The Tavern at Trails End — Restaurant in Osage Beach

I was visiting friends in Camdenton, and they treated me to dinner at The Tavern at Trails End. What a delightful time! It was a Saturday evening, and our reservation was at 5:45 pm; the restaurant was comfortably full, even that early. The view of the lake is lovely through the windows that line one wall of the dining area, and the seating sections are terraced so that everyone has an excellent view. Our server was Jamie, and she was FABULOUS! From the moment she greeted us (“Hello, Friends!”) through the end of the meal, she was welcoming and thoughtful and efficient. She guided us in the menu choices (including the specials of the day) and cheerfully wrote down our special requests for our meals. She stopped by our table several times to ensure we had everything we needed, and was genuinely committed to making sure we had a great meal. One friend had the Veal Milanese and the other had the Salmon dinner; my friend who ordered the salmon asked me to write that it was perfectly cooked, very thick and juicy, and absolutely delicious. I had the Surf and Turf (one of the daily specials) and shared a bit of the steak with my friends; we all agreed that it was the BEST cut of beef we’ve tasted in a long time—again, perfectly cooked, tender, and beyond delicious! The lobster tail was also delectable, and I really enjoyed the Parmesan cheese crusting. One thing I would ask of the front-of-house staff: Since this is a Midwestern restaurant, there may not be many patrons skilled in managing shellfish. The lobster tail had been partially cracked open, but not fully, and the flesh was still adherent to the shell. My knife and fork were not useful in dissecting the meat. I recommend that staff provide crackers and fish forks when serving seafood in the shell, to make it easier to get to the meat. I gave up using utensils and, after checking that it wouldn’t offend my friends, attacked the lobster tail with my fingers. It was successful but extremely messy. (Thankfully, Jamie provided some finger wipes afterwards!) The mashed potatoes and haricots verts served with the steak and lobster were wonderfully seasoned and delightful. I enjoyed my house salad (Country Salad) very much and the addition of dried cranberries and shaved Parmesan cheese worked beautifully with the honey vinaigrette dressing. One friend and I shared the Wine Flight (4 glasses), and we were able to select two vintages apiece to pair with our meals. The wine was superb, and my choices (one white and one red) matched perfectly with my food. Our only disappointment was that we were expecting the size of pour that we’ve enjoyed in wine flights at other establishments. Our glasses each held more of a tasting, which left us truly thirsty for more. Overall, it was a marvelous meal in marvelous surroundings, and Jamie was the sparkle and light that topped the evening off. Thanks so much for such a wonderful dinner...

Updated 6/25/23:

We decided to go back this morning to the Tavern at Trails End for brunch. We had a much better experience than last time we were here. Everything was great.

A group of 3 of us tried out The Tavern at Trails End today for brunch. We had looked online and the menu looked amazing. This is in the location of the old Hurricane Dollies. We tried calling to ask about reservations, knowing they would probably be busy for Mother's Day, but they never answered, so we went anyway around 11:30 AM. When we got there, we were told that the earliest they could get us in was 1:30. We noticed they had a special brunch buffet that looked good so we decided to come back for our reservation 2 hours later. When we arrived, we were seated fairly quickly and our waitress was very quick and friendly. The 3 of us went through the buffet line and got a sampling of different things. When we started eating we were really disappointed with the food. Much of it wasn't warm, but room temperature or cold. The food flavor was OK at best (possibly related to food temperature and possibly sitting out too long). There was an egg quiche dish that was very unpleasant. The tastiest item was the country fried chicken, but it wasn't enjoyable not being warm. Not being happy with the food, we couldn't even finish the one plate we each had. We were very disappointed when we got our bill to find out the buffet was about $39/person. I would have to say that our experience was not worth the price.

All that being said, I think this restaurant has a lot of potential. The building setup and design is awesome. The facility itself is very architecturally interesting as it is an old log cabin. The regular menu looks awesome with a lot of unique ingredients. We will have to give it another try sometime for dinner and hopefully have a...

In July, we ate here for the first time. Service with Kelly and food were both great. So, for my Birthday, my husband made reservations for us to return. Unfortunately, we had a terrible experience tonite for my Birthday Dinner. Our waitress, Mia, was so rude and unattentive to our table. The restaurant was not busy, as it was a Monday night. My husband did not get what he ordered, yet she tried to convince him it was lol. He decided to just go ahead and eat what was brought out and she proceeded to roll her eyes and shake her head no as she walked away from our table...like we were a huge proplem table. We sat without drinks our entire meal because she said they ran out of sweet tea and she didn't want to take time to make a new batch. Keep in mind it was 6pm and I'm fairly certain others would order that before closing time. My daughter had Dr. Pepper, so no excuse for it to be empty either. She spent more time eating snacks behind the waitress station and talking to co-workers than do her job and be attentive to customers. There was supposed to be a complimentary Birthday dessert (which was never offered) but, was also fine as we were ready to just leave anyway. I'm sorry, I hate to leave negative feedback as i realize someone could just be having a bad night. BUT...when you plan reservations for a special night and have a tab over $250 for 4 people, you expect to be treated nice and minimally have your drink refilled. The food was mediocre at best this evening. We will not be returning. Too expensive to be...