Connie's Restaurant & Saloon — Restaurant in Island Park

I found myself at this establishment with my family after spending a couple of days in the area and vehemently enjoying the food we received at every single restaurant (especially those only 20 minutes away in West Yellowstone) except for Connie’s. The woman who seated us was far from friendly, but (to be fair) they were super busy, so she might have simply been overwhelmed by the crowd. Once we we’re seated at our table, we were promptly attended to by our waiter; the service was fine, not great, but good enough given how crowded it was.

This experience really started going down hill when we received our food. Two of us ordered the grilled chicken salad, which pretty much consisted of dry, rubbery chicken served atop limp lettuce and relatively flavorless and presumably unfresh vegetables. The other two members of my party ordered the chili. As proud Texans, we LOVE a borderline absurd amount of seasoning on our food, so it was not unexpected for the chili to taste a little different than what we are used to. This regional difference could also explain the high bean-to-meat ratio; however, no regional difference could excuse the fact that the chili was served cold with a less-than-mediocre flavor. It wasn’t even hot enough to melt the cheese. I could never ethically serve the dishes we received and call myself a restaurant.

Even though we were very disappointed with our food, we had a long day, and did not want to go through the trouble of sending all 4 of our meals back to the kitchen to be altered/remade; we simply wanted to leave this restaurant as soon as possible. Some advice to any fellow hungry travelers passing through the Island Park area: you are better off going to the convenience store (Robin’s Roost) across the highway and making yourself a peanut butter and...

As with everywhere we went in the area, our party of six was in for a good, long wait. But Connie offers a nice outdoor sit-and-wait area where you can enjoy, if not the people you're with, then all the strangers a-coming and a-going, be they humanoids, ravens, or Uinta ground squirrels.

Connie also has a full bar with its own eaves-dropping / people-watching opportunities, including the two rural fellows swapping stories on stoolback and the nervous wreck of a hard-working bartendress who is single-handedly handling every single drink order in the busy, bustling business there. Please be patient, empathize, and tip handsomely, folks.

Finally, Connie got her a little gift shop in the back you might peruse if and while you're waiting. It ain't too big, but the ladies in our party got lost back there for a good long while, so there must be something worth looking at.

I think all our company enjoyed their respective drinks and dishes. I recommend the fish and chips; take with alcohol. Our server was a button-cute sweetheart, too, though she didn't seem to know much about the bar service. Not her fault, I suppose; the bartendress told us there wasn't a drinks menu, but during the course of our time in Connie's we ultimately discovered three different drinks menus: one on a pedestal in the front lobby, a totally different one at our dining table, and I can't even remember the other one we uncovered. Anyway, I reckon I'd be confused about it working there, too. That there is my one critical suggestion, Connie, if you're reading: streamline a master menu and add it to your website and/or Google profile so customers can salivate and satisfy more easily.

Overall, though, seems to me Connie's got good, hard workers and good, affordable meals. Buen...

Just not a good place. Connie's is extremely slow and doesn't have great food. There is not much flavor and seems to be made cheaply. The price of the food is not justified for what you get. It would be better to go to Pond's or into West Yellowstone for McDonalds. I have given this place maybe 5 chances to impress me but it is consistently bad. Save your money and go somewhere else.

Revision: Owner sent me this message, attached in pictures, claiming I have a "personal vendetta" against Connie's or it's staff, which is completely false, I live in Utah and love to vacation to Island Park. The truth is that the owner feels a need to compensate for the poor food quality by placing their incompetence on the customers claiming they hold the fault. And when I say slow, I mean waiting 10 minutes to get seated when there are 3 tables occupied, ordering a burger, and waiting another 30 minutes for it. As an avid lover of Island Park, this restaurant places a dark cloud over the honest and great people of Island Park. Please, support other establishments in Island Park, support the local economy. I will not support this eatery from here on out. Owner of Connie's, have facts before you blame your customers who spent way to much on a cheap burger. Look at your health code violations too to understand my distaste. Don't wash your hands in the same place you prep food, silverware, and...