There isn't a lot of choice for sit-down food in Lee Vining so I was pleasantly surprised when I left Nicely's. It's an old-time family restaurant/diner. Due to C19, no one is sitting at the counter, but Nicely's has one. I hope it's bad in service soon. I try to eat vegetarian so usually the family restaurants are a no-go for me. I can say that Nicely's exceeded my expectations. As with most places, the veg. options are not many but at Nicely's they options are good! I had the veg sandwich with fries and a salad. All three were very good. The sandwich needed a healthy dose of mustard, but that's usual for many things that I eat. When I'm back in Lee Vining again and need food, Nicely's is going to be my stop. read more

Nicely's - Veg. sandwich - American Near Me - Lee Vining, California

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This place takes advantage of weary, hungry travelers! Over $8 for a child's portion of Kraft Mac & Cheese! You can buy 3-4 boxes for that price. Talk about a ridiculous mark up! read more

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

We were really looking forward to coming back as we generally stop by after we leave Yosemite. We've never had a problem with management but they were passive aggressive about bringing in outside coffee, and that's a petty thing to comment on considering we love this place and have never been told different. Maybe the manager was having a bad day but we were really disappointed and hope that next time we come in they overlook the coffee. read more

Nice little joint we didn't expect to ever discover, but car troubles forced a detour to Lee Vining and while waiting we ran over and had breakfast. Even with Covid-conditions, the staff still make the visit pleasant and professional and the food was really good with sizable portions. read more

Nicely's - Biscuits and Gravy - American Near Me - Lee Vining, California

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Nicely's was one of two dinner options in Lee Vining when we rolled into town around 8:00 Saturday night on 06/26/2021. This establishment is your basic, hometown diner that you find in most small, passerby towns. The service was very attentive and friendly, however the food was a little mediocre at best, especially for the prices. I ordered a Jack & Coke ($4.50), which was rather weak. I think they cheated me out with the Jack which really annoyed me because it's a cheap liquor and it probably only cost them $0.50 to make. Whatever. I had a delicious French Dip (pastrami, roast beef or baked ham with lettuce, crinkle fries and au jus, $10.25) to look forward to. Turns out I wasn't really waiting for anything special. While the sandwich did come with a generous amount of meat, the roast beef tasted old and tasteless. Even drenched in au jus I was unable to enjoy it. I tried adding my husband's abandoned onion slices. With that I was able to finish the sandwich. My husband's Bacon Cheeseburger ($11.25) was a joke. The patty was paper thin, definitely low-end, freezer patties. The poor quality did not support the burger's high (IMO) price. We both agreed the fries were good but not good enough. If I wanted just fries maybe I would have left a much happier customer. Two stars at best for the food, however I will add another star for the friendly service. I think this place sees a lot of foot traffic because it's 45 minutes from one of Yosemite's park entrances, so it's very convenient. But I would suggest trying other options if they are available. read more

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Lee Vining (Mono County), California. Hours: Everyday 7a-9p Location: Hwy 395 / 4th Parking: Street Parking Décor: 70-80s diner. Estimate Cost: $20 Service: Full Service Eatery Type: Dine In Food: American/Mexican The menu is straightforward, common diner food. Eggs, omlettes, meats and the such for breakfast. Sandwiches, burgers and salads for lunch. Dinner has low key steaks, meatloaf and related. The spot is next to Bodie Mike's BBQ and the bar separates both restaurants. There isn't too much game in the area so pricing tends to be a bit much. The food is commercialized. There is nothing special with the meals I have eaten over the years. It's not terrible and it's not jaw dropping. The food does come out hot and tasty for weary travelers though so that's always a plus. Nothing good ole tabasco or salsa picante can't fix. Service has always been pleasant and the joint is clean. A comfortable place to rest and refresh for an hour plus before hitting the road again. Eat Responsibly My Friends. www.cleeshyun.com @cigarcpa @cleeshyun read more

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Excellent comfort food, helpful cheerful staff, convenient location and perfect for visiting over a meal as the music is low enough to hear my family. We plan to stop again !! read more

The fried chicken is awesome! I love it and go there often just for the chicken. However many other dishes are very good too. Home made pie and ice cream cant be beat either. Give them a try! read more

Sadly I won't be coming here again and I was a regular for 3 years. Yesterday I ordered two club sandwiches at 10:55 in the morning. Only one person was even inside the restaurant as a customer, the place was empty. I waited until 11:35 for the food, which is absolutely intolerable. It doesn't take 40 minutes to make two small sandwiches with fries. They weren't busy, the waitresses couldn't have cared less and were unfriendly and borderline rude. It's also a health concern that babies are inside the food prep area and that the cooks haul garbage out to the cans without gloves and then go back in to cook (I watched them). read more

Genuine home-cooked food. Enjoyed a delicious Denver omelette with hashbrowns well my wife had the best tasting blueberry pancakes along with perfectly cooked easy over eggs. Customer service is down to earth and top notch. Great view of Mono Lake from the retro diner. Totally recommend it. Solid five stars for great food and wonderful customer service read more

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Nicely's done a nicely job at satisfying this bob. The trout was, without a doubt, presented with no redoubt. Delicious! The Mac and cheese, if you please, made the grade with lots of cheese. And the hotdog, oh the hotdog, with ketchup and beans, really made the scene. Service was fast and friendly. We really like being here at Lee Vininig's center getting something to eat for a little momenta! read more

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Cutest little dinner! Employees were absolutely the sweetest ever! Food was very delicious and the dinner itself was so unique and cozy. Perfect spot for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hope to come through town again someday and stop by here for more yummy food. Next time I would really like to try one of their pies. read more

Great food and service! Classic diner vibe and friendly staff. When we stay in Lee Vining for our annual hiking trip to the Yosemite area, we always have our breakfasts and occasional dinners at Nicely's. I highly recommend it if you're passing through Lee Vining. read more

Nicely's has really good homemade Chili! I remember eating here 30 years ago. Brought my family and we ordered the chili to start. We all tried it and wanted our own bowls for dinner. It was so good I wish I could have brought some home with me. read more

Nicely's - Bowl of homemade Chili. Delicious! - American Near Me - Lee Vining, California

Staff was very friendly, food fresh and great value for price. Besides the salade they standardly serve vegetables. Desserts looked great however we were full from the meal read more

My wife's toasted cheese sandwich was raw, ie toasted outside with unmelted cheese. The service was beyond slow. There are probably better options elsewhere! read more

1) Staff - lovely folks and attentive 2) Food - it's a typical American diner. Nothing special. We ordered breakfast and cold sandwiches to go for lunch for our all day hike. 3) Environment - very cozy with early ages of rock-n-roll songs. Not too loud. Very clean restaurant. read more

Normally, before heading up the hill to Yosemite to do some hiking, I'll stop at Whoa Nelly Deli for a pre hike fix of carbs. This day, I decided I would break away from my usual and head over to Nicely's to give them a shot. Truth be told, I wasn't impressed. The interior of the restaurant comes off as old and very outdated and the food is just ok. Nothing special to speak about. I'm not saying you should avoid it, I'm just saying that this is one of those places that you're either going to like or not like and as I'm far as my preferences go, I just simply didn't like it. read more

This place is all about good home cooked food. The menu is very large with a wide spectrum of choices. The service staff is eager to serve you. The inside reminds me of east coast diners and the play 50's-60's music. Nothing fancy booths and separate tables with a good view to the kitchen. My wife had a burger & fries and I had roast beef French dip and fries. Everything tasted great and the ice tea was exceptional. Although I was stuffed I could not resist their bread pudding for dessert. I can to the table hot and flavorful. I rolled out of the place so cannot do it everyday. The service staff was very attentive which is a nice thing. We ate her during the COVID period but everything for safety is in order. read more

Two stars because the food was hot. But it wasnt good. I have eaten there years ago and dont remember it being so blan and tasteless. It was crowded so that probably didnt help the food quality. The server never came back to refill our drinks. The beef dip had no dip which would have helped with lubrication because it was very dry. read more

You really get your bang for a buck at Nicely's. It appears this place is always busy. We didn't have to wait too long till we were seated at a booth. Our waitress was a lot of fun. She was open to swapping my fries for a baked potato. I no longer can eat fried food, so this was a happy moment for me. This is a diner, not a gourmet restaurant. I've looked at some other Yelp reviews that were harsh. If you want more, drive up a mile or so to the Lee Vining Mobile gas station, there you can pay $20 for a meal that should be to your liking. As for me, I'm all about my childhood and going to a quaint establishment. For $10, we had a full meal, salad, bread w/butter, and our meal. Parking is along the street, you'll find something. Attached to the restaurant is a bar, if you are staying local, you have a chance to wet your whistle. read more

Hot chocolate and breakfast Benedict's.we also got ham and eggs.service was so quick and attentive... we are out of towners and love to try local food! read more

Very delicious fiesta salad!!! Very juicy chicken and filling! Full afterward, and happy! read more

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

Hefty meals! Sometimes you just need to load up the calories before you hit a hiking trail or go on a day long fishing expedition. On those days foofy meals just don't cut it! On this day I was going to hike up and around the rim of Panum volcanic crater near the lake and I needed calories to burn. Nicely's turned out to be the right choice. The food was good and there was plenty of it, the service was nice and the coffee kept on coming! read more

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Avoid. Overpriced Inedible food. Spent $35 on one bbq chicken dinner and it was beyond bad (and cold), threw it out. What wa waste. Don't waste your money here. read more

We thought of stopping at Nicelys long before we arrived. It sounded like the perfect place to eat since we were also checking out the upside-down house in Lee Vining. Parking wasn't bad. The lot was right across the street. We were also seated very fast, even though the restaurant was packed. We sat down, ordered our drinks, then waited close to fifteen minutes for our server. To be fair, our server was training someone else. However, being seated in the corner of the restaurant made us feel overlooked, despite the fact that we were right next to the kitchen. I ordered the BLT with a side salad. The salad and the dressing looked store bought, and to be honest I didn't eat much of it. The BLT was pretty awesome though. The sandwich is simple and delicious, which is why I love it, and they made it pretty well here. Service could have been better, but the food (half of it) was pretty excellent. read more

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

Cozy , good service , good size meal for breakfast. Glad to have found this place. Highly recommended.

I have serious concerns about how the meat is handled here. The cook who makes the burgers touches every single patty with his bare hands and without watching his hands, he also handles raw meat. This happened over and over again within the 20min we were there. read more

Sorry to leave a bad review, but we tried them (3) times over a four day period and it's just was not good any of the times. Meatloaf special was not good, hamburger steak and gravy mediocre, grilled ham and cheese terrible...this place was once a good place to eat. My family has been going there for over 30 years and it's not the same as it once was. read more

Friendly, fast service, great breakfast and reasonably priced. They were efficient and attentive. We will definitely come again!

I don't like being a hater, but the meal we had here stood out as one of the worst I have had in many years. The waitress recommended the fried chicken which was awful. The portion was generous but most of it stayed on the plate. It is really difficult to mess up mashed potatoes but they succeeded in that as well. The gelatinous blob of gravy did nothing to enhance them. As I would have expected, the side of green beans were boiled, tasteless, and inedible. I will give a shoutout to the "homemade" navy bean soup with ham which was delicious. I had high hopes for the fish tacos, but they were the worst I have ever had, even with a healthy does of Tapatio. I don't care how hungry you are, I would completely avoid this place. read more

We ate here three days in a row. The vegetables tasted fresh. Portions are generous two, active fit people can definitely split plates. They make fresh cinnamon rolls from scratch on site. Definitely grab one to go and take on your hiking boating adventures! They also have a full bar. read more

Nicely's - Restaurant area. - American Near Me - Lee Vining, California

The small town of Lee Vining, California, population, doesn't offer many dining choices, and there is only one sit-down, full-service restaurant in town, and that restaurant happens to be Nicely's Restaurant, located near the center of town, along U.S. 395. Although Nicely's has a virtual monopoly on the town, the restaurant offers delicious, diner fare, great service, and very reasonable prices. I actually visited this fine restaurant a couple years ago and am only getting around to posting a Yelp review. Vegetarians would be proud of me, as I ordered a "meatless" breakfast, simply because I wasn't really hungry, but I was craving a delicious breakfast. I enjoyed two fried eggs, hash brown potatoes, toast, and endless cups of wonderful coffee. There is nothing fancy about Nicely's Restaurant, including the diner cuisine, but there's nothing fancy about me, so you can believe that I enjoyed my dining experience at Nicely's. Nicely's offers a retro-diner experience, as it reminds me of many diners that I remember as a kid, back in the 1960's. The atmosphere is "old-school," complete with naugahyde upholstery, pie display case, and Formica breakfast bar, and a menu to match. However, I love it! I rate this restaurant somewhere between three and four stars, but since they're the only full-service, sit-down restaurant is town, and they don't exploit this status, I've giving them four stars, and I look forward to my next visit. read more

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We passed through on our little road trip. Food was good and bathrooms were clean. Staff is very friendly and attentive. read more

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We got food to go and it was a life saver, great for our picky kids and a fantastic value for the big portions.

This place takes me back to the 60's. The business has been family owned for several decades. The sons have maintained its charm, quality food, large portions, and great service, at reasonable pricing. Don't miss out on great deep dish pies! read more

Time travel is possible! We wanted to stop for a quick bit on our way back to Sacramento. It was a Monday so not many places were open. This looked liked a dependable diner, which is exactly what it was. 1960's building, decor and menu. My wife had the trout with corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and side salad. The trout was well-prepared but had no seasoning. corn on the cob was basic, mashed potatoes were really good. I had the hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. Beef was okay, bread reminded me of Wonder Bread and the gravy was pretty bad. Overall, decent for the price if you're hungry but not necessarily a destination restaurant. read more

Such a cute place! Brought us back to the 50's - 60's! We had breakfast there and everything was great! Ample servings, everything was freshly cooked. Within walking distance from our motel (of course, most things are in Lee Vining!) Fun place to visit & eat! read more

The service is great. The food has really declined over the years. We've been there two times in two days. The meatloaf came out cold. The cobbler I got was canned peaches warmed up with look like a little tiny piece of flatbread circle on top. It's just really gone downhill. read more

Nicely's is your basic "been there forever" roadside diner in Lee Vining, which is a very small tourist town at the eastern gateway to Yosemite NP. I'm vacationing in the area and today I had both breakfast and dinner at Nicely's. For breakfast I had a bowl of oatmeal that was served at room temperature. For dinner I ordered chicken fried steak that was borderline disgusting. For years, I've stopped at Nicely's for a meal, or just a coffee break when traveling through the area. Until today the oatmeal was served hot. I've had their chicken fried steak a few times, but not recently. Previously, it was tasty and both the steak and gravy well prepared; not today. There are much better options so now I'll give them my business. I'm done with Nicely's. read more