Trailhead Restaurant — Restaurant in Estes Park

Every time I eat here, I am disappointed, but always convince myself that I just got unlucky with what I ordered. After 4 visits, it's time to recognize that this a ridiculously overpriced, mediocre restaurant. On my most recent visit, I ordered a burger with fries. I thought that the menu said you could add a small salad for $3.50. The salad consisted of about 1/2 a cup of lettuce, 2 cherry tomatoes, and 3 1-inch sticks of cucumber, so $3.50 seemed like a good price. When my burger came, there were no fries. I asked the waiter and he said it cost $3.50 to REPLACE the fries with salad, not to ADD a salad. I requested that he also bring me fries. When the bill came, it was almost $30 - meaning that I paid close to $9.00 for about 1 cup of fries that weren't anywhere near as good as what you would get at McDonald's. I don't mind paying $30 for a really good burger, but this burger was anything but. It was one of those frozen burgers that is made with rough edges to make it look hand-formed, but the rough edges have a pattern to them. It's the sort of burger you might get at a Back to School picnic. As for the staff, I found that if they were waiting on a table and working for a tip, they were kind and attentive. Otherwise, they were very rude. I saw two employees roll their eyes at a woman on her way out and laugh behind her back as she walked out the door. The only positive about this place is the view, but I recommend getting something to go at any other restaurant and finding a nice picnic table...

I want to start this review by saying that the service we were provided was pleasant and consistent. It's the food that was VERY dissatisfying and very overpriced, this place definitely preys on the pockets of tourists, you pay for the views, not the food. I have cooked at many restaurants and I know poor ingredients when I see them. *The skewers: Overooked. Very difficult to tell the difference between the lamb, elk, and pork. Too chewy and hard to finish. *Elk stew: Was this from a can? For something advertised as a signature dish, I expected way more than second hand chili and dry cornbread. *The Salmon sandwhich: dry dry dry, with a plastic, chewy consistency. Definitely frozen for too long before being served. *Buffalo burger and bbq burger: both were ordered med rare, but came out as dry, med wells. The toppings and buns were haphazardly assembled on the plates, and were untoasted and bland. *Calmari strips: dont even waste your time on these. We expected calamari, but what we received instead was a plate of what seemed to be nothing more than kids frozen fish sticks that you can buy from the supermarket. Unfortunatley, the only good thing here was the mountain views and the service. But for a bill that was over $160, it was DEFINITELY not worth it. We should have gone with our first choice of just picking up...

Paid 23 bucks plus tip for 3 eggs, Luke warm corn beef hash and one slice of toast. They ended up giving me another slice “for free” after I said something about being ripped off. The service was slow even though there was a max of 6-8 people in the restaurant. The staff has no training besides one nice lady. No type of hospitality. The server doesn’t understand simple serving procedures which I bet is due to lack of training and care from management. When ordering the server didn’t offer any sides or condiments. I just had to guess what they had. At least my tea water came out hot, but wasn’t offered the normal amenities that go with a cup of tea. When paying the girl at the desk stopped half way through to pick up the phone. And instead of putting that person on hold which would be proper procedure, she decided to ditch me at the register making me wait even longer in a place where it was already slow service. 20 years being a cook/chef and I’ve never witnessed anything like it. THIS PLACE GOES OUT OF ITS WAY TO RIP YOU OFF. THEY MAKE YOU PAY TOP DOLLAR PRICES WHILE GOING OUT OF THERE WAY TO OFFER YOU THE LEAST AMOUNT POSSIBLE. BOTH IN QUALITY AND SERVICE. Don’t waste your money here unless you like being ripped off by boxed and canned food.

And 2 stars was...