Iron Horse Restaurant — Restaurant in Kanab

My friend and I visited the restaurant tonight 4/9/22. We arrived to a line with people standing outside. Dysen and Nancy were standing at the front desk and was dealing with an angry customer. They remained calm and told them that it would be a little bit longer. The awful customer then made a huge scene and said that they would “stare Nancy down until she sat them.” The two of them explained that they were short. They then took our name and told us that the wait would be a while. We sat on the beautiful swing that is outside. The area was decorated well and the weather was beautiful. Fast forward: We walk back inside because now there is seating inside. Dysen approached me and asked if I was from New Mexico (I was wearing a NM shirt). I told him yes. He said he was familiar with the area. (I was more impressed that he knew that New Mexico was a state when adults aren’t even aware of this.). He carried conversation and pulled out a map of the area and told us about the cool trails around the area. He was knowledgeable of the area which was impressive. Nancy showed back up and thanked us for being patient. We chatted with her for a bit and she let us know that it wouldn’t be much longer but they only had one cook and the placed was packed. We told her we get it and that they had been great despite the terrible person ahead of us. Dysen then told us that we were ready to be seated. We walk to the back of the restaurant and sat right next to this awful woman. We were greeted by Alyssa. She asked us how we were doing and we apologized to her for how this woman was being. This customer was still being mouthy and complaining about everything. Alyssa stayed professional and ensured that she was filling drinks and getting the food out despite the customers being verbally abusive to her. Alyssa was running around all of the tables. She brought us our salad. Shortly after we finished, Matt showed up to bus our plates and asked us if we needed anything. We told him we were okay and gave him our plates. He replied with thank you (like we did a service to him for being polite). While Alyssa was running around, Layla started coming to our table to make sure that we were doing okay. We sat at table 40 (which we could see into the kitchen, and could see the one cook running around like a mad man). All the staff were working together to ensure that we were taken care of. My ribeye came out and it was cooked perfectly. Ray was the cook and was cooking for an entire restaurant of people, alone. The staff were great, the food was great. The only problem is that they were understaffed and as a result they were getting verbally abused. It’s amazing how the staff can remain so kind, with a full house of angry customers. This should really be considered with how the staffing is, how the staff are being paid. The owners of the restaurant should take these staff and do everything that they can to hang on to them, and work on a plan to get them help! I recommend the restaurant, just know, on a Saturday night at 7pm, you may wait an hour.. until the owners adequately staff them. But the staff there will give you five...

Great atmosphere and food was delicious! They had a sign on the door that they were short handed but worth the wait and I would agree. Decor was rustic western with fun touches like a real covered wagon you can pose on with fake horses to lead it. There was a whole western town front, fake jail, koi pond, giant whimsical chair, gift shop, outdoor and indoor dining. Inside, there were antler light fixtures, pictures of John Wayne, taxidermied raccoons playing poker, antique tools on the walls, and amusing signs like "don't squat with spurs on" or something like that. The cost of full adult meals was around $15-20 average with some dishes like brisket or variety platters going 24-30. Kids meals were much less but our kids have outgrown that stage so we all got burgers. They do however automatically add 18% gratuity for parties of 5 or more so keep that in mind if you have a larger family or go with a group.

I chose the burger special green Chile burger with a roasted green Chile and pepper jack cheese. The other 4 members of our family all had bacon cheeseburgers. 2 of the kids got mac n cheese, the rest of us had fries. Mac n cheese has a white sauce with bread crumb topping. If you love a sharp cheddar flavor you may be disappointed. I tried it and it'svery creamy and pretty good but not super cheesy tasting to me. One of the kids liked it, the other didn't.

Burgers were fantastic! Not thin, hearty, juicy, and cooked to order. They all looked slightly more none than ordered but not off enough to warrant any complaints! Fries were awesome and served in large quantities. We asked for barbecue sauce on the side and they didn't charge extra. Service was good as well, not exceptional but good. I cut them slack on that since they did say they were short handed. I'm not sure if our server was covering more tables or responsibilities than usual and that delayed his return. He did check on us a few times and bring more drinks and was nice. At the end with our bill they gave us a 10% off coupon to Denny's Wigwam which we left behind because we didn't know where it was and didn't think we'd go there but it turns out that is the name of their large gift shop on site. Worth a look! They have a huge variety of things in there. We were on the tail end of a long trip in our camper so we didn't end up buying anything but another time we might have.

All in all a great, family-friendly place for a memorable, although not inexpensive, experience and a...

My first attempt at a professional style review, I hope this is beneficial to customers and the owners! Although the service was INCREDIBLE and the atmosphere is very fitting, the food was quite a disappointment at the price point.

Mac n Cheese side: This was, unfortunately, the most disappointing part of the experience. It was incredibly bland, with very little cheese actually involved. When I think off BBQ Mac n Cheese, I think of stretchy cheese sauce with a baked top. This was very large noodles with more of a cheese coating that turned dry after cooling for a few minutes. I thought I could salvage it with some black pepper at least, but the tables are not set with salt and pepper (why?). I would not recommend it.

Pulled Pork Sandwich: This sandwich was a mixed bag. Pros - The pulled pork was moist, tasty, and the perfect amount was added to the sandwich, though I do feel it is missing some seasoning to the meat. The bun had a fantastic flavor that added to the sandwich well. Cons - MAJOR con is that the buns used do not hold up to the moisture of the pulled pork. My sandwich came out with the bottom bun already becoming soggy, and the moment a bun is soggy the sandwich becomes far less enjoyable and far more messy. Additionally, the coleslaw did not have a taste that I felt was discernible.

BBQ Sauce - The provided sauces had their uses. One had a fantastic heat and taste to it, and the other was very very sweet for those who enjoy that. Unfortunately, both were very watery which did not help the soggy sandwich situation nor match what I would expect from BBQ sauce. I also felt that a middle ground sauce was missing, something full bodied that really screams traditional BBQ.

Atmosphere: Perfect for the theme and area, it’s obvious the owners know what they are doing. BUT, the fly situation outside is out of control. I had roughly 15 flys at my table from the moment I sat down. Couldn’t see anything being used to mitigate this.

If you’re looking for a great place to take pictures, have other activities, a good atmosphere, and wonderful service, I couldn’t recommend this place more. If food quality for the price is something you are looking for, I wouldn’t have high expectations from...