Theodore's Dining Room — Restaurant in Medora

My partner and I stopped by Theodore’s after a long, beautiful day in the Park. Based on the menu and pictures we had seen, we were excited and looking forward to having a high-quality, carefully crafted meal experience. Unfortunately, we were quite disappointed.

I had the bison osso buco with the lobster bisque, and my partner got the blackened salmon with the beet salad.

The soup did not taste fresh at all and the uneven temperature was a clear indicator of being briefly heated in the microwave. The dried, wilted basil flakes on the oily surface next to the chewy bread were not appetizing in the slightest.

The beets in the salad were overly marinated and the greens were starting to wilt.

The bison osso buco had decent flavor overall, but the meat was dry and chewy. It seemed to have been sitting for a while and reheated, even though we arrived shortly after they opened for dinner. The green beans were overcooked and seemed to be from a frozen bag. The mashed potatoes were surprisingly very good, with a creamy texture and rich, complex flavor.

The salmon itself seemed to be relatively fresh despite being in one of the most landlocked regions in the entire continent. However, it was sadly very overcooked. The spices and sauce were unremarkable and it was overall a very dry dish.

The service was average — nothing incredible or bad by any means. Our waters were kept full and we didn’t feel forgotten at any point.

Our total for these two meals was $86 before tip. At this price, I feel it is reasonable to expect an above-average level of finesse and attention to detail with each dish. Our experience was sadly sub-par at best. The quality of ingredients is almost where it should be, but the execution is uninspired and lazy.

My recommendation would be to avoid the disappointment and take your money elsewhere. I am not typically one to write negative reviews, but I felt it was important to warn others to steer clear of this...

The food here is wonderful, the serving staff may be a little green but already well trained and took well care of us. I ordered the Queen cut of prime rib, and it is the best seasoned prime rib I have had. I usually know what to expect for a good prime rib: good control of doness, tender flavor cut of meat, chef dial back the seasoning to show the meatiness. I will love the 1/3 of the steak and the result will only go down with spicy horseradish source and wine. But this prime rib is another level! The salt and spice do not only form a wonderful crust, they also get the time to penetrate into the steak. Even when I chew on the last bite and wonder that how did I managed to eat them all, I can still appreciate how rich the meat tasted. Also, with that nice seasoning, the chef chose a more creamy version of horseradish source, because it doesn't need to cut through the meatiness overload. The result is an flavor much more balanced, layered and subtle. Oh, did I mention that I finished the Queen cut that looks like 18oz big? On my way back to my hotel, I had two questions: will I have a meat hangover tomorrow and how big a King cut would have been. Another dish we ordered is the bison osso buco. It is well seasoned too, with the bison cooked really tender and the extra rich sauce balanced the bison which is stronger muscled and stronger flavored than veal. In addition to the main ingredient, I have to mention the side dishes in the entry. The vegetables are cooked to great doness: cooked through with a consistent al dente (for the veg of different sizes) keeping all the flavor and freshness. When you paid attention to this level of detail, the whole experience becomes elevated. I would definitely go back again next time I visit Roosevelt NP, and I will remember to do extra 10mile hiking so I can hit...

I debated leaving 3 or 4 stars. I will credit the restaurant for having excellent customer service and very pleasant servers, but I was very disappointed with the food. When we ate there on our travels, the special was prime rib, which my husband and I both ordered. It was not good. I had a huge chunk of fat in the middle of mine that wasn't eatable. It was tough (not tender) and just extremely mediocre for the price. It was also served strange. The mashed potatoes were on the bottom, green beans on top of that, and then the prime rib smashed on top. The presentation was poor.

We also had our two young children with us. If your child is a normal child, DO NOT take them to eat here. They don't have kids food even though they have a kids menu. We ordered the grilled cheese for my daughter. It came with "fancy" cheese on it (that kids don't like) and a huge slice of tomato (that kids also do not like). She didn't eat anything. Same went for my son's cheeseburger. They had huge onions, huge tomatoes, weird cheese, and it was honestly too fancy. Kids don't want that and they don't like that. That's fine if they want to do those things for the adult menu; but not for kids.

For the expensive price of this restaurant, we were disappointed with the food. Service was good, but we didn't go back because...