11 Best Restaurants in The Southern Sierra, California

Locals pack this family-friendly, industrial-chic restaurant to socialize and savor small-lot beers, crafted on-site, along with tasty meals. The creative pub fare runs a wide gamut, from thin-crust brick-oven pizzas to fish tacos, fish-and-chips, and vegan black-bean burgers.

Warm up by a crackling fire in the stone fireplace while fueling up on healthy, made-from-scratch breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes at this ski-lodge-style eatery. The flexible menu allows for lots of choice, including a DIY breakfast with more than 20 mix-and-match items, five types of hash, keto selections, grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, burgers, and soups. Come for bingo on the third Tuesday of every month.

Smack in the heart of the Village, this bustling restaurant greets you with the sound of martini shakers and the smell of Italian classics prepared by Food Network/James Beard finalist/Michelin-starred brothers Michael and Bryan Voltaggio. Grab a table near the swanky bar, or nestle into one of the globe domes on the patio. Here, servers deliver piping hot plates of lamb ravioli, crispy octopus with creamy gnocchi, or Voltaggi-O’s—a nod to the childhood classic SpaghettiOs (only the brothers’ version is made with homemade annelini pasta and a giant meatball). For shared plates start with the caprese, prosciutto di parma, or the white sauce pizza topped with mozzarella and fontina. In the open kitchen, you can catch a glimpse of the brick oven (imported from Italy) that cranks out consistent perfection.

Come hungry to this bustling restaurant, which is known, appropriately enough, for its burgers as well as its mountainous portions. Grab a table on the diner-esque ground floor, or head upstairs to the modern dining room with a full bar. At lunch try the sourdough patty melt, at dinner the pork ribs; salads are great all day. The seasoned French fries are delicious.

With elaborate chandeliers sculpted from deer antlers, the lodge-style restaurant at Ducey's attracts boaters, locals, and tourists with its lake views and standard lamb, beef, seafood, and pasta dishes. It's also open for breakfast: try the lobster-crab cake eggs Benedict, huevos rancheros, or the Rice Krispies–crusted French toast.

Hungry travelers and locals feast on fresh, healthy, cooked-to-order comfort food at this casual café at Lakeview Lodge, near the Tioga Road and Highway 395 junction. The menu changes daily, but you can count on items like waffles and frittatas for breakfast; paninis, sandwiches, salads, rice bowls, and soups for lunch; and three special dinner entrées, perhaps locally caught fish, chicken potpie, or braised short ribs.

The view's the draw at this roadhouse that overlooks the Kaweah River as it plunges out of the high country. The Gateway serves everything from osso buco and steaks to shrimp in Thai chili sauce; dinner reservations are essential on summer weekends.

Brewing since 1995, this Village operation lures hungry patrons with 14 craft beers on tap, elevated grub from the on-site restaurant, tasting flights, a contemporary vibe at two spacious bar areas, and a beer garden. The dining menu changes constantly, but reflects a locals' twist on pub food with pork belly tacos, black-currant-and-goat-cheese flatbread, or house-made sweet-potato tots. The burgers, topped with smoked gouda and kale, keep those lines long during ski season, but it’s worth the wait. You can pass the time in the game room on the bottom floor, or watch a match on the top level framed with big-screen TVs.

This well-run sandwich joint satisfies carnivores and vegetarians alike with crispy-fresh ingredients prepared with panache. Depending on your preference, the centerpiece of the Bull's Eye sandwich, for instance, will be roast beef or a portobello mushroom; whichever you choose, the accompanying flavors—of ciabatta bread, horseradish-and-garlic mayonnaise, roasted red peppers, Havarti cheese, and spinach—will delight your palate.

This might be the only gas station in the United States serving craft beers and lobster taquitos, but its appeal goes beyond novelty. Order at the counter, and grab a seat inside, or sit at one of the picnic tables on the lawn outside and take in the distant view of Mono Lake.

A passionate baseball fan, chef Matt Toomey designed this casual space near the Village Gondola to resemble a dugout, and decorated it with baseball memorabilia. Swing by pre–outdoor adventure for coconut mascarpone pancakes or soft bagels topped with smoked trout and chipotle cream cheese. Later in the day, fill up on buffalo meat loaf, seafood jambalaya, or a New Zealand elk rack chop. You can also get a taste of Toomey’s at home: its signature seasoning is sold online.