Featured Review

February/March 2009

Wawona Hotel Dining Room in Yosemite National Park Provides Wonderful Gluten-Free Dining Experience

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5.0 Palms	Wawona Hotel Dining Room
Review Type:	Restaurant within a Hotel
Location:	Yosemite National Park, CA
Phone:	(209) 375-1425
Website:	www.yosemitepark.com/Dining_WawonaDiningRoom.aspx
Contact:
Trip Type:	Family meal/vacation
Travel Dates:	October 2007
Review Posted:	January 13 , 2009

The Wawona Hotel Dining Room was a wonderful gluten-free experience for my son during our visit to Yosemite.

It was our final day in the park, and we decided to look around for Sunday brunch options. When I called the Wawona, they were very friendly and helpful. They assured me that they were experienced in providing gluten-free options (as well as many other options for other dietary restrictions) and even told me they would show us which items in their buffet were gluten free...so we decided to go.

When we arrived, I made sure to tell them we had called about the gluten free items. I was pleasantly surprised when it was the chef himself who then came out to greet us. He personally walked my son and me through the buffet showing us which items were gluten-free. We enjoyed a large portion (probably 50% was gluten free) of what they prepare for their Sunday Brunch buffet.

Near the end of the meal, I asked the waitress about dessert since there were no gluten-free options on the brunch. She happily gave me two options for dessert (we chose tapioca pudding). When she brought out a heaping sundae dish of tapioca pudding, my son's eyes popped right out of his head in surprise!

After the meal, we ended up meeting one of the kitchen staff members. She let us know that she herself has been eating gluten-free for 30 years... now it all makes sense that they understand so much about preparing gluten-free food there!

We were also told that they have gluten-free items on their dinner menu but were unable to come back that day - unfortunately it was our last day at the park.

Aside from dining at the Wawona that last day for brunch, for the most part we cooked for ourselves in the kitchen at the house we stayed in during our trip. Since half of our food got left behind at home (long story), we were fortunate that the market in Yosemite Valley had adequate choices to make gluten free meals at home. However, other than the Ahwahnee Dining Room which is expensive and more formal, we did not find any other gluten-free options at restaurants in the Yosemite Valley.

I highly recommend dining at the Wawona Hotel based on our experience. In fact, next time my wish is to stay at the Wawona since the food is so great there! We also enjoyed exploring around the hotel before and after brunch... including taking a ride on a real stagecoach with a great tour guide full of history information.

** GlutenFreeTravelSite.com suggests you always contact hotels and resorts directly to verify the availability of gluten-free meals before booking your stay.