The Legendary Silver Dollar Saloon — Restaurant in Leadville

We went here on a recommendation from a friend's mother. When we stepped into the doors I was surprised at all the "character" of the place. That is to say, the place was filled with old photos, antiques and memorabilia from the 19th century. At first it was a unique and fun and then it became a pain in the ass.

Their menu was severely limited, just burgers and sandwiches. Our gluten free friend couldn't eat there and the staff were unwilling to let him order of menu. He was willing to pay a reasonable price for a salad or just hamburger patties, but they wanted him to buy two separate hamburgers and take the bread off himself. When he asked if he could bring food from another place in, they said no.

I ordered at the same time as some other friends and while their food came (albeit after far too long) mine never arrived. I ordered a Pepsi (which was on the menu),was served a can of Coca-Cola (for $2) and sat down to wait. And wait. And wait. After my friends' food was delivered and eaten mine still had not arrived. Finally I went up to the bar and told the bartender I'd pay for the soda but she could cancel the sandwich order. I gave her $2 and walked out, grabbing a burrito next door.

When I finally returned to my friends I was told my sandwich arrived while I was out. Another friend's sandwich arrived at the same time, nearly an hour after we ordered.

The final straw was when they tried to charge me for the sandwich and my gluten free friend for drinks he'd already paid for before leaving to find something gluten-free friendly.

We'll not be going there ever again or recommending the place to anyone but...

I've been trying very hard to love this place. It has so much historical significance to our little mountain town, yet it falls short in some fairly important areas.

First, the ambiance is quite nice. Really makes you feel like you're in a saloon from the late 1800's. Second, the drinks are always good. You rarely have to worry about getting something bad. My only qualm with getting drinks here is an instance where I brought a friend who stopped in town on his way through during a backpacking trip and there were no seats at the bar or at the tall-tops since they were pretty busy. No big deal. So we found a small space to stand and drink beside the jukebox which put us completely out of the way of people and employees walking through. Unfortunately, after thirty minutes and two drinks each, we were told we needed to leave because they needed space for other customers. Very strange experience considering I have been here during ski joring in the past when it was twice as packed and was never asked to leave. Third, the food is great, but you have to go on a good day. The kitchen seems to be open at odd hours and is often a hit or miss in terms of how hot you will recieve your food. Could be an instance of lack of servers, but something to keep in mind nonetheless.

Overall, I do like this place, but I think it has some work to do in terms of their food service and apparent...

This was a very unpleasant experience. I went there this past weekend with a few friends, and we were all pretty excited to try this place we've hear so much about. There was no wait when we arrived and as we were being walked back to our table a few things stood out to me. The atmosphere, although historic, was dark and dingy, full of clutter, and lacked energy... especially the staff who looked more bothered that we decided to stop in than happy for our business. Once we sat down, I am pretty sure I heard what sounded like one of the waitresses puke in the trash behind the bar. I ordered the smoked brisket sandwich and fries (the special that day), and a few other people I was with ordered some version of a BBQ meat sandwich as well (Pulled pork I believe). My initial thoughts about the food were that it was satisfactory... that is until we all became violently ill with food poisoning.

Food is ranked low for obvious reasons. The bare minimum expectation of a restaurant is to produce food that doesn't make you sick.

Service is ranked low for lack of energy, timeliness, and some hygiene concerns I have about the establishment.

Atmosphere is ranked low because he restaurant, simply put, is not clean. I understand the old time and historic vibe they are going for, but that should not include layers upon layers of dust on the pictures and items on the walls, light fixtures,...