Alabama Hills Cafe & Bakery — Restaurant in Bishop

We stopped in here because my husband wanted to take a few hours' side trip to the Alabama Hills (the what?) since he grew up near the Owens Valley and on a steady diet of western films. Even more, he is a distant relation of Slim Pickens, so we really had to see this overall area and this eatery was so highly recommended. While waiting we had a wonderful conversation with a local who told us more interesting stories of the area (and who was kind enough to cede his place in the queue for a table to us while waiting for his dining companion). It lent a very "this place has roots" atmosphere before we even sat down to eat. I was sorry to have arrived too late for the breakfast menu, but the sandwich selection made up for it. Though the interior is small, it retains an eclectic 'American Diner' sense while being completely unique to this region. Interpretive murals of the Alabama Hills are on the walls along with exceptional photography. Baked goods and local honey plus souvenirs are among the non-menu offerings for sale. Let's get to the food: Full marks. I ordered the roast beef sandwich, a monument to plenty of tasty beef, delicate overtones from the roasted peppers and lots of cheesy goodness without being greasy. The side I ordered was fruit, and this impressed me more favorably than the sandwich. Fresh strawberry, orange, grapefruit, grape, blueberry, watermelon, pineapple and blackberry (maybe I forgot one) were all in there. I ran my own farm for many years and laughed because right now, the only one of those in season are oranges and though I grow even exotic citrus, this isn't a good year for them. Even my Cara Cara oranges aren't sweet, and this slice wasn't sugary either. Who cares? The effort to place that many different kinds of fruit on a winter plate, and have all of them be flavorful and not out of a can...I've never seen this anywhere else, even extremely expensive restaurants -- except in Vienna. This is a real gem of a place to eat, the service was warm and friendly, and I hope we can get back here again (before 11am, because I really want to try that French toast). We bought some of the honey and...

Bad service at least for me. French toast was ok. Coffee was bad. Charging $4 for blueberries on my French toast was criminal. I usually don’t attribute general bad behavior to “race” discrimination but this place did feel weird. Or they aren’t fond of travelers. I like to give the benefit of the doubt for a serious accusation but I’m inclined to say it was discrimination. Starting with entering. No attention. I just hung around the counter for a few minutes as the servers moved around and did their thing. A simple “ I’ll be with you in a minute “ would’ve sufficed. Then one of them asked me dining in or takeout I said dining. She said just one? I said yeah. She said a quick “anywhere is fine” and left. Next I ordered a coffee and said can I get it in a ceramic mug. (Many cafes serve coffee in a paper cup even for dining in so I mentioned that assuming they’d do that. “. And she had a confused expression as she was walking away like she didn’t understand what I said. So I asked “do you serve in ceramic mugs or paper cups “ and she just gave me a blank stare as she walked away and came back with a coffee in a ceramic mug. Ok sure you serve in ceramics but you can just say that. So the waitress just asked me if I have decided. I said yes and ordered the French toast. Then the two tables next to me filled up and the waitress gave them menu cards and immediately told them today’s specials. One was banana strawberry pancake. I wanted that. I didn’t know it was on the menu. So a few minutes in I asked her if I can change my order to that. The waitress said “No. yours is coming right up I just gave up bring out yours and theirs “ pointing to another group. It was at least 10 minutes after that that mine came out when she caught me looking at her while she was tending other tables. And it was at most warm.

Overall understaffed with just two waitresses and not at all attentive. No smile nothing. While they made small talk with others.

The woman behind the counter was fine, attentive and all. Bad...

Service was great- waitress nice but we did have to get our own straws. And we still tipped more than generous. Chicken Fried Steak was disgusting!!! - meat was so tough, it was hard to eat. Old meat? Poor quality meat? Unsure. This was a recommended dish by the waitress. - $21wasted. The eggs and potatoes on the side were ok. Toast ok served with margarine.The food there seemed so so. The prices quoted were for paying in cash, but if you payed with card it was an added 4%. The prices are not cheap so we expected decent food. Even in Mammoth in all their restaurants and cafes they served food with pride, you could find in a coffee shop such as in Looney Bean delicious burritos, Brewed Awakening Coffee shop, Old New York Deli & Bakery Co. also serves good food choices for reasonable prices. Much better quality than here. It seems they know people will drive through there, so they can charge so much and still get people to come making them think the food is homemade, bread is homemade with poor quality ingredients - which tasted ok - coming from a Baker that bakes bread from scratch from Peter Reinhart, King Arthur Baking. If you don’t mind wasting your money for low quality food come and eat here. Our other friends did not like their veggie wraps they ordered. We don’t mind paying, good quality food does come at a cost. But this is not good quality food at this cafe. They are taking advantage of tourists. My question is why the such high reviews??? That...