Joshua Tree & Twentynine Palms: Culinary Gems in the High Desert

Explore the best dining and drinking spots near Joshua Tree National Park, from classic BBQ and innovative pizzas to cozy cafes and sophisticated eateries. Discover the high desert's evolving food scene.

Joshua Tree National Park: A Desert Oasis

The town of Joshua Tree gets a lot of praise for its artistic aesthetic and desert cooking gems, yet in current years Twentynine Palms has actually been attracting huge crowds, thanks in part to the enhancement of Cooking area in the Desert.

Found around 130 miles from Los Angeles, Joshua Tree National Forest is a capital for rock climbers, hikers, stargazers, and those searching for a much more calm desert escape than the adjacent Palm Springs. The nearby communities of Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Twentynine Palms provide a timeless California high-desert experience: Find homey cocktail lounges that offer cocktails in Mason containers with online music, bbq joints, and sun-soaked cafes that seem like actual sanctuaries in the desert. Whether a trip to Joshua Tree asks for lengthy drives through the desert or a mezcal flight, here are the most effective areas to eat and consume near the park.

Artisanal Baking in the Desert

The neighboring towns of Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Twentynine Palms use a classic California high-desert experience: Find cozy public houses that serve alcoholic drinks in Mason jars with online songs, bbq joints, and sun-soaked coffee shops that really feel like actual sanctuaries in the desert. Whether a trip to Joshua Tree calls for long drives through the desert or a mezcal trip, below are the best places to consume alcohol and dine near the park.

The Rib Co.: BBQ on the Twentynine Palms Freeway

This fascinating little pastry shop opened four years ago with high-grade flour from Central Milling and a fully sourdough operation. Various nation loaves arise from the stoves mid-morning with a wide range of pastries. Also the croissants use the tang of sourdough fermentation. The almond cookies, sourdough cinnamon rolls, and cheese-and-chive buns are also fantastic, like any community pastry shop in Los Angeles. As soon as lunch rolls about, there are sandwiches for those who require something more substantial.

Pappy & Harriet’s: A Historic Music Venue and Eatery

The Rib Co. rests positioned on the Twentynine Palms Freeway. This two-lane roadway works as the major artery via the Joshua Tree area and asks desert travelers to draw over for some brisket. The team offers child back, St. Louis design, and Tennessee whiskey-glazed ribs, to name a few. It’s a well-rounded meat fest with hamburgers, brisket sandwiches, and build-your-own plates served with a selection of meat, two side meals, and corn muffins packed with honey butter.

Mona Holmes’ Desert Solace

After even more than 50 movies and television programs were shot on-site, Pappy & Harriet’s changed into its existing model: a dining establishment, public house, and live music place. Found on an isolated spot of high desert much away from city lights and cell solution, the dining establishment offers sandwiches, bbq, burgers, and alcoholic drinks in mason jars.

Altadena-native Mona Holmes locates solace in Yucca Valley. Her favored desert activity is awakening at 4 a.m. to absorb the desert sky without city light disturbance prior to heading into Joshua Tree National Park to climb an unusually designed rock and watch the sunup with coffee.

Pizzeria with Musical Inspiration

The neighboring towns of Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Twentynine Palms provide a classic California high-desert experience: Find cozy saloons that serve cocktails in Mason jars with real-time music, barbecue joints, and sun-soaked cafes that really feel like literal oases in the desert. Whether a trip to Joshua Tree calls for lengthy drives through the desert or a mezcal trip, below are the ideal places to eat and consume near the park.

Yucca Shish kebab: Jordanian Delights

This informal pizzeria offers blistered thin-crust pizzas as big or specific shareable pies with covering mixes influenced by music festivals. Think about the Coachellafest pizza, covered with additional pepperoni and mozzarella cheese, or the Lollapalooza, with pineapple and prosciutto ham. The crusts are plush and pliant, a couple of degrees much better than any kind of chain delivery area. Find it for distribution on Postmates or Uber Consumes, although pick-up is constantly welcome.

Yucca Shish kebab is a low-key area that offers its exceptional eponymous kebabs, plus shawarma, falafel, and more. Established by a Jordanian family over a years back, the kebabs and mezze are equivalent to top Los Angeles places, making it one of the valley’s best eating locations.

Altadena-native Mona Holmes finds solace in Yucca Valley. Her preferred desert task is awakening at 4 a.m. to absorb the desert skies without city light disturbance before heading into Joshua Tree National Park to climb an uncommonly designed rock and view the sunup with coffee.

Kitchen in the Desert: Trinidadian Flavors

Situated roughly 130 miles from Los Angeles, Joshua Tree National Park is a mecca for rock climbers, walkers, stargazers, and those seeking a much more calm desert trip than the adjacent Palm Springs. The nearby communities of Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Twentynine Palms offer a timeless California high-desert experience: Find pleasant barrooms that serve mixed drinks in Mason containers with live music, bbq joints, and sun-soaked cafes that seem like literal oases in the desert. Whether a journey to Joshua Tree requires lengthy drives via the desert or a mezcal flight, here are the very best spots to eat and drink near the park.

Joshua Tree Cafe: Day to Night Transformation

The community of Joshua Tree gets a lot of honor for its artsy visual and desert cooking gems, yet in the last few years Twentynine Palms has actually been attracting big crowds, thanks partly to the addition of Kitchen area in the Desert. Featuring a cactus-studded patio area intermixed with historic mining equipment, this Black-owned restaurant offers Trinidadian-influenced American brunch and supper seven days a week. Restaurants can take pleasure in ribeye steak, jerk hen and waffles, and mezcal daiquiris while discovering the historic building and paying attention to periodic real-time songs and DJ performances on a sensational covered patio.

Yucca Valley Coffee Shop: Fresh Desert Ingredients

This preferred cafe in Joshua Tree shifts to a smooth, disco-lit red wine bar in the evening, all while preserving its impeccable vibes. Early morning visitors can grab an espresso beverage or tea to complement the tiny variety of breads given by various other local businesses (breakfast burritos, croissants, muffins, and danishes from L’Artisan; sandwiches from Joshua Tree Food Catering Company). During the night, cocktails, white wine, beer, curated mezcal trips, and non-alcoholic spirits are available to order, in addition to salted snacks like blended olives, nuts, and Righteous Lawbreaker jerky.

The Tiny Pony Tavern: Unexpected Delights

Snuggled amongst Yucca Valley antique stores and shops, this coffee shop serves sandwiches, salads, beer, kombucha, and a glass of wine. The emphasis is on fresh desert active ingredients (think irritable pear lemonade and arugula salad tossed with pepitas).

Las Palmas: Traditional Mexican Flavors

The Tiny Pony Tavern is exactly what a high desert bar need to be. The dining establishment is a low-key event with karaoke, timber booths and bar feceses yet serves an unforeseen food selection with duck confit nachos, wild boar sloppy joe, smash hamburgers, hot wings, and a lot more. The breakfast food selection consists of biscuits and gravy, chilaquiles clamber, and a bagel morning meal sandwich. As a queer- and trans-staffed establishment, the Tiny Horse Pub has also become a welcoming gathering area for the desert’s queer area.

Red Dog Watering Hole: Hipster Cowboy Vibe

Old Town Yucca Valley’s Las Palmas took control of the former La Casita building a few years back, offering reliable mix plates of green chilaquiles and shredded hen enchiladas. Sundays use a fairly valued breakfast buffet together with online songs that can include a guitarist and also a harpist while taking a bite of pozole, camarones ranchero, or chile relleno.

Copper Room: Retro Charm and Global Flavors

A bit hipster, a bit cowboy. That’s the vibe at Red Canine Watering hole, a former Hell’s Angels cyclist bar that looks straight out of a Western film collection (because it is). Red Dog Barroom serves Joshua Tree tackles Tex-Mex recipes, consisting of beef brisket tacos, mushroom asada tacos, rajas quesadillas, and chile rellenos; it also slings a breakfast menu full of egg-packed burritos, chilaquiles, and breakfast tacos. Attempt a mezcal margarita or a paloma made with fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice to go with the tacos, or swing by for $5 Modelo throughout pleased hour.

Faultline Ranch Produce

This traditional Yucca Valley bar and dining establishment, perched behind the still-active Yucca Valley Flight terminal, has what it takes to be a draw for both residents and vacationers in the Joshua Tree location. Copper Room restaurants looking for a fuller meal can sit in its carpeted, string-light-lit dining room with a noticeably 1970s living area ambiance. Below, they might share meals like garlic shrimp toast with togarashi butter; a crunchy napa cabbage salad inflected with Vietnamese flavors; and the burger, made even fattier with bone marrow. Site visitors can cozy as much as the bar for the very same menu and order off the engaging alcoholic drink checklist, which includes highballs, tiki-ish beverages, and martinis.

Crossroads Coffee Shop: Southwest & California Fusion

The food selection obtains generate from the connected Faultline Ranch garden that makes use of old expanding and gathering methods for its hearts of palm cakes, damaged and fried zucchini, and cranberry apple salad with a balsamic reduction. Try the rib eye, chicken piccata, mesquite curry poultry, sourdough pizza, falafel dish with tzatziki, and braised carrot osso bucco– among other standouts.

Crossroads Coffee shop serves restaurant food inspired by Southwest and California preferences. Simply put, there are excellent old-fashioned burgers sturdily made with beef, yet the ahi tuna hamburgers with jalapeño-lime aioli and Impossible hamburgers on brioche are just as good. Morning meal is served till 1:30 p.m. each day; the menu likewise includes tacos, quesadillas with soyrizo or chicken, BLTs, breads, and salads. The standing midweek open mic evening constantly has brand-new food specials with glasses of beer or red wine.

Sam’s Indian Food & Pizza

Cook Joel Petterson’s food selection is ideal for walkers and rock climbers pulling back from the neighboring national park. Order the crunchy poultry thigh sandwich, smoky pork shoulder, or poutine-inspired fries with sauce, cheese curds, marinaded jalapeño, and egg.

La Copine: Elegant Desert Dining

Sam’s Indian Food & Pizza serves both of its trademark things, with an emphasis on Indian food that includes shrimp tandoori, jalapeño naan, and saag paneer. The pizza menu has conventional faves (meat fans, Hawaiian, and veggie), plus Indian blend pizzas, such as the Panjabi pizza covered with korma sauce, onion, paneer, and garlic. The vibe inside is half-market, half-divey dining-room with comfy black leather cubicles flanking one side.

Minimalist desert-style fulfills thoughtful, innovative dishes at this elegant fine dining location. La Copine strikes all the best notes with its sun-bathed inside and seasonal dishes. The revolving menu includes an eclectic variety of foods, which may feature items like spicy melon gazpacho, beets with a pistachio pistou, mushroom velouté poutine, and vital lime panna cotta. Only open Friday via Sunday, La Copine is incredibly popular and only uses a handful of reservations booked using text– yet it deserves awaiting a table. (Note: La Copine is closed for the first 2 weeks of January.).