Food at Date Grove Restaurant in Death Valley

The Date Grove Restaurant is cafeteria style (there is no other option for Road Scholar), and the meals are, of course, included in the Road Scholar price. Most breakfasts and dinners are there, and lunches are picnic-style at various stops along the tour. It's great that the meals are included in the price. I imagine the people who rated it on Trip Advisor were paying for the meals on their own, and it is VERY expensive to eat there and the food is mediocre. They have cold cereal, instant oatmeal, eggs, bacon, bread for toast, fresh fruit, etc., and dinner is pizza, chicken, spaghetti and other 'fast food-type' options, as well as fresh fruit and some desserts. I think they had some sort of breakfast burrito as well. They have a good date bread and some granola bars, too. The food is not the greatest, but the scenery and hikes in Death Valley more than make up for the food. When we went, several dinners were off-site and they were very good, although the drives to get to those restaurants were quite long. There was also one hamburger/veggie burger meal at the hamburger restaurant right by the Date Grove restaurant. My husband and I just kept reminding ourselves how difficult is is to get food supplies to Death Valley, so we just enjoyed the daily excursions and breathtaking scenery, ate chicken for most dinners, and enjoyed the fact that meals were included!

now that the restaurants at the Oasis have reopened will there be changes in where we eat?

The itinerary that just arrived gives the new dinner plans, and yes, there are changes. Looks like a definite improvement!

greetings we are thinking of coming on the Dec program. I am a plant based eater...vegan not vegetarian. Do you think I could get food or bring my own. It is the only thing stopping us booking?

Hello, thank you for your inquiry. On this program we can offer you a vegetarian option, however if you would like vegan options you will need to select yourself what you can and cannot eat from the menu or buffet provided. We hope to see you on this adventure someday soon! Best, Rachel

I took this trip in Feb 2019, and the regular (sit down) restaurant at the hotel was open and quite good. Anything you read from 2018 or earlier does not reflect what is there now after the renovations. Breakfast is still cafeteria style, but that's fine. There are plenty of selections: cereal, breads, eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, breakfast meats, etc. Dinner service were somewhat slow, but where are you going to go anyway?