Paradise Inn Dining Room — Restaurant in Graham

Management of the restaurant, Ranier guest services, is changing, and it can't come soon enough. The staff are obviously frustrated, the customers are frustrated, it's such an opportunity to make Paradise a dining destination. We stayed at the Inn four days, so we had lots of opportunity to interact with the staff. First, Nick does a great job manning the bar in spite of being in an awkward placement, not having a barback or waitstaff supporting, and running out to try to take orders all the way on the opposite patio. Great job Nick. A few of the other staff were definitely trying to make the most of a difficult position, being switched to to-go services instead of table service. Others seemed fed up and just didn't care, sitting around and audibly complaining. The food itself was below cafeteria food. We had nearly every item on the menu over the course of several days, coming back not because we enjoyed it, but because we wanted to be on the mountain as opposed to the 1.5hr round-trip to Ashford for dining. The most edible items we had were the brussel sprouts, and the mushroom pasta with grilled chicken (though very bland). Deserts were also edible, as long as you don't expect it to be freshly made (thawed cheesecake, chocolate cake, blackberry pie). We had orders prepared incorrectly though registered correctly in their POS system, and though I never send food back, I did when they delivered my $15 ceasar salad with only 5 small pieces of lettuce. I do not mean 5 romain lettuce ears as is one traditional preparation, but 5 pieces of lettuce amounting to just enough to fit between my pinky and ring finger. There was far more dressing than green. After sending it back they did provide additional lettuce. Again, I do not blame the staff onsite so much as Ranier Guest Services. Paradise could be a rewarding place for both guests and staff. Bring in a chef that takes pride in their kitchen and what it produces. Bring in a menu featuring local produce and game. Bring back white tablecloths and candles. Offer fixed price tasting menus. Make it one more memorable experience to entice and indulge guests of Paradise. To make it sustainable, encourage team leadership and offer bonuses for those who inspire performance in others. Build the paradise inn as a brand that people can take pride in representing. Trim underperforming staff. Leave the casual dining to the Tatoosh Cafe. Sell wine and beer at the Cafe, but limit full bar service to restaurant guests. Also, change the bulbs on the rustic chandeliers to glass incandescent to give it the warm glow it would have had in its prime rather than the harsher white it does now. My parents generation tell stories of great dining experiences from the lodge. I would love to get that back so new guests can have a...

Don't waste your hard-earned money.

Better choices: bring your own food & picnic, eat the cold gas station sandwiches from the deli in the lodge for a third the price of the "restaurant," or head 20 minutes down the mountain to the (cheaper & better) restaurants in town.

The good: pleasant staff doing the best they could under trying circumstances. Quite clean. The food was edible. Great location, of course! :-)

The bad:

My wife & I paid $101, including our usual 20% tip, for: 1 salmon dinner that was mediocre, McDonald's-quality fries & 1 burger, 1 Pepsi, 1 tap water, & 2 stale pretzels that came with a solid chunk of cold tasteless "beer-cheese dip." You have to order at a counter, fast-food style. The food is served on paper plates with plastic silverware. The water & pop come in clear plastic cups.

They give you a buzzer that lets you know when your food is ready by buzzing & making a loud annoying sound; all a person had to do to stop the buzzing & sound was to press the only button there was on the buzzer. Instead buzzers were going off the entire 20 minutes we were there. You pick up your food yourself off a table in the back & then bus your own table, fast food style.

There appeared to be a coat closet up a couple steps in the corner...a guy at a Dutch door serves alcohol in the bottle/can (beer) or in clear plastic cups (wine & mixed drinks)...huge line.

The website made it appear reservations were all but necessary...we even got an email 2 days before, asking us if we were still coming at 5 PM & that reminded that we'd only get a 15-minute grace period. I'd eaten at this same main dining room at the Paradise Lodge in September 2019 & it was fine dining back then, I mean someplace memorable & special...so we hustled up the mountain after my wife's flight was late. Got there right on time...not one person eating there when we arrived...maybe 5 other tables occupied in this immense dining room when we left 40 minutes later (20 minutes waiting for the food, 20 minutes eating). The lady who took our orders said they were not even taking reservations & didn't know why the computer system was still accepting them.

Hopefully they get their act together again some time soon...until then be aware you're paying $50 per person (with tip) for a mediocre fast-food experience.

Oh, I believe I heard this right...they're barely renting out any rooms at the lodge because they're down to just 3 people to clean the rooms & common areas...& do laundry & the other lodge stuff, etc. It appeared to me that the entire Paradise Lodge restaurant had 4 people working, including the 2 doing the food. No ranger talk in the lodge's main common room...

Charging $28 for a frozen burger patty and cold fries? Haha. This place should be ashamed of itself.

The service was fine in that the waitress took our order, apologized twice for the wait, refilled our drinks, brought us food, then brought our bill.

The food (2 burgers) took 45 minutes and we were 1 of 5 tables in the entire dining room. We were told the kitchen “was backed up.” They must only have one microwave…?

When the food arrived, the burgers were obliterated (had asked for medium on both), they were that solid gray, tasteless, dead looking color all the way through. They were perfectly round and they tasted exactly like a frozen burger patty. I’d put my money on the frozen “wagyu” patties from Costco. A white bread, stale and crumbly top bun. Pale, white tomato slice, sad limp lettuce, and a soggy bottom bun (assuming from it sitting and dying in the pass). By the time I had the burger half gone, the bottom bun had basically absorbed into the meat patty. The fries were cold and rubbery and obviously were baked frozen fries. The best thing on the plate was the ramekin of mustard.

It’s not like I was expecting a mind blowing experience, I get that it’s a National Park… no one is expecting this place to hold a star or something, but that shouldn’t be an excuse to hold people hostage to terrible food at outrageous prices.

If they invest in a vending machine somewhere up there, absolutely feed yourself from that. As it stands, go to the deli/cafe and get the cheapest thing you can find that will hold you over until you’re off...