The Tiger

June Lake

The carved Tiger Bar sign hanging off the building in falling snow: a painted tiger on a black board, THE TIGER in amber letters, GREAT FOOD & SPIRITS and EST. 1932 beneath it

Tiger Bar & Cafe

Great food and spirits since 1932.

A bar and a full kitchen on Highway 158 since 1932 — breakfast from eight, burgers and Mexican plates from half eleven, and the bar after. In June Lake village, on the Loop road where it runs through town.

2620 Highway 158
June Lake, CA 93529

Today at the Tiger

Breakfast
Eggs and things, three-egg omelets, pancakes and the Tiger muffin
8 – 11:30 AM
Kitchen
Burgers, sandwiches and Mexican plates
11:30 to close
Sunday – Thursday
Bar and cafe
8 AM – 9 PM
Friday & Saturday
The bar runs an hour later
8 AM – 10 PM
Winter
Open through the snow, at the village end of the Loop
Year round
Today's hours
Call the Tiger
760-648-7551

Two sources disagree on the opening hour: the bar's own Instagram bio says 8 AM daily and Restaurantji lists 8 AM, while Tripadvisor shows 9 AM. Eight is used here because it is the bar's own line. Every time on this board needs confirming before the page goes live.

The slot machines are still in the lake.

The Tiger has been on this corner of the Loop road since 1932, and the story the bar tells about itself has not changed in the telling: the gambling went into the water and never came back. The room was remodelled in 1986 with a careful eye to keep the 1932 look, and it is still the old Tiger Bar.

1932
Glen Colton's Tiger Bar opens and quickly becomes a centre of activity in June Lake — a favourite spot for locals and visitors alike to gather.
The Revenuers
Like most watering holes in Mono County the Tiger had slot machines and poker tables. One day the Revenuers called to say they were coming to town to stop the gambling. Every slot machine in June Lake was gathered up and thrown into the lake. Divers have gone looking since and always come up empty handed.
1978
The owners who would hold the Tiger for the next four decades buy it.
1986
The remodel — done with a careful eye to keep the historical 1932 look. The hanging sign, the back bar and the old photographs on the wall come through it.
Today
New management behind the bar, the same room in front of it: the expansive bar, the game area, the caps and shirts on the rail, and breakfast on from eight.
Tiger Bar caps and t-shirts pegged along the rail above the back bar, bottles and string lights on the shelves below
Caps and shirts over the back bar
A faded sepia photograph framed on the wall of the bar: a horse-drawn wagon on a dirt road through early June Lake
The old photograph on the wall

At the bar

A full bar in a room that has held one since 1932 — and the Tiger Bloody Mary, made from scratch, which is what people order in the morning.

The Tiger Bloody Mary
  • Always made from scratch — $8.50
  • $6.50 until 11:30 AM
Wine by the glass and the bottle
  • Yellow Tail chardonnay, merlot or cabernet — glass $8.00, bottle $20.00
  • Sutter Home white zinfandel — glass $7.00, bottle $19.00
  • Pinot grigio — glass $10.00, bottle $32.00
  • Pinot noir — glass $10.00, bottle $32.00
Beer
  • Mammoth Brewing pilsner
  • A local porter
  • Drafts and craft cans — the list changes; ask at the bar
Behind the bar
  • A full back bar, spirits and cocktails
  • Caps and shirts on the rail above it

The bar, the game area, and the first stop on the Loop

The bar's own description of its room has not changed in ten years: an expansive bar, a game area, and a casual family atmosphere, where a table of skiers and a table of grandparents sit through the same lunch. Many generations of June Lake locals, and past residents and visitors, make the Tiger their first stop coming into the Loop. Take-out goes out the same door. For a table for a group, or to ask what the kitchen can do for one, call the bar.

Call the Tiger
The Tiger Bar & Cafe building on Highway 158: tan clapboard, the hanging tiger sign, COCKTAILS and Established 1932 lettered on the window, a snowy Sierra ridge at the end of the street
The Tiger on Highway 158

Practical details for the stop.

The Tiger has one phone line and it answers for everything: the bar, the kitchen, and a table for a group. Nothing here books online, and no private room is advertised — for a private party, the answer is a call.

Bar & cafe
760-648-7551
Hours
Sunday – Thursday, 8 AM – 9 PM
Friday & Saturday, 8 AM – 10 PM
Breakfast
Served until 11:30 AM, with hash browns or cottage fries and toast.
Kitchen
Burgers, sandwiches, plates and Mexican specialties from 11:30 to close.
The bar
Full bar, wine and beer. Cocktails made at the bar.
The room
Game area, televisions, table service, high chairs, and take-out.
Paying
Cards and digital payments accepted. No reservations.
Getting here
On Highway 158 through June Lake village. Parking on the street and in the lot.
Address
2620 Highway 158
June Lake, CA 93529