Cactus Room — Restaurant in Virgin

Absolutely PHENOMENAL experience at The Cactus Room! My friends and I briefly reunited in Virgin, UT for just one (1) night on our respective road trips / summer vacations; I hadn't seen these friends in eight (8) years -- they live in Nashville, TN, and my husband and I now live in Los Angeles -- and we were all scheduled to go our separate ways after dinner that evening. So, our time together was brief, and we knew we needed a meet-up spot for dinner that would at least "get the job done" and (with any luck) wouldn't create a(n) "oh-God-why-did-we-come-here?" sort of experience...

BOY, did this place ever DELIVER (and HOW)! First off, The Cactus Room is an unassuming, quasi-"hole-in-the-wall" type of restaurant (as all the very best restaurants are -- let's not argue with the late Anthony Bourdain on that, shall we?); it's actually located INSIDE a gift shop called Buffalo Trails Trading Company. You walk in and are immediately greeted with a few dusty racks and display cases of local souvenirs, knick-knacks, and handicrafts amidst interior decor that feels immediately old AND PERFECT (think: a steer / buffalo skull, a chandelier made of entwined antlers, split wooden log beams lining the ceiling, etc.). The place had (nay, HAS!) impressively high reviews on Google, and it was only 3 miles down the road from our respective campsites. So, we weren't sure what to expect, but the convenience enticed us, and signs were certainly promising...

We all got burgers (3 of them were the joint's "world-famous" buffalo burgers , and 1 was a veggie burger), and we all agreed that these rivaled ANY burger we'd ever had in our lives. The homemade French fries were so fresh, and unmistakably hand-cut (the BEST)!

And the owner / server / host extraordinaire -- Bob -- was a real character, with a heart of gold. He was quick, funny, so real, and so thoughtful. Bob even had gluten-free buns and (totally delicious!) veggie burgers on hand, so my friends (one of whom has Celiac disease, and the other of whom is vegan) were 100% accommodated from the get-go, and we were so grateful! To top it all off, Bob later verbally rattled off a dizzying list of his homemade desserts to us -- there must have been 7 or 8 fresh pies from which to choose, and they all sounded INCREDIBLY delicious; we only wound up trying the banana cream, the peaches 'n' cream, and the appropriately named "damn brownie" (!) with chocolate gelato on top, but those were all show-stoppers, and they proved to be the perfect ending to a most-satisfying meal.

If there was anything BETTER than the food (which, again, was extraordinarily good!), it was the warm, hospitable service and the quirky ambiance; it was more like being invited to eat in someone's home (or attic -- LOL!) than just "dining at a restaurant." We almost felt as if we'd actually met the REAL "Bob" from the hit animated TV show, "Bob's Burgers", only instead of an unnamed New Jersey seaside community, the man -- and his fabulous business -- can be found next to Zion National Park, in Virgin, Utah.

If you're ever in the area, GO. HERE. Don't even seek other recommendations; even a lot of "locals" in the area don't seem to know about this place, and they are unquestionably MISSING OUT!

The Cactus Room is a diamond in the rough, and -- in terms of eateries -- a true oasis...

This place was an experience and not in a good way. Bottom line: I should have been willing to pay a bit more for better food.

The owner had to tell us about his menu. That essentially equaled him boasting about his food to the point it was obnoxious (maybe it wouldn't have been if the food had lived up to the hype). I did like that they had the option to split the burgers for us so that I could try both the wagyu and bison burgers. The owner was insistent that we shouldn't add mustard or catchup to the burgers.

There was a sign indicating that they were understaffed, so that could have been part of the problem. By the time I noticed that they were understaffed, we had already ordered. After a long wait our food finally showed up. Well 4 out of 5 of the meals we ordered showed up. My sister-in-law's food didn't show up initially and took about 10 additional minutes to come out. Of the 4 dishes that did come out, 3 out of the 4 were lukewarm to cold when they came out.

The wagyu burger was passible at best. Under seasoned and not charred at all. After adding some catchup it had some flavor. At least it wasn't dry. The bison burger was good. Not great, but well seasoned, with a slight char. Both looked like Bubba burgers that had been taken out of the freezer and heated up. Maybe a step above McDonald's. The fires were completely cold.

My mom got the liver and onions. She liked the liver, but the piece I tried tasted a bit dry. The onions were over cooked - a mushy mess. My wife got the chicken dish. It actually had been grilled well and came out hot. However, it wasn't super flavorful. The potatoes were good. It was fine but certainly not worth $24.

All of the food was way over priced for the quality. After finishing our meal and declining desert, the owner then insisted on telling us about every detail of his extensive desert menu. Perhaps my 3 stars is generous, but after a long day of hiking and travelling it was a meal without breaking the bank. If I had to do it over again, I would have tried the slightly more expensive...

ALSO KNOWN AS BUFFALO TRADING COMPANY (so confusing). Directly across street from Balcony One

EAT HERE, JUST EAT HERE! Absolutely amazing food. All homemade and fresh. I'm on my annual Zion / Bryce hiking trip from NJ and my best friend from Vermont. We are both 60 and have traveled extensively. We found Buffalo Trading Company online at Yelp and Google Reviews. It had the highest of ratings so we made reservations for Friday Night. We were going to have dinner at Balcony One (directly across the street) but they had no room for reservations and was sold out for the evening. So we made reservations across the street at Buffalo Trading Company, which does not look anything close to a restaurant from the street. But go inside and it looks like an original Utah Cracker Barrell (gift store, food). Bob, who must be the owner, greeted us and sat us down at one of the 4 booths (there are only a few additional tables). THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE THERE (meanwhile Balcony One across the street had over 30 plus cars in their parking lot). So we go in and Bob shows us the fresh menu (probably about 15 things to choose from). We each had the Buffalo Burgers. Bob told us we cannot put Ketchup or Mustard on the burger (only the Homemade AWESOME fries). I have not had a burger without Ketchup for over 50 years (and I eat at least 2 burgers a week). It was, bare none, the best burger I ever had. I also wanted to try the Homemade Coleslaw. UNBELIEVABLE !! The Cole Slaw was tie for the best I have ever eaten (followed by my wife's grandmother who was from Poland and made what before was the best coleslaw in the world ! Then Bob tortured us with desserts. ALL HOMEMADE (Banana Cream Pie, Key Lime Pie, his grandmothers Apple Pie recipes and "The Best Fu&%ing Brownie Chocolate Cream Pie" which is what I ended up having. I never eat desserts, this one was out of this world. JUST GO THERE. YOU CANNOT TELL IT'S A RESTARAUNT UNTIL...