49'er Cafe
Categories: Restaurants Diners Restaurants American (Traditional) Diners, American (Traditional) [Edit]
Highway 190Death Valley, CA 92328
(760) 786-2345
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
34 reviews for 49'er Cafe
Review Highlights
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"...I found the prices reasonable by National Park standards." In 5 reviews -
"...fed burgers, veggie wrap, gyro and country fried steak." In 3 reviews -
"Maybe because we'd just been camping for three days, but we..." In 3 reviews
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34 reviews in English
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Review from Brian G.
3/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
I'm a little surprised when people dock restaurants that are in the middle of a desert for unreasonably high prices. There really aren't a lot of options and it costs extra to get everything out there. Those tomatoes don't just grow on the side of the street.
So yes, the prices are a little higher than what you'd expect to pay than in the city - I'd estimate 25-40% higher, but you are dining on solid cafe food in the middle of a desert! The food hits the spot and it definitely won't be winning any awards, but that's exactly what the 49'er Cafe intends to do - serve satisfying meals. -
Review from Mona W.
1/9/2012 5 photos
Food is alright but service is slow. Waited a while before our server finally appeared and waited even longer for food. I guess being one of the two only restaurants in a 20 miles radius means you will have a full house any time. Someone is always hungry at any given hours.
Had a burger and a salad. Standard fare but really hit the spot after a long day of exploration. They offer to go lunch box too. Next time I might just grab one of those before heading out. -
Review from Carter S.
La Verne, CA
3/31/2012
The food was better than I expected. We got chicken caesar salads and they were good. The food was fresh, the grilled chicken was good and the dressing was a little spicy. BUT Don't bother with the $10.95 bacon crab cakes. They didn't taste like crab or bacon. They tasted a little fishy and they didn't smell or taste anything like bacon.
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Review from Kathryn C.
Los Angeles, CA
7/15/2011 1 photo
Sometimes you're just tired of camp food and you don't want to cook something, but you also don't want to break the bank. That's why you're camping out instead of staying at the Furnace Creek Inn, right? In cases like this, the 49er is just the ticket.
The food isn't amazing or super creative, but come on, nobody goes to a national park for the cuisine. All in all it's a little kitschy, but satisfying and reasonable quality, if a little on the expensive side (but what isn't, out here?). I'm a fan of the buffalo burgers, personally.
This is also a regular hang-out for park rangers, so if you happen to be there at the right time in the evenings, you might see a few familiar faces that you can't quite place because they're not wearing uniforms anymore. That should be enough to recommend it, if nothing else! -
Review from Robin S.
8/14/2011 1 photo
We've been going to Death Valley annually for several years and the 49er is our favorite restaurant in the park. Quite a bit better than the Toll Road in Stovepipe Wells where we usually stay. That said, it's not always worth the drive from Stovepipe to Furnace Ck after a day of hiking and driving if we've been on the north side of the park.
Great service, good beer list and a very nice post-hike ambiance. -
Review from Mvtoria D.
San Diego, CA
4/2/2012
food is fine but too expensive (but what will u expect??you're in the desert), long line, service is slow...there's not much choices especially when you are starving...better than nothing=)))
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Review from Zack P.
Gardiner, MT
11/10/2011
I had the black bean burger for dinner. While it was tasty, the patty totally fell apart. I really liked the option to add an entire fire-roasted whole green chile. I had the Furnace Creek Date Shake for dessert. Small chunks of date, a subtle flavor, but a good milkshake.
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Review from Peyton C.
Corona, CA
4/16/2011
I went here my first time to Death Valley so maybe my expectations were really low because after all, it's Death Valley. I expected the food to be not so great, but tolerable.
My expectations were greatly exceeded. I went there for breakfast after a cold night of camping and had a GREAT, I mean, GREAT omelette! It was perfect, probably one of the best I have had in my life. That should say a lot seeing as this place is located in DeVa. When we came back for dinner the next night, we were seated right behind this man who spoke with his outside voice. It was terrible because it sounded like he was on his first date. Why Death Valley? I don't know, but it was a fail. Poor guy. He just wouldn't be quiet. It was some more good food (I can't recall what I had, sorry!) and some entertainment!
They servers are very nice and helpful. I am looking forward to my next trip to the 49'er Cafe! -
Review from M L.
San Francisco, CA
12/21/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I had the Miner Meatloaf and the Liver & Onions. Both were good. I recommend the Meatloaf. What concerned me was how on one day the waitress offered us bread and the other day, they didn't even mention it. When we got bread, I looked around at the other tables and some of them didn't get bread. This place is cheaper than the other restaurants in the area so go here. It's in a good location. It's next to the General Store, Chevron Gas Station, Bar, and the desert.
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Review from Cedar T.
10/15/2011
Terribly overpriced (like everything in Death Valley) ... insult to injury is the outrageous mandatory tip ... irregardless of the lousy service.
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Review from Karen M.
I've been here several times with different people and each visit has been pleasant. Yes, the decor is kitschy. Yes, the prices are a wee bit on the high side for standard burgers, sandwiches, and salads. However, the staff is friendly, the place is clean, and the food is good. Yesterday, my husband and I split the veggie black bean burger and were very satisfied. The sunflower seed sauce is yummy and the burger had a nice garlic edge. We weren't charged a sharing fee, which was a surprise (I really thought they'd ding us for splitting an entree, seeing as it is a national park restaurant). The 49'er won't win any Michelin stars, but for what it is and where it is, it'll do the deed.
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Review from Ryan R.
Newbury Park, CA
11/29/2010
I think 'Denny's of the Desert' might be a bit of an underestimation of this place, but it is very simple.
We didn't come here for dinner but hit it twice for breakfast and were very pleased.
The cowboy french toast, is really good as are the omelettes and hash browns.
Yes the price is a little steep at $50 for four people but its better value than what you get in other places. -
Review from Wayne D.
Carson City, NV
11/26/2010
If you're staying at the Ranch here in Death Valley, there are several meal options. First is the bar. I didn't go into the bar, but I suppose they have pretzels or something, or maybe the olive in your martini will count as food. Then there is the General Store, which has a selection- quite the huge selection, actually- of pre-made wrapped sandwiches. Then there is the Steakhouse. Then there is the Buffet. And finally, there is the 49'er Cafe.
While the selection is limited and expensive, and the decor is virtually non-existent, the service is friendly and the hamburger I ordered was surprisingly good. Real char-broiled flavor.
We also had Thanksgiving dinner here. You can choose between ham or turkey. They give you a huge platter and it's filled to the edges with food- sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, stuffing, and as much ham as I would take for myself if nobody was looking. I couldn't finish it all. It was all pretty good, no complaints. -
Review from Vince S.
West Los Angeles, CA
1/30/2011
I think it's just wrong to put down this place. It's in the middle of nowhere (well not exactly since it's a national park) and you can't expect food to be top notch at low prices.
Consider the pple working there, chefs, servers etc. It's not like these chefs appear on cooking shows in Hollywood. They work just as hard as everyone. Their job, along with the servers, are to make sure you have a decent dining experience.
We had a dinner and lunch here. Food we ordered:
1. Country fried steak (mashed potatoes)
2. Western Burger 8oz (with fries)
3. Grilled chicken sandwich with potato salad.
4. Meat ball pasta.
All were pretty decent. I have to mention that the grilled chicken in the grilled chicken sandwich was a little 'small'. The 8oz burger seemed more sumptuous.
After a long day of hiking, this is the best place to chill out. Trust me.
Mashed potatoes is done right, with chunky potatoes..none of those powdered stuff. -
Review from Tracy S.
6/27/2011
We stopped in here on our last morning in the park, and it was fine breakfast. The biscuits and gravy were good and the coffee was strong, which is pretty much my measuring stick for any breakfast joint. I like the kitchy, Death-Valley-themed decor. Maybe because we'd just been camping for three days, but we were happy with everything we ate. And I found the prices reasonable by National Park standards.
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Review from Dave M.
Providence, RI
1/2/2008
After 3 nights of camping around Death Valley, i thought i would be happy with any food shoved in front of me which wasn't warmed over a gas cannister. This cafe barely lived up to it. The breakfast is fine, because it really takes alot to screw up eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and toast. For dinner we chose the overpriced hamburgers here rather than $25 entrees at the steakhouse next door, which we were sure would be just as mediocre. The burgers were indeed mediocre. We then bunked down in the severly overpriced 'cabins' (read:$135 motel room worth $30).
I love you, Death Valley. -
Review from Raymond F.
Pasadena, CA
12/7/2008
Decent selection of food
Prices are reasonable
Décor was forgettable
Food was lacking flavor -
Review from Earl B.
Carson, CA
10/10/2009 1 photo
After braving the 5-1/2 hour drive and walking around in 110-degree heat, I was thirsty and starving. Starving.
Enter: Forty-Niner Cafe, a place I like to call my own little Death Valley oasis.
The food here was alright. I ended up ordering the Buffalo burger with potato salad on the side. (Plus points for having a Buffalo burger!) The burger itself was pretty tasty. The cheese on the burger was nice and melty. That's a new word, "melty." The potato salad, however, tasted like it came from an econosize Costco tub. Now, I don't find econosize potato salad tubs all that bad, I just don't expect it to be served at a sit-down restaurant.
Customer service is where this place really shines, though. The waitstaff was super nice and super accommodating. We later came back to the restaurant to find shelter from the desert sun and they were nice enough to serve us all water while we cooled down. Awesome... great stuff, guys.
I wish there were 3 1/2 stars, because that's precisely what I'd rate the place. Great staff, run-of-the-mill food = 3.5 stars. -
Review from Charlie Bolognese Z.
San Francisco, CA
1/13/2012
The service isn't as fancy as next door at the Steakhouse, but the food is still good, solid Americana. Certainly better than the Stovepipe Wells restaurant. My "hiker's pasta" with chicken was fresh and filling. Ivan, our server, was professional and approachable. I'd definitely return if camping nearby or staying at the Ranch.
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Review from Jim A.
Los Angeles, CA
7/23/2011
Not many choices in Death Valley. Thus is probably the best you'll find. Food was well prepared. Service was good.
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Review from Brian G.
Brooklyn, NY
11/8/2009
While staying at Furnace Creek there are only 2 options. This one looked more fun and inviting to me. I loved how the place is decorated with pictures and paintings of Death Valley and it's history. Another cute thing is that every single table has a map of Death Valley National Park. It's super convenient to have that right on the table so we were able to plan out our days as well as to reflect back on where we went that day.
I ate here 3 times and was lucky to get here 10 minutes before closing on the first night. I don't remember what I ate for dinner, but I ate breakfast here 2 times and eat the Furnace Creek omelette both times, which was stuffed with delicious gouda cheese and orange peppers! This was a great option for breakfast eaters who do not eat pigs or cows. I left feeling great, full, and ready to take on the day. The coffee was also strong and black, just how I like it before a long day out in the desert!
Service was decent. The people who work there seem a little bored, but hey what should I expect if they live and work in the desert. -
Review from Dennis K.
Arlington, TX
1/3/2010
This isn't the only place on earth to serve a $14 hamburger. But, wherever you may have had one, there is no denying one thing--it's overpriced. Even it's at some Big City Fancy Pants Dining Joint who is gouging you because of their reputation, or it's like this place, where they have you at their mercy because there is absolutely zero competition in the area. Of course, being in the middle of Death Valley, I realize that they're is a justification for the increase in cost since all the ingredients have to travel a long way from the closest supplier. But, still, I felt just a bit held up by the prices for sandwiches--especially since you could get regular entrees (chicken dinner, meatloaf dinner, etc) for the same price.
As for the actual quality of the food? I can't really complain. It WAS a tasty burger. The produce (lettuce, tomatoes) was a bit on old side, but the meat was well cooked and the flavors were great. The service was friendly and quick. And the ambiance was not without charm--the place is set up to seem like an old time restaurant.
The only gripe would be the prices. Suffice it to say that after paying $40 for two people to have sandwiches at lunch, I did not attempt to dine again in the valley, preferring to load up on groceries outside the park. (Although I did make the mistake of getting a soda at a gas station in Stovepipe Wells--$2.69 for a 20 oz. bottle from a general store/gas station). -
Review from Kara V.
10/24/2010
This is probably one of the most popular dining spots in the Valley. Its mid range coffee shop food, but if you have to feed a family, this is where you go. It can be very crowded at times so be ready to wait. The milkshakes are good here but the rest of the food is on par with Denny's, but then again it's the only game in town for casual dining.
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Review from She R. A.
San Francisco, CA
11/26/2007
Had Thanksgiving Dinner here. I was just in shock to see such a great spread for a Thanksgiving dinner that was less than $20. Soup or salad with a turkey or ham meal with all the fixins AND dessert. I just didn't expect to see food like that out in the middle of one of the more remote place on earth.
Everyone was super friendly there too even after being on their feet for so long serving Thanksgiving dinner all night. -
Review from J. T.
Somerville, MA
7/15/2009
Dave V hit the nail on the head: "The 49'er Cafe in Death Valley has the quality and selection of a Coco's or Denny's, but at twice the price. "
Definitely worth the trip to Furnace Creek for better options (and prices).
But get gas in Stovepipe - always the cheapest in the NP -
Review from Edmund L.
San Jose, CA
12/31/2010
Really good food at reasonable prices! They would even substitute fries with onion rings at no extra charge! We love the grass-fed burgers, veggie wrap, gyro and country fried steak. The service was awesome & attentive. A nice surprise in this desert park indeed!
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Review from Joe B.
San Jose, CA
2/22/2009
Denny's in the Desert...that describes the Forty-Niner Cafe at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley. My partner is vegetarian and was able to choose from several different dishes, which is unusual at many tourist spots. For two people, the bill was always around $27 (we ate six meals here), with water to drink (seemed like a good idea in the desert, although I would usually have beer or wine (both were about $5 on the menu). You can charge meals to your room.
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Review from Manish P.
San Jose, CA
12/31/2007
Food is quite OK, but what can you expect in the dessert, which is atleast 50 miles away from civilization. Great Onion Rings, service is quite good. One of the plusses was their daily soup. They offered Tomato Basil and Pumpkin on 2 nights. They were both vegetarian and tasty.
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Review from Dr D.
Lakewood, CA
12/23/2009
Overpriced? Check!
Only place to eat? Possibly!
Death Valley does not know how to do food, well at least not at this place. It was quite mixed. I went there once and the food was good (first day), then after that it began to decline, sort of like the steep slope that leads you into the valley, but then you realize getting out may be a pain!
The first night I had an innocent grilled chicken sandwich. It was fairly normal, nothing flamboyant, the chicken meat was well cooked but still tender. The next night I had a burger with wine glazed onions. Normally I love onions.....this however, was an onion faux-pas. I wanted to gag as they tasted quite akin to lysol..actually I wondered if they had left lysol in the pan and cooked with it. After scraping the onions off the burger it was edible. I also tried their Reuben corned beef, which was more like a grease ball drowned in unknown cheese substances with a few thin slices of meat to tease you. The next night I thought maybe the previous night was an error, but I was sadly mistaken. On this occasion I was famished and wanted a nice steak. For $27.00 this is a dish you MUST AVOID! About 30% of the steak was fat. After munching around and spitting out this error on their behalf there was some meat left, but not cooked like I said (well done) and the potatoes accompanying it were exceedingly salty. I was still hungry, so I ordered a slice of warm apple pie, only to be sorely disappointed that their microwave was rather messed up and only heated the middle of the pie up, leaving the edges cold, and with the knowledge that the pie must have been a day old. The next night? A "taco salad" which was more of a glorified mash of beans, some chicken thrown in, cheese, and of course an excessive amount of sour cream to hide its lackluster flavor. True, it filled me up, but it was not worth the $14.00. Avoid this place if you can, just don't eat in death valley. Or plan to eat very late... -
Review from AJ M.
Toluca Lake, CA
10/13/2010
Because there are so few places to eat in Death Valley, you really have to think about choosing the lesser of two (three?) evils. I didn't find the prices here to be totally out of the question. I mean, we are in the middle of NOWHERE, so trucking all this stuff in has to be added to the cost of the food. The night before, we ate at the restaurant at Panamint Springs Resort. The prices there were even more ($15 burger), so maybe that's why these didn't seem so bad (more around $10pp). It was typical diner food, but I thought the chicken fried steak I ordered was excellent! It was crispy and flavorful, and the service was really good and quick. We also had the bbq chicken wings, which are really just plain wings with a bunch of bbq sauce on them- like you would make at home, nothing fancy. My husband had a salad, and he wasn't complaining, so I think it was fine. My biggest complaint about the place is no fault of it's own, but it's was so corporate-like. The servers wore uniforms and I almost felt like I was on a movie set or at Disney land, like it was all made up to make you feel like you were on a ranch, when you were just being pandered to as city slickers. It felt a little insulting. But the air and internet (!!!) were appreciated. While waiting for our food we looked like total douches by gluing ourselves to our iphones that we hadn't been able to use in two days.
If you are one of those pple who go to a restaurant and don't want to take risks on food, or want something you know and can expect exactly what it's going to be, this is the place. It's very big-business and regulated. But the service was nice, the air was cold, the food was decent, the prices were to be expected, and we enjoyed the wireless internet access. We would certainly eat here again even if it's not an 'authentic' death valley experience. -
Review from Alfonso E.
Oakland, CA
10/31/2006
You'll get mediocre food at this Furnace Creek Ranch resort restaurant in Death Valley, but -- really -- you shouldn't be suprised by it as soon as you enter the door and catch first vibe. If you want a more delicious meal, opt to dine in the neighboring Wrangler steak house instead. You'll get nothing more than inexpensive (in national park restaurant scale, of course) gut filler at the 49er. Interestingly, that was really all I was looking for when I ate there the night before a 200 mile bike ride.
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Review from Dave V.
San Diego, CA
2/2/2009
The 49'er Cafe in Death Valley has the quality and selection of a Coco's or Denny's, but at twice the price. Of course, the number of restaurants in Death Valley is limited, so they have a somewhat captive audience. The chicken sandwich had a nice pesto taste, but the bun wasn't toasted and the sandwich was unwieldy. The taco salad was an odd combination of stuff... they used some canned refried beans to glue the taco shell bowl to the plate, and instead of beans in the salad, they used black olives. Both of those items were in the $14 range.
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Review from m m l.
Long Beach, CA
1/4/2009
So I was tired, cold, sick and hungry. I just wanted a quick meal before heading back to my little tent to sleep. The Cafe at Furnace Creek Ranch fit the bill.
The food and service was quick and the menu had a good selection of food. And most importantly the restaurant was warm and out of the wind. But the meal just wasn't very good. Very much on par with Denny's- just double the price. But it's not like I had very many options-So it was fine. -
Review from Greg B.
San Diego, CA
6/25/2011
The pulled-pork sandwich and the misters outside were great... but I didn't care for the baked bean side.
