The Copper Room

"For most people visiting Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley is the chain-ridden town where you can pick up groceries and get gas before heading to your vacation rental. But there’s a lot more here than a Stater Bros. Case in point, The Copper Room. This historic restaurant at the Yucca Valley Airport has been around since the 1950s, when regulars included Frank Sinatra and Gene Autry. It closed a few years back, but has now been restored with multiple dining rooms and a wrap-around bar perfect for martinis, eating delicious snacks like garlic shrimp toast, and pretending you’re someone else for a few hours. This is the kind of place you come to on your first night in the desert, then return to every night after." - brant cox

"I wrestled with the idea of ordering a popular but basic appetizer this week. Yet here we are talking about the artichoke dip from the Copper Room in Yucca Valley. First, this restaurant is a beacon in the entire region, which includes San Bernardino County and Coachella Valley. The former airstrip lounge converted into a restaurant with 1970s vibes is an outstanding spot for cocktails, serving an inventive menu that includes garlic shrimp toast with togarashi butter, Flannery Farms hangar steak with garlic-ginger broccolini, and the wonderful spinach artichoke dip. The latter dish successfully balances cream cheese and Gruyere with loads of shredded spinach and artichoke. Eat this the second it makes its way to the table and you’ll likely order one more for the group. To pair, order a gimlet sour, a mai tai made with four types of rums, or the 1957 martini served with a crostini topped with smoked trout roe, shrimp, and tapenade, which can be a meal unto itself." - Eater Staff

"This cozy Yucca Valley bar and restaurant, perched just behind the still-active Yucca Valley Airport, has perfected what it takes to be a draw for both locals and travelers in the Joshua Tree region. Diners seeking a fuller meal can sit in its carpeted, string-light-lit dining room, which has a distinctly 1970s living room vibe. Here, they may share dishes like garlic shrimp toast with togarashi butter, a crunchy napa cabbage salad inflected with Vietnamese flavors, and the pilot’s burger, whose patty is made even fattier with bone marrow. Visitors can belly up to the bar for the same menu and order off the compelling cocktail list, which includes high balls, tiki-ish drinks, and martinis, as well as a warming scotch toddy and buttered rum. For the best of both worlds, go for the “1957 martini,” which comes with an amuse bouche of smoked trout roe, poached shrimp, and tapenade crostini." - Eater Staff

"For most people visiting Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley is the chain-ridden town where you can pick up groceries and get gas before heading to your vacation rental. But there’s a lot more here than a Stater Bros. Case in point, The Copper Room. This historic restaurant at the Yucca Valley Airport has been around since the 1950s, when regulars included Frank Sinatra and Gene Autry. It closed a few years back, but has now been restored with multiple dining rooms and a wrap-around bar perfect for martinis, eating delicious snacks like garlic shrimp toast, and pretending you’re someone else for a few hours. This is the kind of place you come to on your first night in the desert, then return to every night after." - Brant Cox

"While the recently remodeled Copper Room, first opened in 1957, provides classic cocktails and Asian-inspired dishes on its tarmac location at Yucca Valley Airport (no boarding pass required)." - Travel + Leisure Editors