Yosemite Ranch - Steak, Fish, Bar — Restaurant in Fresno

We recently celebrated the Marine Corps birthday and Veterans Day with family members who are currently on active duty and have a thirteen-year-old and two small children. This occasion presented an opportunity to enjoy a meal together and experience the restaurant's offerings. Before our visit, I made specific notes regarding the family-friendly child-friendly aspects in another section of my review.

Upon arrival, I noticed that the atmosphere of the restaurant was above average. It had a welcoming ambiance, and cleanliness was a priority, as both the dining area and the bathrooms were well-maintained. However, I did observe that the aisleways were somewhat narrow for a restaurant of this size, particularly given the busy nature of the establishment. This raised some concerns about egress in case of a fire or other emergencies. While I tend to avoid being overly paranoid, such considerations are valid, and the good reputation of this restaurant made us hopeful for a noteworthy dining experience since the pandemic has reshaped many establishments.

Regrettably, the experience was not as family-friendly as we had anticipated, especially concerning the children. We were quoted a wait time of 90 minutes, which stretched beyond two hours. This lengthy delay was challenging, particularly with small kids in tow, who understandably do not possess the patience adults often try to uphold. On the upside, I must commend our waitress for her exceptional service. Her name was Alexis, and she handled the situation with grace and professionalism; she recognized how long we had been waiting and made sure our needs were met without delay. Our busboy was also commendable—he was incredibly friendly and attentive, swiftly clearing dishes as they became empty, a necessity when managing an adventurous 18-month-old with quick hands.

For our meal, we ordered two 16 oz sirloin dinners to split, opting to add a variety of sides: a baked potato, Brussels sprouts, rice pilaf, Parmesan peas, and macaroni and cheese. The total for our dinner came to $123. To my satisfaction, both steaks arrived cooked to perfection—one was medium, and the other medium rare—exactly according to our requests. However, I did note that the fat content of the sirloin was a bit higher than my date preferred, although this seems to be the norm in my recent dining experiences.

Overall, the food was enjoyable and palatable. In addition, I ordered a cold glass of root beer with no ice, while the other adults chose water. Both children had milk, and the 13-year-old opted for a Shirley Temple, which added a touch of fun to the meal. However, while the food itself wasn't negative, there was an elusive quality that felt lacking, which I believed stemmed more from our initial interactions than the food itself.

Without going into extensive details about every interaction, it was clear that The Hostess exhibited a certain smugness that undermined the welcoming environment one would expect from a reputable restaurant. This aspect was particularly disappointing, as it felt like it overshadowed the positive efforts of our waitress and busboy.

Given that this establishment is regarded as one of the better dining options in Fresno, I believe the service needs some significant rethinking and improvement. Unfortunately, based on this experience, I would hesitate to return with children in the future. Should I decide to visit again, it would likely be on my own, purely to provide an updated review. With my standing as one of the top 10% of restaurant reviewers on Google, I aim to continue offering detailed, constructive feedback to help other diners make informed choices.

It's imperative to highlight that the two stars I allocated for service were attributed solely to the wait staff and bus staff, not the hostess or individuals who seated us. Ironically, someone who doesn’t directly interact with the food can have such a substantial impact on a dining experience.

For families considering dining here, I strongly recommend you think twice. And have...

Well, my husband insisted on trying it. We went Friday with reservations at 7 pm. ONLY positive was that my husband got there first and was sat right away couple minutes before our 7 pm reservation. I got there about 7:01 and went up to the desk and the snooty hostess looked up my name and said 'well I don't see a reservation for you so there's no reservation made or one of your party has been sat already.' My husband called me and told me where to find him. There were four in our party, one of them being an almost five year old child. The booth was so incredibly small that none of us could get comfortable. My daughter who sat across from me, not the small child, continued to play footsie with me all night because of how small the booth was. There was no room for me to put my purse or my coat next to me on the booth. Appetizer was somewhat okay and then we ordered our main course. I ordered a $29 ribeye and ordered it medium well. Which is supposed to mean absolutely no red but a little pink in the middle. My daughter ordered a steak salad and also ordered it medium well. When we got our food, my jaw just about hit the table as I cannot believe what I saw on my daughter's plate. There was a handful of lettuce, with nothing else on it, except for some dressing, and her steak next to it. It was a maybe 2 inch by 3 inch thick steak that looked burnt on the outside and not even sliced & put on top of her salad. It was just on her plate next to the very small handful of salad. Mind you, this dish was over $20. I guess you're pretty much left on your own to slice up the steak and put it on top of a few pieces of lettuce. We should have asked them for a cutting board. When the waitress came back I asked her if it should be sliced and she said no, that's how it comes. I've never in my life been in any restaurant and have gotten a steak salad and not had the steak sliced and put on top of the salad. So my daughter slices the steak, and guess what? It was red, not medium well at all but more like medium rare just like my steak was. And my steak, the $29 ribeye, was at best half inch thick. So how can you mess that one up and not cook it correctly? When I sent it back to the waitress, she took it back and a few minutes later brought me back my steak, rather than them making me a new one, and it was still red inside. I couldn't eat it and had them take it back and take it off the tab. By the time we left it was almost 9 o'clock. We were there nearly two hours and I left without dinner and a very miserable dining experience. Will never ever go back to that place. Granted they were busy, but it's a humongous restaurant so they know how many people they could have at once I think they should hire the cook staff...

Normally, I do not typically rate places, as I do not feel my voice matters much on such things. But every once in a while, something happens that is worth making a comment (good or bad) and tonight was one of those times.

My wife and I always enjoy eating at Yosemite Ranch and we typically find our way there once every month or so... My wife was in the mood for Yosemite Ranch tonight and made reservations this morning. I get a text from her, Yosemite Ranch, 5:15pm, I made reservations. Ok, guess we are eating there tonight.

I get home from work, pick up my better half and we are off. We arrive a couple of minutes early and approach the Check In desk. Hi, we have reservations at 5:15pm. After asking for the name our reservations are under, they check their list... and... they do not find us listed. "I am sorry, we do not see any reservation for you.", my wife informs them that she made the reservation this morning and they check again... no reservation found.

They ask us to give them a moment, hand us a pager and we take a seat. While we are waiting, I ask my wife if she received her conformation regarding the reservation and could I see it. The first text message showed a "Pending" status, waiting for the restuarant to respond. She found the second text... As I read it, the update informed us that our reservation request had been declined (that is why they could not find it).

I went to the Check In desk and inquired how long it might take for a table, assuming they had placed us on the Walk In list, since they couldn't find our reservation, when we checked in with them. "It will be just a moment, we are clearing off a table right now, for you".

They did not bat an eye nor miss a beat and especially, they did not question our sincerity. They just accepted that we had made a reservation and the error was on their end... Considering the circumstances, they went Above and Beyond and exceeded our expectations!

Thank you Mr. Fansler and Thank staff of...