitchen with that kind of turn around for a moderately busy night. Â
I had the BBQ burger. Â Much like most BBQ / western style burgers, this one was average. Â I did LOVE that these guys don't up-charge you for the sweet potato fries. Â
Anyway, we made our tour with plenty of time to spare, so I would definitely chose Jackalope over Sierra anyday.
Just finished dinner there tonight, and once again it was excellent.
As a tour bus driver, I have eaten here many times before and have never been
Disappointed. From the hostess to the server and bus boy, everyone made sure everything was OK.. My one complaint is the prices but the level
Of service makes up for it. Oh, and and any restaurant that plays Pink Floyd, is
Awesome.
The Tenaya offers three restaurants. Â This is by far the least expensive.
It has a neat sort of mountain pub atmosphere. Â Its decorated like a cabin, with ceiling and wall beams that look like trees, and lots of stuffed animals and bear rugs, antler chandeliers, that sort of thing.
We opted to eat here one time, because the drive to other options in Oakhurst is about a 30 mile round trip.
We arrived at about 5:15 and were promptly seated. Â Our waitress was very pleasant, and attentive, and took good care of us throughout the meal.
The food was blah. Â Yes its hotel food, and everytime I eat at a hotel restaurant I swear I will never do it again. Â I had the bison burger with sweet potato fries. Â The burger itself was cooked well, medium with a touch of pink, just how I ordered. Â But everything else, from the bun and toppings, to the fries was pretty awful.
The bun was a sort of sourdough biscuit, and not really a bun. It started off stale and tasteless, but got mushy about half way through. Â Interesting, as the meat was not really very juicy. Â The toppings on the burger consisted of a dill pickle, slice of red onion, and leaf of lettuce. Â Boring. Â And about the fries, let me just say I have had better frozen sweet potato fries from the grocery store than they serve at Jackalope's.
My wife also had a burger, and similar experience. Â
While eating I realized that the same kitchen serves all three of Tenaya's restaurants. Â Realizing that, I was very happy I didn't pick the higher end restaurant where entrees averaged about $30. Â My reasoning: Â Restaurants should maintain a certain level of quality. Â Either the customers in the high end place are served with higher standards, and they "dumb" down for the customers of the cheaper grill, or, the standards are just consistently poor. Â I think its probably the latter.
In summary, the atmosphere is nice, the service was very good, but the food was not too good. Â I only ate here once.
I've lived in the area for a couple years, and there aren't many decent restaurants offering delectable bites, but with this being a four-star hotel, I had pretty high expectations. The atmosphere of the hotel and Jackalope's is warm and cozy with log-cabin decor and a fire place, but the food wasn't that great and it took awhile for it to arrive at our table.
My husband and I went up for lunch around noon and decided to split an appetizer of the spicy chicken wings, as we'd heard from someone else they were tasty, as well as the philly cheese steak sandwich. We had to wait roughly 20 minutes for our appetizer which seemed a bit long. I will say that the chicken wings were good. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside with a spicy bite. My husband, who usually doesn't like chicken wings, really liked them. The philly cheese steak on the other hand was really disappointing, especially for being $15. Like other reviewers have noted, though, it's in a hotel in the middle of nowhere, so higher prices are to be expected. Â
The steak on the sandwich was tender, but had no seasoning. There were supposed to be onions, peppers and mushrooms, but I could barely find them on the sandwich, which might have been much improved with having a couple of other flavors besides unseasoned beef and bread. It was also overly greasy. I wound up not finishing my half of the sandwich because it was lackluster at best and pretty unenjoyable to eat. The salad that accompanied it might have been decent, but unfortunately it was drenched with dressing. Â
Overall, really disappointing for our first trip to this establishment. Might give it another try because of the atmosphere, but based on this experience, I won't have as high of expectations and definitely won't order the philly cheese steak again.
Jacalope's is a little pub like spot within the Tenaya Lodge. We came here for a light bite and cocktails after playing outside. We ordered the Chicken Lettuce Wraps and onion rings and a couple Hot Toddy's and the Hot Coco cocktail. The lettuce wraps were just OK nothing spectacular  but I wasn't expecting something amazon. It served it's purpose. We were a little hungry and it filled us up. The onion rings though were really good. I possibly gained 5 pounds on this holiday vakay and i certainly consumed my share of calories and fat here. Try the hot coco drink. They add rum, coco and butterscotch schnapps to it. So So So good.
Review Source:I love Tenaya lodge. Great location and lot of fun things to do. However  Jackalope's sucks. Super slow service with below average food. Most recent experience was yesterday. Went there for lunch around 1.30 hoping for a quick in and out. Took forever!!  We ended up leaving around 3.10.
The chicken lettuce cups was a joke. Everything we have eaten here ever has either been average or below average. Lucky they are monopoly and there aren't a lot of options in the area.
We ate here twice during out stay at the Tenaya. On both nights we had great service (Thanks Kyle and Jeremy!).
Of course it's going to be more expensive; it's in a remote area, in a HOTEL. Jeez, it's like some people have never eaten in a hotel before this. Anyway, the food is standard bar-type food: burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc. I ordered the fish and chips both nights. I think that they use Fat Tire beer batter for the fish. The fish portion was larger than I expected and really great, plus it included a salad! My dinner was a measly $16.95.
Try the Mulligitawny soup! It is this beautiful concoction of curry, veggies and coconut milk. It's pricey at $7 a cup, but it ranks up there with one of the best things I've ever eaten. *drool*
Shoot the jackalope and get it over with.
Yes, shoot the damn thing. Â And I don't even approve of guns. Â
The only reason I gave this place two stars (instead of one) is because it has a nice lodge, rustic atmosphere, with glowing fireplaces and cozy seating areas.
In my opinion, this place is still in business is only because it's located in the Tenaya Lodge, which is out in the middle of nowhere. Â They hold you captive, with no other food choices within 45 miles. Â So if you want to eat, the few places in the lodge are the only choices. Â Plus they can charge anything they want.
We ordered the potato skins and also the nachos, both sub par. Â The potato skins were dry and lackluster. Â The nachos were worse, topped with grainy mystery meat (jackalope?!?) and sparse dried cheese. Â Nothing tasted fresh in either dish. Â Worse, I felt like I'd swallowed a brick and was nauseated and bloated for the next 24 hours.
If you must eat there, I hope you can find better choices. Â I did notice that their little grocery market had Yoplait yogurt and bananas. Â That would have been much much better.
Had lunch and dinner while we stayed at Tenaya. Crab cakes were exceptionally good, salad with berries was really tasty, burgers were delish, chocolate creme pot was uber creamy goodness. The bar and patio were both pleasant. I love a nice bar and Jackalopes did not disappoint - woodsy, Native American theme, friendly knowledgable bar tenders (Jordan & Calvin) were a big plus for our Friday night dinner and drinks at the bar. Discovered an excellent new wine while there too - Idle Hour tempranillo - stopped in Oakhurst and picked up 6 bottles to take home.
Review Source:For being in a four star hotel the service is less than exceptional and it is WAY over priced. Â Don't expect free refills on your fountain drink or tea, they are $2.75 per refill. Â I had to get up and get my own menus and sugar. Â I'm guessing they charge an outrageous amount for burger and fries because they can because you are paying for easy access since there are not a lot of choices around, its certainly not because the service or the food are great.
Review Source:This restaurant is located inside the Tenaya Lodge......Great "mountainous decor"....large rocks, wooden  floor, fireplace, beamed ceilings, and a large irregular  bar.......I was waited on promptly and served promptly as well.....I had the California CheeseBurger which was served large slices of Avocado, choice of 3 cheeses, and bacon if wanted........I also had the French Onion Soup, which was topped with just the right amount of cheese.....this is a great place to eat, either before or after a days hike on the trails....
Review Source:Ok for being a bar within a hotel this place is pretty chill and laid back. I would go with the Jackalope burger which is basically a bacon cheeseburger and then just grab a beer or something. You are isolated in the middle of no where so within proximity of the hotel and the fact not much is around it's a pretty decent place with a laid back sports bar feel. The bar tender is really cool too. Like, if you are staying in the cottages you do not get a cork screw or bottle opener in the room. So if you buy a bottle of wine from outside, you can ask the bar tender here to open it and walk it back to your cottage (no charge). He's pretty cool. Some guests even ask him to take down the hung up jackalope and take a picture with it.
Review Source:It is what it is for being out in the middle of nowhere & not having other options readily available. Â Basic pub food with no flare & nothing special to recommend it. Â I was there for a week & ate the bbq chicken salad almost every day for lunch. Â It could have had more bbq sauce on the chicken & more dressing. Â The nachos were huge but overpowered by the chili that was dumped on them.
Review Source:Practically the same food as the Sierra Restaurant but slightly cheaper and open later! Â I wouldn't be surprised if the two restaurants shared the same kitchen because their menus have a lot of common dishes! Â I ate dinner here twice and they have all of the American basics like hearty Angus hamburgers, cold sandwiches, soups, and monstrous salads. Â They have some great appetizers that go well with a beer like their buffalo wings. Â The other plus about this restaurant vs. Sierra is that the wait time for your food is shorter too!
I got a hearty Mushroom Swiss burger ($12.95) yesterday and devoured it! Â It was the yummiest 1/3 lb. Angus burger I could ask for after a day of bike riding through Yosemite Valley. Â The burgers come with your choice of fries, side salad, or potato salad. Â
Today I had the Steak Salad ($16.95) with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and blue cheese. Â Their salads are definitely large enough to satisfy your hunger. Â
Some of the other dishes we have ordered were Fish and Chips, Turkey Sandwich, California Burger, Chop Salad (my dad didn't like it), and BBQ Burger. Â We got a good sampling of their entrees and have been pretty consistent.
They have a lot of the same desserts that are served at the Sierra Restaurant next door. Â I would recommend the Chocolate Chip "Pizza" to anybody, whether or not they like chocolate! Â I wouldn't call myself a chocolate person but I have had this dessert two nights in a row! Â A warm chocolate chip cookie is freshly baked to order and is served with fudge, ice cream, and whipped cream. Â I asked for the ice cream on the side on my second visit so that it doesn't melt on top of the cookie.
The bar is equipped with two flat screen TVs to watch sports and the bar offers local beers as well as wines and other spirits. Â A great hangout after your nature filled day.
Warning: They play loud Classic Rock in Jackalope's. Â But it matches the outdoorsy feel to the bar. Â There is an awesome jackalope mounted behind the bar and a bear skin (with head) on the opposite wall. Â It is kinda sad but kinda cool haha.
I would definitely prefer to eat at Jackalope's over any other restaurant in the hotel because of the relaxed atmosphere and because it is open late until 11pm. Â And instead of bread they give you some home made chips!
I'd give it 3.5 rounded up to a 4.
Edit: Â I realize now that this place still isn't very cheap at all... just compared to Sierra Restaurant next door. Â The cheapest option is Timberloft Pizza which is located by the cottages! Â I didn't get to try it because I didn't know about it until the day I left! Â Save money and go to TIMBERLOFT!