The Ahwahnee Bar

I recently purchased an incredibly overpriced cranberry vodka from the Ahwahnee Bar so that I could have a legitimate excuse to write this review. The service was confusing. When I walked in, other guests were waiting by the podium. Since there was no sign saying to wait to be seated, we all went to the bar.The bartender glared at us, then went to loudly complain to the hostess within earshot: People just keep coming up to the bar. We responded by asking him directly where to order. The other guests were so upset by his attitude that they left. For some reason, he was nicer to me. Maybe because I didn't want to sit at his bar-- I wanted to take it to the Solarium, because it was open that day. Like I said, the drink was insanely overpriced, but tasted okay.Since I paid for a drink, I asked if I could have a wifi promo code, and was declined. Other food service areas in Yosemite have dedicated networks for this purpose-- why can't the Ahwahnee?I would love to be able to sit in this bar long enough to get some work done on my laptop, but it's hard without the wifi.I understand wanting to protect the hotel guest network, but if that is the issue, why not add a separate network for public use like Curry Village has?

Decent customer service, but disappointing food.Customer Service: The staff was nice enough to offer me options between waiting 30-40 mins on the waitlist or we could be seated immediately for the bar (I don't remember the name of the server who chased after me to tell me this, but thank you to him!). That said, half of the tables were empty and I didn't really see the place ever fill up the whole time we were there. We opted for the bar. The service was kind of confusing. The person who seated us said she would be back with our silverware and never came back; I was thinking we could order with her when she came back. After about 15-20 mins of her not having come back (she was sitting down at the podium in the front...perhaps texting on her phone), I asked the bartender to order with her. After we ordered, it took about 30-40 mins to get our food. I had asked for my melt to be cut in half, but it was not. The server was not quite happy with me when I asked again when she brought it out (at this point I still had no silverware). The bartender was great though; she made sure to refill our water, etc.. Parking: It's valet parking only: $10 for a day-pass and $30 for overnight.Pricing: Definitely overpriced because it is a hotel, but especially because of how below average the food was. There was a price range of food, most falling with the $20-40 realm. They have a big list of drinks, but I didn't get one. Food: I ordered a Short Rib Melt ($29); my partner ordered the Chilled Rice Noodles ($23) with added Chicken ($9). We were famished, which usually means anything will taste good, but even in that state, the food was incredibly mid. My Short Rib Melt tasted okay, but was very soggy. The chips that came with them were ALL stale-each one; I kept trying them hoping for one that wasn't stale, but the effort was futile. My partner's noodle dish was sloppy and didn't taste much better. Atmosphere: The hotel is well-designed and fun to check out. The bar is quiet.It may be best to skip the bar and make reservations for the dining room.

We visited the Ahwannee bar on Sunday December 29, 2024. We have been to the Ahwannee bar, restaurant and hotel many times. It was always a wonderful visit before. But today, it was beyond messed up. First they told us it would be 1.5hour wait before we are sat down at the bar. The restaurant was closed during lunch. Then they suggested we should buy our food to go and eat at the lounge area as that would be only 20 minutes to get our food. We said ok and got in line at the bar. We were #4 in line. It took them 56 minutes just to take our order. For the entire hour we were on line, they didn't sit anyone at the bar area, where half of the tables (including counter) remained open. The hostess and servers kept leisurely going about their business while the line grew longer and longer. After about 35mins of standing in line to order at the counter, I asked the hostess why can't we sit if you are not going to let anyone else sit? She snapped at us saying she is only one person, we need to be patient. Mind you no one was badgering her, every customer was puzzled but patiently doing what they asked us to do. On the other hand about half a dozen employees of the establishment were there, not helping the customers waiting patiently to be served. Then came another terrible aspect of the whole experience. We ordered rib melt, soup of the day (spicy vegetarian chili), and pretzels with mustard and cheese dip. With the exception of the pretzels that were just ok, every other food item tasted horrible, just bad. It was hard to understand what was going on with the food and service. It almost felt like there was serious lack of management oversight of the place. It was sad to see the Ahwannee reduced to this.

The bar offers terrible food which was surprising as the main dining room offers excellent meals and drinks, the Sunday brunch is one our favorite meals while in Yosemite. We ordered the sloppy joes in the bar, nearly $100 for both of us with non-alcoholic drinks.The sloppy joes were awful, the previous lunch, I had the tacos which also were not made well.My advice is stop by Yosemite lodge on the way in for lunch as the fair is much better for far less cost.Also, if you want a simple dinner, again Yosemite lodge offers many items for reasonable rates.Another option is stop in mariposa or close by town, for a better lunch experience.Many people do like the alcohol drinks and early morning coffee which is really good and free.(The coffee is free and not everyone knows about it, one guest almost yelled and said, "where did you get the coffee") no manners at all..Many stuck up many people stay here at well, just ignore them.I hate to be negative and perhaps things have changed but why take the chance.

Amazing bar!! Enjoyed killer cocktails the night before- the Awahnee Manhattan! And the next day breakfast! I enjoyed a lavender oat milk latte and veggie breakfast burrito while looking out at half dome! Could tell the burrito was made fresh to order! Service was so knowledgeable, fast, and kind!! Loved it

I took a girls trip to Yosemite in order to snowshoe for the first snowfall of the season. We decided to stop by the hotel and have brunch in the dining room. It was absolutely stunning. Not just the architecture, but also the views.-Unfortunately, the structure of the brunch and the pricing was out of our budget so we moved our crew over to the bar. There we found an affordable menu with tasty items. It was a bit crowded and lively, but we made it work.-I got myself a hot cocoa, which was much needed after our day in the snow. I absolutely loved how they added the adornments to make it special.

IMHOThere are only two choices for dining at the Ahwahnee, the dining room or the bar. Since we had eaten at the dining room the night before, we wanted another option. Two buffet dinners in a row didn't appeal to me.The bar does not take reservations so just walk-up and hopefully they have tables available or take a seat at the bar! We enjoyed some cocktails at the outside patio...brrrr and 10 minutes later were called in for our table. They have a limited bar menu, more geared for appetizer plates with a few hot entrees available. My husband ordered the half rack of Smoked St. Louis Ribs, $36, and I had the Chilled Rice Noodles, $22. The ribs were tender, but the bark was a little tough and hard to chew through. The sauce seemed more Asian-sweet and no smoky flavor. It was served with a creamy coleslaw and two pieces of cornbread. IMHO, the cornbread was the best part of that entree! It was sweet, moist and yummy! My noodle dish was good, but it would've been lovely if it was offered as a warm entree instead of cold. Overall, a nice meal and less expensive. Would've preferred more entree options like burgers and pizza. Service was friendly and capable. Yes, I would dine here again.

I really enjoyed the food here! Looking at the reviews, I was a little hesitant. I came here twice during my stay and definitely can recommend certain items over others. Everything pictures was so worth it! The soup and salad were perfect starters, the salad was presented very well and the taste was what you would expect. I believe the soup option changes, but I had the carrot ginger soup. The noodles are a cold dish and were pleasantly spicy. I wasn't expecting the kick! My favorites items by far were the pretzels (which I ordered both times), they were warm and soft and came with a cheese and mustard dip. Lastly the lemon berry dessert almost gave a cheesecake type feel, and was very complex in flavor but went very well together.The service was average, nothing notably terrible or amazing. You can't beat the hotel setting and view! The bar itself is a small space, within the hotel -right near the entrance.

While visiting Yosemite for a day we ended up eating lunch here with my family. We had a wonderful experience from the moment we left our car at the valet til we left. Very friendly and helpful team members. We waited ten minutes for a table for five. Our waiter/waitress was very friendly and attentive. We ordered the pretzels to share and loved it. I had the peanut noodle salad and loved it. We also ordered meatballs, brisket sandwich and ribs. They were ok, not bad not great either. The drinks we got were too sweet for our taste but we added some ice and enjoyed it with our lunch. The atmosphere here is great so we didn't let anything spoil our time here. Great service and great place to have a great time specially if you stay here at the hotel. Thats what we are planing to do next time.

When we first got there the bar was half empty and we were told it was going to be a two hour wait for six people, but we were more than welcome to order up at the bar. We went to walk around the gift shop and then right as we were going to order from the bar they seated us (not sure why the 2 hour wait?) Service was poor overall, took 10 minutes before someone came to even ask our drink order. Food was overpriced but okay, it was an interesting menu. We asked for the Wi-Fi so that our two-year-old could get on our phone to watch something to entertain him rather than having a typical two-year-old temper tantrum meltdown. The staff refused. We also asked for a to-go cup and then the waiter forgot, and sat down. My husband had to go up to the bar and ask. Overall ambiance is very cool. Really just disappointed in the service.