Bryce Canyon Lodge Dining Hall
- Harris
- First Reviewer
- 4 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 3
- Reviews
-
1
- Photo
Editor Pick
Bryce Canyon Lodge Dining Room
- January 27, 2007
- Rated 4 of 5 by
callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
Dining options at Bryce are surprisingly limited, given the park’s popularity. Outside the boundary, Ruby’s Inn dominates the market for both lodging and dining, with a restaurant, snack bar, and cafeteria to accompany their nearly 400 rooms. A few other motel/restaurant combinations lie along Utah 23, the spur that heads south from Utah 12 into the park.
But once inside the boundary, the dining room at Bryce Canyon Lodge is your only caloric option. That’s a little surprising, given that Zion and the Grand Canyon’s North Rim each have lower-end snack bars in addition to their upscale restaurants. Xanterra, the concessionaire at all three parks, allows reservations several months out, so we’d booked a table for dinner at 8pm on our first night in the park. We were too hungry to wait until then, and easily moved our reservation up to 5:45, choosing to watch the sun disappear on a full stomach.
The dining room was emptier than we’d expected. Guidebooks and Xanterra really push you to make your reservations as soon as that becomes possible, so I was expecting more company. (Of course, if you don’t get a seat for dinner, you’ll have to leave the park to find another place to eat, so that alone might be a good reason to schedule a seating in advance.)
The dining room is a very nice space, and feels perfectly in keeping with the lodge’s original design. It’s a long, rectangular room with high timbered ceilings. Spoiled by the dining room at the North Rim, at first we were a little disappointed not to be gazing out into the canyon as we ate. The menu is similar to that at the North Rim, a fine-dining experience featuring about 10 entrees distributed among Utah trout, beef, and pastas. Prices range from $10 to $30, with most entrees in the $15 to $22 range. I had the salmon, which is always hard to resist, and it was very nicely done. The rest of our party selected vegetarian pastas, salads, and a delicious pair of pork chops. Our bill came to about $20 per person for the five of us.
We returned the next morning for breakfast, as a reward for everyone braving the early morning chill for the sunrise at Inspiration Point. We’d already been up for a while when we sat down at 6:45, and hot coffee and hot chocolate was a good choice. There’s an à la carte breakfast menu, but nearly all those items are available at the breakfast buffet. That’s where four of us went, and my kids amazed me as they put away the eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and waffles, yogurt, fruit…I wasn’t far behind them, though, since we were fueling up for a full day of hiking and horseback riding. The food was fresh and hot, and better than some other reviews had led me to expect. Breakfast was over $50, though, so after two meals here we looked for cheaper options for our next meals.
From journal On the Plateau, Part VI: Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon Lodge Restaurant
- July 14, 2004
- Rated 4 of 5 by
LisaCharlene from Phoenix, Arizona
The Lodge is rather rustic from the outside, but the restaurant is quite nice. There is a large fireplace in the center of the restaurant - the atmosphere is casually sophisticated. The menu was rather small but the choices are outstanding. Quite gourmet for an area of this size and the service was very gracious and we were well attended. In my opinion THE BEST place to eat in the area. The view from the restaurant is pure eye candy.
From journal Queens Garden-Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon Lodge Dining Hall
- July 13, 2001
- Rated 4 of 5 by
Harris from Boston, Massachusetts
There is virtually no other place to eat in Bryce and it's a lucky thing. The food here is surprisingly good and inventive, Southwestern fare with congenial service. We ate both lunch and dinner here and it definitely added to Bryce's summer camp atmosphere, since it felt like an adult's version of the camp dining hall. If they have their white bean soup, be sure to try it--and don't be afraid of the bright red tortilla chips.
From journal Beautiful Bryce