Cottonwood Cafe — Restaurant in Albuquerque

I'd give zero stars if I could. I am extremely disappointed in the way things are done at the Cottonwood Cafe at the ABQ Bio Park. $37.11 for the crappiest lunch on the planet. January 2021 my family, along with some family friends, went to the zoo. When it was lunch time, I went and ordered some food from the Cottonwood Cafe. I was charged $37.11 for two tiny kid's meals (one with a PB n J and one with a corndog) and a container of cotton candy. My friend was charged over $20 for one kid's meal and a cotton candy. The price for these items is EXTREME! I don't know if it was a mistake on the cashier's part, but it is not only extremely high, but also insulting. The food is not even quality food. The little animal tote bag it comes in is junk. The salty and oily chips are taken from a larger bag of chips and put into sandwich baggies. The applesauce was bland (we had to beg for a spoon, by the way) and not even a name brand. The Crustable sandwich is not worth a dollar to me, and the Corndog was really chewy. The tiny little animal shaped juices are ok, but not worth what you're charging, and the same thing with the cotton candy.

I don't know what is going on there but I am informing every person I know, as well as typing up reviews to warn the world of the extreme, and highly priced junk that you all are selling at the ABQ Bio Park. It is ridiculous and I think it needs to be investigated. People are being ripped off, or taken advantage of because there aren't any other choices for buying lunch. If you are going to charge that much for food, it better be...

Normally, I don’t write reviews, but… This was a truly awful experience. Staff was rude and sneering, One of their names was Angel. Food was overpriced $51.86 for two burgers two fries two sodas. Took just over 45 minutes for the food to be ready and there was only three other guest in the restaurant. The fountain drink machine Is dirty, and completely full of mold. Out of cheese, out of ketchup. The atmosphere was horrible even though this was at the zoo because the employees seemed anxious for guest to leave, but it was 2 PM so I can’t imagine it was close to closing time. Employees on their phones, chatting with each other, and eating directly behind the counter in plan sight of the guest. Too busy to promptly, take orders, clean, any tables or complete orders. My tip was completely unappreciated and asked for upfront while paying for the order. I hate that practice because it makes you feel like your food won’t be the best quality if you don’t tip. No “thank you” or any kind of politeness at all. Very uncomfortable! I quietly went through this experience, but hope a manager really takes a look into the staff and operation at this restaurant. Thanks...

As a zoo member, I was so disappointed with the service compared to the excellent service I typically receive at the zoo. I was waiting for fries and multiple times I was blatantly ignored by the staff here. In light of the Covid restrictions and the new policies there was no one explaining the process of mobile orders nor was there communication when I went to the mobile orders doors. Three times I was at the door with zero acknowledgement. So...