Kernville is a small town and the food scene is small to match — but a handful of places are worth knowing.
Big Blue Bear Espresso on Big Blue Road is the standard coffee-and-pastry stop, busy on weekend mornings with paddlers and hikers heading upstream. Cheryl's Diner does diner food well — biscuits and gravy, decent burgers, country-style breakfasts. Kern River Brewing Company is a craft brewery and gastropub with a wide patio overlooking the river: a serious tap list and burgers and pizza to soak it up. That's Italian is the dinner option of choice for pasta and old-school red-sauce dishes.