Of all the spots to eat in the Zoo, this is probably the nicest. It’s a beautiful pink adobe building set at the edge of a wide grassy park a shaded with ancient cottonwoods and a duck pond – with ducks, geese, swans and koi. All the food is served cafeteria style, which is probably just as well when the zoo is busy. The inside eating area, where you can dine in air conditioned comfort, is quite small and noisy, so we decided on the patio and were rewarded by a visit from a local peacock wandering through the zoo.
The food is good, if limited – the menu is mostly hamburgers, burritos, chips from a bag, pre-made salads and assorted soft drinks etc. It’s also rather expensive. We bought two bottles of water and split a bean burrito plate which came with beans (guess you can’t have too much of a good thing) and Spanish rice for $7.50.
While you can’t bring your own food into any of the buildings, we did see several people who had the right idea, they’d spread blankets on the grass under the trees and ate picnic lunches.
There are other spots in the Zoo to find food. The Lobo Café, which is near the entrance, also serves a similar menu to the Cottonwood Café, though it was closed when we were there, and throughout the park there are carts selling snacks – ice cream, popcorn, soft drinks and the like.