Shoot, I forgot to take a pic. I am local and had a family member who started working here. VIBE: I honestly had never realized this place was here. First impression, way better than I expected. The interior is from the 50's. Some beautiful stained glass, wood, and a view of the surrounding forest. That comfy yellow-toned lighting, and some decent playlist faintly In the background. It's nice and warm too. But not like too warm. STAFF: Lindsay and Miley were wonderful. Smiles, very friendly, so attentive to all of the visitors. Nice, calm yet energetic. Good teamwork. 11/10 here. FOOD: Lindsay mentioned the Pasta Primavera first when I asked her what she liked here. That is what I got, added chicken. I'm a sucker for a little edible flower garnish, so that was a cool touch. And it was a very good dish, I've eaten almost all of it as I am writing this. FINAL THOUGHTS: Miley brought me my very own bottle of water, which I appreciated. It sort of catered to my lingering. Slowly finishing my food. Reading and soaking in the sunset blue pouring into the seats near the window. I'd come back :) read more

We were guests at the hotel and were looking forward to the convenience of having dinner just outside our door after a long day of hiking in Yosemite. When we walked over around 6:30 p.m., I was encouraged to see several empty tables and assumed we'd be seated fairly quickly. Instead, when we walked inside, we found a group of six people standing near the entrance waiting to be seated for their reservation. They looked understandably confused and told us they had already been waiting about 20 minutes without seeing a single employee. We joined them and waited another 10 minutes or so before a server finally appeared. Rather than greeting everyone or apologizing for the wait, she came out seeming visibly irritated and said she had no idea who had already spoken to someone, so somebody needed to speak up and tell her who was next. The group ahead of us explained that they had been there first and had already been waiting quite a while. The server responded with an attitude that immediately rubbed us the wrong way. Watching how the situation was handled--especially when these guests had done nothing more than patiently wait for their reservation--was enough of a red flag for us. At that point, we decided we'd rather find dinner elsewhere and left without eating. It's unfortunate because the location couldn't have been more convenient, and we genuinely wanted to eat here. But the combination of the disorganization and the way waiting guests were spoken to made us feel like leaving was the better choice. read more

Lyndsie the amazing bartender, Dawn and the Restaurant manager customer service skill set was over the top amazing! They welcomed us with open arms! Made the best gin and tonics .... Assisted us in our food choices and a side of history of the Narrow Gauge Inn. read more

Lyndsie made our visit to Narrow Gauge Buffalo Bar, just above Oakhurt on Hwy 41, a fabulous experience! She was friendly, welcoming, and genuinely entertaining, making us feel right at home from the moment we sat down on that bar stool. Her gin and tonics were absolutely amazing - perfectly balanced. Her menu recommendations were spot on. It's obvious she knows the menu and takes a lot of pride in helping guests have a great time. We'll definitely be back at the end of the month, and hope Lyndsie will be there again. Ok, the manager also came by twice to check on us, and another server, Dawn, was super friendly as well. read more

Narrow Gauge Restaurant - Half Rack Lamb Chops, Yukon mashers and fresh veggies. - New American Near Me - Oakhurst, California

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Slow service even tho not crowded. It took 15-20 minutes before we could order, and I had to ask where are server was. We could hear staff chatting in the kitchen while we waited. Food was served not hot enough, and the salmon was significantly undercooked. The cheesecake dessert was good but was just a small sliver. read more

Excellent! What a beautiful setting. Top notch food. Great service. So special and wonderful! read more

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Stopped in to meet my parents for dinner while camping in Wawona. Fun boutique style hotel in fish camp, right outside of Yosemite. Fun atmosphere and good food. The service was friendly. Definitely a fun spot to stop. read more

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Wow! Came to Yosemite for a couple of days and decided to eat dinner at Narrow Gauge. What a great experience. Service by the GM Robert and our server Kevin was exceptional and treated us like family. Wife had the Rib eye and I had the Sea Bass. The food was fresh, hot, flavorful and amazing. I would highly recommend this gem of a place to eat and drink. read more

Atmosphere could best be described as cozy hunting lodge, which is perfect for the location. The food is best described as comfort style, but it wasn't over done (not too heavy or greasy, it was good quality). The pot pies and spaghetti were delicious, as were the brussel sprouts and pear salad. The waitress was very friendly. We were there for spring break, and they had just opened back up after being closed due to the winter storms. I was really glad that they did, because the meal was the best that we had on our trip! read more

The atmosphere is very woodsy and more like a hunting lodge. What a great surprise the carrot ginger soup was! It was hands-down some of the best soup I've ever had. The wedge salad was delicious and fresh, the pot pie was a little on the small side, but freshly made. Cheesecake was awesome. The service was outstanding! Highly recommend. read more

Narrow Gauge Restaurant - Carrot ginger soup - New American Near Me - Oakhurst, California

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Food and service was incredible, highly recommend this spot if you're visiting Yosemite National Park.

Staff were fantastic! Quaint ambiance reflective of the environment outside. Definitely recommend the lamb chops and rib eye !! read more

Best food hands down! If you're looking for flavor and a place to call home?! Me and my wife stayed here and I had to try the steaks!! Hands down the best place we have visited and best place to sleep!!! Food is amazing!!! read more

Narrow Gauge Restaurant - Fireplace - New American Near Me - Oakhurst, California

Had a wonderful experience here! The interior is very cozy and welcoming and the food is good. We especially loved the samosas appetizer and the chicken pot pie. Kevin took great care of us. We were shocked it wasn't more crowded on a Saturday night! Would highly recommend for anyone passing through or staying in Yosemite. It seems they've rebranded and online they call the restaurant "Aroma Tavern and Buffalo Bar" - rest assured it's all the same spot. read more

I had a wonderfully Smokey smoked old Fashioned and then a really good/huge double stacked burger (happy hour special). My dinner partner had the salmon. I tried a piece and was blown away with the subtle Smokey & Chipotle flavor. Fantastic! Service was top notch, as well. read more

Excellent food and service. Decor was perfect for where we were at. We ordered spaghetti and meat balls, stroganoff, shepherds pie and pear salad. All very good, happy we found this place much better than the restaurant in Tenaya. read more

Great little place to get a nice meal, the atmosphere was very relaxing and welcoming and the servers extremely helpful and accommodating! Will come again :) read more

We have always loved having dinner at the Narrow Gauge restaurant. We have been there many times over the last 30 years. Unfortunately The restaurant has gone downhill. Waitstaff seemed annoyed that had to wait on you. As we were leaving, a couple asked us if there was anyone to seat you. I went to find the hostess and waitstaff -they were busy on their phones. Food was subpar. I was sadden to see what happened to this gem. I hope it can turn around. Skip this restaurant and go to Tenaya lodge for dinner read more

Enjoyed an excellent dinner at this rustic, historic, warm and comfortable restaurant. Our server, Kat, was attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. She made sure all our dining needs were met and worked In great harmony with her team to provide excellent and quality service. My husband enjoyed the filet mignon special, and loved it. Cooked just right to perfection and full of flavor. Nice presentation. I ordered the salmon special, and was quite pleased with my selection. We will definitely go back! Being so close to Yosemite, I'd recommend making a reservation. read more

An old school atmosphere with solid and tasty food offerings. Servers are friendly but wait times can be inconsistent. The berry cake was really good. read more

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Quiet little place with happy workers and decent rooms. Very comfortable beds and good sheets, showers take a bit to warm up but once it's hot it's hot! They only serve dinner at their place so plan ahead for breakfast/lunch. Service was good! read more

What a cozy restaurant! We had a large group and the staff helped get us in very last minute. The atmosphere was so inviting and the staff was friendly and fun! The food was delicious and the drinks were very yummy too! This was my first experience and I will absolutely be back again! Great place to go to warm up on a winter evening by their beautiful fireplaces too! Overall a very wonderful experience! Thank you! read more

The restaurant is adjacent to the Narrow Gauge Inn, however, the Inn is quick to let guests know that they are Not affiliated--and, for good reasons. Our dinner reservations at the nearby Tenaya Lodge were cancelled at the last minute because they had a "bee infestation" on their patio, where we were planning to dine since we have a dog with us. The Narrow Gauge Restaurant emphatically will not allow dogs inside, nor do they have a patio/outdoor space to accommodate dogs. We get that. SO, we ordered take out with the hostess. Apparently, they had lots of lightweight cardboard "to go" boxes in stock from pandemic days, and placed all of the items in the cardboard (including ice cream.) The boxes all leaked in the plastic bags, the Pesto Almond Chicken had less than a teaspoon of pesto "near" the chicken; the chicken parm all congealed into a large pasta, the French Onion soup-was broth, topped by a piece of cheese toast-which sunk to the bottom of the plastic container, and was not warm. The "homemade cobbler" was still frozen--and, the ice cream didn't fare well. We took the cobbler to the Inn office to use their microwave, and the Inn provided us with a glass bowl (since the cardboard container was not longer containing the defrosting cobbler.) THE SERVICE: Since we were staying 4 doors down from the restaurant, we asked if we could be called when our food was ready--no call, so, at 35 minutes, I went and sat in the lobby and waited on our food-which arrived 15 minutes later in plastic bags. I asked if utensils were in the bag--the server seemed both surprised and irritated that I had asked--she returned with 2 forks and 2 knives (plastic picnic style.) I then asked for a spoon for the soup. She returned with ONE spoon, and told me that's all that they had (it's a restaurant in a VACATION/tourist area...) I delivered the food to our room-and then realized that there were no spoons for the cobbler and ice cream--again, server was annoyed by the request. Other guests in the waiting area commented to the server "why don't you give him a REAL spoon?" Ignored. The total bill was $76.68, I tipped a solid 10%. I asked for the use of 2 wine glasses, since we had brought a good bottle of wine for a small celebration--I was told "you should ask the front desk, we don't do that..." I smiled, and waited--then, the server went and "checked with somebody" who apparently OK'd the loan, handed me the glasses (IKEA specials!) with a stern warning that "you MUST return these glasses to the restaurant, they belong to the restaurant, and we don't normally do this..." The food was bland, the chef appears to be as clueless on balancing flavors as the staff are in making guests feel welcome-even when ordering take-out. How sad that the lovely Inn has this attached to them-it taints the warm and friendly accommodations they provide. Visitors to the area would do well to wait until the bees have left the Tenaya, or, bring a picnic from home--but, remember to bring your own utensils and wine glasses--because the Narrow Gauge Restaurant isn't going offer any kindnesses. read more

Absolutely delicious! The best meal I have ever had. We went there for our anniversary and it was such a wonderful dining experience. The salmon was AMAZING!!! Highly recommend!! read more

What a wonderful experience! We called pretty last minute to make reservations and they went above and beyond to accommodate our group of 14!! Superb service and laid back yet special and classy. Our server Kevin was the best of the best! Professional with a good sense of humor. Some of the food in our party was awesome and some was average, especially considering the price ($$) but all in all it was a great dinner and experience. Will definitely be back again! read more

Excellent western decorations and the staff is very attentive. We had drinks at the bar. I suggest you take time for this. The burgers was amazing and my wife had salmon with a great sear and veggies. Ice cream sundae for desert. I asked about the chef. Seems one more will be coming so I hope you have the same experience. read more

Narrow Gauge Restaurant - Short and sweet. - New American Near Me - Oakhurst, California

They rescued us from the food desert that is Yosemite! As soon as we found out about this place we left Tenaya lodge behind for WAY better food. The portion sizes are very friendly at more reasonable pricing. The decor/vibe of the place is what you'd like after a big day hiking and the all wood bar and old school fire truck are standouts. Lastly, we had a super friendly server who is a rockstar and treated us like regulars after two nights back to back. It should be way harder to get a table here than it is so enjoy ! read more

Unique spot on the way to or from Yosemite National Park. Very rustic and cabin-like. The food is good and portions are huge so take your cholesterol pills. My wife had the vegan Thai curry and it was tasty but too much rice. She would have liked more veggies. I had the rib-eye and it was good but had huge amounts of fat and the fries seemed battered rather than just good'ole fried potatoes like the French do....I had steak frites. Wine selection was all local selections and the area isn't really known for wine. Stick to the cocktails. read more

My wife and I had an unfortunate evening meal experience on Sat., July 10, 2021. We stayed at the adjacent Narrow Gauge Inn, and opted to try the restaurant rather than drive to the nearby town of Oakhurst. The restaurant has a nice mountain-y, Gold Rush country ambiance, but it is offering a VERY limited menu -- only two appetizers and just five or six entrees. This is quite understandable as restaurants rebuild their business after the pandemic. That being said, the menu doesn't come close to reflecting the content promoted on the restaurant's website. HOWEVER, it seems reasonable to expect that with those limited options would be a focus on doing them very well. Such was not the case this evening. We ordered the fried calamari as an appetizer. It arrived as a plate of some calamari and a LOT of batter cracklings. Sadly, the squid pieces were overcooked and very chewy. The accompanying marinara sauce was not bad, but nothing special. Along with the appetizers were a couple of cocktails - tasty, but very small for the price of $10 each. Both our entrees were preceded by a side salad, which turned out to be a small plate with a modest few pieces of iceberg lettuce, accompanied by a single half-slice of tomato and a lonely slice of cucumber. The blue cheese dressing tasted store-bought. As for the entrees. We're accustomed to prices like $32 for a nice piece of salmon or $33 for a nice filet mignon. But both of these fell well short of expectations. About half of my bites of salmon required careful eating because of pin bones that the cook didn't bother to remove. Sharing the plate were several stalks of grilled asparagus that were a little overcharred at the tips, and a helping of rather bland rice (uncertain if it was supposed to be pilaf - either way, it was a miss). My wife ordered what was billed as filet mignon, but neither of us have ever been served a filet festooned with as much fat as this one had. Filet is generally one of the leanest, most tender cuts; my wife reports that hers was neither lean nor tender. It also was accompanied by the aforementioned asparagus, and she chose the mashed potatoes with gravy - apparently instant potatoes, based on the texture, with an allowance of gravy that was barely noticeable. Based on the food experience to that point, we chose not to order dessert. On the service side of the experience, our server was pleasant, but slow - unsure if this was related to the kitchen or the server, but the restaurant was not particularly busy. It took an inordinate amount of time, after we asked for the check, for the server to bring the bill. As for the bill - the total, including the two cocktails, was an even C-note plus tax. I'm struggling to recall a more disappointing meal, especially at that price. I realize this seems like a harsh review, and indeed it is. But if we had a do-over, we would have made the drive to Oakhurst, where I'm confident that we would have found a much better, and more reasonably priced, dinner. read more

There are very few eating options near Tenaya Lodge. While the ambiance here was nice and rustic, the food and service left a lot to be desired. I'm not sure if they had an off night, or the chef called off, but the bread was undercooked and everything else was severely over cooked. From the scallops to the pasta to the salmon. Lentils were salted to the point of being inedible. Even the brussel sprouts were light green, bland and rock hard (not ripe for eating). Service was inattentive and completely uninterested. When half of your food remains uneaten, it begs a follow up. But that also requires a server actually coming back to the table. When you visit the area, you will think (as we did initially) that driving to Oakhurst is too far at 25 minutes. Trust me, if you want better dining options, and without the tourist price gouging, take the drive. read more

Had a party of 18, Everyone got cold food One person got sick from uncooked fish that night No one was very pleased with food especially not for 30$ plates. You would think that when we were racking up a 900$ tab the waitstaff would have been a little nicer and on it. RUDE waitstaff (beside for the young guy..jessi) All the adults were VERY VERY rude . Slow service, no ones food came out together. Bartender was overwhelmed and got half the drinks wrong and then yelled when we said we were waiting for our drinks. 30$ cake charge and we had to stop them from cutting our cake because the woman was just DESTROYING our cakes and cutting tiny sliver slices. WE HAD RESERVATIONS FOR A PARTY AND THEY DID NOT EVEN HAVE OUR STUFF SET UP WHEN WE GOT THERE. Not to mention they ruined the surprise that we had family fly in from across the US by telling the person who we all gathered there for?????? Terrible service, terrible food, no one was happy with any of it. We had a party of 18 and they even put some of us at a big table and others at a booth separate from everyone else???? RIDICULOUS! It's a shame we dropped 1,000$ at the restaurant and it was such a bad experience. I would have rather went to dennys. read more

The food is excellent, but the service is spotty. We've been here several times. Sometimes, the service was ok. However, we've now had a couple of times where the wait is ridiculous. We had reservations. We got seated ok; drinks ok. One hour later, we haven't even gotten our appetizers or salad. I can't imagine how long it will take for entrees! Our daughter and her husband came a few months ago and waited 2 hours for their mains. I thought it was a fluke. Nope. Their kitchen obviously cannot keep up with demand. read more

Not what it used to be food wise I hate to be negative or write a negative review It's just the food was very disappointing. Still good views and great historic ambience. As a local I've gone here a lot over last 20 years bringing family and friends who enjoyed the views and the wonderful food. Especially enjoyed the unique game foods like elk and wild boar. However my most recent visit was very disappointing. Had medium size group of family members seeing Yosemite first time spent lot of money and it was disappointing. One waitress on the floor seemed overly stretched thin with very few customers on site on top of it they had no beef which seemed weird to me for a fine dining restaurant near Yosemite. To be truthful I would've walked out if I didn't have others with me. Also, the parking lot was kind of empty and my concern was reaffirmed as I drove through Oakhurst on my way home and saw other restaurants packed with customers. The menu few items they did have were mediocre at best. I'm left, confused at what happened to the Narrowgauge I knew that had a variety of foods and specialties. What they did have was OK kind of reminded me of high end, cafeteria food not worth the price. I really don't like giving such a historically, great restaurant A bad review. Especially a restaurant I have shared so many outstanding meals in the past with family and friends. Please bring back your old menu and your old style of doing things. Until then I'm not gonna be back. I'm sorry. read more

The restaurant is nice - great wood paneling and general ambiance. The wait staff is overloaded simply due to hiring it seems. A couple things I would fix; first the radio played for music stops and has advertisements. Second, the food could be improved. I ordered the filet and it was not a filet. Too fatty and was clearly not a filet. Rest of meals were good if not overly simple (cheese was processed cheese, etc) read more

Server was awful( took a while to get to us, did not give us a salad that was supposed to come with dinner, drinks were weak, lied about the desserts they had), just a bad server. The potatoes were cold, and every thing else was meh..... very overpriced and underwhelming. Booooo read more

New owners and it was awesome. The food was very good, best burger ever, and the service was super friendly and attentive. We ate here every night that we were at the Wawona Hotel! We might just stay here next time. read more

With such mixed reviews we didn't know what to except, but we were pleasantly surprised. We both had the fillet mignon and the meat was delicious and the rest was also nice. Quite small sizes, just for info! The deserts were big though. The decor of the resturant is cozy, a hunting cabin feel to it. Our server Tina was exceptionally friendly and helpful. Great service! read more

Old school ambiance at Yosemite with an array of colorful mountain birds visiting a cute feeder between our table and an incredible mountain view. Our waiter Ron made dinner an an experience. The chef did not begrudge my special request for dish modification, but cheerfully delivered a new presentation we all celebrated. An experience so rare these days! Besides, this was one of the best steaks I've ever enjoyed!! There is something very special about Yosemite as America's 3rd National Park and the Narrow Gauge lives up to that spirit of 1890! Don't miss this place! A treasure! read more

Narrow Gauge Restaurant - New American Near Me - Oakhurst, California

A big reason we chose to stay at this inn is due to the raving reviews of the resturant. This review is for the resturant itself however, I'd like to say we love everything else about the inn, rooms, etc. we just had a really bad experience at the resturant. My girlfriend and I had reservations for 8pm. We showed up at 7:40 and we're searing right away. It seemed pretty slow, there were about 8 tables seated in the entire place. The waitress was nice but everything took SO long! I ordered a Manhattan and was literally there for 35 minutes before I was told they were out of vermouth so they couldn't make it. No problem, I ordered an old fashioned instead. Another 20 minutes.... Soon after, another table of 2 gets seated right next to us. Bread is brought to them almost immediately and their drink and appetizer orders were taken. We're still waiting to have our appetizer order taken. We then asked if we could get any bread? Some finally came out. Once our appetizer came out (smoked salmon, tomato and mozzarella salad) we were very disappointed. They were out of smoked salmon so put extra cheese which was fine with us but there was just no flavor and the balsamic dressing was completely missing. We asked for some on the side and it came. At this point we're started to get the picture. Eventually we ordered our entrees, we had to stop the waitress and ask if we could. I kid you not, we sat there for another HOUR before the waitress came over and told us "the cook is just not all there tonight" and our food would be out soon. We ordered the ahi tuna and the ravioli. When the food finally came out, we were pretty disappointed. The ravioli was "ok" but the ahi was odd. It all cold and not even close to enough flavor of a $25 dish. The waitress obviously knew how the dinner went sideways because she offered us a free dessert, free coffee and a 10% discount off the bill. She was nice but could have done a much better job of letting us know what was going on so we didn't have to sit there forever waiting. I've worked in fine dining restaurants (as a waiter) so I have a ton of patience when it comes to this but with the combination of a slow Friday night and an easy going table as us, this should've been a slam dunk. I really don't understand what went wrong when this restaurant when they have so many great reviews. It was a celebration for my girlfriends birthday and we were looking forward to a great night out. Unfortunately, we were both just so disappointed. We really wanted to love this place as much as we love the rest of the grounds. We have breakfast in the morning hoping for a better experience! read more

I liked the atmosphere and the people were friendly. The food was pretty good. The filet was tiny but tasty, although I had to remove the purple-colored compounded butter from the top due to the overwhelmingly acerbic taste. The peas served with it were tasty but the fingerling potatoes were bland and undercooked. The pork and polenta was my favorite dish. The chicken served with beans and veggies was kind of boring - nothing special. The service, unfortunately, was somewhat lacking at our table. Drinks were not refilled, the complimentary bread promptly brought to other tables was MIA - we finally had to ask if we could have some too. Looking around it appeared the service at other tables was significantly better. I would try this place again, although probably only for lunch if they have a lunch menu. The dinner menu was more than I would want to spend again for what I received. read more