El Tovar Dining Room: Is It Worth It?
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- In this short video, we explore the iconic El Tovar Dining Room at Grand Canyon National Park. Discover the ambiance, menu highlights, and whether the experience justifies the price. From steaks to Southwest chicken, we’ll share firsthand impressions and insider tips. Remember to consider the stunning location, traditional service and unique experience when evaluating whether it’s worth a visit! Dining at El Tovar can provide a peak of life as a guest 100 years ago. f you’re planning a visit, this review will help you decide if El Tovar is a must-try or better left for other dining options.
• El Tovar Hotel opened in 1905, and was designed by architect Charles Whittlesey to resemble a Northern European hunting lodge. It was once considered to be the finest hotel West of the Mississippi and attracted wealthy and famous guests.
• Mary Jane Colter designed the contemporaneously built Hopi House, located across from El Tovar, and also planned the furnishings for El Tovar. Her Mimbreno China, originally designed in 1936 for train dining cars, remains in use at the El Tovar Dining Room today.
• Diners are encouraged to make reservations for lunch or dinner and patrons are encouraged to dress discretely.
• Breakfast does not require reservations and is priced more moderately for those who would like to experience the dining room on a budget.
• The dining room looks much today as it did in 1905, and that is part of its charm.
• There are minor views of the Canyon possible from the dining room windows, and those seats are the most desirable.
• El Tovar is the flagship dining room at Grand Canyon and the food and service are the best you will find at the park, but the prices are also the highest.
• It’s been a while since I dined at El Tovar, this time I was struck at the formality of the restaurant, something that seems to have disappeared elsewhere over the years. There are bread plates & knives, multiple utensils, the waiters do five finger tray carries. Likely this degree of formality still exists in some bigger and more traditional cities, but in the less formal West where I live, it has pretty much disappeared. Also, the wait staff were great fun. One fellow even came over and showed our table postcards of the Grand Canyon Swimming Pool, a rare bit of trivia I am researching for an upcoming video. The formality of this more traditional service, to me, if part of the fun dining at El Tovar. Both the dining room itself which has remained fundamentally unchanged over 120 years and the formality of the service create a “time machine” atmosphere.
• The quality of the food is the best you can get at Grand Canyon. All four in my party described both the meals we ate there as “good.” It is not world-class food, to me world-class food makes you go, “oh, wow!” But overall it was a good experience.
• But, the meals are very expensive. The first dinner for four was about $350 including tax, tips and incidentals, and the second dinner was about $300, as some less expensive dishes were ordered. This is more than the cost of a room for the night as Maswik.
• So here is my evaluation of the restaurant. It is probably worth it if you are well-off, if you are making a once in a lifetime trip to Grand Canyon, or if you are celebrating a special occasion. But none of these descriptions apply to me. I ate there because first, my brother likes the restaurant, and second, he is paying off a bet that involved dinner for life at Grand Canyon. But here’s the key question, “would I have eaten at El Tovar if I had to pay?” For me, the answer is unquestionably NO. I’ve had a number of dinners there, so it is no longer special. You can enjoy the ambiance with a drink in the hotel bar or lobby and then put the cost of the meal toward another night in a hotel or other expenses of the trip. In fact, as a frequent visitor to Grand Canyon, my choice for meals is to bring my own food and then eat in my room or at a picnic table.
• Now admittedly, a good time was had by all at El Tovar, and I am perfectly happy having dinner there when someone else is paying, but when footing the bill myself, my conclusion is that it is appropriate for a one-time visit or special occasion, but is otherwise just too expensive.
• I hope you enjoy your visit to Grand Canyon, bon appetite, and thank you for watching.
Thanks for going to the trouble to do the research on the past of the hotel. It makes the video much more dynamic. ❤
I really enjoy looking at the old photos and I am pleased to be able to add them to the video. Thanks for noticing.
It may be expensive, but the pictures of that food is sure making me hungry!
I can't agree with you more.
The meals do look apetizing!
: )
What a beautiful place to eat. I would love to try at least once in my life. Thank you for sharing this wonderful video and I really appreciate it. Good job 👍
❤
I agree 👍
I hope you make it there some day.
Ate there twice! We spent three days below the rim and couldn't wait to order a cooked meal. Dinner was fantastic, with great local influenced dishes. HIGHLY recommend everyone get breakfast - the morning light hitting the canyon walls provides an unparalleled breakfast view!
I think dinner after a hike is all the more delicious. Glad to hear the meals were great, and others will appreciate hearing that as well. Great that you got to spend time in the Canyon. Thanks for your comment.
Thank you friends for sharing a video of a beautiful and very historical place
Thanks for watching!
맛있겠어요. 전통있는 레스토랑 같아요. 멋진 시간 이었겠어요❤❤❤
It was great fun, but a bit too expensive!
This is the best video about El Tovar I have ever seen. Good job, GCHIKER.
Thanks so much, I appreciate your watching.
It is amazing how similar it looks now to the old photos you show. It would be kind of fun to eat in a time capsule.
I agree, I think it is one of the features of the dining room.
Neat to the dining room looks very similar to the old photos. I think it looks worth it if it fits in your budget.
Yes, it seems to have hardly changed. There's always breakfast for those on a budget!
That is a fun tour of the dining room. I don't think it's for me, but it is good to know about it just in case.
Happy to provide the information.
As you said, if it's a once-in-a-lifetime visit, I'll definitely use it. If I had the chance to visit again and again, I would consider other options😊👍
That is the approach that makes the most sense to me.
Neat place, looks like a living history museum,😊
That is a key part of its charm.
We had breakfast there a couple of months ago. Very good! Not too spendy for a fun experience.
I think breakfast it the most economical way to enjoy the atmosphere!
Great review. The restaurant is in a beautiful place and has its own history and quality, which is paid for everywhere in the world. It would be nice to have dinner in this ambiance, but it's still a bit too expensive for our budget.
I agree fully. The best option, from my perspective, is to bring your own food.
Ate there. Ordered prime rib after asking if it was cut to order or pan cooked. I requested cut to order and got overcooked and pan fried. He wasn’t very nice about it. I went to the front desk in the morning. They handled it well.
I am glad to hear they resolved your concerns. My brother has also experienced incorrect cuts of meat being served, and they removed the charge from the bill.
It sure sounds very unaffordable. I am not sure that I ever can afford to go there. But its nice of you to show us what it looks like. Thank you 🙏
I agree with you, if I have to pay, I will go somewhere else!
Nice looking China.😊
Yes, Colter and the Native people before her had a good sense of design!
Very nice advice! I would like to try here. Maybe at first find a friend who likes to pay me 😂 ❤
The meal tastes best when someone else is paying!
Indeed, once is good. Find that most restaurants now seem quite expensive...even fast food is getting out of reach for me...not that I frequent many of these places anyway. lol Being thrifty (or a cheapskate as some might say), I too tend to bring my own.
I am with you. I have been bringing my food for years, and it works out better that way. But it happened my brother was paying for the meals, so I figured I would do a review of the fancy restaurant. Thanks for watching!
We stayed at Bright Angel, and ate at the cafeteria.
That sounds like a much more economical way to go.
I know years ago it was the place to go when there, but I don’t see its charm anymore, especially for that price point, even if you are lucky enough to land the few window tables.
I agree, it has just gotten too expensive.
The China is heavy looking almost like a pottery or just plain stoneware. I’m gonna google that name brand & see other styles. I love the artwork I guess roadrunner or phoenix & a sun god???
Native Indian of the area? I’d like to know more about original local tribes art - paintings on mountains or caves & potteries or jewelry especially turquoise the colors & styles.
Just off the top of my head, my impression is that the Mimbres were an older group, no longer in existance. There are a lot of old rock carvings and such, but most are more disoragnized than what appears on the old pots--and the modern china. My brother's girlfriend really liked these, so I scouted around for some on the internet. The most expensive are on the Xanterra website, but there are also other lines that are more affordable.
Hi! We're visiting the South Rim in a couple of weeks. My concern is what would we do if we can't get a reservation for dining in the restaurant? Can we go outside the park and re-enter again no matter the time of the day? Thanks in advance!
There are plenty of dining options that do not require reservations in the park, including Yavapai Cafeteria and Maswik Food Court. I have a longer video that covers these: ruclips.net/video/HbmtPj1Pr_Q/видео.html
The park entry pass is good for seven days if you get the one-time entry. It is 15 or so minutes to Tusayan, which has multiple dining options. The only issue with re-entry is if there is a line at the gate.
The option I like the best is bringing my own food with me. That way you save money and time and get to spend more time viewing the Canyon.
I hope you guys have a great visit!
Thanks for taking your time to answer my question! I really appreciate it!
@@fitogch I am always happy to help in any way I can.
I'm sincerely impressed-kudos to you!
Thanks so much for watching!