I hung out here with a local so we got extra special service, but that was only after my friend announced that he was a local, before that, the service was still great. We did not eat - only visiting a watering hole.
I went in off season so it was not crowded and we got a seat right next to the fireplace. Awesome. It was 38 degrees outside.
I highly recommend going to Yosemite in off days and seasons. Its much more pleasant to do just about everything.
This bar is the place to be on  a Yosemite evening, particularly in the Winter. After we were given a really bad room at the Yosemite Lodge, we couldn't wait to get out of the room and somewhere else (it was 7 at night, we did hike during the day). The Mountain Lodge is a good sized room with a decent sized bar. It has a great fireplace and a friendly clientele that's a mix of tourists, hikers, skiers and DNC employees enjoying a night off. They have a decent beer selection including some local brews and the classic set of cocktail offerings. We were surprised to discover that the Ahwahnee Bar is more of a casual dining room and not a proper bar befitting the character of the hotel so if you're in Yosemite and looking for a place to kick back at night, the Mountain Room is the place.
Review Source:There are limited options in Yosemite for evening entertainment, so this is definitely a better place to go at night.
Negatives: Â Not a large food selection. Â Don't try to eat dinner here--you won't be full from the lite-fare and the hearty meals are just carted over from Mountain Room Restaurant without a reduction in price. Â Sometimes they don't schedule enough waitresses to handle the crowds. Â If you see the place packed, be prepared to wait for someone to help you--it'll be a while.
Positives: Â
(1) Cocktails
--Their Butternut Embrace is a hot chocolate with hazelnut and butter schnapps and it tastes delicious.
--Their Hot Apple Cider with rum is another winner. Â
(2) S'mores
--It's a fun snack/activity. Â They give you a plate with one Hershey bar, about 4 graham crackers, several marshmallows, and skewers, and then you get to roast the marshmallows yourself and create your treat over the fireplace.
(3) Atmosphere
--Much nicer than the cafeteria and a nice place to relax after a long day.
Horrible food! My friend and I ordered a turkey sandwich and an Italian sandwich from here one night last week and it was horrendous! The French roll was OLD and completely tasteless. The lettuce was disgusting...limp and brown in spots. The meat and cheese came right out of a package. Seriously, anyone can do better than this...it just makes no sense! Come on Yosemite Mountain Room Lounge!!
Review Source:After a full day of hiking all my friend and I wanted to do was rest and not be surrounded by a lot of people. Unfortunately, the lounge was packed, so I was hoping I could get food to go. I ended up getting a turkey sandwich and an Italian meat sandwich. They tasted day old, and if I wasn't horribly hungry they would have gone in the trash. The lettuce was limp, and the bread was tasteless. The only nice thing about this place was the waiter that helped me.
Review Source:I went here with my wife and daughters (16 & 13). Â It was a Wednesday night in early April (not anywhere near busy season). Â the service was HORRIBLE. Â The waiter we had was covering the hole room and was clearly overwhelmed. Â The food was pretty crappy too. Â My wife got the "famous" chili in a breadbowl. Â It looked like canned chile and was served in a china bowl. Â The balance of our meals were not much better. Â The Sierra Nevada draft I got was the best part of the meal. Â
If you want bad food, high prices and poor service....stop in here.
I went here with my dad and had a great time...indeed it was very packed but the atmosphere wasduring the baseball playoffs and it was fun.Drink prices were ok..decent food was ok.Just good ambience when your at a bar in the woods.Where else do you walk out of a bar and see millions of stars in the sky and the smell of pine needle.OMG.enjoy
Review Source:What a fun place after a day of hiking!!!! Â We ordered an Italian sandwich, a Brie cheese platter and the boyfriend had Stella Artois while I enjoyed a beautiful bold Red. Â The fire was roaring, the World Series was on TV and the Giants was winning. :( Â I'm a Texan at heart. Â Â After the game, a cool band played an eclectic mix of rock, blue grass and oldies. Â The people were chilled, geniune and fun. Â There were some pretty entertaining dancing on the dance. Â Afterward we walk in the beautiful moonlight back to our car for the drive back to our tent. Â Cool Place!!!!
Review Source:Since the little tvs in the room don't get any sports (i think this was a plot by the lodge, lol) we went to the lounge. Great selection of beer and drinks and one night enjoyed dinner here, the chili bread bowl and artichoke dip with pita chips, apple almond pastry for dessert, yum! Â Nice plasma tvs that felt like home. The fire was roaring the night we had dinner, very cool. Both nights (weeknights) we came in it was hard to find a table, jam packed! The food was actually cheaper than the weird cafeteria food court and much better ambiance! Was fun walking back to our room from the lounge. Oh, the service was wayyyyy slow, but hey it's relaxing time, who's in a rush?!
Review Source:This is just what the name says: a lounge. Â It's a place to relax after a day of hiking, sit by the fire in Winter or wait for your table at the nearby Mountain Room Resaurant to be ready. Â It's not a night spot. Â If you are looking for a party atmosphere, The Curry Village pizza deck is a better place. Â The atmosphere here is quieter. Â This is a place for relaxing, chatting and maybe watching some TV or playing a card or board game. Â The drinks are generally good depending on who the bartender is at the time but they are somewhat expensive and often a bit weak. Â The food is passable but this is not primarily a food service unit and service can be slow if it is busy. Â
Company policy is to card everyone so expect to be carded whatever your apparent age. Â You can thank the Department of the Interior for this one. Â If you are carded, they *can't* serve you until they see your ID regardless of any other factor so there's no point in arguing about it. Â This is true everywhere in the park that sells alcohol. Â
TVs here are usually playing some sort of sports since most of the people who come in looking to watch something are looking to watch some sporting event. Â There is always someone looking for 'the game'. Â Tip: don't just walk in and ask if the bartender can put 'the game' on. Â Be more specific.
They didnt have my ginger cider (whaaa...), but they made a good hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps. Â And the guacamole and chips hit the spot. Â I know, odd combo, but after hiking all day this was a fantastic meal! Â Server was attentive and brought out our drinks and food quickly. Â Thanks!
Review Source:I'm not looking for a place to party. I'm looking for a place to relax and chill before /after dinner/hike/ranger talk. Our waitress was awesome, the roaring fire was comfy and my Grapefruit drop with homemade sweet-sour was super delicious! Â Had to have 2! Â
-1 star for blaring TV with sports crap. Ugh.
+ 1 star for 80's station that played "Romancing the Stone"! Â The song!
Don't expect much and you'll be ok.
Service was terrible. Food was decent.
Our server would not bring anything to our table unless we asked twice. No utensils. No napkins. She brought out cold soup that we had to request be heated up. I ordered coffee with cream and sugar. Of course, I didn't get the cream or sugar. I don't think it's good service when you have to get up multiple times to request something basic.
Wow I must not have had the same chili Rebecca did. I give three stars for atnmosphere and ambience, but the food lacked to me. I had a dinner salad and the famous chili in sourdough bread. Â The salad was just OK at best and I had to ask for more dressing which was just another packet. I've had much better chili from a can, it seemed very dry and no spice at all. I asked for hot sauce and all they had was tabasco. I'd go again, but look around for what others are enjoying to eat.
Review Source:Good place overall with yummy drinks. I imbibed some coffee/alcohol concoction that made me feel oh so stellar and ate some fantastic chili beans served in a sourdough bowl.
The only drawback (and this is a biggie) are the uptight bartenders. Now I'd like to think I look young enough to pass for someone of the under 21 set but the mirror each morning reminds me otherwise...... soooo when I moseyed up to the bar and realized that I had forgotten my DL back at the car I didn't think it was too big a deal. Well the bartender did think it was a big deal and refused to serve me anything (even food) until I produced the magical little plastic card for his viewing pleasure.