Oakhurst

Château du Sureau (breakfast), Oakhurst, CA., 10/2025

~ hsnixon ~ 4 Comments
building – 48688 Victoria Ln, Oakhurst, CA 93644-9215

Château du Sureau is a nine acre resort in the Sierra Nevada foothills, a short ride from Yosemite National Park.  I know this is a restaurant blog but sometimes it feels right to give you a little information on where you can stay when you’re in pursuit of dining opportunities.  Also with your stay at this Relais & Châteaux property you get a complimentary breakfast, so that basically fits the criteria.   It’s the perfect place to stay if you want to try Elderberry House for fine dining or The Cellar for casual fare prepared in the same kitchen, as they are both a short walk from Château du Sureau.  There are 10 guest rooms as well as Villa du Sureau, a 2,000 sq. ft. manor.  Each of the Château’s rooms are named for an and herb or flower native to the south of France.  There are no TVs or front desk but there are lots of antiques, tapestries and art.  The rooms were large and service was good.  Breakfast was prepared fresh in a small kitchen in the house and while not outstanding it was a really lovely place to start your day, have a short drive to the entrance of Yosemite and end the day on property with a fun meal. Continue reading →

Elderberry House Restaurant, Oakhurst, CA., 10/30/25

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building – 48688 Victoria Ln, Oakhurst, CA 93644-9215

The Elderberry House has been the premier fine dining establishment in the area for 30 years.  In the Sierra Mountains, minutes from Yosemite National Park, it offers a 3 or 5 couse tasting menu curated by Head Chef Ethan de Graaff.  Graaff stated in 2019 at the Sous Chef  until he was promoted to Chef de Cuisine in 2022.  The place is part of the Château du Sureau, a Relais & Châteaux that is a 9 acre castle resort with 10 guest accommodations.    It is a short walk through some gardens to the restaurant building from the hotel.   The white cloth covered tables were well spaced in a lowly lit room with fairly loud background music.   Lots of windows look out on the gardens and fountains and spotlights hang from the vaulted celing to light each table.  Paintings and mirrors are on the walls and the tables are set with large upholstered chairs and fresh flowers.  Unfortunately the table was set with a cotton-polyester blend napkin which is one of my pet peeves.   They offer wine pairings or you can chose your own wine, which we did.  Service was friendly but very slow.  Portion control was good and the server stated that the 5 course portions are about an ounce less than the ones on the 3-course.   Nothing was bad but I’m not sure anything was outstanding however if you want fine dining in this area I think this is the place to do it. Continue reading →

The Cellar, Oakhurst, CA., 10/29/25

~ hsnixon ~ 3 Comments
entrance – 48688 Victoria Ln, Oakhurst, CA 93644-9215

The Cellar is the bar area in the Elderberry House Restaurant building on the Chateau du Sureau property.   Stone walls and wood surround the small area that has about 4 tables and eight seats at the bar.  They offer classic cocktails as well as invented ones and a small menu produced in the Elderberry kitchen.  Open Wed to Sun they offer a happy hour of $10 cocktails which makes them quite popular.  On Wed the $10 is on classic cocktails and on Thursday it’s on the Signature cocktails and house wines.  We were there on Wed so it was Classic cocktails that we tried for $10.  The bartender Jordan was super friendly and with a smaller crowd, it allowed us to sample many of his well made drinks.  We tried to come on Thursday but it was totally full.  We had a very fun night here with okay food, great drinks and fantastic conversations.  If you’re looking for a casual spot to eat and drink, try this one. Continue reading →