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Very cute center! A lot of things to see and do. Ordered a warm sandwich , piglet pretzel sandwich It was good, everything was fast. You can tell it was homemade. It's a cute place to visit
Hilmar Cheese Company Visitor Center is a good stop to consider, especially if you like cheese (there are 3 cheeses you can sample in the cafeteria). My husband and I made a stop here this past Thursday afternoon, on our drive back down towards Los Angeles. We came by around 12:45 pm and were able to find parking right in front of the visitor center. We took the self tour and read all the boards, which lead upstairs. Downstairs you can find the cafeteria, where we ended up having lunch. We ordered: Fish & Chips Daily Special, $12.99 prior to tax- My husband decided to order this meal, which came with 2 pieces of fish and a side of fries and tartar sauce. I did not have any of his fish but my husband thought it was just average. The fries were okay, but were not hot. Light & Tasty Meal, $7.49 prior to tax- This meal comes with a salad and a soup of your choice. I ended up choosing cheese chowder. Originally I had ordered a chef salad and decided to also get a soup. The employee taking our order had asked if I would like to have the light and tasty meal since it has both so I decided on ordering that instead. The portion for this meal was the perfect size for me. I liked that the salad was about half of the plate but the salad could have been better with more of the dark green leafys and less of the cheap iceberg lettuce. The cheese chowder was served nice and hot. It is definitely a very nice flavor and because it is a little on the rich side, the portion size was just perfect for me. I also liked the 3 slices of bread that it was served along side with too. Slice of Cheese Pie, $4.30 after tax- We took this this go and didn't eat this until a five hours later (we had a cooler with us so it was kept cold). The cheese pie was creamy, although the slice was pretty small. My husband and I both liked it. --------------------------- (Total= $26.37, after tax) Wait time for our food was probably about 15 minutes after ordering. We ended up sitting outside in the covered patio, although there is also plenty of indoor seating as well. This was a nice visit to have and would recommend this place to anyone. Even if you don't like cheese that much, you can learn about the process to make cheese and try their in house ice cream.
What a fun experience. I brought my 3 kids here for a homeschool field trip yesterday. We did the ice cream making & tour experience that was $4 per person. We started out by watching an informative video about how they make cheese at Hilmar Farms. We then went upstairs to the educational area where we learned a lot about the dairy process and cheese making in general. It was very interactive with cool stations along the way and a bunch of photo opportunities for the kids. Natalia was really informative and tried to make things fun for the kids and keep them engaged. After a brief explanation about each of the stations, we could go to upstairs. She brought us all into the classroom area where each of us were given a stainless steel canister and instructions on how to shake this canister to make our own vanilla ice cream. Natalia did a good job of incorporating different shaking techniques and songs to make things fun for the kids. The ice cream was actually pretty good and we've made homemade ice cream before ourselves. After we got done eating our ice cream, we toured the upstairs area a bit more where we were able to take a bunch of pictures and wave to the factory workers that we could view from above where they were making 700lb blocks of cheese. My kids thought it was awesome that the factory workers down below kept waving up to my kids. At the end of our tour we ended up going downstairs and getting a bunch of samples of cheese which were really good. My kids really liked the squeaker cheese. Then we went outside and toured their grounds where they have a huge mural for a photo opportunity and a waterfall and stream area you can walk around. We were here for about an hour and 45 minutes total. We were pretty bummed that we weren't able to do the cheese making experience, which we would love to do (maybe next time.) All in all, it was a fun, informative trip that my kids loved.
Holy cow! Based on the cheese chowder and brown cow milkshake alone, this place gets 5 stars! I was here for a 2nd grade field trip. It was a lovely experience.
If you want to buy cheese, or even stop for lunch, you don't have to buy the tour. The visitor center acts as a large gift shop, with cheese, wine, cheesecake, sandwiches, Dreyer's ice cream, a good selection of chi-chi jellies, and cow art. The sharp cheddar is the best in the Central Valley. Respect the heat warning when pepper jack is one of the sample cheeses. At the start of my sample piece, I thought "eh, it's not that hot." By the last of it, my mouth was on fire. Do get ice cream to get over that experience: they will let adults buy a child-size serving that's the equivalent of a single scoop at most places. Pleasant rustic ambience, nice staff, great selection of cheese.
Wow! Surprised I didn't write a review for this little cheese factory in the little town of Hilmar,CA since I been here twice! First two times I came on a custom tour bus and this was one of the stops. If you don't live out here, you would not know about this palace. It is near Turlock and Modesto, CA. This is a nice place because before the pandemic 2019, they would offer a self guided tour on the two floors of the visitor center. We also had a guide that came onto our tiny tour bus to drive around to the back where trucks fill up with milk and then drive off into the sunset. It was nice to learn how a cheese factory works from the cow and processing milk to make cheese! Boy do I love cheese! Give me cheese, and I be your buddy for life! Ha! Ha! Ha! Just call me by my nickname, "Mousey". I think this is one of The few working cheese factories that are open to the public. They have a small cafe in the back and the grill cheese is excellent for lunch and their slice of cheese cake is great! Order anything with cheese and it's great! There are other things to window shop like candy, jams and other food items and non-food items to browse. Nice little, peaceful place. Outside the main entrance if you walk to the side there's a mini park with a waterfalll is nice to walk around. Last year someone got me a whole cheesecake! Not bad. The homemade crust is unique and I can't tell what it is, but still okay. It's always nice to support local businesses when I can and if I am in this area.
Amazing food in the restaurant Crystal clean facility beautifully laid out kids learn and enjoy about cheese and all the different factors of cheese and especially savor and remember the moments like my granddaughter from two years ago making and enjoying ice cream. I don't know how anybody can't rate this a five star compared to any other restaurant or manufacturing plant in the area. The variety of food to purchase is vast employees are all friendly and helpful and my granddaughter and I had another memorable moment in our travel exploration. I highly recommend it just for a stop in your many travels but especially for your children to learn how and where things are made rather than you get it at the grocery store.
I think HCC is a nice place BUT I do feel they may not be "in-touch" with Customer Appreciation. Our daughter visited from Manteca and was adamant about getting some Cheese from Hilmar Cheese Company. She spent at least $100. We spent $25. I ask the person helping us if there was some sort discount and she said No. I am thinking isn't there a cheese company on Hwy 120? There was about 4 other customers present so clearly HCC could use some more customers and a 10% or 20% discount would possibly encourage the buyer to spent more and definitely will share the message multiple time. Give a little Hilmar Cheese Company, seriously there is an expiration date on and opportunities.
We came here for a group tour. The tour guide was nice and friendly and all of the kids and adults loved the ice cream making. They have lots of cheese samples and a cute gift shop. The gift shop is very expensive. The cheese is priced well. I love the variety. The food here is made to order and really good. There was also some delicious caramel chocolate chip cookies. Overall this place was really pretty and we will be back.
First time here and cashier was rude and very unprofessional and unhelpful. Definitely not what I was expecting in service. Food is good but may not go back because of the service. Update. Manager messaged me to confirm the associate in the picture is the associate that was rude and told me they would follow up with her. I may try it again later but definitely not getting the pb&j and bacon again. Wasn't all that.
3 years ago
15 years ago
Hilmar is located, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere. During wet months it can be a beautiful drive. Green pastures and meandering livestock makes for a great backdrop. Hilmar has done a beautiful job with their facility and visitor's center. I came here 20 some odd years ago with my parents and remember it as a small store front with a few refrigerator cases of block cheese and gift baskets. They have since done quite the upgrade. It reminded me of some beautiful Napa estate wineries. Inside you'll find a fantastic selection of their own cheeses, plus a wide variety of other local (and not so local) specialty cheeses. There is also a nice selection of California wines. It's a nice stop if you're traveling the 99. A little east of the 99, it's not too far off the beaten path, but still a nice side excursion. Check their website for tours and classes. read more
5 years ago
5 years ago
8 years ago
My son went here for his field trip. It was a couple kindergarten classes. I was chaperone. The kids had tons of fun. There was alot of information given out that I didnt even know about cows, milk and cheese. That was awesome. BUUUTT, It was sooooooo hot upstairs! Omg... very warm. They shud try and do something about that. Also, they had us going up and down and up and down the stairs. I feel like it shud be better organized. The flow of the presentation and tour should flow better. I also think that more should be offered for the kids. They get to make ice cream which is cool, BUT that's thee only cool thing there was. Other than that they stayed in a confined place and put on a costume once. But that was it. Side note, the cheese they gave us to taste was BOMB BOMB BOMB!!!!!!! lol I have eaten there in the past at the small restaurant down stairs and it was sooooooo fresh and yummy!!! read more
The visitor center here is much larger than we expected. The cheese store however was a little disappointing. While they have a good variety of local (Californian) cheeses, we didn't find enough from their own company. If youre a fan of cheese curds don't miss the squeakers here! ($3.73 for our large container). It's an easy stop off the 99. We missed the exit (saw the sign a minute too late) but took some back roads through farm land and check out the unexpectedly beautiful homes of the Hilmar area. We finally arrived at the Cheese company - a beautiful waterfall and creek runs around the outside of the place. That was nice, but I really was hoping to try and purchase a variety of their cheeses. read more
9 years ago
8 years ago
Nice spot to stop on your roadtrip. Teaches you about how cheese is made, all kinds of goodies. Some locally made. Clean and not too busy. read more
8 years ago
We weren't sure what to expect of the escape room, but it ended up being an epic experience... some would even say legendairy! read more
9 years ago
16 years ago
Open to the public. Indoor & outdoor seating. Wine & cheese for sale. And a Peets Coffee inside for your caffeine cravings. I recommend the Turkey Pesto Sandwich. It is delicious! read more
What a great place to stop. Cheese factory. Lots to eat here. Lots to see. We stopped here for a quick sandwich as we were waiting for our meeting. The grilled cheese and ice cream was great. It was beautiful outside so we sat outside and enjoyed beautiful weather. The club sandwich was great as well. There is plenty of parking. Lots of candy, cheese, and jerky. They also have a place where you can see how the cheese is made. Interesting to see how it's all made. The grounds around are beautiful and it's a very nice place to visit. read more
9 years ago
9 years ago
9 years ago
Hands down the best grilled cheeses ever!!! My mouth is in heaven! We tried all three. My favorite was the bacon and vintage grilled cheese. We also tried the 4 cheese grilled cheese and the pb&j with bacon grilled cheese. All were delicious!!! read more
9 years ago
9 years ago
Had fun at Hilmar cheese factory. Ate a half turkey sandwich with a cup of the Chicken tortilla soup. Finished things off with a brownie cream cheese bite everything was moist and had good flavor. We were happy read more
9 years ago
Had a fun time here spent about and hour to an hour and a half. Get there before 11 or call ahead to ask about any events because the upstairs gets closed after 11 if there is. The upstairs was pretty neat got to see factory workers and a fake cow milking. The shop was really nice, got a punny t shirt. The outside is so nice too! Loved the waterfall. Only reason for 4 star and not 5 is because my sandwich was messed up. read more
6 years ago
We had a little time to kill before our football game at Hilmar high so we stopped by the Hilmar cheese factory. We didn't have time for the tour but stopped in the visitor center to get some sandwiches and check out the lobby. There is many stuff to choose from to candies and treats to of course many cheeses to choose from. They have a deli inside and Petes coffee with double rainbow ice cream as well. The sandwiches were really good although they were a little skimpy with the meat. We both ordered the turkey bacon cheese on a croissant, comes with either pears, apple or chips on the side. It's a great stop if your driving through the small town of Hilmar. read more
6 years ago
14 years ago
8 years ago
13 years ago
If you love cheese, this is the place to be. They have lots of samples and variety of different cheeses available to the public to purchase. I tend to go in there, walk around, get the samples and load up on my stash of chipotle cheddar 1lb blocks. They also have a very delicious pesto cheese that I would recommend to anyone. Walking into the visitor center you will find that there is plenty of parking and a nice little waterfall on the side where at times I see kids throwing rocks in there haha. The place is two stories and you are able to walk around and learn more about how cheese is made. Upstairs you are able to peek into the factory where you can kindly wave at the workers there. The staff is helpful and friendly as well. During my last visit I was looking for the pesto cheese and one of the girls was kind enough to look into if they were maybe out of stock (which they were womp womppp). I had a salami filled with some sort of creamy and amazing cheese. I couldn't figure out what kind of cheese it was and they were quick to help me out and show me where I could purchase it as well. They also have a few bottles of wine, sell freshly made sandwiches and even coffee. Don't forget to try the squeakers... the squeaky cheese. You will find all sorts of cheese here that is fresh and affordable (sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, pepper jack, pesto, garlic, etc) read more
9 years ago
16 years ago
15 years ago
My husband and I took the back roads on our way to Angel's Camp. We spotted this place, and decided to pop in for a look-see. We planned to eat lunch in Oakdale, but when I saw the Chicken, Apple, Fontina Pannini sandwich, I had to order one. It was delicious, for under $7.00. The staff is super friendly, too. We took a self-guided tour upstairs, that has some great exhibits about dairies, and it was fun to peek into a portion of the cheese factory. We learned some interesting new facts about making cheese. Downstairs, we bought a couple of their cheese, to bring with us on our vacation. They were excellent! If you're ever passing by here, it's a nice place to eat, shop and take pit stop, before heading on wherever you are going. read more
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More info about Hilmar
9001 Lander Ave
Hilmar, CA 95324
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(209) 656-1196
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http://www.hilmar.com
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Is this place dog friendly?
We have a park with picnic area and pets are welcome. Only service animals inside the visitor center. Thank you and hope to see you soon.
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