Muir Woods Trading Company Cafe

Nice café & store. Some vegetarian items. Vegan is hard. Good souvenir items.

Well it’s the only café up there if you don’t bring food, it’s fine, just pricey for the type of stuff you’re getting, I got the famous 3 cheese grilled cheese, which was $ 9 and tasted just like a regular grilled cheese, line to pay took a while, but then again it was rush hour, the people who run it are nice though

No grilled cheese sandwiches before 11 :(
Parking after 9 am is terrible! Plan your trip accordingly :)

Get the Marin Melt! Soo good. Also, very good service, the other choices on the menu are pretty awesome too, and I love the options. Everyone in our party was able to find something to satisfy their appetites (baby too!).

Our tour guide recommended that if we ate in the café, eat light and I am glad we did. My husband and I split the Marin Melt which by the way was on «Best Thing I Ever Had» on the Food Network. It was okay. I’m not sure if I would eat there again.

Great food and very reasonable prices for being in a park… Everyone really liked what they ordered. They do a good job of being environmentally friendly

The sandwich that they proudly advertised wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever ate. Maybe they changed something about it over the years. Was a disappointment

I had the Marin Melt, with the Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam and the Pt Reyes Farmstead Creamery Toma cheeses. I liked my Marin Melt but it looked sort of sad sitting there all alone on my paper plate, kept company only by the lonely old whitening carrot thrown in on the side. My 5 yr old had the Grilled Cheese Sandwich, which the menu in the sign holder described as the delicious original version, presumably to distinguish it from the Marin Melt. Neither was The Best We Ever Ate, but after a morning of brisk walking through the coastal redwoods, two grilled cheeses were a nice touch.

Came here over Memorial Day weekend and went straight to the café. The line was kind of long but at least it was moving. Got up to the front and decided to order the Marin Melt because it was seen on «The Best Thing I’ve Ever Had». I was extremely disappointed! Not so much because of the food, but because of the service. They said their grills were backed up so there was a bit of a wait, which was fine. However, it had been 15 minutes and they hand’t called my name yet. I went up to check and turns out somebody had already picked it my order. I never even heard my name! Instead of making me another right away for messing up, I had to wait AGAIN. Sure enough, it was another long wait, and to top it off I don’t even think I got the actual Marin Melt, I think it was just a regular grilled cheese. Next time I’m definitely eating before heading up there.

Wanted a small bite to eat and saw the Marin Melt sign which was on The best thing I ever ate food network… so, I ordered it. What the heck? The grilled cheese was just cheese and bread, very dry, they could have schmeared the bread with a nice marmalade or mustard, nada. It looked nothing like which was featured on food network. What a rip! So annoyed AND it was so expensive. I’ll never be back and hope others will steer clear.

Too bad they don’t have more kid friendly options. Overall they try and promote healthy foods which was good like organic hot dogs and vegan tomato soup.
For the price I would have expected better though.

I was excited to be going to Muir Woods for a hike as well as trying the grilled cheese sandwich that was featured on «The Best Thing I Ever Ate.» The grilled cheese was a big disappointment. There was a small amount of what looked like it might be cheese. I was about the size of a half a pat of butter. There was no gooeyness what so ever. And for the 9.95 price it was not worth it. I guess you get more cheese if your name is Tyler Florence.
Loved the hike at Muir Woods and will be back for that but definitely not the grilled cheese.

Tomatoe soup and grilled cheese. Thats all you need after your amazing hike at Muir Woods :)

So we fell for the tourist trap and had the «best thing I ever ate» sandwich. They are really capitalizing on that sandwich. $ 10 is severely overrated. Don’t bother.
Also, they do not sell any sugary drinks, so if you were looking for a soda, there are none available.

marin melt was the bomb. Yes, I saw that it was on «best thing I ever ate» but I’m not a huge fan of grilled cheese so this wasn’t on my check list during my trip to Muir woods.
cheese blend was perfect, but I would be happy just eating the thick slices of the crispy multi grain bread (sunflower seeds make it extra crunchy). with the tomato soup as a combo, it is delicious & comforting after a long hike.
look carefully when throwing your trash & recycling (they have tips on the wall above each bin). before you leave, check out the gift shop for some unique souvenirs.

After watching Food Network’s Best Thing I Ever Ate episode when Tyler Florence raves over the Marin Melt — grilled cheese and tomato soup, bf and I just had to try it. I must say, it was the BEST grilled cheese we have ever eaten. It’s simple, literally just 3 cheeses and bread, but amazing. I still dream about it. It’s great for a lunch or snack after hiking through Muir Woods. Eat outside, enjoy the fresh air and scenery.

OK, I just have to rave about this place because the guy who rang me up rocked so hard.
First off, it’s California. Specifically, Northern California, so almost everything on the menu is organic this, local that. No greasy fries or frozen burgers here. Second, there isn’t much seating so don’t count on you and your 15 kids being able to sit down to enjoy your snacks.
Anyway, the guy. I didn’t catch his name but he looked to be in his late teens, early 20s at most. He spoke with a laid back, surfer boy drawl and was possibly high, drunk or stoned. It really didn’t matter. When I got to the counter, I ordered a Valhrona chocolate brownie. There was no price listed for them but they looked so good that I had to have a piece. He came back with a wrapped-​up package of paper and told me that he’d given me some extra brownie to «fill up the space» because he felt that one slice was too small and for what they were charging me, I should get more. I asked, «How much is one piece?» Turns out, it was ~$ 3 – definitely not the worst I’ve ever encountered. I thanked him for his consideration, then walked away. When I unwrapped the package, I discovered he had actually given me two whole, humungous slices – way, way more than $ 3 worth.
Now THAT is service!

Like many of the reviewers we battled the crowds and parking at Muir Woods after seeing Tyler Florence rave about the Marin Melt on «Best Thing I Ever Ate»
The Marin Melt is a grilled cheese made with excellent local ingredients. Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam and Pt Reyes Creamery Toma Cheeses on hearty wheat bread from Rustic Bakery in Larkspur. It’s $ 9.95 by itself or $ 13.95 in a combo with Vegan Tomato Soup (
).
We split the combo along with a Line-​caught Tuna Sandwich (
).
The Marin Melt was OK, but didn’t live up to the hype. I liked the nutty wheat bread, but the sandwich had not been panini pressed («grilled») long enough to get to the level of gooey cheesiness I was expecting. It was also a «healthy» grilled cheese with no butter applied to the bread which made it a little dry.
I liked the tomato soup better than the sandwich which was rich and creamy despite it’s vegan status. Things definitely improved by dipping the sandwich in it.
The (pre-​made) tuna sandwich was also just OK. Cheese, lettuce, scoop of tuna. Could have used a little more tuna and again I liked the bread better than the sandwich as a whole. The densely crusted roll was begging for a juicy burger patty.
I’d give the food a solid 3 stars, but am docking a star for the price and convenience.
Maybe not entirely fair, but I’m factoring in the Park entrance fees (which have gone up from $ 5 to $ 7 per adult) and the battle for parking which we were surprised to see exists even mid-​week.

Just like many other Unilocalers, I was lured here by Tyler Florence’s recommendation on «Best Thing I Ever Ate.» And yes, the Marin Melt Combo was pretty amazing, especially for such a hidden spot like this one. And I definitely savored every bite of that crispy, melty goodness. The tomato soup was also very flavorful and complemented the sandwich perfectly. The only reason I didn’t give this place 4 stars is because $ 14 is a bit ludicrous for a grilled cheese and cup of tomato soup.
P. S. The bear statues outside by the bathrooms are super fun to take sexypose pictures with.

We came here after watching it on Tyler Florence’s «best thing i ever ate.» We had come there for two things… to enjoy the day surrounded by the Redwoods of Muir Woods, and for the grilled cheese/​tomato soup. The grilled cheese sandwich, from what I believe, is supposed to be made of all natural ingredients with like 5 different cheeses or something, and the bread is some sort of multi-​grain bread. The sandwich itself was good, and very healthy tasting, but it definitely wasn’t «the best grilled cheese I ever ate»…especially if you’re Tyler Florence, don’t you think you would’ve had the topitest top notch food in all the world? and maybe even YOUR grilled sandwich would probably be up there as the best thing you ever ate!!! it’s mind-​boggling how he would choose this place.
Anyway, i really really really want to give this place maybe an extra star, for the park itself, because it really is a great experience to be out there, but this review is supposed to be for the café. Which is just mediocre. If it were not for the park, i would not make my way to this place to try the food here.
Oh, i forgot to mention, on the upside, the worker messed up our order and thought we ordered a tomato soup when we ordered the chili, so he gave us the extra tomato soup for free! =)