Cliff House Dining Room — Restaurant in Manitou Springs

Edit: I took my parents here and it was just as good as last time! We got the filet and coq au vin with the basque cheesecake for dessert. SO. FREAKING. GOOD.

I honestly didn’t realize we had fine dining in the springs (Manitou). Service was above and beyond - silverware was replaced and polished between courses, as members of our party left the table, napkins were folded when they returned, wine was presented and suggested- the whole nine yards. Our waiter was truly talented.

Food: (just an aside c we got a lot more than pictured. I am not by any means a chef but I did have some light feedback)

Apps: tuna tartare and trumpet mushrooms

The tartare was fantastic and delicious- but the thin long crackers that came with were difficult to eat without launching crumbs everywhere. I am also not sure if there were enough for all five of us at the table. The tartare itself was impeccable. (Tuna in the springs never tastes right to me but this tasted good)

Trumpet mushrooms- again, there weren’t enough mushrooms for everyone at our table of 5 to get one so I had to cut the mushrooms with my butter knife and it was not the easiest experience. Taste was great, sharing was hard.

Entrees Bison ribeye: my boyfriend got this one and loved it. I nabbed a bite and it was delicious.

Ecuadorian chicken : this had such great flavor- the sauces were fantastic!! It was a little hard to enjoy because because the chicken was served bone-in and in a bowl- I felt like my knife couldn’t cut effectively 😅 maybe that’s a me problem. Presentation was out of this world. I actually liked the croquettes when I’m usually not a fan. Every element was delicious. I think we got a chicken wing - or maybe a thigh? It wasn’t a ton of meat but the meal was still filling because of the other elements. Nothing was spicy except that Fresno pepper!

Lemon cheesecake- I love lemons and this was beautiful and delicious. If I wouldn’t die of a heart attack I’d probably swing by and eat this every week.

The only other critique was dessert took 20 min after we were done with our meal. We forgot about the wait after tasting the cheesecake though. Would come back here for any...

To start with, the wine menu was not brought with the regular menu. We had to ask for it.Sigh! Our server was clueless! She did NOT know the menu, and wasn't asking the correct service questions. This is supposed to be fine dining- not Chili's. I had ordered my steak medium well and it came out ALMOST medium... I could hear the supervisor LOUDLY discussing my order with the kitchen. 'Just butterfly it!' (without asking me.) I know for a fact that guests don't want to listen to kitchen battles. When I requested extra sauce, apparently that was a serious problem. Since they haven't changed the menu in a long time, one would think the kitchen would know how to cook the items properly. Changing the silverware for each course was an awkward proceedure. They never asked if my son or I wanted another drink (we did.) The dessert (not the souffle) took eons to make/ serve. Obviously, you cannot make a small icecream flavor substitution without ruining the balance of the entire restaurant. No mention of my birthday- (8/30) even though my son specifically told them when the reservation was made. We have been going to the Cliffhouse for all of our special occasions for more than 12 years. We certainly did NOT feel THIS meal was special in any way.

I was told that the manager would contact me. NOPE. That didn't happen. He never responded to my call either. THAT is bad guest relations/ customer service. Next special occasion we will go to Swiss Chalet or Walter's Bistro or...

First and foremost it was a very fun night and we enjoyed our time overall. But being objective, I have to say the service was very strange and frenetic. Our waiter was so frenetic that it seemed like his duties as a waiter were secondary to whatever else he had going on in his mind. He would be taking our order and basically doing a jazz square with his feet while we asked questions in order. Lots of mistakes lots of mumbling, lots of dropping glasses of water and forgetting our appetizer etc. The manager seemed very mad at the server who was very overwhelmed but he also made several mistakes including knocking over our Bread Basket then picking up the bread with his bare hands and putting it back in the basket rather than replacing it and pouring wine down the side of the bottle while serving it. Honestly the food was delicious, albietvery old school. The funniest part was the big deal that was made about us coming for my husband's birthday. They made sure several times to comment about the special table they were giving us and the quiet space they wanted us to be in , but When they brought the dessert which they did charge us for (which is fine) they wrote happy anniversary on the brim of the dessert plate. We were dying laughing to the point of tears. Was jyst the perfect ending to a really weird experience. In the end so glad we went but probably...