Our very first time here, we took out of town friends, based on the reviews which were mostly positive. We got there and the parking lot was very busy. The restaurant/lodge is in the most gorgeous location with nearby walking trails and camping. We signed in and were told we would have a 30 minute wait. We took that as a positive sign initially, but then noticed the dining room was actually pretty empty. Still the views are amazing and the wait went by quickly. Once seated we noticed the place was really understaffed and for such a large place, the seating wasn't being managed efficiently. Each server was serving across the entire dining room, which is a sprawling affair. The lady who served us was really friendly and made some great recommendations. Sadly, the service was still lacking. Mistakes made with drinks, confusion about what table ordered what and a general feeling that everyone on staff was rushing and frustrated really impacted the mood. I am 100% positive if they were not understaffed the experience would have been much better. Sadly, like everywhere else, they are understaffed, but more than time/waits are affected due to seemingly poor planning. When the food was served, it was underwhelming. The food that was served was well prepared, served timely and at the correct temperatures, but generally lacking in flavor. The nachos were really good. Would give these 4/5. Bourbon BBQ Brisket sandwich had so much potential, but I really didn't enjoy it at all. The white bread was ok. Typical of white bread served with BBQ. Both pieces were covered in brisket and sliced cheddar. A very generous portion. Sadly the individual components of the sandwich were not great. The brisket was 2/5, the BBQ sauce very sweet and overly generous. I am sure some people love it, but to me it was just there to mask the fact that the brisket was mediocre. And I personally don't prefer very sweet BBQ Sauce. That was a risk I knew I was taking. The cheese was average sliced cheese. The accompanying waffle fries were pretty good. The view is amazing. The food middle of the road.
Bathrooms here are never sanitary. Either you need to install a foot handle at the base of your bathroom doors AND automatic faucets, or you need to bring back paper towels. Your current arrangement is disgusting and likely a health department violation. You should be ashamed, not proud.
Don’t go here unless you can go completely by their schedule. They decided to randomly close from 2:30-4:30 on a Saturday and what’s worse they didn’t even wait til 2:30 like this to side sign said (which is the only way you could have known they were even planning on being any kind of closed compare to their online hours) then they decided they were just going to make it earlier and stop serving at 2:15pm. So again only go if you can abide by their non existent scheduling times