This is a small-town diner, so the 3-star review is in keeping with those expectations. This review is also for breakfast only. First off, when you're a diner serving breakfast, your NUMBER ONE job is to keep everyone's coffee filled. I don't mean to get all Mr. Pink-in-Reservoir-Dogs, but I had to wait, then look around pointedly, then finally shout across the room to get my empty coffee refilled each time. The omelette was fine, although vegetarian options were limited (garden veggies or cheese, I got the latter), and commensurate with Denny's or other diner chains. Definitely fueled me up for a day of hiking in Tuolumne Meadows. Aside from the coffee refilling issue -- and the fact that the water glasses are child-sized and don't get refilled either -- service was fast and pleasant. I'd definitely recommend Nicely's as a place to grab breakfast if you're staying the night in Lee Vining. read more

Nicely's - American Near Me - Lee Vining, California

Nice Lee Vining diner with a hidden bar in back. Good honest diner food and fast service. Feels like a "hang" for locals which gives it a friendly vibe read more

Nicely's - Nice homey diner in Lee Vining. Good fare, fast service, no pretenses - American Near Me - Lee Vining, California

Cute restaurant , great food. We had biscuits and gravy , eggs, hash browns. Good service.

This place is a jewel! If you look up the phrase, "Comfort Food" you'll find a picture of Nicely's. We have been coming up to the June Lake area annually and we make sure that we eat there at least a few times each trip. The food is well prepared, ample and the staff is always friendly. If you're looking for a fancy gourmet meal, you're in the wrong place and wrong town. If you're looking for a satisfying meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is your place. Oh yeah, fabulous milkshakes, too! read more

Stopped in, on the way to Yosemite. Awesome place for breakfast, and totally recommend this place

We have been coming here for about 30 years. Our breakfast was delicious. The crispy hash browns were so good that we were trying to duplicate them back At the camp. I enjoyed my breakfast very much. Great and fast and accurate service. read more

I know how hard is to find a good place to eat when you are traveling in a road. But I just loved this place. The burger was amazing.

I give it four stars because your choices in Lee Vining are sparse for breakfast. It's a nice little coffee shop service was prompt and friendly and efficient food was OK nothing spectacular but nothing terrible if you're passing through Lee Vining in the morning grab a bite to eat for breakfast. read more

This place is to be avoided at all cost. It was the only one open at 8:30 pm, the stake was tasteless, the pasta definitely had been sitting a couple days in some fridge... The waitress very rude, wouldn't give me any choice of substitutes, and kept firing questions at me "dresing? , dressing?", like i was delaying her. The next morning i had bad diarrhea. read more

Not-fancy-at-all, old-school diner right off 395 in Lee Vining. Ambiance is 50's-style which is quite nice. Their menu hosts the usual diner items, with a good breakfast section for those who come in for brunch. I should also mention the cheesecake selection (we were tempted to get the raspberry cheesecake but stayed strong). Food was decent - our table had Chili & Beans (didn't see that many beans, if at all?), Pasta with beef & gravy, and grilled chicken. The veggies came from a can. We stopped by during off season and business is slow so I'd probably lower my expectations and am eventually okay with canned veggies. I'd say it's good for what it is - they could improve on the quality of ingredients. read more

What kind of diner doesn't serve breakfast all day? Kind of a bummer. The service was lackluster my order was off and burned. Pretty basic I'd say 2.5 out of 5 stars. If you're hungry this is here go a little further to whoa Nelly deli. read more

I wasn't looking forward to dining at Nicely's this morning. I still remember how horrible everything is about this place. Due to road conditions we're stuck in Lee Vining. I'm pissed off not because the food here sucks but this business is closed. WTF the posted days and hours say they are OPEN. No way to run a restaurant or any business. read more

We have eaten at Nicely's for many years, but I don't know who was cooking yesterday. I had the French dip and it was, in a word, awful. I think that the meat was roast beef but it didn't taste like roast beef. In fact it was tasteless. The au jus was even worse. It had absolutely no flavor. So there you have it - way over cooked mystery meat in a bun with colored water au jus. I couldn't eat it. My friends had a burger and there response was that it was less than OK. Service was good. read more

I try and always stop by here when I go to Mammoth. We drove up a few nights ago with our 1 year old and stopped by for dinner. We wanted a booth so my son could have a little bit of freedom after being in the car seat for so long. I asked for a booth and the waiter said no because there was only one big booth at the time and only 3 of us. I looked around. Several booths only had one person in them and they were cleaning a smaller booth we were not offered that booth and it was given to a couple (2 people) who got there after us. We did not eat and left. We will never come back. Im bummed they were not more understanding of people who had been on the road to eat at their restaurant and im confused on why we were treated different then other guests. Again, we will never return read more

The place is open from 7 am so it's a perfect location for breakfast for those who want to start exploring the area early. I got very good pancakes and coffee. I don't know about their lunch and dinner menu but breakfast was perfect. read more

Had dinner there the other night. Was impressed by how clean everything was including the bathrooms. Spotless. Food was really good, homemade soup, pies, etc. Service was friendly, definitely going back the next time I go through town. read more

It is a 70s style restaurant with saloon. Fried chicken was delicious. It is half chicken with a potato side and soup/salad. We tried a cheese burger as well. It was a traditional style burger so it should satisfy most people. Fries were great. Baked potato can use some more fixings. Overall a great place for a quick family meal. read more

This was horrible. I'm usually a generous reviewer, but I have to post our honest experience. The server sneered. Actually sneered when we asked for a second filling of water. The eggs Benedict came with some kind of cheese sauce...nothing like a hollandaise. The pancakes were good. My corned beef hash might have been canned. Then, when we tried to pay the check, the guy stared at us for at least 10 seconds before coming over to help us; I think he was pissed that we got up to leave before he could bring us the check...he was taking FOREVER. Go 3 minutes down the road to the Mobile gas station. There's a restaurant inside which was incredible! read more

I don't know why there is only 3 stars? I have the Country Benedict and wow. Best gravy I ever had! Everything was delicious. Give Nicely's a try if your near Mono Lake or Bodie Ghost Town. read more

This place is nothing short of sickening! Chicken soup is homemade...WITH FOUL TASTING OLD UNUSED CHICKEN. It's definitely a homemade soup, with celery, carrots, and would be fine, had they used...fresh made chicken...NOT THE CASE!! The moment I opened the takeout (styrofoam coffee cup) container, the smell hit me. How they can be in the restaurant business, serve rancid soup, and can't tell by the smell something is wrong, dictates little, to no pride in what they serve. S T A Y A W A Y!!! read more

I very humbly and thankfully write about Nicely's for my 300th review. Words cannot describe how happy this place makes me. It's as if God knew before I was born that my parents would take me and my brother and sister to Tioga Lake and Bridgeport every year and that we would have to pass through Lee Vining. God further knew that I would appreciate the decor that was dated fewer than five years after it was installed, the pseudo-seriousness of the story about wild mustangs on the menus, and the fact that during the summer you might as well be dining in Bremen for all the German being spoken around you. (Germans love Yosemite.) And none of this is ironic. That's actually why I hate hipsters. They revel in their embrace of nothing and take it is as a badge of honor that the ideas to which they commit their lives are ultimately meaningless to them. I'm the opposite. I'm an earnest person, and when I say that Nicely's is my favorite restaurant in the Sierra Nevada, possibly in the world, I mean it. I understand that my fascination comprises equal parts wistful sentimentality and enduring memory of that childlike optimism that is all the more endearing because of its utter separation from reality. If you ever pass through Lee Vining, do me a favor and stop by Nicely's. read more

Great place for breakfast. Perfect pancakes. Lovely servers. Clean as a whistle and super charming atmo. Worth a detour, tho in these parts a detour is no small ride...so, maybe not? A sweet spot. read more

Nicely's was a bad resteraunt when I was a child and still is a bad resteraunt. Only reason it's still in business is because the only thing the Nicely's don't own is Mono Cone. They also own Bodie Mike's, Wise Guy's Pizza, and several of the tourist shops. Basically, they've got the monopoly in Lee Vining. They don't know how to properly season food. Beef is smelly. Fish always tastes old. I've had better fried chicken from KFC. Basically, you're better off driving eight miles into June Lake or not eating at all then eating at Not So Nicely's. Edit: Oh, there's a couple more things I want to share. Now, these things happened when I was a child, so keep in mind that I was pre-puberty at the time and I'm 35 years old now. Plus Mrs. Nicely who was a well known skin flint died in 2001 so things might have changed a bit. However - one of my mom's friends had two daughters who worked at Nicely's. Their fried chicken policy - any pieces that a customer that had not been eaten would be served to the next customer. That's right, they "recycled" the chicken! So you'd get served someone else's chicken that they handled and God only knows what was on their hands at the time. One time a person had actually taken a bite out of the chicken, but put it back on the plate in such a manner that the bite mark was hidden, so it was served to another gentleman with a big bite mark taken out of it. One time when we were in there, a waitress ate straight out of the food containers. Right in front of all of us. Stuck a fork in, ate, stuck that fork back in, ate some more. That's right, the food that would be served to all the customers was being eaten straight out of the containers by the waitress. Seriously, it's better to go hungry then eat at Nicely's. read more

We were on our way towards Reno for a sporting event, when the roads were in near white-out conditions. This caused us to be going 30 mph and when we came up into town it was just starting to lighten up. I had looked to see if there were any places to eat and saw Nicely's as an option. We rushed in from the cold and opened the door a few minutes before closing, which is actually 8 and not 9 as Yelp says. The hostess was super friendly and allowed us in to eat a delicious meal that was decently priced. We enjoyed every moment of our dinner. When we come back through town at the end of the weekend, we will definitely stop and dine here. read more

For a five-star, old school breakfast experience with a view and a taste of rural Americana, check out Nicely's overlooking Mono Lake in Lee Vining. The only restaurant in town open year-round, Nicely's has satiated the taste buds of hungry visitors for more than 50 years. It is no surprise then that the rustic interior of this diner feels like something of a museum piece frozen in time since the heydays of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. Of course, the hearty omelets and homemade pancakes lived up to my highest expectations. Given the bargain prices they charge here and the trickle of visitors in winter months, the value is truly impressive as is the fact that this place somehow manages to remain operational throughout the year. A required stop for everyone spending time around the Mono Lake area or in nearby Mammoth. read more

I visit Lee Vining frequently and love the little town. Until this past Sunday morning, the last time I ate at Nicely's was about 3 years ago. Now I remember why. The place has gone way downhill. My breakfast at Nicely's this past Sunday (7/26/09) was probably the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. Really. Even for a greasy-spoon diner like Nicely's. Bad service: It took a long time for my party of 3 to be seated. The "hostess" briskly walked us to a booth and set down three waters with our menus. Once seated, I noticed that our silverware had spots on it -- the handles were dirty -- and the table was not as clean as it should have been. It took a long time for a waiter to take our drink order, and longer yet for the waiter to take our food order. Once we placed our order, the fun began. Apparently, Nicely's does not have adequate staff to clear the tables when people are finished with their meals. There were dirty dishes on every table around us from the morning breakfast crowd. What's more, a child, who looked no more than 12 yrs old, was the only person "bussing" the tables. This child-worker parked a large dirty-dish cart in front of our booth, as he cleared other tables of dirty dishes. As he threw dirty plates, bowls, and plastic drinking glasses into the cart in a haphazard manner, he inadvertently sent a glass of milk into the air, part of which landed on me. I don't fault the child --- this is something to be expected of a kid. The larger question is, with such a hefty morning crowd of tourists, why does the owner feel it necessary to employ child labor. There outta be a law -- oh yeah -- there IS a law against employing underage children. Back to our dining experience: Once the milk was split, It took several attempts to flag down our waiter and explain to our waiter (apparently due to a language barrier) what had happened, to request that the dirty-dish cart be moved away from our table, and to bring extra napkins for clean-up. My breakfast (2 poached eggs, toast, and hashbrowns) was luke-warm and greasy. What ever happened to those little packets of butter they'd give you for toast -- much better than what they do now, slopping margarine (or some yellow greasy substance) onto the toast before it arrives at your table. One member of my dining party said she liked her scrambled "egg beaters" and bacon. Guess that's the bright spot. Difficult, but not impossible to screw up scrambled eggs, or egg beaters in this case. Bottom line: We were all grossed out by the dirty dishes everywhere and the presence of the dirty-dish cart parked in front of our booth. The food was bad to mediocre. The restaurant is old and in need of repair. Quite unappetizing atmosphere, I must say. Then having to wait in line to pay the bill is always a "nice" ending to the dining experience at Nicely's. Bad food. Horrible service. There's nothing nice about Nicely's. I'll never go there again. I'll drive to Mammoth if I'm there in the winter and need a sit-down meal. When you're in Lee Vining, don't go to Nicely's. Instead, get yourself a nice cup of coffee and muffin down the street at Latte Da coffeehouse, or even a freshly prepared breakfast burrito from Mono Market, also just down the street. Or goto the Mobile Whoa Nellie Deli for a great breakfast sandwich. A few people have noted that Nicely's is the only restaurant open in Lee Vining during winter. This may be true if you are looking for a sit-down restaurant. But it's not the only place to get hot food. The Mono Market, just a few doors down, is open ALL YEAR. The Mono Market has a small but tasty selection of hot food, from where you can get the above-mentioned breakfast burrito, regular burrito, and various other foods prepared at the Mono Market. read more

Don't mind dining at a good restaurant at 7000f t, in the middle of nowhere, population: "where the hech are we"?. Nicely's Restaurant, A 1950s micro eatery in the lego town of Lee Vinig, overlooking Mono Lake and 45 miles from the ghost town of Bodie, is the place (actually, the only place) to go. If you didn't blink and missed it while driving North/South on the 395, is a strangely savory place to eat for such a remote location. Good service, food, specially breakfast is excellent, in a small setting way. Lunch and dinner's specials are limited all day, which is not a problem. Can handle families and groups. Good eats. Caveat: Still missed it?. Then prepare yourself for a loooong hungry drive down/up to the next settlement, partner. Have your iPad/iPhone/Android GPS on a holster. Bonus: Need to spend the night after a late dinner here?. Go to Murphey's Motel next door (see my review about them). read more

Three stars for this place is ridiculous. Listen, this is a diner. It's not a AAA diamond rated resort. Judge it for what it is. It's a place where travelers and locals go to get good food at a decent price and with a smile. I had the pancakes and homemade sausage. It was great. The pancakes were fluffy and the sausage was legit. It was herby and just a touch of spice. The wife had the hash browns and eggs. Both of them were cooked to perfection. Thank you for a great place to eat and refuel my belly. Trust me, I eat everywhere and if this place sucked I'd tell you. read more

Terrible service. Super bland food. I have never had au jus that tastes like water... ketchup was delicious hahaha. Really expensive for such bad food. read more

Another great meal at Nicely's. We have been coming here for 30 years as we vacation in the area. The fried chicken dinner as usual was very good. I always enjoy my bacon cheeseburger. Fries cooked crispy as requested. The servers are very friendly. We time our arrival early before the evening rush sets in. It can get busy at night as the crowds pass through coming down from Yosemite. read more

I understand that this place has been around awhile, and that says something in a small town. It's not the best food I've ever had, but it's quite edible and the service is friendly and quick. Portions were adequate without being overkill. My club sandwich was tasty (hard to mess that up) and my wife's chocolate malt did not disappoint either. The chicken on her taco salad was moist, but flavorless. There's really nothing that stands out about the restaurant, and that's fine; it's a place to eat in a land of limited options. read more

Our experience in Nicely's wasn't as good as others I'm afraid. I came here especially because the AAA book said they have Oyster Stew, which I love, and very few places offer it. I thought the $6 bowl of stew might not be enough to make a dinner so I got a side salad with ranch. The salad was really good, though I wish it had had a few onions to spice it up, and it was very crisp. My husband got the fried chicken dinner which came with a salad that was smaller than mine and his only comment was that it didn't have many ingredients, mostly lettuce and a few grated carrots. (I should mention that we have had some rally impressive in quality side salads come with some of our dinners on this trip so that is what we were comparing to). He said soup was very good with lots of chicken chunks and veggies but was half cold. The Fried Chicken was a big disappointment, very bland even though it looked very good, and was about half as good as KFC's chicken. The mashed potatoes and gravy were served cold and tasted like leftovers. He said the only thing really good about the meal was the roll, which was very fresh and had good flavor. He had given me his corn on the cob (half size) because he had so much food and I was admiring it and though it was overcooked and mushy, it had real good flavor and was very "plump" and juicy. I was really looking forward to the oyster stew but it, too, was very bland, the milky broth didn't have much flavor even after I salted it twice and peppered it once. The oysters didn't appear to be fresh and even frozen oysters have better flavor so I think they may have been canned or maybe overcooked. They were huge and there were lots of them so I was pretty full when I finished but didn't feel like I'd gotten a delicious dish. Maybe some onions or onion powder would have helped. My mother taught me to cook the oysters lightly in a small amount of water, then add the milk and butter and just heat through and she made delicious oyster stew even though she never cared for oysters herself. The next morning when we were deciding where to have breakfast, we bypassed Nicely's. read more

Not impressed. Seated instantly, but after drink order, took the server 7 or 8 times of nonchalantly walking by to even acknowledge us. All the tables reset, but not even close to enough staff to wait on a half full restaurant. Manager even looked right at us and kept walking to the back. Make sure you have plenty of time if you stop here to eat. Only reason for two stars is that the food was pretty good once it finally came. Just had to wait for Miguel to swing back around w the check 20 min later. read more

Excellent diner to stop by if you're visiting Mono Lake. It was getting late in the day and we decided to dine here before heading back on Tioga Rd. I had the Golden Fried Chicken and it was just terrific (juicy and very tasty). The soup of the day (beef barley) was hearty and delicious. The service was excellent and friendly. The price was very decent for a diner in the middle of nowhere. Will definitely return if in the area again. read more

I think Robert U. said it best when he said, "Solid small town diner fare." There's nothing here that will knock your socks off, but it's good, filling food. It will satisfy your hunger after a long day and warm you after watching the sunset on Mono Lake. I came one evening and had their potato stew and onion rings and was intrigued by their eggs benedict special with hash browns, so I insisted to my friend that we return the next morning. The eggs benedict was good, not great, but it still made me happy. I am definitely a fan of a nice hearty breakfast. The hash browns came out soggy the first time, so I sent them back and they came out perfect. The servers were friendly enough to get the job done, but certainly didn't make you feel like they really cared about you. Still, though, if I am ever in Lee Vining again, it's quite possible that I'll stop here. read more

Disgusting. Plain and simple. I camp up north every summer and last year we stopped here to eat. I had forgotten that the food and service sucked after we were already seated. This place needs to be demolished and rebuilt. The booth we were at had torn seats and the table was sticky. Ugh!! I wish Gordon Ramsay would show up here. Our waitress was on the weird side. She was joking with me like a trucker would. Gross. I'm actually not sure if we had 2 waitresses, but we had 2 women serving us. Never asked if we wanted refills. I know there's a drought, but cmon!! The food was disgusting. 3 of us had burgers and the fiancé had some sandwich thing with mushrooms. His sandwich was sloppy and leaked from a mystery liquid. He kept trying to pawn it off on me. NO WAY DUDE! Our service sucked. Never again will we be going back. Oh, I left no tip. read more

The only reason I'm giving this restaurant two stars instead of one is because the bus staff was so helpful and friendly. The wait staff? It took 15 minutes to place our order. It took 30 minutes to get my daughter her apple juice. My companions breakfast was served 15 minutes before mine. My food was cold and over cooked. AND it did not sit so nicely. I spent about an hour on a toilet in Lone Pine regretting my decision to eat breakfast that morning. Beware, fellow travelers. P.s. They also have a terrible fly problem. Fly traps were visible behind most booths, causing many patrons to request seat relocation. read more

God bless Nicely's. Of course I might not be so rapturous about this diner in Lee Vining, CA, were it not for the absolutely *ghastly* and expensive food I ate in Yosemite Falls for three days. I didn't know how horrible and pricey the food was or I would have brought gourmet sandwiches, crackers and cheese to put in my room fridge. Lee Vining is about 25 or 30 minutes after you leave Yosemite's considerably more barren East Entrance (the West Entrance is lush and wooded, while Twolomne is stark and barren). The decor is unintentionally retro: office chairs on old but not musty carpet with a white office ceiling you'd expect to see paired with fluorescent lights. They serve (terrible, cheap) wine and good beer--a theme in the Sierras, where beer is king--in the main dining room but have an old country bar with a range of spirits in the dark, wooden room with a few heads on the wall (taxidermy). But the food is great. I adored my patty melt (9.95 including fries or a salad with a terrific 1000 Island dressing). They have milkshakes and pies (the lemon meringue for 3.95 was my dinner), along with sandwiches, egg dishes, and more substantive entrees. Every restaurant we passed for a couple hundred miles serves steak. Not the little stands or Mexican joints, but any sit-down restaurant in these parts serves steak (and very often has a sign outside announcing this). The best part: our food came in 3 minutes. It was like Defending Your Life (Albert Brooks film from the early 1990s). Not only is the cafeteria/dining hall food at the Yosemite Falls Lodge inedible and expensive; it takes a near eternity to prepare. They employ long, not short, order cooks. And then understaff the registers so your terrible, expensive food is also cold by the time you eat it. I doubt the cooks at Smiley's attended an elite culinary academy, yet they manage to make solid traditional food at a clip. If passing through Lee Vining (which I don't foresee as the East Side of Yosemite is nowhere near as nice as the West if you like lush greenery rather than stark rock), I would come back in a heartbeat. P.S. Our server barely spoke. Very strange fellow but he didn't get anything wrong so if he wants to observe some vow of silence at work, it's fine by me. read more

Had dinner and breakfast here. Had the patty melt and some sort of special chicken sandwich w/ ranch dressing on it. They both really hit the spot! Also had the bread pudding for dessert. Breakfast the next morning was equally satisfying, large portions, tasty hash browns. Good service...can't really ask for more at a small town diner. read more

I was really happy that there was something open in the middle of Winter. The food is American and very retro but not in a good way more like "wow flashback to the '70s". PBRs for $3 pint which is ok when you are about an hour from the nearest microbrewery It was really ok very few vegetarian options. The reason I gave it 2 stars was mostly for the snippy extremely unhappy waitress. They had a system where it was all table service except for paying the bill where you had to go to the register and we after a few PBRs didn't realize that. So the waitress takes it for us with some rude comment about wanting to get home, so sorry! It was still half an hour to closing and at least 2 parties still eating. Not so Nicely treated! read more