Torrey, Utah / The town / Restaurants
In a town this size, open is the only question that matters
Torrey, Utah Restaurants
Torrey, Utah restaurants are good, varied and often shut. The Park Service puts it plainly: many local businesses are closed during the winter off season, as well as on Sundays year round. So the useful page is not a list of favourites, it is a list of who publishes hours and a season, and who publishes nothing at all. That is what this is, with a dietary column, because two places here are genuinely good for vegetarians and most are not.
If you read one section
Book ahead, eat early, and check Sunday twice
Three rules cover almost every dining problem here. Dinner rooms open at 5pm and a town of a few hundred people does not have spare tables in October, so reserve where you can. Nothing in Torrey serves late. And the Sunday closure is real: the Park Service flags it, and one restaurant that does open on Sunday is closed Monday to Wednesday instead.
There is nothing to eat inside the national park. The Park Service states that Capitol Reef National Park does not have a lodge or restaurant. The exception is the Gifford House in the Fruita orchards, which sells pies and ice cream from March 14, Pi Day, to late November. That is a snack, not lunch, though people certainly try.
If you want the short version: Hunt and Gather for a serious dinner with reservations, the Rim Rock Patio for something casual with a view, Slackers for a burger, the Wild Rabbit for breakfast and the best vegetarian and vegan options in town, and Curry Pizza in Bicknell if anyone needs gluten free.
Staying somewhere with food on site solves the Sunday problem outright. The hotels page flags which properties have a restaurant, and the town comparison covers what Bicknell and Hanksville offer instead.
The table that actually helps
Who publishes hours, and who does not
Everything below is what each business publishes on its own website or, where it has none, what the town of Torrey publishes about it. Where a business publishes no hours or no season, we say so, because in this valley that is the most useful thing to know before you drive out.
| Place | Phone | Published hours | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunt and Gather | 435 425 3070 | Wednesday to Sunday, dinner from 5pm. Reservations highly suggested, by email with your cell number | Not published |
| Cafe Diablo | Not published | Sunday to Tuesday 3pm to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 3pm to 9.30pm. Wednesday and Thursday are absent from their published hours while the page elsewhere says open daily | Not published |
| Rim Rock Restaurant and Patio | Restaurant 435 425 3388, Patio 435 425 3389 | Patio lunch and dinner 12pm to 9.30pm. Restaurant dinner 5pm to 9pm | Published in full. Restaurant closes the last weekend of October and reopens the third weekend of March. The Patio closes after Thanksgiving and reopens Presidents Day weekend |
| Broken Spur Steakhouse | 435 425 3775 | Dinner 4.30pm to 10pm daily, the latest in town. Breakfast 7am to 10am daily | Dinner early March to mid November. Breakfast for guests through late November, reopening mid February |
| Rock Garden Eatery and Bar | 435 425 3688 | Breakfast 7am to 10am. Dinner 5pm to 9pm, until 10pm Friday and Saturday through October | Not published |
| The Capitol Reef Kitchen | 435 425 3761 | Breakfast 7am to 11am in summer, to 10am in winter. Dinner 5pm to 9pm in summer, to 8pm in winter | Year round, on reduced winter hours. One of very few that says so |
| La Cueva Restaurante and Bar | 435 425 2000 | Noon to 9pm daily | Year round indicated |
| Slackers Burger Joint | 435 425 3710 | Not published. No website of its own. Online ordering exists | Not published |
| Rock Reef Cafe | 435 425 3797 | Not published. Homemade pizza, brisket and draft beer, per the town | Not published |
| Chak Balam | 435 425 2877 | Not published. Authentic family recipes, per the town | Not published |
| Capitol Burger, food truck | 435 491 0742 | Their own line is the honest one: their ever changing location and hours reflect the rhythm of the season, so follow their social media | Seasonal, months not published |
Read that season column rather than the hours column. The Rim Rock publishes the most complete season of anyone in town, down to the weekend, and Broken Spur is nearly as good. Most of the rest publish nothing, which in a place where winter genuinely empties out is the gap that ruins an evening.
Note the one restaurant on this page that is open year round with published winter hours is attached to a resort. That is not a coincidence: properties with guests to feed stay open, which is the practical argument for booking a room with a kitchen attached in November or February.
Two warnings. The Saddlery Cowboy Bar's old web domain now redirects to an offshore gambling site. Do not visit it, and do not trust search results pointing there. Separately, the Capitol Reef Inn and Cafe could not be verified as trading: its website will not load, and it appears in neither the town's own business directory nor the county tourism dining directory. We are not listing it as open and we would call before driving there.
Rarely covered, and it matters here
Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free
This is cattle and steakhouse country and most menus reflect that. Three places publish something useful and one of them is admirably blunt about what it cannot do.
The Wild Rabbit Cafe
135 East Main Street, open daily 7.30am to 2pm on their published summer hours. They state fresh breakfast, lunch, coffee, and vegetarian and vegan options, and their menu offers gluten free bread as a toast choice.
The clearest vegetarian and vegan offering in Torrey, and the best breakfast option too. They publish no phone and no winter hours.
Curry Pizza, Bicknell
125 North Highway 24, on 801 302 0777, Monday to Saturday 11am to 10pm and closed Sunday. Indian and Indian fusion pizza, with vegetarian dishes marked throughout, several vegan or vegan modifiable, and a cauliflower gluten free crust.
The clearest published gluten free option anywhere in this area, and worth the seven miles if someone in the party needs it.
Broken Spur, being honest
Their own site says there are a lot of options there so long as you are not vegetarian or vegan. On gluten, staff can advise on ingredients, but there is no dedicated gluten free fryer, so breaded items share fryer space.
We are quoting that because it is the most useful sentence any restaurant in this valley publishes. A steakhouse that tells you plainly it is not for you has done you a favour.
Hunt and Gather also states that its menus satisfy all facets of the culinary spectrum including vegetarian and vegan, though it publishes no gluten free policy. Everywhere else in town publishes nothing at all on dietary needs, which is not the same as having no options but does mean a phone call.
One booking detail worth knowing at Hunt and Gather: they accept parties of six or less due to a limited staff, and ask that you check their calendar before emailing a request. You may also bring your own wine for a corkage fee, and there is no bar to sit at beforehand.
Before the hike and after it
Breakfast, coffee, trail food and a drink
| Place | What it is | Published hours |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Sky Coffee | 178 East Main Street. Coffee to drink and whole bean by the pound | Friday through Tuesday 8am to 3pm. Closed Wednesday and Thursday |
| Austin's Chuckwagon store, bakery and deli | 12 West Main Street, on 435 425 3288. Basic groceries, fresh bread and pastries, sandwiches to go, beer. The place to build a trailhead lunch | Not published by the business or the town. The Park Service notes groceries in Torrey are seasonal, so call before relying on it in winter |
| Color Ridge Creamery | 135 East Main Street, on 435 425 2155. Over 60 ice cream and sorbet flavours with a dozen scooping at a time, plus flights | Autumn hours, 16 September to 31 October: closed Monday to Thursday, open Friday to Sunday 1pm to 8pm. Other seasons not published |
| Etta Place Cidery and Taproom | 700 West Main Street, on 435 425 2727. Ciders and session meads made here, from a 6.5 percent dry cider to a 9 percent imperial | Monday to Thursday 2pm to 8pm, Friday and Saturday noon to 9pm, Sunday 10am to 7pm. No seasonal closure indicated, and open on Sundays, which is rare here |
| Capitol Reef Farmers' Market | 100 North 75 East, on 435 609 3636. Over 30 vendors with produce, baked goods, ice cream, pottery, eggs and live music | Saturdays 3pm to 5pm, from 23 May to 17 October 2026, except 4 July |
| The Gifford House, in the park | In the Fruita orchards. Pies, homemade ice cream, jams and jellies, run by the Capitol Reef Natural History Association with the Park Service | Typically March 14, Pi Day, to late November, though the park notes closing dates and hours may vary |
Etta Place is the one to know for a Sunday. Open 10am to 7pm on Sundays and every other day of the week, with no published seasonal closure, in a town where the Park Service warns that many businesses shut on Sundays year round. It makes its own cider and mead on site.
For trail food, the Chuckwagon store is the answer and there is no real alternative in Torrey. Groceries are year round in Loa, 28 miles west, so on a winter trip that is the sensible restock. The one day page has the morning timings that make a packed lunch worth the trouble.
Worth the drive
Eating outside Torrey
Boulder, over the mountain
Hell's Backbone Grill and Farm is in its twenty sixth season and opens for dinner Thursday to Monday, 4pm to 9pm. Their Little Bone food truck runs breakfast and lunch 7am to 1.30pm seven days, and dinner Tuesday and Wednesday 4pm to 9pm. Their contact page blocks us from reading it, so call rather than rely on an address you found elsewhere.
The Burr Trail Grill and Tumbleweed Coffee at 10 North Highway 12 on 435 335 7511 does breakfast, lunch, ice cream and specialty coffee, and publishes no hours or season at all.
Both are a drive over Boulder Mountain, which is a reason to go rather than a reason not to. The byway page covers that road.
Bicknell and Teasdale
The Sunglow in Bicknell is the local institution, a family style eatery known for its pies, including the pinto bean and sweet pickle. Its own site publishes no phone, hours, days or season, which is frustrating for something people drive to specifically.
The Bicknell Theater's lobby holds Reel Bites Cafe, with ice cream, shakes and floats, open Thursday to Sunday with the cinema. Films are $5 for adults, $3 for children and seniors.
Cliffstone at the Lodge at Red River Ranch in Teasdale, on 435 425 3322, serves breakfast 7.30am to 9.30am, does sack lunches ordered the night before, and dinners only by prearrangement for private groups.
One honest note on the county tourism directory, which is where most search results eventually send you. It lists several Torrey restaurants twice, and it omits the Sunglow, Cafe Diablo and the Saddlery entirely. It is a useful starting list and a poor final answer, which is roughly the story of restaurant information in this valley.
Straight answers
Dining questions
Is there anywhere to eat inside Capitol Reef National Park?
No restaurant. The Park Service states that Capitol Reef National Park does not have a lodge or restaurant. The Gifford House in the Fruita orchards sells pies, homemade ice cream, jams and jellies from around March 14 to late November, which is a snack rather than a meal.
What is open on a Sunday?
Fewer places than you expect. The Park Service warns that many local businesses close on Sundays year round. Etta Place Cidery publishes Sunday hours of 10am to 7pm, Cafe Diablo publishes Sunday hours, and La Cueva publishes daily hours. Curry Pizza in Bicknell is closed Sundays, and the Bicknell Theater is open Sunday but shut Monday to Wednesday.
What is open in winter?
The Capitol Reef Kitchen publishes year round hours with a shorter winter service. La Cueva and Etta Place indicate year round operation. The Rim Rock Restaurant closes the last weekend of October and reopens the third weekend of March, and Broken Spur's dinner service runs early March to mid November. Most of the rest publish no season at all, so call.
Do I need a reservation?
At Hunt and Gather, yes, and they take parties of six or less. Cafe Diablo recommends reserving through OpenTable for parties of four or more. Nowhere else publishes a reservations policy, but in a town this size in September and October, calling ahead is simply sensible.
Where can vegetarians and vegans eat in Torrey?
The Wild Rabbit Cafe states vegetarian and vegan options and offers gluten free bread, open daily 7.30am to 2pm on its summer hours. Hunt and Gather states its menus include vegetarian and vegan dishes. Broken Spur says outright that its menu suits you so long as you are not vegetarian or vegan, which is useful honesty.
Is there a gluten free option?
The clearest one is Curry Pizza in Bicknell, seven miles west, which offers a cauliflower gluten free crust and marks gluten free modifications through its menu. The Wild Rabbit offers gluten free bread. Broken Spur notes it has no dedicated gluten free fryer, so breaded items share fryer space.
Where do I buy food for the trail?
Austin's Chuckwagon general store and bakery at 12 West Main Street, which sells basic groceries, fresh bread, sandwiches to go and beer. It publishes no hours. The Park Service notes groceries in Torrey are seasonal and year round in Loa, 28 miles west, so stock up on the way in for a winter trip.
Can I get a drink?
Yes. Etta Place Cidery and Taproom makes cider and mead on site and publishes the longest opening hours in town, including Sundays. La Cueva advertises a full bar with a large tequila selection, the Rock Garden Eatery has a bar, and Rock Reef Cafe serves draft beer. Hunt and Gather has no bar but allows you to bring your own wine for a corkage fee.
The statement that the park has no restaurant and that many businesses close in winter and on Sundays comes from the National Park Service local services page, and the Gifford House season from the park's Gifford Homestead page, checked September 2026. Every restaurant detail is what that business publishes about itself, or what the town of Torrey publishes where the business has no website.
Next step
Check the season, then book the table
Hours change here more than anywhere. Two phone calls the week before will save an evening.
Also useful: picking your own fruit, picking a month and getting here. Or who writes this site.