Whiskey Creek At Bishop

1÷11÷2014: Friendly wait staff, and really solid menu with generous portions. Just what you want after shredding your tips at the ‘milks! The steak salad and seafood platter were favorites. Tiramisu was a bit too cheesecakey for my taste. The chocolate brownie dessert was unbelievably gargantuan.

Cool back patio atmosphere at night! Rib eye was great and the seared ahi tuna appetizer was delicious

I really hope Whiskey Creek isn’t closed for long — I hope the owner either figures out how to reincarnate just the Bishop restaurant, and soon, or sells it to someone who will. The reason it’s closed is because of the Mammoth Whiskey Creek, which was not as successful and had lease issues. Bishop’s Whiskey Creek was doing fine and always busy — and they had just remodeled the main dining room, adding booths and making it nicer!
Now that it’s closed, I realize how much of a «centerpiece» it was for Bishop! It’s the nicest real restaurant in town, has the best bar, the best Happy Hour dining, the best views from its deck in warmer weather, best landscaping, and is the only place in town with really great salads — I really miss «my» Balsamic Steak Salad, and all the others, too.
In Bishop without Whiskey Creek what we have left are six Mexican restaurants (La Casita, Amigos, El Ranchito, Las Palmas, Astorgas, and Petite Pantry (which has other food, too)), we have Chinese (Imperial Gourmet), Japanese (Yamatani), Thai (Thai Thai out at the airport), Indian (Karma, up by Rite Aid), we have coffee houses and sandwich shops and bakeries (Coffee: Black Sheep, Looney Bean, Starbuck’s; Bakeries: Great Basin, Schat’s, and I guess Hing’s Doughnuts counts as a bakery of sorts; Sandwich shops: Raymond’s Deli, Subway) and there’s overlap between those three types of places (e.g., Great Basin Bakery could be considered all three). We have Burger Barn, in a class by itself! We have fast food (McDonald’s, Jack-​in-​the-​Box, Carl’s, KFC, and Taco Bell). We have Denny’s — I’ve never been there, though. I mean, I’ve been to Denny’s, but not *our* Denny’s. But Denny’s is Denny’s anywhere. And we now have a new «fancy» restaurant (though it’s in a strip mall — the food is very good — Sage). And we’ve got Jack’s… «American food» — a decent place, but nothing fancy, for sure, and The Village Café, which is okay — neither of those are what you’d call a «nice restaurant» though — cute, maybe. Oh yeah, and we have pizza (Pizza Factory, Pizza 395, Nick and Willie’s, and Upper Crust, which is also more of a restaurant and very good), and one remaining BBQ place, since BBQ Bill’s suddenly closed after something like 50 years! Holy Smokes is actually good, but it’s a walk-​up counter kind of place, not a «real restaurant.»
Without Whiskey Creek, though, we don’t have a nice all-​around restaurant where you can get a wide variety of food from steaks to salads to seafood to pasta to burgers to sandwiches to just about anything… and with a nice atmosphere and a full bar — the place you bring your out-​of-​town guests, the place you can reserve the back room for parties, etc, the place that is packed for Happy Hour and half-​priced meals every weeknight… Yeah, we have other places to *eat*, but the loss of Whiskey Creek leaves a big, gaping hole in Bishop!!! I miss it, even more than I thought I would!

RIP. Another weather victim. Out of business as of 1÷24÷2014. Won’t miss the food all that much, but will miss the staff!
Sierra Wave news excerpt: In years past, Whiskey Creek restaurants in Bishop and Mammoth were kind of the «place to go.» No more. Friday, owner Greg Alexander closed the doors of both restaurants. Something like 100 people between the two businesses have lost jobs. Alexander said losses in Mammoth brought down Bishop.
When they heard the news, local residents said they were sad about more depressing news. Whiskey Creek Bishop was a favorite watering hole and dinner house back in the 70s when Sam Walker rebuilt the Kitty Lee Inn. Walker also opened Whiskey Creek Mammoth until he sold both to Greg Alexander about 15 years ago.
Two years ago, Alexander invited a room full of local business owners to the Bishop restaurant where he explained at great length how he had lost the Mammoth business due to real estate machinations and then leased it back. Alexander also described a new remodel then underway in Bishop. It all sounded hopeful and even reminiscent of the older and cozier Whiskey Creek of the 70s which was complete with fireplace, lots of carpet, cushy booths and the most popular bar in town back then.
The last two years did not realize the hope anticipated. Alexander had let the word out that he planned to shut things down on January 24^th. He lost his lease to Mammoth Brewing that will move operations into the old Whiskey Creek Mammoth. Alexander told Sierra Wave Media that both restaurants are in a C Corporation and could not be separated easily. He said, «The losses in Mammoth brought down Bishop.»

Went by 1−24−14 and a sign on the door says it’s shut down. Dang businesses in bishop are dropping like flies.

On the way home from Mammoth one weekend my beloved Bishop Burger Barn was closed so my friend and I opted for this place. My friend had been there before and recalled the burgers as being quite good so off we went. It’s a nice homey place with old-​timey western décor. They do have quite a few burgers on the menu, and I went for the Santa Fe burger because: ¹⁄₃ pound of freshly ground beef with jack cheese, ortega chilies, red onion and habanero aioli. The burgers came out in short order, but… they’d given me the BBQ burger instead! So while my friend got to start on his burger, I had to wait… And wait… I think all told it was about 15 more minutes. When the burger finally came out it was very good, but also very messy. One of those instances when all the lettuce and tomato slides out off to the side and it got pretty drippy. Oh well, it didn’t deter me from enjoying the burger that much, and their cajun spiced fries were quite good as well. Our waitress was friendly and efficient; I’m sure the burger snafu was a kitchen mistake, because the BBQ burger is called the Sierra burger and probably easy to confuse with the Santa Fe burger. Overall, not a bad option for lunch in Bishop.

HAPPY HOUR.
That’s pretty much it. Half off many items on their menu is what makes it worth eating here. Ordered a side spinach salad and fish tacos and came out to about $ 10 bucks before tax and tip, which is reasonable. If it were $ 20, NOPE.
Spinach salad was surprisingly good although doused in dressing. The fish tacos were difficult to eat, didn’t have much flavor, and were covered in what looked and tasted like salsa from a jar. It did come with sweet potato fries though, which were pretty good. Service was spotty and took probably about 20 minutes before someone took our order, but I guess that’s to be expected since this place is packed at night.

KILLER Happy Hour!
Best steak sliders I’ve ever had. Gift shop is cute, too.

The place was quaint: country which was fitting. I like going to new resto with character. I would have given this place 2 stars. I was not impressed with my food 4 slices of tri tip on an mountain mashed potato. The pepper corn sauce was a bit salty. BUT my kids rib basket was good. fall off the bone tender;) though their Mac n cheese was from the box or tasted like it. Mom had chix pot pie which we liked. So there goes the 3 stars.
We drove in from L.A. And really want to go staight to Erik Schatts but it was closed. The ‘server was behind,’ with orders, so the hostess covered for him and got our drink orders and when I told her we we’re ready to order dinner as well. ‘i’m just covering for the waiter, he will get your order.” That was her retort when I told her we were ready to order. Ohhhh, snappy woman. Gave her a chance cuz people do have bad days. She STILL ended up taking our order:) because the waiter was still behind, much to her dismay. We wanted to trade the fries for a healthier OPTION, salad. Boy did her eyes rolled as she sighed. The bus boys had better customer service.
Overall, I was not moved. It was pricey. Not coming back.

The food was OK, the service was good but the pricing on drinks is way off.
I ate here with my daughter — I ordered a beer and she had a soda water with our meals. The beer was $ 3 and the soda water was $ 2.25. That’s $ 2.25 for a glass of tap water with bubbles from the the mixer tap at the bar.
I questioned their pricing and asked the server (was was extremely understanding) to inform the manager that their pricing sucks. Yes, you can rip your customers off, but don’t be surprised when we tell everyone about it on Unilocal.
The server removed the charge and said she disagreed with the management for charging so much, so kudos to her for being smarter than her bosses!

Every time is a completely different experience with the food and the service, some times it’s great and sometimes it’s awful! Since you never know what your going to get I just prefer not go here for food.
Great little country store/​gift shop with many nick-​nacks and super cool things, this is worth checking out!

I like whiskey creek. It’s a great place to eat when you’re in the mood for a nicer place to eat while in bishop. If you stop by in the summer, the outdoor patio dining is a must the views are INCREDIBLE. I recently had the salmon wrap and it was very delicious! Whiskey creek really isn’t anything special but it’s an enjoyable restaurant with good food and one of two nicer places to eat in bish.

Nicest diner in Bishop. But the food is over priced for being sub-​par. The bar is a great place for meeting up with friends. The interior is nice. The patio is a great place to eat on a cool evening. They also have Mammoth Brewing on tap, a great local brew.
Food: 2 stars
Service: Average
Ambiance: 4 stars
Bar Area: 4 stars
+1 for Mammoth Brew on tap
This place would be better if the price of the food matched the quality.

Standard American food, HUUUUGE portions. Ok spot to go if you’re driving by Bishop starving and want somewhere nicer to sit down, grab some food and beer and maybe watch the game on TV. If you truly want great food, there’s better and cheaper options nearby, like Schat’s and the burger barn.

Service was good in the beginning but went down hill afterwards; had to wait forever for the waiters to come around to pick up the check.
We had to even waive down another waiter to help us out. =(-1
Portions are big here enough to share with another. +1
Food was decent typical average American food.
This was one of few decent places to eat in this small town late @ night.
HH: 4 – 6 PM

The familia and I went on a couple of days trip to Mammoth Lakes while we were in LA in the summer, because my mum’s cousin said to us that his family were going up to spend the 4^th of July in a huge log cabin up at Mammoth Lakes and there was room for our family too.
So because the drive was going to be a 5 hour drive, we needed to stop off somewhere for lunch, and at this specific point in the journey, we were driving through Bishop. I think that Bishop is about 2 miles long in total, it felt so tiny, but Whiskey Creek looked like a pretty good place to try, and in we went!
It was roughly midday, so the restaurant was about half full, but they managed to seat our 9 person table with ease (well, 8 and a baby!). The lunch menu wasn’t finished yet, so most of us ordered from that. I got bacon and eggs, which was sufficient in that it quenched my hunger, but didn’t do much more than that. It wasn’t BAD food, but it wasn’t really anything other than good.
The service was absolutely great, everything came in a quick amount of time and they were incredibly friendly. I’d maybe go for drinks if I was back because the other reviews of this place sound like it’s good for drinks, but probably wouldn’t go back as a restaurant.

When in Bishop and one wants a classy/​more upscale restaurant than perhaps the restaurant at the bowling alley, or fast food, this is where to go. Good service, decent food, and good drinks.
The nachos were using mostly canned ingredients it seemed. The wedge salad and crab cakes were pretty good — nothing special, but decent for the area we were in.
I am sure I will be back on any trip through the area when I am on the 395.

I was expecting so much more from this place. And I was starving so it shouldn’t have been so hard to impress.
I will say that my club sandwich was quite good, but the chicken inside reminded me of the reformed patties you find roaming the restaurant wilds. Seriously I was so hungry that it didn’t really matter.
Our waitress was strangely pleasant, but very cold. The steak meals were good, but a plate consisting of only a little chunk of beef and a pile of mashed taters for over $ 20? Veggies or a side salad were an extra $ 5. Waters weren’t refilled well, even to the point that a water glass was removed from the table in the middle of dinner and not returned.
We ate in the outdoor patio, and I’m really glad it probably doesn’t rain much because the tent over our heads was full of holes.
My three stars are pretty much for the desserts only. Do yourself a favor, eat dinner elsewhere and go here for pie and tiramisu. Wonderful stuff and huge servings.
I really wanted to like this place but it felt like a Cracker Barrel that hoped desperately that you thought it was Ruth Chris.

The Unilocal rating is spot on. This is an average 3-​star American restaurant. The food is average. Prices are a little high on some plates. And, I don’t really know if I would go back here.
I ordered the Pulled Pork Sliders with a side of fruit. The pulled pork had too much bbq sauce on it. A little too tangy. And it was pretty plain. Basically just pulled pork in between two slices of bread. While I was eating this, I was thinking to myself… «Silly me, complaining about eating at Panda Express three weeks ago. These sliders are worse than Panda Express!!!»
The side of fruit that came with it was pretty lame. It was basically just pineapple. And it seemed like it was canned. Some of the pineapple pieces were already brown.
The beef sliders looked better than the pulled pork sliders. And, their crispy chicken sandwich is good too. But, don’t get it with a side of fruit.

This restaurant was a pleasant surprise. We started off with a bottle of wine, which my husband thought would be too warm (a pet peeve of ours). But they actually served it slightly cool at the right temperature.
The calamari appetizer was excellent. It is calamari steak instead of the strips, rings, or tentacles. Very tender and delicious.
The balsamic salad was also very good. It is a mixed greens salad with blue cheese and pecans. The only thing is they add too much dressing. I suggest ordering it on the side.
The filet with gorgonzola sauce was ok. It’s served over a polenta cake with carrots. The meat was cooked correctly (medium rare) but it wasn’t the best quality. I even found some gristle in there, which shouldn’t happen with a filet. The polenta was good but the carrots were super sweet.
The NY steak comes with molasses-​bacon butter on top. I tried a little bit on my bread (dill bread, which is pretty good) and it was nothing but molasses. I could not taste the bacon. If you order the NY steak, it’s probably best to get the butter on the side, if you want to try it, or ask them to take it off entirely.
The pork ribs were really, really good. Highly recommended. They come with sweet potato fries, which are ok, and cole slaw. But they agreed to substitute creamed corn for the cole slaw. The creamed corn was really good and creative. It comes on top of a pastry, which is just delicious.
Service was really good. Things came out at the appropriate time, they cleared at the appropriate time, and they kept our waters full. Prices are pretty reasonable for the food.
After dinner, we went to the bar for more drinking. The bartenders were attentive and they have Mammoth beer on tap, which is really tasty. The red wine by the glass is definitely kept out in the open, so get a bottle or stick with beer/​cocktails unless you are ok with warm wine.
The TVs are pretty small and old, but they do the trick for watching a game. We were there on a Sunday night, which was pretty chill, but on Saturday our friends said there was a hip-​hop DJ.
Between the restaurant and the bar there is a gift store which could be good for some gag gifts. I’m definitely a fan of this restaurant and will be back next time we are in Bishop.