Yippee-Ei-O! Steakhouse — Restaurant in Tusayan

October 22nd 2015

After a very long day of driving to & walking around enjoying the sights at The Grand Canyon, my cousin and I stopped at a steakhouse (yippee-ei-o) just outside the national park. When we were being seated we asked to be seated near the window, the hostess told us no and sat us at a table in the middle of the restaurant which barely allowed space for people to walk by when someone was seated. We waited awhile before anyone came to take our drink order which by then we knew what we wanted to eat. Ordering wasn’t easy the waitress was so unhappy about taking our order, no smiles, no hello, nothing. Then she speaks in a mumbled voice, and barks at my cousin when he takes a second to look the appetizers over. After ordering we noticed people being seated in the area we asked about. No special party or anything just walk-ins.

We get our appetizer (potato skins) and their ok. Finally we get our steaks, it’s supposed to come with: baked potato, corn on the cob, bowl of beans, and a biscuit. We get our plates (or kinda thrown in front of us) with the steak, potato, and corn. A small single bowl of beans which isn’t even half way full is placed at the table. No biscuits. By now we’re starving and eating that first piece of steak should have been great, but it was terrible. No flavor what so ever! How does that happen? I poured the A1 on my steak just to try to get some taste. I try the corn and it was uneatable. It was like biting into mush, unflavored mush. The baked potato was ok, but really how does someone mess that one up? Just give the right amount of time and it cooks itself. I didn’t try the beans and I was expecting them to bring another bowl of it which they didn’t and I had to ask for the biscuits which also weren’t that great but more enjoyable then most of the other things on my plate. By now I look up and notice the other customers, they look miserable, and displeased with their food. Finally someone comes to ask if want anything else, “Yes, the check.”

Then we notice they add the tip?! They added a 15% tip for a party of two. Then we see why the service was so terrible! They don’t care because they’re already known their getting a tip no need to work for it. My cousin explains to them that we’re not paying a tip, the service was horrendous and the food was a joke. I’m guessing this lady didn’t want us inspiring everyone else to refuse tipping, she removes the tip and we leave.

Seriously, this is worst place I’ve ever eaten! Spending $25 (cost of my steak) at McDonald’s is a way better idea then eating at this place. This “restaurant” is just a tourist trap! They don’t need returning customers, just people wanting to see the Grand Canyon and unknowingly walk into this place for food. It’s embarrassing for the state of Arizona to other American tourist and worse for America to world travelers. In conclusion if you’re hungry, just starve awhile until you get somewhere...

LITERALLY DON’T! Save yourself the time, money, and stomach ache. I’ve amassed a list of everything we experienced to get me to this consensus. Please read and DON’T come here unless you want to ruin your day!!!!!!!! Yippee-Ei-O! Steakhouse is a train wreck.

When we first walked in, we immediately noticed a horrible smell coming from the bathroom, THEN the waitress sat us at a table directly in front of the bathroom door and each time the door opened we were overcome with the smell of poop and a disgusting room spray that smelled like a hospital. It was unbearable and after a while, we asked the waitress to move us to another table, which she did reluctantly.

PS - Their water tasted horrible.

When ordering, my dad asked if the ribs were tender and the waitress literally said “mmm no, they’re not tender.” LOL talk about honest.

Nachos tasted like a college frat boy tried to make them with ingredients from a dumpy gas station - disgusting. The WORST nachos I’ve ever had. I also asked if I could add chicken to my nachos when ordering and they said no - the first restaurant to ever say something like that to me. Everything anyone at our table got was disgusting!!

The jalapeño poppers were listed on the menu as “fried to perfection” and OH BOY. That could not have been farther from the truth. They were black and so hard and flavorless, you could throw them at a wall and they would go through. When you put them in your mouth, you immediately wanted to spit it out. We couldn’t even finish the plate of 8 poppers between the 5 of us. They were inedible.

Literally none of the food was passable.

After 3 bites of steak, 3 of us started feeling sick.

Absolutely nothing was seasoned.

It came out to about $40/person and it all tasted like horrible prison food that not even a starving person would want to eat! A huge WASTE of money! After a day at the Grand Canyon, this place can really end you on a horrible note.

I would never recommend Yippee-Ei-O! Steakhouse to ANYONE! This was the worst meal I’ve ever eaten.

Any positive reviews of Yippee-Ei-O! Steakhouse are LIES!!! I wish I could give them less...

This is the first restaurant you will see when exiting Grand Canyon NP into Tusayan. After a day of hiking we were tired and hungry, and unfortunately we made the mistake of stopping here simply because it was the first place we saw. Don't fall for it! The service was miserable, literally. Taking our burger orders (only two of us) was apparently the worst thing ever for our server. However everyone has a bad day, so we looked past that. The next red flag was that we couldn't have our burgers cooked to order. When we asked, "can we get that medium rare?", the server simply said "nope." I thought she was kidding so I laughed, until she looked at me with an annoyed look and said "we only do well-done." Sorry what? Is this place not a STEAK HOUSE? How do you not cook to order? I can go to a backyard BBQ and have my burger cooked to order. This was mind boggling to me, but ok. The only positive of this place was that the burgers weren't terrible. By that I mean they were edible. The final nail in the coffin is that this place automatically adds an 18% gratuity. This is usually standard for large parties, but again, only two of us. You know a place is bad when they add a gratuity automatically for all orders, and clearly THEY KNOW they are bad and do this so their terrible servers get paid. Of course we left no additional tip and we spoke to the host about how the server didn't deserve the 18% to begin with, to which she replied, "Oh, ok" and walked away. We're not the type to complain about service but it's been a very long time (if ever) since having this kind of experience. You would think a restaurant in a tourist town would make an effort, but they clearly don't care about their service or their food. AVOID...