STILL LIFE CAFE

Truly a unique and eclectic dining experience. The ingredients were fresh and tasty. The bread was delicious. The prices were reasonable. Highly suggest a stop if you are in the area. Make sure to get menu recommendations from Valentine. We will be back!

The owner/chef was so warm and welcoming. She made sure that we didn't miss out on the specials, in particular the French Onion Soup, which was the best I've ever had; as was the Croque Madame (she mentioned that she had just made a new bechamel). The Escargots filling was spectacular and how come I've never had brie on a hamburger before!? Sublime.

By far the best dining between Los Angeles and Mammoth. The French onion is a must. Plus, every time I come here there are new specials. The beef bourguignon is fantastic. If you have the luxury of settling in for an hour, this is a must on 395.

They had great food and great service. The wait was slightly over an hour, but completely worth the wait. The host is absolutely lovely and you feel welcome there. I highly recommend this place to anyone passing by to take a small detour for great flavor.

Was driving by around lunchtime, found this place online and gave it a try. We weren't disappointed! Love the French style and atmosphere, along with the "French" dog. We ordered two burgers and both were delicious. Would come back here again.

Enjoyed the goat cheese salad! The bread was great

Excellent unique meals cooked fresh, highly recommend! Great desserts and wine also!

Excellent food and always consistent. All their ingredients are fresh and high-quality. For an excellent dining experience, be patient as everything is prepared to order. Call before you go and enjoy. Bon appetit!

Best food you can find in the eastern Sierra. Still Life cafe is legendary. Just don’t be in a hurry to go anywhere. It’s the place to converse and enjoy good food with friends or family.

For a small restaurant in the middle of the desert its pretty amazing and cant go wrong! Now dont expect the most impressive food ever, but the food is good, wait time is slow because the lovely older lady is working it alone cut her some slack! And the atmosphere is pretty great! Might even get visited by the bestest boy “carlos” a fluffy beautiful dog

Best French restaurant in the Eastern Sierra! Fine art covers the walls- local sierra paintings.

Still Life Café is, without a doubt, the finest dining experience you’ll find within a 100-mile radius—and in the most unexpected of places. I’m so glad my friend, who has been coming here for years, insisted we stop for a leisurely lunch. This is truly authentic French cuisine, as if you’ve stepped into a small village in France. We shared an endive and frisée salad—a welcome dose of fresh vegetables after too many burgers on this trip through the Owens Valley. To all the skiers rushing to Mammoth: slow down and treat yourself to a real meal. We also shared the filet mignon in a rich mushroom pepper sauce, served with pommes frites and a side of green beans and asparagus. Every bite was outstanding. And then there’s the atmosphere. This intimate bistro is adorned with beautiful artwork and photographs, including a dedicated wall featuring portraits of jazz legends. But they don’t just honor them in pictures—the soundtrack is a carefully selected mix of great jazz, making for a perfect dining ambiance. Make sure to get a glass of wine. The selection is curated with real attention to detail and served at the ideal temperature. Chef Malika, who has owned this gem for over 30 years with her late husband, came out to chat with us. She was absolutely delightful, adding a personal touch to an already memorable experience. A true hidden treasure. I can’t wait to return.

Drove from palmdale ca, just for a good burger and found the best burger ever. Excellent customer service. Will be back for more even if it did take us 3 hrs to get there..

This place was absolutely fantastic. It was so cozy and inviting, the food was delicious and perfect portion sizes. Can not recommend this place enough!

I’m giving a “5-star review” but we were not able to dine here even though Google, Facebook and the restaurant itself had no indication that they were closed on February 28, 2026 for dinner. We had been on the road for 6 hours, could have had a big lunch in Ridgecrest but skipped that, drove past the restaurants in Lone Pine convinced the Still Life would be open, checked into the Mount Williamson Motel & Basecamp, and then walked to the Still Life to see it closed. Since everything else was closed and we were too tired for the trip back to Lone Pine, we ate some of our backpacking food. PLEASE indicate somewhere when you are open and closed. Take a look at Lulu’s Cafe in Tulelake and see how a small business flourishes by communicating with their customers. They are currently moving but they post their specials every day on Facebook and when they are closed due to any issue. Very disappointed but we will give you another chance when we are in the area.

Great French and International/American food. Local vibe. They got a little overwhelmed with orders and we had a long wait, but the food was great! Would come here again. They have a standard menu and a seasonal menu board with a lot of selections. We had the Bolognese which was a big serving and delicious. And the blue cheese burger.

A lovely menu of French favorites and tasty burgers and sandwiches. The setting is pleasantly French and is a great place to converse and sip wine. If you want a rich, delicious meal served at a European pace this is a fantastic place for you.

If you're in a hurry, you may want to go across the street for a sub. This restaurant is about the only restaurant in Independence. The local owner was the only person here when they opened and she cooked everything once ordered, so it's fresh. Later, her daughter came to assist and she became our server. It was a very inviting experience with delicious food. We had just finished hiking Kearsage Pass, so a tasty steak and wine was the perfect meal. It was served with fries and asparagus, which my husband is not fond of, but still ate about half. I asked for my steak to be cooked medium well and my husband medium. They were cooked perfectly, in my opinion. 😋 HOURS We got here at 4:50pm and were told they open at 5:30pm. Then, when we were leaving, i noticed their sign says "Open for lunch." 🤔 I'd say have a backup plan if you want to eat here early, just in case it's closed. If you are set on coming here, come after 5:30pm. They have a small patio with chairs to sit outside, but it's currently closed due to lack of staff. There may also be a 🐕 dog in there, in case you're allergic.

Cute dog greeted me as I entered, laid by my table and got up as soon as I got up to leave. I came on a Sunday afternoon and was the only patron, it was very peaceful and the decor is cozy and cute. The owner/chef was accomodating and made a vegetarian sandwich. It had grilled mini bell peppers, and fresh tomato, red onion and parsley. It was so tasty (I never think to add parsley to my sammies), I wish there was more of it! It came with a generous side of French fries. Bonus points for bringing out habanero sauce when I asked for hot sauce!

I thought they were very sweet and the food was good! She apologized for the slight delay, but I had read the reviews, and they said don’t be in a rush! Its great to slow down and enjoy the meal and the company.

Unexpected charm with hearty food, great wine and personal service from the owner. Fresh and delicious salad, real beef burgers and above all the no-rush ambiance to savor the food and setting will have us return to try out the other dishes on the menu.

Unwind from a long road trip day and transport yourself back to Old World friends charm. This place has a limited menu. How ever lite fresh fair is best when driving all day.

Arrived at 245 only 1 other couple in the restaurant. Food came out quickly, people are very nice and most important food was very tasty. I wish ordered a real French dish. Next time....

Mad Dog

Great French and International/American food. Local vibe. They got a little overwhelmed with orders and we had a long wait, but the food was great! Would come here again. They have a standard menu and a seasonal menu board with a lot of selections. We had the Bolognese which was a big serving and delicious. And the blue cheese burger.

Edward B Standefer

A lovely menu of French favorites and tasty burgers and sandwiches. The setting is pleasantly French and is a great place to converse and sip wine. If you want a rich, delicious meal served at a European pace this is a fantastic place for you.

Janet Saucedo

If you're in a hurry, you may want to go across the street for a sub. This restaurant is about the only restaurant in Independence. The local owner was the only person here when they opened and she cooked everything once ordered, so it's fresh. Later, her daughter came to assist and she became our server. It was a very inviting experience with delicious food. We had just finished hiking Kearsage Pass, so a tasty steak and wine was the perfect meal. It was served with fries and asparagus, which my husband is not fond of, but still ate about half. I asked for my steak to be cooked medium well and my husband medium. They were cooked perfectly, in my opinion. 😋 HOURS We got here at 4:50pm and were told they open at 5:30pm. Then, when we were leaving, i noticed their sign says "Open for lunch." 🤔 I'd say have a backup plan if you want to eat here early, just in case it's closed. If you are set on coming here, come after 5:30pm. They have a small patio with chairs to sit outside, but it's currently closed due to lack of staff. There may also be a 🐕 dog in there, in case you're allergic.

L

Cute dog greeted me as I entered, laid by my table and got up as soon as I got up to leave. I came on a Sunday afternoon and was the only patron, it was very peaceful and the decor is cozy and cute. The owner/chef was accomodating and made a vegetarian sandwich. It had grilled mini bell peppers, and fresh tomato, red onion and parsley. It was so tasty (I never think to add parsley to my sammies), I wish there was more of it! It came with a generous side of French fries. Bonus points for bringing out habanero sauce when I asked for hot sauce!

Chelsea

I thought they were very sweet and the food was good! She apologized for the slight delay, but I had read the reviews, and they said don’t be in a rush! Its great to slow down and enjoy the meal and the company.

Gustav Erlank

Unexpected charm with hearty food, great wine and personal service from the owner. Fresh and delicious salad, real beef burgers and above all the no-rush ambiance to savor the food and setting will have us return to try out the other dishes on the menu.

Keith Mikas

Unwind from a long road trip day and transport yourself back to Old World friends charm. This place has a limited menu. How ever lite fresh fair is best when driving all day.

Robert Hancock

Arrived at 245 only 1 other couple in the restaurant. Food came out quickly, people are very nice and most important food was very tasty. I wish ordered a real French dish. Next time....

Josie Andrade

Drove from palmdale ca, just for a good burger and found the best burger ever. Excellent customer service. Will be back for more even if it did take us 3 hrs to get there..

This place is a gem. Friendly owners and great food. It feels so unique and special, not for you though if you are just looking for a standard meal and/or lightning fast service :) we love it here!

The owner was a great conversationalist, super friendly, the atmosphere is amazing. The burgers with locally sourced beef were phenomenal. Overall we had a great experience. A true oasis for a hungry hiker!

Charming, homey atmosphere from the time we walked in. Relaxing jazz music playing over the house speakers at a mellow volume. The food was excellent, and you could tell that a lot of heart was put into it. As we were wrapping up we hear a push at the front door, and what may be the cutest dog any of us have ever seen walked through the door on his own and sat down right under our table. He didn’t seem to want to leave us. We were very happy we chose the Still Life Cafe, and will definitely be returning the next time we are in Independence.

I got leeks soup and my husband got blue cheese burger. All were so delicious! I tried a piece of his burger and I can rate it "the top 5 burgers I have every eaten". Lady server is awesome. We highly recommend this place and we'll stop there again once we hike Pine lakes next time.

Great find. I went late on a Sunday night so the restaurant was empty but that didn't bother me. The owner (I think) was very attentive and the food (pasta primavera) was fresh with the pasta perfectly cooked.

It is a special place for my family to eat for a couple of decades, even before it moved north to Independence. Mom & I would make a special trip from Bishop or make time to stop on the way south. I love the French Onion soup which used to be made fresh by order & hamburgers & other specials of the day. Brought my cousin there. He loved it. He didn't stop at the French Onion soup, but delayed his trip south ordering the special too (delicious leg of lamb) with a 2nd Glass of wine. The original French owners seem to be passing the restaurant onto the next generation, so the tradition continues.

If you’re in a hurry and looking for a quick bite, this is not the place for you. Service is slow, but personal, and the food is incredible. We had the escargot, Niçoise salad, fillet mignon steak and a blue cheese burger and loved it all. Great selection of beers and wines too. Made for a delightful evening and an authentic French cuisine experience in an unlikely setting. We visited on a Sunday and the place opened at 17:30.

Mark Wilson

Best French restaurant in the Eastern Sierra! Fine art covers the walls- local sierra paintings.

Jessica Lassiter

This place was absolutely fantastic. It was so cozy and inviting, the food was delicious and perfect portion sizes. Can not recommend this place enough!

Bor Kos

The owner was a great conversationalist, super friendly, the atmosphere is amazing. The burgers with locally sourced beef were phenomenal. Overall we had a great experience. A true oasis for a hungry hiker!

Simon

Charming, homey atmosphere from the time we walked in. Relaxing jazz music playing over the house speakers at a mellow volume. The food was excellent, and you could tell that a lot of heart was put into it. As we were wrapping up we hear a push at the front door, and what may be the cutest dog any of us have ever seen walked through the door on his own and sat down right under our table. He didn’t seem to want to leave us. We were very happy we chose the Still Life Cafe, and will definitely be returning the next time we are in Independence.

Eric Rosenberg

Great find. I went late on a Sunday night so the restaurant was empty but that didn't bother me. The owner (I think) was very attentive and the food (pasta primavera) was fresh with the pasta perfectly cooked.

Josh L.

Still Life Café is, without a doubt, the finest dining experience you’ll find within a 100-mile radius—and in the most unexpected of places. I’m so glad my friend, who has been coming here for years, insisted we stop for a leisurely lunch. This is truly authentic French cuisine, as if you’ve stepped into a small village in France. We shared an endive and frisée salad—a welcome dose of fresh vegetables after too many burgers on this trip through the Owens Valley. To all the skiers rushing to Mammoth: slow down and treat yourself to a real meal. We also shared the filet mignon in a rich mushroom pepper sauce, served with pommes frites and a side of green beans and asparagus. Every bite was outstanding. And then there’s the atmosphere. This intimate bistro is adorned with beautiful artwork and photographs, including a dedicated wall featuring portraits of jazz legends. But they don’t just honor them in pictures—the soundtrack is a carefully selected mix of great jazz, making for a perfect dining ambiance. Make sure to get a glass of wine. The selection is curated with real attention to detail and served at the ideal temperature. Chef Malika, who has owned this gem for over 30 years with her late husband, came out to chat with us. She was absolutely delightful, adding a personal touch to an already memorable experience. A true hidden treasure. I can’t wait to return.

L Col

It is a special place for my family to eat for a couple of decades, even before it moved north to Independence. Mom & I would make a special trip from Bishop or make time to stop on the way south. I love the French Onion soup which used to be made fresh by order & hamburgers & other specials of the day. Brought my cousin there. He loved it. He didn't stop at the French Onion soup, but delayed his trip south ordering the special too (delicious leg of lamb) with a 2nd Glass of wine. The original French owners seem to be passing the restaurant onto the next generation, so the tradition continues.

Nadia Morozova

I got leeks soup and my husband got blue cheese burger. All were so delicious! I tried a piece of his burger and I can rate it "the top 5 burgers I have every eaten". Lady server is awesome. We highly recommend this place and we'll stop there again once we hike Pine lakes next time.

Grega Pogačnik

If you’re in a hurry and looking for a quick bite, this is not the place for you. Service is slow, but personal, and the food is incredible. We had the escargot, Niçoise salad, fillet mignon steak and a blue cheese burger and loved it all. Great selection of beers and wines too. Made for a delightful evening and an authentic French cuisine experience in an unlikely setting. We visited on a Sunday and the place opened at 17:30.

Tasty, good food. Very happy with the Nicoise (?) salad and Brie burger. However, service is atrociously stereotypically French: I sat talking to someone at a nearby table for fifteen minutes without being given a menu, and eventually I had to go ask the man tending the bar for one. This isn't the end of the world, at least not for me. But generally, if you want basic attention that would be a matter of course at any other restaurant, you'd better be prepared to make yourself heard.

Been back many times. ..always great food and wonderful experience. Casual recommendation from local in the 90s has become a must stop on every trip. Sat with the owners several times and they are always welcoming and talented hosts After my first dinner I had to change my travel plans and spent several additional days enjoying the 395 guidebook recommend side trips.......and dinners at the still life.

I thought this was a great restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Great food and great atmosphere. Glad I went.

Kris Kasprzak

I thought this was a great restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Great food and great atmosphere. Glad I went.

A ok stop for lunch. The customer service is great but the food is a bit pricey for what you receive. The menu is limited. It might be a better stop for dinner with some beer.

Luke Batt

A ok stop for lunch. The customer service is great but the food is a bit pricey for what you receive. The menu is limited. It might be a better stop for dinner with some beer.

I was there two years ago, and the French cuisine was unbelievable.

Cool atmosphere, but the food is lacking. For a French restaurant, the menu is heavy on burgers (with dry buns) and light on anything French. No dessert menu, and the espresso tasted like the beans were burned and the brew was hasty - it had very little flavor. After being in Independence for four days and walking past the “closed” sign every day, I was eager to try this place when it was finally open. Unfortunately it was the day before Mother’s Day, so perhaps in preparation for the next day’s specials, Still Life didn’t put its best foot forward. All the same, it’s unlikely that I’d go back.

We went here 2 years ago. I thought I had written a review, but I guess I didn't. Basically, service was exceptionally slow. Took an hour and a half to get food. While we were waiting, the waitress went out a side door to smoke and take a call. She did not close the door, and the smoke wafted into the restaurant, which wasn't an appetizing smell. Also, it seemed like the music on the speakers might have been running off her phone because we were able to hear her phone conversation, very quietly over the speakers while she was outside smoking. As for the food, for the time we waited, it was not good. I ordered a beef bourgeois. That's probably not spelled right, and it came with bones inside the dish. It was very off-putting. My husband got a burger. Not very complicated but still said it was just ok.

I really dislike giving bad reviews to places. I just try them several times to give a review. Especially because this place is pretty much the only restaurant in the area, unless you drive another 40 minutes.. First of all, I LOvE France, it’s people and their food. I also love practicing my French, which is pretty good considering I have to sprinkle it with English words here and there.:: Heard about this place from some friends of mine. It was always closed every time I went by on my way up and back from Bishop. After one Year constantly passing it, it was open, even though the hours say they are open on line/ I even tried calling a few times but never got a call back thinking they might be open next time I pass by..: I’m wondering if perhaps my first time there they were having difficulties? Or just a bad day? But nope… Tried this place a few times. I don’t eat pork so there was really only a few things I could order off the menu. Usually wait time to get your food is 1 hour even though they are not busy. I was looking forward to a really good typical French meal like I had in France, not a burger. Speaking of which, we did have a few burgers while in France, and their burgers were similar, but again? Too much pepper- again perhaps a bad day? My friends and I didn’t like our food because of the amount of pepper and salt. I like food where you can taste the spice, but you can also go overboard..: My French onion soup was terrible- it tasted like bile with too much pepper. Now I have had the real deal in France, and it was nothing like what had in France. I usually suffer through food, but this was so bad I asked them to take it back/ they asked me what was wrong with it, I told them it was nothing like the soup I enjoyed all over France. They were extremely rude and even yelled at me when I told them the soup didn’t taste good especially when it seemed like they had knocked over the pepper pot into the soup. I did pay full price even though the soup was horrible. Perhaps because they are the only restaurant around they think they can get away with it? The one star is for the art and the cute kid!

I was wary about whether this place was going to be open because of all the negative reviews about it's unreliable hours. So, I called the night before we planned to go to check that they would be open and was told yes. We walked to the restaurant from our motel and got there to find a closed sign and locked door. I called again and the same lady answered and gave a lame excuse about getting the kitchen ready after the winter - she didn't know about that the previous day? Clearly the owners don't have a clue how to run a business or a restaurant. Can't comment on the food for obvious reasons.

6pm on Saturday restaurant closed despite hours online saying they are open until 8. Do not trust posted hours especially if you are traveling and hungry