Huge servings, beautiful surroundings relax and enjoy drinks and food while the animals roam by

Loved my time at the Watering Hole. This will definitely be a memorable lunch. Eating at the Watering Hole is like traveling to the plains of Africa and eating while giraffes, rhinoceros and bison roam right in front of you! The view from the open air restaurant is amazing with a full bar to enjoy beverages while watching the animals graze. I'm so glad I just happened to stumble upon this restaurant. I will definitely be back. read more

See all

Vu was amazing at seating us and getting our order quickly so we could make it to the last butterfly show. The hors d'oeuvres are good great margarita flights. you could even walk around with your beverage in the park. read more

I made a reservation for a large party. The food options were limited and not basic foods either. This was the worst food I think I've ever experienced. It was so expensive on top of everything. The cocktails were mediocre. The service was ok. I don't know if it's Covid or what, but I actually expected a lot more from this restaurant. Will not be back. I hope they get it together! Because this could be a great spot. read more

We came here with the entire family and some friends for my youngest daughters birthday. It was about an hour wait for a table for 10. It was well worth the wait. Everyone was so nice and the service was great. Kenna was our waitress and she was wonderful. So attentive and very friendly. She was great. We had nachos and rhino pretzel for appetizers. The salads and sandwiches where great. We loved the cocktails. This place is so nice and the view is awesome. Can't wait to come back. read more

Great views of the animals! We had really good service and although pricey, pretty yummy food. Really yummy drinks. I had the rhino something or other while watching the rhinos! The animals were lazing around the shade... so fun to watch! read more

Watering Hole - American Near Me - Escondido, California

Such a cool place with great views. Absolutely awesome staff. It does get packed during peak hours so be mindful of that when visiting.

We came here for lunch on my birthday during our day at the Safari Park. The food is absolutely foul. I truly mean foul. We ordered the field green salad with "chicken" and the "chicken" club. I use quotations because I'm not actually sure that there was real "chicken" on either dish. The food made week old elementary school cafeteria food seem like Gordon Ramsay prepared it. The "chicken" looked like it had some kind of paper coating on it. The bun on the sandwich was literally half frozen. To ice the cake, my daughter's lunch came in a literal bag. 2 crusty, old, dry "chicken" tenders. It looked like they dug it out of the trash can. read more

Very bad quality of food. Very rude staff. Over priced and over rated do yourself a favor and don't waste your money. There are other places like Chicanes which is cheaper and better quality and service. Don't believe all the hype not worth it.... read more

Absolutely love this place! We've dined here twice, once for lunch and today for their weekend brunch. Both times that we've came the food was incredible, the service was excellent, plus the views are breathtaking! It's such a beautiful and unique dining experience to watch giraffes, rhinos, and other wildlife while you enjoy a great meal and a cocktail! It's also quite an oasis from the heat as the seating area is completely shaded and there are misters along the perimeter. The South African Durban Bunny Chow (not actual bunny, just chicken!), Rhino Sized Pretzel, and the French Toast Casserole are a MUST! Their Chardonnay is great but we weren't a fan of their mimosa flight, especially for the $21 price tag. Overall it's an incredible and one of a kind dining experience! read more

See all

Really great place to stop and grab a bite to eat! Those are chubby unicorns in the background. read more

Watering Hole - Chubby unicorns - American Near Me - Escondido, California

David the supervisor in charge here on Sunday 3/10 was the rudest, most arrogant and disregarding part of this management staff. It's really a reflection on the staff at this restaurant and was extremely off putting. He would not honor my open table reservation for 12 people including 6 starving children. The amount of money we have spent at this park today, with zero respect from him.... We will never be back. read more

One of the best parts of visiting the Safari Park. Didn't have a reservation, but got there early and we were seated right away. Fun open-air atmosphere. I got the Pumpkin Hummus and the Pulled Pork Sandwich, and both were amazing. Very fresh and flavorful. Highly recommend. read more

Hummus trio was good, followers by some corn chowder (elected to bypass the bread bowl) and finished the meal off with a cookie sundae that we shared. Watching the rhinos frolicking while we ate was incredible. Seriously nothing better than an afternoon at the safari park. read more

Watering Hole - American Near Me - Escondido, California

Honestly it's a great view, and a great spot for the kids to run around after lunch, but service is terrible and the food is just okay. Really bummed as we went her for a bday lunch while visiting the safari park. No one seemed to know who was serving what table, and then they tried to blame the lack of service on someone going on break. I've done this for a living and that is not an excuse, coverage for tables should have been discussed prior to a break. read more

My daughter and I ate here on a Friday afternoon. We were celebrating my birthday at the Safari Park. As others have said, the views can't be beat! We watched rhinos and giraffes while we enjoyed our lunch. My daughter made reservations in advance, putting on the open table reservation that we had a birthday in the party. It's a small menu, but enough choices that everyone should be able to find something to please them. We shared the nachos and wedge salad. The wedge salad was very good, I can highly recommend that. We ordered the nachos with chicken, they came without chicken, so they brought out a bowl of diced chicken. The cheese on the nachos is the liquid cheese from a can, not actual cheese. I would choose something other than the nachos! I also had iced tea, and it was the tiniest plastic cup of tea I've ever had! If they are going to serve it in tiny cups, at least provide a carafe of tea on the table. It took a long time to get my waiter's attention for a refill. They brought out the bill with no acknowledgment of my birthday. I really don't care, but If they are going to ask the question on the open table site (any special occasions!) then I would think they would do a little something. All in all, it was a good enough meal, a beautiful day....and the only sit down restaurant in the park! So there you go. They don't need to do better because they stay busy with mediocre food and service. Oh, and there were a ton of bees!! read more

Service is good and you just can't beat the view. Love the "African Gastro Pub fusion thing they have going on. The cocktails are surprisingly delicious, by far the best place to get a drink in the park! Had the Bunny Chow which is a must have if you love curry (100% bunny free). Give it a try you won't be disappointed. read more

See all

We had a great lunch today at the Watering Hole in the Safari Park. I had made reservations a couple days ahead. They texted when our table was ready and there was no wait to be seated. Our table was right along the edge of the pavilion and provided great views of the giraffes and water buffalo up close and other animals in the distance. It was lovely. From reading reviews I wasn't expecting much in the way of food, but was pleasantly surprised at how delicious the peach and watermelon salad was. I added chicken to it which was tender and flavorful. The other surprise with the salad was how good the salad dressing was. It was a tart vinaigrette (which I loved) that worked amazing well with the arugula, fruits and feta cheese. I'm pretty skeptical when a salad comes already dressed but this salad was perfect. Not too much dressing and not too little. My friend ordered the beef and cheddar sandwich which she liked. The sandwich came with homemade potato chips. They were awesome. I also can't say enough how wonderful our server, Veronica, was. I expected to be rushed since there were people waiting for tables, but there was nothing rushed about our experience. She gave us lots of time to decide what to order and answered our many questions about the menu. During the meal, she was attentive and graciously made sure we got what we needed. She handled our bill professionally and gave us lots of time to finish our lunch and conversation. It was really a fabulous experience. read more

Extremely disappointed in the quality of food. I came here expecting the food to be somewhat decent for a 2 hr wait.. the view is great but food is no good. The menu has certainly changed since the pandemic which could be the reason for the poor quality of food. Not worth the wait read more

I was so excited to spend Valentines day here. We showed up a little early for our reservation, and after waiting 10 minutes for a hostess to even acknowledge us we were told (without any eye contact) that we needed to come back. That is ok, I understand we were early. We came back, waiting with a line that formed behind us for another good amount of time as a group of employees, included the hostess, stood around talking and then got on their cell phones. Finally a busboy ran over and started cleaning tables and seating people. He was the only person working. It then took10 minutes to get a server to come over to us, to tell us that they were out of some stuff, leaving a very limited menu, so we put in a drink order. After sitting for 20 minutes and not even receiving water we decided to cancel our order and leave. We had to wave down a waitress who was just at the bar, because once again a group of servers decided that talking to each other was better than helping anyone dining there. It felt as if they were trying to get people to leave so they could end their day. I am very bummed, I had been looking forward to this date all week, and after this being a place that people had said was great, I don't even think I will give it another chance. When talking about it to someone else their response was that yes it has a great atmosphere but the service was never great. read more

The views of the surround hills and wildlife make this worth a visit, but don't expect much from the food or service. We ordered caesar salads with chicken and it was basically low-quality, bagged lettuce that wasn't fresh with precooked, processed chicken for $20. I definitely recommend trying something else on the menu. Most items are $15-25, so prices are reasonable considering the location despite the low quality of the food. We loved seeing the rhinos and giraffes in the distance while eating! read more

Previous visits to the Safari Park, though outstanding for animal viewing, had yielded nothing to eat but junk from overtouted stands. However, this time I was told of this restaurant out in the back on the African loop, near the lions. Best place to eat in the park, which though it isn't saying much, is at least saying something. Very small lunch menu, salads and wraps, somewhat overpriced but decent enough food, pleasant service and an outstanding setting, outdoors in the shade overlooking the back lot with giraffes and rhinos wandering around outside. read more

It was my mother-in-law's birthday and she wanted to eat at a "nice eatery" at the Safari Park. She has trouble walking but I assured her there was an ADA shuttle to take us to The Watering Hole. After a 45minute drive to the park, we arrived to the harsh fact that the ADA shuttle "wasn't operating that day". Besides being illegal, we were super inconvenienced as we trekked the very long distance down-hill toward the restaurant. Not realizing that is was fully outside (the website does NOT mention this!), we suffered through the searing heat and sat down at our table. There were misters to cool the place but they didn't help much at nearly 100degree weather. The menu was disappointing, especially for a "fine dining" experience: there were ZERO vegan options, zero vegetarian entrees and just not much of a choice in general. When my father ordered a Caesar salad, the waitress asked if he wanted to have chicken with it, suggestively selling, "You gotta have meat with it!?" This statement appalled me as a vegetarian, especially at a facility that supposedly cares about animals. The food arrived quickly, we realized later because it was "fast-food" quality. We were also appalled that all of our drinks, including alcoholic arrived in PLASTIC cups! And the cutlery was even PLASTIC! Shame on you, San Diego Zoo for continuing the horrible planet-killing cycle of plastic use! And please don't retort that the plastic cutlery was actually made of a "bio-degradable" plastic, because that material, according to our own Miramar Landfill does NOT break down. Even the dressing (only two choices!) was in a plastic container! This is downright LAZINESS on the part of this restaurant! Spend a little more labor hours to wash dishes to save the environment. Lastly, I ordered the Burrata and Marinated Olives Appetizer. The burrata cheese was SMOKED and this was NOT indicated on the menu! I abhor any smoked cheese and it was irresponsible (and an easy fix) not to mention it on the menu. We will never return to eat here again. Get with it Watering Hole: join the rest of the planet in conservation, as your organization purports itself to do. read more

Dear Watering Hole, if you call your salad "Roasted Fall Vegetable Salad", then please roast the vegetables. While hearty and pretty to look at, not one of the vegetables in my salad were roasted. All were totally raw. Other than that, great views and service. read more

Had the most horrible experience at this restaurant! We were a party of 6 with 3 children so 9. When it came to pay the bill they said we could use as many cards as we liked. For some reason everyone was double charged. We spent another hour of our time trying to get this situated. Mark the "manager" is very rude and unprofessional, he walked by our table twice Knowing what was going on and didn't say anything until we had to come back and ask for a manager. After About another 20 minutes Rachel, the woman who took the payments" came out and said she canceled and refunded the ENTIRE transaction for the inconvenience. Now today 4 days later everyone's charges are still posted. I called and asked to speak with mark and he said she never said that. We will be disputing these charges with our bank and I advised people not to go To the restaurant the menu is limited, and the drinks are watered down. They seriously need to work on the service that they provide, this was our first time to the Safari park and we spent more time in that restaurant with this issue than actually taking the kids to see the animals. For Mark not to honor what was told would be done Is for disheartening and I will never go there again. read more

Came in with family of 4. Got seated. Order never taken... 30 min later... I'll be right with you. 40 min later.. nothing

Staff and view very good, but the menu needs help. Watermelon salad, literally the size of a side salad, 15 bucks. Tuna, roast beef, pulled pork sandwich, no fries, chips. Decent drinks, not cheap. read more

This place is great for the whole family. I enjoyed the view and the ambiance. Very cool place to visit. The food and drink options were good as well. read more

I love this place because it feels like a destination! The food is just ok, but you can't beat the view! Where else can you sit and enjoy watching some rhinos or giraffes while you eat your sandwich? read more

This amazing restaurant is great and tucked away towards the back of the Safari Park. Delicious food, yep... nice service, yep.... amazing safari views of beautiful animals... YES!!!! This is such a beautiful place and I love the amazing views... basically, come for the views! Drinks are great, food is nice, and it's great here. It's tucked away towards the back so not many people know about it. Welp, the secret's out now. read more

This is the BEST part of the Safari park! We like to end our day here and enjoy the beautiful view. The food/drinks are actually not badly priced either. We usually order a bottle of wine to share, and the entrees are large enough to share as well. I also recommend bringing a blanket if you want to just lay out in the grass area and have a picnic. read more

See all

Over all not a bad experience. My girlfriend enjoyed her food she got the pulled pork sandwich and I got the beef and cheddar sandwich which to be honest was just ok, the meat in my sandwich was very chewy and could have been better. The view was cool and we even got a small bird show and the service was good. I would have given 5 stars if my food was better. read more

See all

The location is great, and if you are only really interested in having a cold drink and taking a load off your feet in a nice, quiet, shady location, then this is the ticket. However, not so much if you are looking to get a meal. Although we are usually suspect of "park food", my husband and I decided to try this place because we had had such a lovely lunch experience at Albert's in the downtown San Diego Zoo. Unfortunately, although the price point was similar, the food quality was not... not even close. The $15 steak wrap that my husband and I shared was small and cold, cold like it had been made elsewhere and delivered to the site. Although the horseradish sauce in the plastic container was tasty, the wrap really tasted like it had come out of a vending machine. The few leaves of lettuce that were the side salad were kind of sad, but the little bit of dressing was tasty. The lemonade was fountain-dispensed, which is not a crime, but to charge $5 for a small plastic cup of it (maybe about 12 ounces) might be kinda close. I paid $4 for my plastic cup of seltzer water, but the waiter was really nice about bringing me a bunch of lemon wedges from the bar. Although we spent almost $30 on one little steak wrap (that didn't sit well on my stomach, by the way) and 2 small fountain drinks with lots of ice, I'm still giving it a 2 star because of the lovely location... just don't expect much from the food. read more

The food is just okay. I would say come for the view. The service was good and our waitress was nice but I didn't love anything here. For an appetizer we ordered the hummus which we enjoyed. My kids ordered the Mac n cheese kid meal which was nothing special. My daughter who loves Mac n cheese said it tasted kind of weird. I ordered the power bowl and my husband ordered the marinated pork loin roll . My bowl was not very enjoyable/flavorful but I asked for hot sauce which helped, my husband said his roll was good besides the bottom bun being soggy. We ordered the cast iron cookie skillet for dessert with ice cream which we thought was good. Not sure if I'd come back , maybe if they change/add to the menu. read more

Been wanting to try this place since last year but they've always been closed for special events-got lucky today :) full bar with limited spirits and a short but decent list of salads, sandwiches and snacks. They let me pick a seat away from noisier kids and families which I appreciate during my 'happy hour' and I ordered a simple cocktail and the charcuterie plate which is really for 3-4 (big!) that they boxed for me to take home. What is really fabulous about this place is it's stunning view of the savanna and it's inhabitants (giraffes, rhinos and many herding beasts like springbok, gazelle and many, many more). The music is low-key and perfect as is its breezy open-air pavilion boasting beautiful timbers and thatched roof. Tucked away from the majority of traffic at the park, this is a great spot to drift into and while away an hour enjoying the best views around. Highly recommend The Watering Hole if you find yourself peckish or parched at the park and need a shady moment before the next leg of exploration! read more

Watering Hole - American Near Me - Escondido, California

good food . Good service! we had Jessie as our server and she did amazing. always happy when I leave there read more

the view is fantastic. food are typical American food but it's fine. service is slow but the view worth everything read more

On the top of the plains in the middle of the safari park- looking out you can see giraffes,rhinos, gazelles....with no fence blocking your view. Nice open air bar that serves food and wine- the breezes that flow through the open air structure cool you while enjoying the sun or shade depending on where you sit. Colton helped us today- a very nice young man with lots of info about the park and the new venue. A very pleasant place to spend a quiet time with your love and a nice bottle of wine watching the animals go about their day. read more

See all

The view is nice. That's it. Food is overpriced and not good at all, even the pretzel that came out was cold.

Went there today and was pleasantly surprised. Obviously the view is fantastic, you get to eat while watching the animals which is a terrific idea. For the price, I thought the food was pretty good and my kids enjoyed the bbq brisket sandwich. My wife is gluten free and while they don't have a GF bread, they were happy to do a breadless bbq brisket meal with extra salad... kinda making it a brisket salad. I do think you have to calibrate your expectations of this restaurant compared to the rest of the park food. Most of the park food is mediocre at best but we found the food here to be better than what you'd normally get at the park. Is it going to compare to a similarly priced restaurant outside the park? Probably not. read more