Colter Bay Restaurants – Cafe Court and John Colter Ranch House

Grand Teton’s Colter Bay Restaurants – Café Court and John Colter Ranch House

Colter Bay Village
100 Colter Bay Village Rd, Moran, WY 83013
Directions

Colter Bay Village has two restaurants.

Cafe Court is a cafeteria style restaurant.

John Colter’s Ranch House is a casual, sit down restaurant with a buffet.

Full disclosure, we camp at Colter Bay, so when we want to eat at a restaurant, we go somewhere else.

And to be honest, we don’t like eating at either of these places.

The food is average and comparable in price to the rest of the park.

The places are usually clean.

If you’ve read my other blog posts on restaurants, you know that many restaurants in the park are average and expensive, so why do we avoid these two? Especially when they are so close to our home base?

The view.

Neither restaurant has one.

The other restaurants at least have a view and/or outdoor eating options.

A view of the Tetons and/or rivers and lakes can go a long way to make a restaurant worth it.

Cafe Court/John Colter Ranch House – no view. No deck. Not worth it. In my humble opinion.

It comes down to:

Option A: Average, expensive food

vs.

Option B: Average, expensive food with Teton view.

Option B, please! Every. Single. Time.

Cafe Court

Type: American, Italian Cuisine: Pizza, Sub Sandwiches, Salads
Atmosphere: Casual,
Cafeteria Serves: Lunch and Dinner, To Go Orders
Hours

Over the years, these two restaurants have changed their style and atmosphere and my remarks are based on the places they are today: Cafe Court and John Colter Ranch House.

My Grampa told me that in his younger days, people would go down to the cafe (what is now the Cafe Court) after eating dinner at their campsite and sit at the counters to drink coffee and chat with people. Coffee was around 25 cents a cup and there were free refills. People would spend their evenings socializing and chatting.

The Cafe Court is now a cafeteria-like setup. You order at the cash register, grab your drink and silverware and sit down. Your food will be brought to you.

Simple and easy.

UPDATE: The Cafe Court has changed to a Pizzeria which serves pizza, sub sandwiches, and salads. I have not eaten here since the shift in menu. So I can’t recommend what to get and what are safe bets.

The best way I can think of to help you decide if you want to eat here (and/or John Colter Ranch House) is to list the scenarios this place would be ideal for.

Ideal for:

• You are staying in Colter Bay and don’t want to drive somewhere else
• You’ve had a long, eventful day and are staying at Colter Bay and don’t want to drive somewhere else
• They have a “To-Go” option if you want to take your food elsewhere (view problem solved!)

Know Before You Go

• No view of Tetons or Jackson Lake
• No alcohol served
• A possible alternative for quick and less expensive is picking up a pre-made sandwich at the General Store
• Wifi available here

John Colter Ranch House

Type: American, BBQ, Comfort Food
Cuisine: Full Breakfast, Soups, Salad, Burgers, Chili, Sandwiches, Fish, Brisket, Pasta
Atmosphere: Casual, Buffet
Serves: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
(307) 543-3335

Breakfast – 6:30 am to 11:00 am
Lunch Menu – 11:30 am to 9:30 pm
Dinner Menu – 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm

I have only eaten here once or twice and it was for breakfast.

Probably a Sunday breakfast and the food was probably okay. But since I can’t quite remember and I’d rather eat anywhere else, the food wasn’t good enough to bring me back.

This place falls under the same category as the Cafe Court – We don’t make it a point to eat here.

John Colter Ranch House is Ideal for:

• People staying in Colter Bay that don’t want to drive somewhere else
• People who want more menu choices than at the Cafe Court
• People looking for more Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, and Vegan options

Know Before You Go

• Breakfast Menu has at least four gluten-free options
• No view of Tetons or Jackson Lake
• They are closed between 10:30 am – 11:30 am and 1:30 pm – 5:30 pm (Bar is open 11:30 am – 10:30 pm with a small menu)
• Wifi available here

Feel free to comment below to agree or disagree. Good luck!