Wife picked this place after a hike to bridal veil falls. Was a bit wary since it only had two stars but gave it a shot. We both had the elk burger. I had it with a small salad and wife had onion rings. If you get the small salad you get one trip to the salad bar which I thought was a good deal as I could customize my salad as I wanted. Loaded up on the pickled beets which are a favorite of mine. Spring mix at the salad bar vs the usual iceberg so overall a good deal. Piled on the blue cheese as I like my salad wet. Burger is a bit on the small size. Note that only the elk burger comes with bacon. The other burgers the bacon is a buck more. Not great bacon but good enough. Burger came medium which is fine with me. Comes with tomato slice, white onions and lettuce (romaine slices) and a pickle. The elk burger has a bit of chew, be warned but I liked it. Asked for some Tabasco to spice it up. Some siracha would have been awesome but they didn't have it. Overall a decent meal, nothing too fancy and the wait staff was attentive. If you're here for dinner be sure to find the coupon for buy one dinner get one.
(3)
Chris O.
My family and I come to Estes at least twice a summer from Fraser on the other side of Trial Ridge but we have never stepped foot in this restaurant. But we are glad we did today! This is a gem and they have some of the best food we have ever had. My wife had the Salmon pesto pasta in a lemon butter sauce. My boys had the Wild Buffalo burger and the Turkey club. I had the Ruben which was the best I ever had. The pricing of the entries was perfect for a family like mine on a budget. For great food and service, this is the place to go here in Estes.
(5)
Loren O.
We've eaten here a few times with very different experiences. Our first time we were fairly disappointed, but decided to try again because we had a coupon. This restaurant is expensive, there are coupons to be found! This time we had the chefs combo of elk and bison medallions. It was amazing. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten. I highly recommend it! But then we decided to end our meal with the peach cobbler which had no peaches and tasted so bad, I ended up shoving bread in my mouth to try and get rid of the taste. So this resturant confuses me. Some things are AMAZING but most of the menu is mediocre or straight up bad. If you eat meat, try the elk and bison. But spare yourself the cobbler. Never eat the cobbler.
(3)
Bill M.
Crab melt & fries & chocolate shake. Elk burger & fries & peppermint Patty hot chocolate. Both drinks were excellent. Both sandwiches were ok, but nothing to write home about. The fries were very good. The service was excellent.
(3)
Megan M.
Gluten free buns and pasta on offer & attentive service. We ordered the bison burgers and they were very good. Well cooked and flavorful. My husband's onion rings were good too.
(5)
Ming X.
I think it's the elk burger I saw on the menu that pulled me into the restaurant. I order the elk burger, it came with bacon, lettuce, onion and tomato. And it was delicious. The onion rings were a little over cooked. The service was good. The waitress was attentive.
(3)
Bronte E.
Average food. Average salad bar - vegetables were not fresh. Average server also. Looks great from the outside but a bit disappointing inside. I ordered the crab melt and it was super mustardy - not what I was expecting. And not what I believe goes well with crab.
(2)
Lauren S.
First off.... Don't say you do rehearsal dinners if you don't have a banquet room.... They never cleared appetizer or salad plates, and we were cramped to begin with. The food..... Hummmmmmm. Confusing? "Unusual sauce" on the game specials.... Really? Don't offer game if you cannot cook it, we all ordered nothing above medium, and it was all well done. So disappointing. The bride was also the last one to get her food, and was served over 10 minutes after the rest of our dishes trickled in. I would critique the service more, but it was just so terrible there isn't much to pin point. Maybe don't come here if you like warm food, meat cooked properly, privacy for your special events, or any sort of service.
(1)
Tami I.
Excellent food and friendly service! Fish and chips , elk burger and sandwiches were amazing!
(5)
Robyn S.
Weak burger and really cheap buns. Food took a while. The waiter was clearly very unhappy with life and not very attentive. Just go to any of the other nearby restaurants. Can't think of a reason to eat here.
(2)
Brooks B.
Fantastic service that was super nice and attentive. Highly recommend the Battered Fish as it was damn good - just make sure you get extra tartar sauce to accommodate the massive fish serving.
(5)
A K.
After a hike, 6 plus 2 kiddos enter to a ready table after a reservation was made descending from rmnp. Waiter was very attentive and the home made saurbraten was amazing. The pot roast must be slow cooked because it was very tender and the sauce with saurcraut and cranberries we very tasty. Veggies were tender, but crisp enough to know they were fresh. Scallop potatoes were a great way to end the dish. We were starving upon entry and got several apps for $5 on happy hour. Domestic beers are bogo on happy hour as well. The brie was very good with the best bread I have had since I left New York. Yum.
(5)
Stephen D.
Elk burger was overcooked. Being lean meat, that really dried it out. They forgot the bacon that was supposed to come on it. The elk chops were TINY and likely not the advertised size. They tasted OK but were really overpriced for what you get. The included salad bar was really weak selection. The blue cheese dressing tasted like Ranch with some cheese bits mixed in. Nowhere near as good as generic Ken's dressing.
(2)
Lauren G.
This place is awful. I was severed a elk burger and onion rings. Well I got my plate and picked up my bun there was a DEAD FLY on my plate. Then they gave me another burger but then didn't even comp my burger or dessert we ordered. Very very disappointed with food & service
(1)
Bob C.
Slow service. People at adjoining table sent food back twice and they could not get it right. Should have been our clue to leave. Onion rings were cold. Had an Elk and a Buffalo burger. Were cooked, but very flavorless. Buns were cold. Poor condiments. Would not recommend.
(1)
P M.
Took twenty minutes for kids food to arrive. Kids pasta was serving portion fit for an infant with no sides. Our food came ten minutes later. Tortellini was mushy. Burger was dry. Its like the place wants to be classy but the ambience is tacky and the workers seem to be indifferent. I just wished my phone had service in Estes so Yelp could've saved me from this pplace
(1)
heather d.
Just ok. Bloody Mary was fine but I do not like the veggie tortellini at all. The waitress was ok not very attentive and made us wait way too long to order. The kids liked the nachos. The kids pizza was not very good at all. I would go somewhere else. It's pricy too
(2)
Ash T.
Very misleading, you would think they actually serve food. The salad bar consisted of wilted lettuce, canned olives and ranch dressing.. Frozen everything. We ordered both the elk and the buffalo burger. Pretty sure we both got served over cooked beef. Simply terrible. Seriously, though how do you make fries taste bad?! Not sure which was worse the service or the food... Okay the food, but just barely.
(1)
Steve S.
We ate the burgers, buffalo, and beef. They were flavorful and fair. The onion rings were tasty and had a touch of sweetness that made them wonderful. For desert we had their peach cobbler with ice cream. It had a drizzle of chocolate sauce that set it apart from traditional cobbler. A decent meal at a fair price.
(3)
Tonya K.
Hubby had the French dip and onion rings. It came with an ample portion of roast beef, too much in his opinion...he also wished the bun was toasted. The a jú was tasty as were the onion rings. I had the rose crab cake on an English muffin with a salad. The salad bar was rather small...not sure why they don't just serve side salads. Daughter had the tortellini with chicken. She thought the pasta was rather bland but the chicken was "amazeballs"and carrots were "delicioso"! I'm giving it 3 out of five because of the cleanliness & ambiance of the restaurant and overall flavor of our dishes. It was a "meh" experience but not terrible.
(3)
Randy G.
Pretty rough. I would never come here again. The beer battered fish was over fried and doesn't have a hint of beer. Over priced, they have plenty of typos on the menu and has a weird atmosphere. What kind of place is this? They have two executive chefs and neither can fry fish worth a shit.
(1)
Gina A.
DO NOT GET THE FRENCH ONION SOUP....I've never had French onion soup taste like an Italian herb
(1)
Don P.
Have you ever been to a place where your food selection was expertly prepared and you were so impressed that proper words to describe the culinary experience escaped you? Don't despair, you'll NEVER have that problem here. There are not enough words in the English language to describe the poor food here. I had a T-bone. Uck. My wife's salad was uck. One of the ladies sitting next to us had a hamburger that looked horrible. How can anyone screw up a hamburger for crying out loud? Run away. The other bad reviews are accurate. The good reviews just have to be plants. Get in your car and go down the road a short ways to Baba's Burgers. I left a review there too.
(1)
Ashley N.
This was probably the worse dining experience I have had in a long time. The atmosphere is awkward mix of formal/casual. The service wasn't great. I ordered a buffalo burger with fries and it was as if they went to a McDonalds and got a burger and served it with a small child sized fries. Additionally I asked for blue cheese on the burger and it was about 1 tablespoon size for $1.50. I also got the salad bar which was so overpriced for what it offered($4.50) and my friend got a side salad instead of fries. However, the side salad was still the salad bar. Confusing and doesn't make any sense. Overall I would not recommend this place and was very disappointed in my $20 Meal that I could have gotten better served at McDonalds for $3.
(1)
J B.
Lousy food with no flavor, dirty gross floors and table was not clean. Bad all around with lazy service people. Don't do it it!
(1)
Matt B.
I hate giving bad reviews but Im not sure who came up with this choice of food. Its frozen veggies placed on top of some frozen pasta. I couldve made this at home. The mixed veggies on pasta concept doesnt even make any sense. The decor looks old. Our table wobbled and the chairs look like outdoor patio furniture. Halfway through dinner we were greeted by what looked like the chef. He asked if we needed anything and said our server would be right back. Very strange place to eat.
(1)
Cocktail H.
Oh Estes Park, why do I love you so much?! Every year you get more and more crowded and more and more commercialized. Soon you will become the Gatlinburg of the Rockies! Until then we will keep coming back. On a recent visit to Estes Park, I came to the realization that despite of the number of dining options, the food scene here is unimpressive and the food itself not much better than what you could get at Luby's or Golden Corral. Don't get me wrong - I like Golden Corral fine, but when on vacation one wants to experience the finer things in life. A finer thing in life would be a hike in RMNP, followed by a satisfying meal somewhere in town. That's what we were hoping for when we came across the Wild Rose. The restaurant has a perfect location - right on the main drag. The interior is a little dated but I find that to be the case often in Estes Park! Staff was friendly and helpful, even though not knowledgeable enough at times. Estes Park businesses employ a lot of foreign students on a work and travel visas in the summer when demand for able bodies is high. Some times language is a problem but I applaud local business for giving thaws kids a chance to get familiar with the American way of life. Our waitress, Pavlinka, was cheerful and very professional. We ordered the elk burger and two appetizers - stuffed mushrooms and baked Brie to go with our choice of local brews. Baked Brie arrived first nestled in a bed of mixed greens and it was exactly what I expected it to be. Not baked but warmed up with a few dries cranberries sprinkles on top. The French bread serves with it has the quality of a grocery store loaf. The mixes greens were fine - what surprised me pleasantly was the slightly spicy balsamic vinegar dressing which seemed to be home made. Mushrooms were brought out next - stuffed with surimi meat (artificial crab meat) and covered in mystery cheese. That dish I did not understand - surimi meat? And cheese? The elk burger was forgettable and so was the bun it was served on. So Wild rose, I am giving you a generous two stars for food. And an honorable mention for service!
(2)
K M.
If I could have given them 0 stars, I would have. Awful. Weird service, horribly weird atmosphere and blah menu. We had the Caesar salad with 'blackened' salmon, which apparently means an overpriced, lightly grilled piece of salmon over store bought dressing. Also had the fish and chips which was described as a "wet mess." Seriously, avoid this place!
(1)
Loren W.
Took about ten minutes to get seated and the hostess was no where to be found. Come to find out, we were seated five minutes 'after' happy hour ended. Coincidence? Paid $21 for a pretty terrible New York steak. Came with gravy that wasn't mentioned on the menu, tons of fat (not trimmed), frozen vegetables and chunky mashed potatoes. Just don't waste your time.
(1)
Kim K.
This place is delicious. Everything fresh. Nothing frozen. The shrimp was so fresh and the creamy red herb sauce was really amazing. The courtyard outside is so romantic. Our waiter was so nice and accommodating. He was very friendly. The wine selection was great and their salad fresh. I highly recommend this place! Best on the Estes Park strip.
(5)
Jerry S.
The establishment looks rather pleasant but, then the food comes. Calamari was decent, but came with a horsey ranch sauce. The veg. beef soup tasted watery and like it had been sitting all day with no beef in it. The pot-cheese soup tasted like watered down Velveeta. We ordered chefs combo which came with 4 oz. each of over cooked elk and buffalo that seemed off , which we requested medium rare. At best it was medium well. It also came with frozen seasonal vegetables and boxed pot-au-graut. Salad was ok and bread was warm plus server was very nice. Save your money and dig in the trash for a better meal.
(1)
Kendell H.
Dirty, dingy and smelly place (smelled like old food and musty grandma's house). Don't be fooled by the "specials" because they are the same price as on the menu! Waiter had a bad attitude as well. There are much better places for the same price point!
(1)
Chris Z.
Nice atmosphere. The kids meals were not fresh, but frozen. The server was nice, but did not introduce herself. The servers was nice and accommodating. The kitchen was slow and the food was okay.
(3)
G S.
The service was extremely slow, he food was less than mediocre and the ambiance lacks in this very cute town. Would recommend trying someplace else!!
(1)
Brett L.
Only one star because I can't leave zero stars. This place is dirty from the silverware to the dishes to the ambiance. The food is very poor and nothing stands out. I will never go back to this place and I would not recommend this place to my worse enemy. If you go there make sure you don't drink the water unless you.like to drink from a pool. Good prices on beer if you go during happy hour and make sure it's from the bottle.
(1)
Nichole C.
Not great, I had the elk medallion salad, ask for extra dressing because mine tasted like there was none on there. Boyfriend had the elk burger, he said it was OK... We both agreed it was a little out dated looking and a bit over priced.
(2)
Svetlana M.
I imagine the culinary experience in jail to be better.
(1)
Rick S.
To the other bad reviews your in freaking Estes park. You want nice furniture go to Denver. REALLY! Seldom Does the chef come to the table after the meal and ask for your opion and any recommendations. Wife had the trout I the chicken Marsala. A Italian cook myself the gravy, for the blind,sauce was great the trout was great as well. You want grease try everything else in the park you want great food for a great price come here. Wine and beer got out of there under 50 bucks. Unbelievable!
(4)
Ben R.
Worst meal I've had in years, can't say enough, frozen vegetables, steak was horrible, like it was cooked by a child. Also told they were out of coca cola, how does that happen? I would give them negative stars if I could.
(1)
Kathy B.
We went to the dine around special a few weeks ago. $5 plate. I had pork loin with a nice sauce on it and fresh cooked broccoli. My dish was tasty and fine. My husband had fish and chips and he said it was fine. The chef came out and explained the sauce etc., told us something about his education, part owner etc. I was interested in this and enjoyed talking to him. He is from Nepal. This recipe is also connected to the Molly B. which he said has great breakfasts. We have not been to Molly B.'s because we think the best breakfast in town is the Notch Top Bakery and Cafe.
(3)
Casey H.
One of the saddest places in town... In terms of ambience very old hotel furniture .... Food is not really amazing ... The people are really nice and service is great. Drinks were cheap. For Estes.... Good... I'd rather eat at home
(2)
jacquie b.
For what it is the food is average. not something to write home about but at least the burgers weren't the hockey pucks (prefrozen) you normally get in a touristy town. wasn't expensive so when we want something that won't sit like we ate a rock we will come back. yes the place is outdated but we didn't go for the ambiance. This is a place to grab a quick bite and be on your way.
(3)
Jonna D.
Had margaritas and nachos. Margs had basically no alcohol and nachos had slices of yellow cheese that were barely melted. Don't let their happy hour advertisement lure you in.
(1)
Amanda N.
This whole place is just bizarre, but the food was delicious. Had the grilled salmon, with a white wine sauce, scalloped potatoes and mixed veggies. All were very good, although presentation was lacking. My husband had the elk burger, which he said was delicious. The onion rings it came with, however, were raw. The salad bar leaves a LOT to be desired, unless you just love chickpeas and beets. Bread is fantastic. The decor is vaguely "Senior center" but it is what it is. The staff are all mixed bag - our server was surly and seemed annoyed to be there, but the two girls running around seemed very friendly and helpful. Overall, just a strange place - nothing in it seems to make sense, but the food is fairly solid.
(3)
Rich K.
Best mahi mahi and fantastic service in Este Park. Waiter Rajiv was so nice. We loved the wines
(5)
Sam N.
One word... BAD. An eccentric menu that has no focus. There is southwest, Italian, elk, and who knows what else on the menu. Everything we tried was terrible. Either undercooked or overbooked. Has the atmosphere of eating in your weird relatives house. Staff was odd and seemed incapable of communicating in a sociable manner. Food was overpriced. $20-25 a person for A meal. Avoid this place!
(1)
Mitzi V.
Got the chicken Caesar salad. It was swimming in dressing and I really I am not shy of dressing. Mom got the fish and chips, it was swai and swimming in grease. Really the coup de grace for this place is the bizarre decor. As others have said, it is absolutely, hands down, horrible, depressing, dingy, weird, bad bad bad. Blah service. I feel terrible for the owner/s and staff of this place.
(1)
Ashley D.
When visiting Estes Park recently, we ate at Wild Rose. This place is kinda like the type of restaurant that you see on Food Network's Restaurant Impossible (I took pictures). The decor is confusing and old. There are bright colors, old chairs, stinky old carpet, and dusty fake floral arrangements. They are known for their house made wooden roses, so each table had these wooden roses in vases, but our roses had most of their petals missing, exposing their styrofoam mold. Honestly, the ambiance is terrible. We sat in the front room at a window view seat, which was nice. The menu had lots of options, and offered nice regional options, such as trout, elk, buffalo, and lamb. My husband and I ordered the fresh trout, one friend ordered the fried fish and chips, and our other friend ordered their vegetable pasta. My husband and I both enjoyed our trout. It came with rice and fresh vegetables (orange and yellow carrots and green beans) and the fished was topped with lemon and a choice of walnuts or almonds. I had the almonds and my husband had the walnuts.The trout was very fresh, and clearly had been filleted in the restaurant. The skin was served still on the fish, but that isn't appetizing to me unless the skin is crispy, which it wasn't. I still had some bones and scales in my fish; it didn't seem that the person who filleted it was very experienced. Regardless, it was tasty. Our friend who ordered the fish and chips enjoyed it, but said it was too oily. It seems like their oil wasn't hot enough, so the fish soaked up a lot of the oil. The most successful dish was the vegetable pasta, it was full of fresh veggies and a tasty sauce, our friend really enjoyed it. The service was very good. The restaurant wasn't very busy. I can't imagine it being terribly busy when there are other options around town. I love supporting local businesses, but this place really needs some help. If they would renovate the interior, the food is probably good enough to make a successful restaurant. But I wouldn't choose to go back to the restaurant again simply because of the dirty, dingy, outdated feel of the restaurant.
(3)
Gem S.
TERRIBLE food and even worse service! Don't bother wasting your time and money here. So many plates and utencils that were suppose to be clean were disgustingly dirty! I wish I had read other peoples yelp reviews before going here.
(1)
Amanda E.
Excellent service, but worst food ever. We ordered burgers which lacked seasoning and were frozen patties. The side salad was made of very fresh veggies; however the ranch dressing tasted like egg and again no seasoning. The "nacho" appitizer was a joke. Warmed up chips with what looked and tasted like microwave melted chedder cheese drowning in store bought no flavored salsa. We couldn't finish any of our food.
(1)
Katie B.
My second mistake in Estes Park of assuming that bigger price = better food. Not the case. The atmosphere of this place was not at all what I was expecting. You go into almost an indoor mall area and there is a rather dumpy looking little restaurant to the side that had decor that looks like it was left overs from Denny's or some other random diner. I was a little concerned as we passed by a lot of packed restaurants and this one was dead. Only about 5 tables were occupied and it was 7:30 on a Saturday night. We were sat by a window so the view was nice, but it was less pleasant when it started raining and blowing through the open window. Service was pretty good, but that will only get you so far. I ordered the grilled shrimp pasta and my husband got the French dip sandwich. We both got salads which you get yourself from a salad bar (not something I was expecting as I thought for $17-$30 a plate we were going to a higher end place) and their salad bar is pretty sparce. Lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, chick peas, and broccoli and that's it. Our food came super quick, almost annoyingly quick as we had only had a few bites of salad and then my pasta sat there getting cold while I finished the salad. Portion size is pretty huge so I guess at least that was something but the food was just okay. Bland over all and required salt. Vegetables were at least nicely cooked but I didn't quite understand random carrots and green beans tossed to the side of the pasta. It was almost as if they were a side of vegetables but they just stick them on the same plate as everything else. My husbands sandwich was huge as well. He ate half and ended up just throwing the other half out cause it again was just okay. Not worth carrying around while we walked around town. Another place to add on my list of places not to go in Estes Park.
(2)
Tiffany N.
The best thing about this Estes Park restaurant is their mini salad and soup bar. You can get it as a meal or added to your meal for an extra $4.50. The salad bar is literally the tiniest I've ever seen, but it had a few interesting items like chickpeas on it. There were three types of soup when I went and they were surprisingly decent. I tried a mixture of Potato Fennel and Corn Chowder because I am adventurous like that. They also claim to offer happy hour from 3 - 6, but when we went our server conveniently forgot to bring us our second "free" drink and we left because in all honesty we didn't care too much about it and it was getting late. And if you're looking for meat, they have a ton of variety - Elk chops, buffalo burgers, and so on. After reading all the other reviews it looks like they might have some not-so-great options so I feel lucky that I choose soup and salad. And they definitely accept credit cards now because we paid with on last week.
(3)
Joe S.
The staff here are extremely weird to say the least, nothing was done to make us feeling welcomed. The decor is terrible and the colors gave me a headache. The atmosphere is abysmal. That doesn't even begin to describe the food. Their veggie burger was edible but not that great, and the vegetable pasta was disgusting. Cold, barely cooked, and rubbery tasting. The pasta definitely upset my stomach and make me very sick later that night. I am not sensitive to bad food but this place was bad.
(1)
Lisa G.
So I have to chuckle at the 4+ stars!! We're these people just to drunk to notice this horrific place for what it really is? First off...not so smiley angry girl who was our waitress/ hostess didn't really do much for the place. Second... Unless you have no taste buds you may not care for the food. Undercooked frozen fries were a theme at our table... How can you mess up fries? My favorite was... Not so smiley girl thought she was doing us a favor when asked for silverware and napkins Sadly Estes Park survives on tourists who don't know any better and truthfully there is little in this town that deserves the business. It's like no one really cares...
(1)
Christine S.
I find it hard to find good food in a tourist town. They mostly just don't care, but Wild Rose did step it up! The bread basket was good, and they had Rocky Mountain Oysters which my husband wanted to try, and which we tricked our son into trying as well. He liked them until he found out what it was! I had a pasta dish which had plenty of veggies and a good sauce ratio. Would visit again.
(4)
Chanh S.
We read the reviews but decided to go there anyways since the price was right and we got a discount coupon from Safeway to go there. I figured it couldn't be that bad. However, the reviews were pretty dead on. The food looks good but tastes bland and boring. My wife ordered french onion soup and I think it was the first time I saw her NOT finish it. It was pretty awful. Then came our main courses, I got steak and lobster. The lobster was actually pretty good but my steak was BLAND and tasteless. I had to pour on the salt and pepper to make it edible. My wife got shrimp and pasta that was actually pretty good. So all in all, it wasn't terrible for the price since there are so many way more expensive places around. But if you want good quality food, I would definitely look elsewhere. I actually liked that they had different waitresses there that were from other countries. The staff was nice but the place was not that nice really but wasn't expecting much.
(3)
Yan E.
Solid 3 stars. It's good but don't expect a miracle as my friend said. On my way in, I heard a patron complimenting the server that this was the best food they had all week. So some like this place. Note that there are two entries for the same place. This one has an average of 2.5 stars (31 reviews) and the other has 4.5 stars (3 reviews). I must confess we were THAT table. The ones who dissected every dish and discussed what we liked and didn't like. Blame urban dining and yelp. *shakes fist Oh, how I have changed. Lucky for you, you don't need to listen to us while you're eating. Instead, here's what we ate: *buffalo steak, medium rare: Recommended by the other customer and this was perfect. A large hunk of meat, ordered and cooked medium rare. It is topped with sauce but is good without it. Buffalo tastes like beef. -elk chops (~$32): We wanted to try elk while visiting Colorado. This was not as good as the steak. Ordered medium rare, it was partially well-done. We decided that elk tastes like liver. Try it if you like liver; don't if you dislike it as I do. It is topped with sauce and I was glad to have it drown out the taste of the meat. Obviously, the taste of the meat is subjective and not an issue with the restaurant. -Rocky Mountain Oysters (aka bull testicles): The other food I wanted to try in Colorado. As expected, it was nothing special; all fried food tastes like fried food. When I picked off the batter to taste the meat better, I was slightly reminded of liver. The texture reminded me of thinly pounded pork and pork fat. -trout: Also recommended by the other customer. It was okay. It is topped with your choice of lemon, almonds or pecans. No sauce which I like but others may dislike. My friend pointed out that it is somewhat dry. -another fish dish: Not memorable as I cannot recall what it was. No sauce. All dinner entrees come with your choice of soup or salad which you serve yourself. Soup choices were tomato basil (highly recommended by the other patron), chicken vegetable, and mushroom cream. Being on a low-sodium diet, I found the soups too salty. Instead, I enjoyed the salad bar. Yay for fresh/canned veggies (non-iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, chickpeas, beets, mushrooms, etc). I also loved the "garden vegetables" that came with the steak and elk chops. As highlighted by the other customer: no frozen vegetable medley here. They're fresh and plain as I like them. Special requests: One friend is on a gluten-free diet and inquired about gluten-free. The server said anything can be made gluten-free if you order it without sauce. Since this is not a gluten-free specialty restaurant, I wouldn't bet a celiac's stomach on this; I doubt the fried Rocky Mountain oysters or bread were gluten-free. Per their suggestion, we ordered all our dishes with sauce on the side to share, but the steak and elk came with sauce on top. It was probably a miscommunication with our server. The person ordering the fish had made the request for all of us and the server replied the fish has no sauce. Since it would be a lot of food to recook and we could cut portions without the sauce, we didn't complain about it. Just make sure to make your own special requests if needed. In short, get the buffalo steak with the fresh vegetables. Enjoy.
(3)
Bill R.
Ate on the porch for lunch; waiter was very pleasant, stuffed mushroom appetizer was uniquely different and my Reuben sandwich had just the right mix of sauerkraut and corned beef with thousand island on the side.
(4)
Veronica V.
Our family took a trip to Estes Park and decided to eat at Wild Rose Food & Spirits because my cousin wanted trout. We had pretty good food, however it was nothing amazing. My aunt and I had the beer battered fish, while my cousin and grandmother had the trout with almonds. They enjoyed their meal, however wished there was more on their plate. My cousin shared with me as I could not finish my food, but I have a tiny stomach. The coleslaw they gave us was delicious! It had cranberries and was very different than most of the coleslaw I have tried. I enjoyed that the most. We had to wait a good amount of time for our food as well, and they did not check up on us. We had two small children who were very impatient, however they were nice enough to bring them their food first to help calm them down. Another family member got the buffalo burger and said it was okay, it tasted the same as anything else she has had. I am not familiar with the area, however our food was pretty good and the service was okay.
(3)
Meo W.
The menu lies... 4 bucks for a hot chocolate "with lots of whipped cream" yeah right! Also the "crispy bacon" on my "burger" was chewy and disgusting. My brother couldn't even finish his "burger" it was so gross. I was amazed I could eat as much as I did, but I was starving being a nursing mother. Skip this place for sure!
(1)
Sharon N.
Of all the restaurants in Estes Park this is one of the better ones. Which is not a lot to brag about. But when you are enjoying the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park and you get hungry, what are you to do? Don't waste time looking around, go to The Wild Rose and you know you will be getting a good deal and fresh food. Atmosphere is dated but the service is great.
(3)
Vanessa M.
This place is just OK. It is very outdated. It kind of has a retirement home vibe and smell to it . Here is what we got... - Elk Burger - This was very dry and very dense and flavorless. Good french fries. - Turkey Club - Tasted good along side some yummy onion rings. Service was great and the place looked clean.
(2)
Rob R.
Wow so my wife and I decded to try this place well to our surprise it was the worst restaurant I have eaten in. The decor was run down trashy . The servers well none spoke fluent English. looking around seeing what was coming out of the kitchen very scary. The menu said executive chef well I guess any one can open a bag and claim there a chef the pricing was high for the food you got and 5.95 for a Patty of meat that cost you 90cents your crazy. If you want good food try elk horn or grubs right accrossed the street and chef if you need cooking lessons let me know.
(1)
Jim M.
Two stars is fair, if not generous. I hate to crush restaurants, but here we go. The salad bar was a stripped-down version of Sizzlers so we opted out of the sad offerings in favor of the corn chowder. That was edible with the aid of croutons. We searched for some bacon bits back at the salad bar but that was wishful thinking. We split a stuffed mushrooms, which they were quite up-front about the surimi. The fake crab wasn't offensive, but the fake lemon sauce was! Once I got past the first gamey bite of the swordfish, it wasn't so bad but it was pretty tough. My girlfriend did a little better with her NYStrip but it had a bizarre berry sauce on it. The veggies reminded me of a hospital, although not overcooked (I guess I should be thankful for that). The server was a nice young girl and she did her best, but my girlfriend & I agreed this was 'roundly disappointing'. I will qualify my review by admitting to getting two high-risk items so far from the sea. I should've scoured Yelp before taking my seat.
(2)
Lexie W.
It's a good thing I did not read the reviews before I came here because I probably would have avoided the place. Despite the poor reviews, my boyfriend and I had a good time and a wonderful meal. I had the trout, which I thought was good and my boyfriend had the elk chops which were also tasty. The food is simple, but tastes pretty good. I also didn't go there expecting a five star meal like others may have. The atmosphere was mellow with soft Jack Johnson playing in the background. Our waitress was from Belarus and I thought her accent was charming. Bottom line - don't listen to the reviews of the people saying that McDonald's is better. They probably eat Mickey D's often and can't recognize what real food is supposed to taste like.
(4)
Kendra C.
Small, cute place. Quiet, with polite staff. Good selection of wines and microbrews--was able to try Estes Park Raspberry Wheat, which was absolutely delicious. We started out with the baked brie, which was scrumptious. It was served with a cranberry chutney. Every dinner dish comes with a choice of soup or salad--with several soups to choose from and a do-it-yourself salad bar. I had the chicken tortilla soup, my boyfriend the buffalo. Both were tasty. For dinner, I had the swordfish ($19) with a cognac sauce--one of their nightly specials. It was a good portion and came with rice and vegetables--and it was delicious. My boyfriend had the Buffalo NY-cut steak, which he loved. We finished up with a snickers cheesecake (YUM! even though we could only finish half after our meal) and a Nutty Irishman--a warm mocha coffee with Frangelico and Irish Creme. Also delicious. Our server was very polite, professional, and attentive. It was a very relaxing ambience with a lot of great choices. We left feeling extremely satisfied, would definitely recommend this place!
(5)
Brad D.
Very diverse menu, food was excellent & lots of it. If you cannot find something to fit your taste here you are to high maintenance. I travel & eat at all kinds of generic places, this is not.
(4)
Annette F.
This restaurant is listed twice on Yelp and the other reviews are fairly good compared to this site. Had I read these reviews first, I would have avoided this place. However, after seeing the favorable reviews, we stopped here for lunch and found the restaurant to be cute and the food delicious (and we are pretty picky with high standards). We all had a Chicken Chipotle Wrap and fresh brewed iced tea, which was delicious. So I don't know if we just got lucky or what, but our experience was a good one and we would definitely eat here again sometime. As some reviewers mentioned, the decor is a little different and maybe old fashioned, but the restaurant is after all a "European" style restaurant, so I wouldn't expect anything too modern or fancy. I would say the decor was quaint and cute in its own way.
(5)
Nicole C.
A big disappointment. I've walked past this place for years, always wanting to go in because it looked so romantic and pretty. Do not be fooled by its pretty exterior. The inside is very outdated. (Previous reviews of it looking like a retirement home are dead on!) Our waitress was a little hard to understand (I think she was Russian?) but I can't hold that against her, she was nice enough. I got an elk burger and my husband got the buffalo burger. Both were dry, no seasoning (not even a little salt) and the fries were just ok. I should have gotten the onion rings, because they were actually good. Unfortunately they weren't on my plate. Overall, not the best experience. Seriously, McDonalds is better.
(1)
Heather M.
Great happy hour 3-6 and enjoyed the patio because it was beautiful outside. They aren't ramped up for summer yet & so the service was adequate . I'd come back for HH but probably not dinner.
(3)
Liz L.
Wild Rose is a sweet little cafe. My husband and I enjoyed the food. He had the Reuben and salad bar and he raved about the potato soup. I had the grilled chicken pasta, which I loved; the sauce was not too heavy and the flavors were a great combo. We also shared the snicker's cheesecake...amazing! I think we'd come back to Estes just for that cheesecake. The service was also wonderful. The restaurant is located in downtown Estes, so stop in for a break from shopping. We'd definitely recommend the Wild Rose!
(4)
Elle E.
Great service, reasonable prices, terrible food. "Caesar Salad" had mayo as the dressing! UGH! French onion soup: terrible. Green salads, dry and bland. Burger: average, but dry. Milk shake: great. I won't eat here again.
(1)
Thom C.
Brought the family here for lunch, didn't yelp before so didn't see the bad reviews....boy was that a mistake. All the bad reviews were pretty accurate. Food is over priced and not good. We had the sword fish, bass and pork chops. Both fish entrees were bland and overcooked. The dinner salad which didn't have many options was decent. The pork chops were good but overpriced. All in all, won't be returning until the place adds food worthy of the price.
(1)
Robert M.
Brie was good. Had an elk burger which was dry. Service was slow. We had high hopes based on earlier review but that didn't meet expectations for a great restaurant in Estes Park.
(3)
Butch K.
Horrible, Horrible, Horrible!!! My wife and I both wanted wild game. We were told that this was the place to go. They were not busy at all, when we walked in we counted 2 tables that had people seated. Service started out very good. We were seated as soon as we walked in and given menus and our drinks. Then we waited, for almost 10 minutes before a young man walked to our table smiled then turned around and counted the tables. He came back to our table and said he had to make sure that this was his table. He asked if we had decided on what we wanted. We had to ask about the specials. We both ordered the special, Buffalo steak and an elk medallion served with fresh steamed vegetables and some kind of potatoes. When we were served both plates looked delicious, the presentation was beautiful. Then came the first taste.... Let's start with the vegetables, by far the best item on the plate, they were nicely steamed but did not have any seasoning. No salt, pepper, nothing....blah. The potatoes, we think that was what they were. A pile of mush hidden under the meat. Again, no seasoning, flavor was blah. The Elk & Buffalo, both cooked to a prefect medium rare. I don't think they have any salt or pepper in the kitchen. It tasted like they took the meat straight out of the cooler and placed it on the grill. These were the toughest, plainest tasting pieces of meat I have had in a long time. I am very familiar with wild game and I must say that neither one of the pieces of meat had any gamey taste or smell to them. When our waiter returned to our table we told him that the meat was very bland, and tough. He's replay was "oh" them turned and walked away. When he returned to take our plates still half covered in food, he brought our bill. We asked to speak to the manager, but he must have been to busy because our waiter returned with our bill and said the manager told him to take tax off. We will not be returning! The only reason it is getting 1 star is because I have to give it a rating.
(1)
Cranky Greg M.
OMG!! This place just sucks! I mean really, really sucks! We had about 10 of us eating lunch here this week, and everyone hated their food. I had something simple - a ham sandwich. Can you imaging anyone screwing up a ham sandwich? Well, the fine folks at the Wild Rose did! Others had a hamburger, and complained that the meat tasted "funny." Even their Diet Cokes suck. This place is far too expensiveandthe food is not even worth McDonald's prices. In fact, I highly recommend McD's or Subway way more than this hell hole. Estes Park is such a charming little town, but the restaurants here mostly suck.
(1)
Adam S.
Blah. Not only the worst meal we've had in Estes Park but one of the worst we've had in a long time. Wild Rose is a perfect definition of an overpriced tourist trap. Plain, bland; like eating a TV dinner. I'm certainly no professional chef but even I walked out of Wild Rose thinking, man I could run THAT kitchen. If you're going to run a restaurant at least do something with the food. There was absolutely no effort put into anything at Wild Rose. Every dish on the menu comes with either plain, boxed wild rice or a mushy little mound of au gratin potatoes and perfectly ordinary steamed vegetables. They also have the most listless and understocked salad bar around. It should be called a "salad b." My wife got overpriced trout; I got a sea bass "special" that I made the mistake of not inquiring about the price because it was about $7.00 too much. Our waitress seemed afraid of the kitchen staff because I had ordered mine with the potatoes instead of the rice but she very meekly asked if she could bring a side of potatoes instead of replacing the rice. Someone had loosened the pepper shaker so my wife accidentally dumped a ton of pepper on her trout. When we sent it back the same trout was returned, rinsed or scraped, and rearranged on the plate. The vegetables had no flavor--they were just steamed like at a senior center. The sea bass was served with an odd, sweetened bernaise (the only attempt at personality in the entire meal) and the trout was dry after having been reheated when she returned it. Both dishes had fish cooked exactly like your grandma might prepare it at home--cooked okay but perfectly plain. Other diners are right. The restaurant's exterior belies an interior that looks like a doctor's waiting room or a retirement home. The salad bar has about 4 items (and that's counting the lettuce,) nearly inedible dressings and a couple of truly sad, dead-looking soups. The $53 tab for two entres, salads and sodas made us feel like we'd been robbed. I'd say avoid this place like the plague but in a town like Estes Park avoiding places like Wild Rose is almost impossible. Even Gordon Ramsey couldn't salvage this place.
(1)
Whitney W.
Service was good but the food was meh. The veggie burgers here were dry and lacked flavor. I can't remember what the fries tasted like but they probably weren't spectacular. The only thing we really enjoyed about this meal was the brie appetizer.
(2)
Bryan B.
Despite all the negative reviews, which did make us think twice about this place, we had a good experience there! We arrived at around 9:30p on a Weds night and most of the restaurants were closed. The initial service was kinda slow but the waiter was apologetic and once he waited on us, it was all good. They had several specials, and we had the Sea bass. It was excellent and presented very nicely. One of our party had the Chicken Marsala and wad good as well. The sides including the bread and salads were great as well! Like I said the previous reviews are pretty lousy but we had a very nice meal!!
(4)
Donna R.
Don't eat here unless you like tasteless food. They need a new cook or this restaurant won't be in business much longer!
(1)
Frank G.
Had a great lunch at the Wild Rose yesterday. We started with the baked brie with cranberries appetizer, which was really yummy. I had a buffalo burger which was very good (except for the limp bacon). For desert we had the caramel apple pie which was very good as well. Service was a tad slow, but we were in no hurry. We are going back tonight with some friends for dinner, looking forward to an equally yummy dinner. Updated: We did go back for dinner and had an equally yummy experience. six thumbs up from our group!
(4)
Alston A.
Bad food, really bad service, over priced for what it is, and we played it safe with hamburger and French dip. I can't imagine how bad something more complex would be. Even told people outside looking at the menu not to bother. Estes Park may not have a lot if options. But don't consider this one of them.
(1)
Dom M.
Fair service. Salad bar lacked variety. "Hand Cut" New York Steak was 3o% gristle and fat...
(2)
V Y.
Service was efficient, food was good, and option for outdoor seating added the fourth star.
(4)
Derrick J.
Enjoyed a nice quiet family meal. Ordered the blackened rib eye and the beef tenderloin both medium rare and it was pretty good. Got half price on the ribeye which made it worth it. The staff was friendly and the service was good.
(4)
Lana H.
This place blows. It is a faux-Sizzler trying to disguise itself as a fancy restaurant. The decor is very cheap and outdated. I felt like I was in a nursing home cafeteria. Our waitress was not friendly and I guess we arrived right before they were closing (even though they never mentioned this and seated us for a dinner service) because waiters were running around us blowing out candles and putting up silverware. Our waitress acted like she could care less and seemed put out that she had to wait on us. I ordered the halibut which was surprisingly decent, and my bf ordered the pork tenderloin. The vegetable medley was straight out of my high school cafeteria, however. And the salad bar was a joke. I wanted soup instead of a salad but they were out of soup since it was late. Of course, I was not informed of this until I got my bowl and prepared myself for soup. All in all, not a place I would recommend. Save your $$.
(1)
Shiho F.
So we take a mini road trip up to Estes Park since it was highly recommended to us. We trot on up there on a beautiful Sunday morning taking the "scenic" route parched and ready for a nice little feast. Well we were in for a rude awakening... there were no restaurants in site, we thought we may had gone blind from the sun and the myriads of tourists. Not just your average tourists but tourists stuffing their faces with ice-cream and lots of it. Our first shock of the day hit when we realized there was a plethora of Subway sandwich shops that had people lined up in a queue out the door. "Hmmm... ", this is strange we thought. We kept walking and yet again ran into another Subway with similar characteristics. We finally came across Wild Rose, they served us Hess Chardonnay which kept us hydrated for a minute and a little sane, just a little. When our waiter approached us with our Lime Ginger Chicken we hit rock bottom. It looked good and smelled good but it was too good to be true. The chicken was not chicken at all, there was no hint of ginger and the mini lime wedge just sat on top of our faux bird. We ate it since we feared getting too close to the brink of starvation. Since the sandwich was small in general we looked forward to a little ice-cream or taffy since candy shops adorn the streets of Estes Park. Another low blow, they don't except credit cards. What! We ran to the car and got out of their as quick as possible and headed toward Denver. We remembered passing a little winery on the way up and we vowed to stop at for a refreshing taste or 2 of Colorado's finest grape juice. The looks of the tasting room were a bit deceiveing, they had a decent set-up and poured with passion. Once sip of the wine and WHAT! No wine bucket? It felt like poison. To be continued...
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch, Dinner Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Don K.
Wife picked this place after a hike to bridal veil falls. Was a bit wary since it only had two stars but gave it a shot. We both had the elk burger. I had it with a small salad and wife had onion rings. If you get the small salad you get one trip to the salad bar which I thought was a good deal as I could customize my salad as I wanted. Loaded up on the pickled beets which are a favorite of mine. Spring mix at the salad bar vs the usual iceberg so overall a good deal. Piled on the blue cheese as I like my salad wet. Burger is a bit on the small size. Note that only the elk burger comes with bacon. The other burgers the bacon is a buck more. Not great bacon but good enough. Burger came medium which is fine with me. Comes with tomato slice, white onions and lettuce (romaine slices) and a pickle. The elk burger has a bit of chew, be warned but I liked it. Asked for some Tabasco to spice it up. Some siracha would have been awesome but they didn't have it. Overall a decent meal, nothing too fancy and the wait staff was attentive. If you're here for dinner be sure to find the coupon for buy one dinner get one.
(3)Chris O.
My family and I come to Estes at least twice a summer from Fraser on the other side of Trial Ridge but we have never stepped foot in this restaurant. But we are glad we did today! This is a gem and they have some of the best food we have ever had. My wife had the Salmon pesto pasta in a lemon butter sauce. My boys had the Wild Buffalo burger and the Turkey club. I had the Ruben which was the best I ever had. The pricing of the entries was perfect for a family like mine on a budget. For great food and service, this is the place to go here in Estes.
(5)Loren O.
We've eaten here a few times with very different experiences. Our first time we were fairly disappointed, but decided to try again because we had a coupon. This restaurant is expensive, there are coupons to be found! This time we had the chefs combo of elk and bison medallions. It was amazing. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten. I highly recommend it! But then we decided to end our meal with the peach cobbler which had no peaches and tasted so bad, I ended up shoving bread in my mouth to try and get rid of the taste. So this resturant confuses me. Some things are AMAZING but most of the menu is mediocre or straight up bad. If you eat meat, try the elk and bison. But spare yourself the cobbler. Never eat the cobbler.
(3)Bill M.
Crab melt & fries & chocolate shake. Elk burger & fries & peppermint Patty hot chocolate. Both drinks were excellent. Both sandwiches were ok, but nothing to write home about. The fries were very good. The service was excellent.
(3)Megan M.
Gluten free buns and pasta on offer & attentive service. We ordered the bison burgers and they were very good. Well cooked and flavorful. My husband's onion rings were good too.
(5)Ming X.
I think it's the elk burger I saw on the menu that pulled me into the restaurant. I order the elk burger, it came with bacon, lettuce, onion and tomato. And it was delicious. The onion rings were a little over cooked. The service was good. The waitress was attentive.
(3)Bronte E.
Average food. Average salad bar - vegetables were not fresh. Average server also. Looks great from the outside but a bit disappointing inside. I ordered the crab melt and it was super mustardy - not what I was expecting. And not what I believe goes well with crab.
(2)Lauren S.
First off.... Don't say you do rehearsal dinners if you don't have a banquet room.... They never cleared appetizer or salad plates, and we were cramped to begin with. The food..... Hummmmmmm. Confusing? "Unusual sauce" on the game specials.... Really? Don't offer game if you cannot cook it, we all ordered nothing above medium, and it was all well done. So disappointing. The bride was also the last one to get her food, and was served over 10 minutes after the rest of our dishes trickled in. I would critique the service more, but it was just so terrible there isn't much to pin point. Maybe don't come here if you like warm food, meat cooked properly, privacy for your special events, or any sort of service.
(1)Tami I.
Excellent food and friendly service! Fish and chips , elk burger and sandwiches were amazing!
(5)Robyn S.
Weak burger and really cheap buns. Food took a while. The waiter was clearly very unhappy with life and not very attentive. Just go to any of the other nearby restaurants. Can't think of a reason to eat here.
(2)Brooks B.
Fantastic service that was super nice and attentive. Highly recommend the Battered Fish as it was damn good - just make sure you get extra tartar sauce to accommodate the massive fish serving.
(5)A K.
After a hike, 6 plus 2 kiddos enter to a ready table after a reservation was made descending from rmnp. Waiter was very attentive and the home made saurbraten was amazing. The pot roast must be slow cooked because it was very tender and the sauce with saurcraut and cranberries we very tasty. Veggies were tender, but crisp enough to know they were fresh. Scallop potatoes were a great way to end the dish. We were starving upon entry and got several apps for $5 on happy hour. Domestic beers are bogo on happy hour as well. The brie was very good with the best bread I have had since I left New York. Yum.
(5)Stephen D.
Elk burger was overcooked. Being lean meat, that really dried it out. They forgot the bacon that was supposed to come on it. The elk chops were TINY and likely not the advertised size. They tasted OK but were really overpriced for what you get. The included salad bar was really weak selection. The blue cheese dressing tasted like Ranch with some cheese bits mixed in. Nowhere near as good as generic Ken's dressing.
(2)Lauren G.
This place is awful. I was severed a elk burger and onion rings. Well I got my plate and picked up my bun there was a DEAD FLY on my plate. Then they gave me another burger but then didn't even comp my burger or dessert we ordered. Very very disappointed with food & service
(1)Bob C.
Slow service. People at adjoining table sent food back twice and they could not get it right. Should have been our clue to leave. Onion rings were cold. Had an Elk and a Buffalo burger. Were cooked, but very flavorless. Buns were cold. Poor condiments. Would not recommend.
(1)P M.
Took twenty minutes for kids food to arrive. Kids pasta was serving portion fit for an infant with no sides. Our food came ten minutes later. Tortellini was mushy. Burger was dry. Its like the place wants to be classy but the ambience is tacky and the workers seem to be indifferent. I just wished my phone had service in Estes so Yelp could've saved me from this pplace
(1)heather d.
Just ok. Bloody Mary was fine but I do not like the veggie tortellini at all. The waitress was ok not very attentive and made us wait way too long to order. The kids liked the nachos. The kids pizza was not very good at all. I would go somewhere else. It's pricy too
(2)Ash T.
Very misleading, you would think they actually serve food. The salad bar consisted of wilted lettuce, canned olives and ranch dressing.. Frozen everything. We ordered both the elk and the buffalo burger. Pretty sure we both got served over cooked beef. Simply terrible. Seriously, though how do you make fries taste bad?! Not sure which was worse the service or the food... Okay the food, but just barely.
(1)Steve S.
We ate the burgers, buffalo, and beef. They were flavorful and fair. The onion rings were tasty and had a touch of sweetness that made them wonderful. For desert we had their peach cobbler with ice cream. It had a drizzle of chocolate sauce that set it apart from traditional cobbler. A decent meal at a fair price.
(3)Tonya K.
Hubby had the French dip and onion rings. It came with an ample portion of roast beef, too much in his opinion...he also wished the bun was toasted. The a jú was tasty as were the onion rings. I had the rose crab cake on an English muffin with a salad. The salad bar was rather small...not sure why they don't just serve side salads. Daughter had the tortellini with chicken. She thought the pasta was rather bland but the chicken was "amazeballs"and carrots were "delicioso"! I'm giving it 3 out of five because of the cleanliness & ambiance of the restaurant and overall flavor of our dishes. It was a "meh" experience but not terrible.
(3)Randy G.
Pretty rough. I would never come here again. The beer battered fish was over fried and doesn't have a hint of beer. Over priced, they have plenty of typos on the menu and has a weird atmosphere. What kind of place is this? They have two executive chefs and neither can fry fish worth a shit.
(1)Gina A.
DO NOT GET THE FRENCH ONION SOUP....I've never had French onion soup taste like an Italian herb
(1)Don P.
Have you ever been to a place where your food selection was expertly prepared and you were so impressed that proper words to describe the culinary experience escaped you? Don't despair, you'll NEVER have that problem here. There are not enough words in the English language to describe the poor food here. I had a T-bone. Uck. My wife's salad was uck. One of the ladies sitting next to us had a hamburger that looked horrible. How can anyone screw up a hamburger for crying out loud? Run away. The other bad reviews are accurate. The good reviews just have to be plants. Get in your car and go down the road a short ways to Baba's Burgers. I left a review there too.
(1)Ashley N.
This was probably the worse dining experience I have had in a long time. The atmosphere is awkward mix of formal/casual. The service wasn't great. I ordered a buffalo burger with fries and it was as if they went to a McDonalds and got a burger and served it with a small child sized fries. Additionally I asked for blue cheese on the burger and it was about 1 tablespoon size for $1.50. I also got the salad bar which was so overpriced for what it offered($4.50) and my friend got a side salad instead of fries. However, the side salad was still the salad bar. Confusing and doesn't make any sense. Overall I would not recommend this place and was very disappointed in my $20 Meal that I could have gotten better served at McDonalds for $3.
(1)J B.
Lousy food with no flavor, dirty gross floors and table was not clean. Bad all around with lazy service people. Don't do it it!
(1)Matt B.
I hate giving bad reviews but Im not sure who came up with this choice of food. Its frozen veggies placed on top of some frozen pasta. I couldve made this at home. The mixed veggies on pasta concept doesnt even make any sense. The decor looks old. Our table wobbled and the chairs look like outdoor patio furniture. Halfway through dinner we were greeted by what looked like the chef. He asked if we needed anything and said our server would be right back. Very strange place to eat.
(1)Cocktail H.
Oh Estes Park, why do I love you so much?! Every year you get more and more crowded and more and more commercialized. Soon you will become the Gatlinburg of the Rockies! Until then we will keep coming back. On a recent visit to Estes Park, I came to the realization that despite of the number of dining options, the food scene here is unimpressive and the food itself not much better than what you could get at Luby's or Golden Corral. Don't get me wrong - I like Golden Corral fine, but when on vacation one wants to experience the finer things in life. A finer thing in life would be a hike in RMNP, followed by a satisfying meal somewhere in town. That's what we were hoping for when we came across the Wild Rose. The restaurant has a perfect location - right on the main drag. The interior is a little dated but I find that to be the case often in Estes Park! Staff was friendly and helpful, even though not knowledgeable enough at times. Estes Park businesses employ a lot of foreign students on a work and travel visas in the summer when demand for able bodies is high. Some times language is a problem but I applaud local business for giving thaws kids a chance to get familiar with the American way of life. Our waitress, Pavlinka, was cheerful and very professional. We ordered the elk burger and two appetizers - stuffed mushrooms and baked Brie to go with our choice of local brews. Baked Brie arrived first nestled in a bed of mixed greens and it was exactly what I expected it to be. Not baked but warmed up with a few dries cranberries sprinkles on top. The French bread serves with it has the quality of a grocery store loaf. The mixes greens were fine - what surprised me pleasantly was the slightly spicy balsamic vinegar dressing which seemed to be home made. Mushrooms were brought out next - stuffed with surimi meat (artificial crab meat) and covered in mystery cheese. That dish I did not understand - surimi meat? And cheese? The elk burger was forgettable and so was the bun it was served on. So Wild rose, I am giving you a generous two stars for food. And an honorable mention for service!
(2)K M.
If I could have given them 0 stars, I would have. Awful. Weird service, horribly weird atmosphere and blah menu. We had the Caesar salad with 'blackened' salmon, which apparently means an overpriced, lightly grilled piece of salmon over store bought dressing. Also had the fish and chips which was described as a "wet mess." Seriously, avoid this place!
(1)Loren W.
Took about ten minutes to get seated and the hostess was no where to be found. Come to find out, we were seated five minutes 'after' happy hour ended. Coincidence? Paid $21 for a pretty terrible New York steak. Came with gravy that wasn't mentioned on the menu, tons of fat (not trimmed), frozen vegetables and chunky mashed potatoes. Just don't waste your time.
(1)Kim K.
This place is delicious. Everything fresh. Nothing frozen. The shrimp was so fresh and the creamy red herb sauce was really amazing. The courtyard outside is so romantic. Our waiter was so nice and accommodating. He was very friendly. The wine selection was great and their salad fresh. I highly recommend this place! Best on the Estes Park strip.
(5)Jerry S.
The establishment looks rather pleasant but, then the food comes. Calamari was decent, but came with a horsey ranch sauce. The veg. beef soup tasted watery and like it had been sitting all day with no beef in it. The pot-cheese soup tasted like watered down Velveeta. We ordered chefs combo which came with 4 oz. each of over cooked elk and buffalo that seemed off , which we requested medium rare. At best it was medium well. It also came with frozen seasonal vegetables and boxed pot-au-graut. Salad was ok and bread was warm plus server was very nice. Save your money and dig in the trash for a better meal.
(1)Kendell H.
Dirty, dingy and smelly place (smelled like old food and musty grandma's house). Don't be fooled by the "specials" because they are the same price as on the menu! Waiter had a bad attitude as well. There are much better places for the same price point!
(1)Chris Z.
Nice atmosphere. The kids meals were not fresh, but frozen. The server was nice, but did not introduce herself. The servers was nice and accommodating. The kitchen was slow and the food was okay.
(3)G S.
The service was extremely slow, he food was less than mediocre and the ambiance lacks in this very cute town. Would recommend trying someplace else!!
(1)Brett L.
Only one star because I can't leave zero stars. This place is dirty from the silverware to the dishes to the ambiance. The food is very poor and nothing stands out. I will never go back to this place and I would not recommend this place to my worse enemy. If you go there make sure you don't drink the water unless you.like to drink from a pool. Good prices on beer if you go during happy hour and make sure it's from the bottle.
(1)Nichole C.
Not great, I had the elk medallion salad, ask for extra dressing because mine tasted like there was none on there. Boyfriend had the elk burger, he said it was OK... We both agreed it was a little out dated looking and a bit over priced.
(2)Svetlana M.
I imagine the culinary experience in jail to be better.
(1)Rick S.
To the other bad reviews your in freaking Estes park. You want nice furniture go to Denver. REALLY! Seldom Does the chef come to the table after the meal and ask for your opion and any recommendations. Wife had the trout I the chicken Marsala. A Italian cook myself the gravy, for the blind,sauce was great the trout was great as well. You want grease try everything else in the park you want great food for a great price come here. Wine and beer got out of there under 50 bucks. Unbelievable!
(4)Ben R.
Worst meal I've had in years, can't say enough, frozen vegetables, steak was horrible, like it was cooked by a child. Also told they were out of coca cola, how does that happen? I would give them negative stars if I could.
(1)Kathy B.
We went to the dine around special a few weeks ago. $5 plate. I had pork loin with a nice sauce on it and fresh cooked broccoli. My dish was tasty and fine. My husband had fish and chips and he said it was fine. The chef came out and explained the sauce etc., told us something about his education, part owner etc. I was interested in this and enjoyed talking to him. He is from Nepal. This recipe is also connected to the Molly B. which he said has great breakfasts. We have not been to Molly B.'s because we think the best breakfast in town is the Notch Top Bakery and Cafe.
(3)Casey H.
One of the saddest places in town... In terms of ambience very old hotel furniture .... Food is not really amazing ... The people are really nice and service is great. Drinks were cheap. For Estes.... Good... I'd rather eat at home
(2)jacquie b.
For what it is the food is average. not something to write home about but at least the burgers weren't the hockey pucks (prefrozen) you normally get in a touristy town. wasn't expensive so when we want something that won't sit like we ate a rock we will come back. yes the place is outdated but we didn't go for the ambiance. This is a place to grab a quick bite and be on your way.
(3)Jonna D.
Had margaritas and nachos. Margs had basically no alcohol and nachos had slices of yellow cheese that were barely melted. Don't let their happy hour advertisement lure you in.
(1)Amanda N.
This whole place is just bizarre, but the food was delicious. Had the grilled salmon, with a white wine sauce, scalloped potatoes and mixed veggies. All were very good, although presentation was lacking. My husband had the elk burger, which he said was delicious. The onion rings it came with, however, were raw. The salad bar leaves a LOT to be desired, unless you just love chickpeas and beets. Bread is fantastic. The decor is vaguely "Senior center" but it is what it is. The staff are all mixed bag - our server was surly and seemed annoyed to be there, but the two girls running around seemed very friendly and helpful. Overall, just a strange place - nothing in it seems to make sense, but the food is fairly solid.
(3)Rich K.
Best mahi mahi and fantastic service in Este Park. Waiter Rajiv was so nice. We loved the wines
(5)Sam N.
One word... BAD. An eccentric menu that has no focus. There is southwest, Italian, elk, and who knows what else on the menu. Everything we tried was terrible. Either undercooked or overbooked. Has the atmosphere of eating in your weird relatives house. Staff was odd and seemed incapable of communicating in a sociable manner. Food was overpriced. $20-25 a person for A meal. Avoid this place!
(1)Mitzi V.
Got the chicken Caesar salad. It was swimming in dressing and I really I am not shy of dressing. Mom got the fish and chips, it was swai and swimming in grease. Really the coup de grace for this place is the bizarre decor. As others have said, it is absolutely, hands down, horrible, depressing, dingy, weird, bad bad bad. Blah service. I feel terrible for the owner/s and staff of this place.
(1)Ashley D.
When visiting Estes Park recently, we ate at Wild Rose. This place is kinda like the type of restaurant that you see on Food Network's Restaurant Impossible (I took pictures). The decor is confusing and old. There are bright colors, old chairs, stinky old carpet, and dusty fake floral arrangements. They are known for their house made wooden roses, so each table had these wooden roses in vases, but our roses had most of their petals missing, exposing their styrofoam mold. Honestly, the ambiance is terrible. We sat in the front room at a window view seat, which was nice. The menu had lots of options, and offered nice regional options, such as trout, elk, buffalo, and lamb. My husband and I ordered the fresh trout, one friend ordered the fried fish and chips, and our other friend ordered their vegetable pasta. My husband and I both enjoyed our trout. It came with rice and fresh vegetables (orange and yellow carrots and green beans) and the fished was topped with lemon and a choice of walnuts or almonds. I had the almonds and my husband had the walnuts.The trout was very fresh, and clearly had been filleted in the restaurant. The skin was served still on the fish, but that isn't appetizing to me unless the skin is crispy, which it wasn't. I still had some bones and scales in my fish; it didn't seem that the person who filleted it was very experienced. Regardless, it was tasty. Our friend who ordered the fish and chips enjoyed it, but said it was too oily. It seems like their oil wasn't hot enough, so the fish soaked up a lot of the oil. The most successful dish was the vegetable pasta, it was full of fresh veggies and a tasty sauce, our friend really enjoyed it. The service was very good. The restaurant wasn't very busy. I can't imagine it being terribly busy when there are other options around town. I love supporting local businesses, but this place really needs some help. If they would renovate the interior, the food is probably good enough to make a successful restaurant. But I wouldn't choose to go back to the restaurant again simply because of the dirty, dingy, outdated feel of the restaurant.
(3)Gem S.
TERRIBLE food and even worse service! Don't bother wasting your time and money here. So many plates and utencils that were suppose to be clean were disgustingly dirty! I wish I had read other peoples yelp reviews before going here.
(1)Amanda E.
Excellent service, but worst food ever. We ordered burgers which lacked seasoning and were frozen patties. The side salad was made of very fresh veggies; however the ranch dressing tasted like egg and again no seasoning. The "nacho" appitizer was a joke. Warmed up chips with what looked and tasted like microwave melted chedder cheese drowning in store bought no flavored salsa. We couldn't finish any of our food.
(1)Katie B.
My second mistake in Estes Park of assuming that bigger price = better food. Not the case. The atmosphere of this place was not at all what I was expecting. You go into almost an indoor mall area and there is a rather dumpy looking little restaurant to the side that had decor that looks like it was left overs from Denny's or some other random diner. I was a little concerned as we passed by a lot of packed restaurants and this one was dead. Only about 5 tables were occupied and it was 7:30 on a Saturday night. We were sat by a window so the view was nice, but it was less pleasant when it started raining and blowing through the open window. Service was pretty good, but that will only get you so far. I ordered the grilled shrimp pasta and my husband got the French dip sandwich. We both got salads which you get yourself from a salad bar (not something I was expecting as I thought for $17-$30 a plate we were going to a higher end place) and their salad bar is pretty sparce. Lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, chick peas, and broccoli and that's it. Our food came super quick, almost annoyingly quick as we had only had a few bites of salad and then my pasta sat there getting cold while I finished the salad. Portion size is pretty huge so I guess at least that was something but the food was just okay. Bland over all and required salt. Vegetables were at least nicely cooked but I didn't quite understand random carrots and green beans tossed to the side of the pasta. It was almost as if they were a side of vegetables but they just stick them on the same plate as everything else. My husbands sandwich was huge as well. He ate half and ended up just throwing the other half out cause it again was just okay. Not worth carrying around while we walked around town. Another place to add on my list of places not to go in Estes Park.
(2)Tiffany N.
The best thing about this Estes Park restaurant is their mini salad and soup bar. You can get it as a meal or added to your meal for an extra $4.50. The salad bar is literally the tiniest I've ever seen, but it had a few interesting items like chickpeas on it. There were three types of soup when I went and they were surprisingly decent. I tried a mixture of Potato Fennel and Corn Chowder because I am adventurous like that. They also claim to offer happy hour from 3 - 6, but when we went our server conveniently forgot to bring us our second "free" drink and we left because in all honesty we didn't care too much about it and it was getting late. And if you're looking for meat, they have a ton of variety - Elk chops, buffalo burgers, and so on. After reading all the other reviews it looks like they might have some not-so-great options so I feel lucky that I choose soup and salad. And they definitely accept credit cards now because we paid with on last week.
(3)Joe S.
The staff here are extremely weird to say the least, nothing was done to make us feeling welcomed. The decor is terrible and the colors gave me a headache. The atmosphere is abysmal. That doesn't even begin to describe the food. Their veggie burger was edible but not that great, and the vegetable pasta was disgusting. Cold, barely cooked, and rubbery tasting. The pasta definitely upset my stomach and make me very sick later that night. I am not sensitive to bad food but this place was bad.
(1)Lisa G.
So I have to chuckle at the 4+ stars!! We're these people just to drunk to notice this horrific place for what it really is? First off...not so smiley angry girl who was our waitress/ hostess didn't really do much for the place. Second... Unless you have no taste buds you may not care for the food. Undercooked frozen fries were a theme at our table... How can you mess up fries? My favorite was... Not so smiley girl thought she was doing us a favor when asked for silverware and napkins Sadly Estes Park survives on tourists who don't know any better and truthfully there is little in this town that deserves the business. It's like no one really cares...
(1)Christine S.
I find it hard to find good food in a tourist town. They mostly just don't care, but Wild Rose did step it up! The bread basket was good, and they had Rocky Mountain Oysters which my husband wanted to try, and which we tricked our son into trying as well. He liked them until he found out what it was! I had a pasta dish which had plenty of veggies and a good sauce ratio. Would visit again.
(4)Chanh S.
We read the reviews but decided to go there anyways since the price was right and we got a discount coupon from Safeway to go there. I figured it couldn't be that bad. However, the reviews were pretty dead on. The food looks good but tastes bland and boring. My wife ordered french onion soup and I think it was the first time I saw her NOT finish it. It was pretty awful. Then came our main courses, I got steak and lobster. The lobster was actually pretty good but my steak was BLAND and tasteless. I had to pour on the salt and pepper to make it edible. My wife got shrimp and pasta that was actually pretty good. So all in all, it wasn't terrible for the price since there are so many way more expensive places around. But if you want good quality food, I would definitely look elsewhere. I actually liked that they had different waitresses there that were from other countries. The staff was nice but the place was not that nice really but wasn't expecting much.
(3)Yan E.
Solid 3 stars. It's good but don't expect a miracle as my friend said. On my way in, I heard a patron complimenting the server that this was the best food they had all week. So some like this place. Note that there are two entries for the same place. This one has an average of 2.5 stars (31 reviews) and the other has 4.5 stars (3 reviews). I must confess we were THAT table. The ones who dissected every dish and discussed what we liked and didn't like. Blame urban dining and yelp. *shakes fist Oh, how I have changed. Lucky for you, you don't need to listen to us while you're eating. Instead, here's what we ate: *buffalo steak, medium rare: Recommended by the other customer and this was perfect. A large hunk of meat, ordered and cooked medium rare. It is topped with sauce but is good without it. Buffalo tastes like beef. -elk chops (~$32): We wanted to try elk while visiting Colorado. This was not as good as the steak. Ordered medium rare, it was partially well-done. We decided that elk tastes like liver. Try it if you like liver; don't if you dislike it as I do. It is topped with sauce and I was glad to have it drown out the taste of the meat. Obviously, the taste of the meat is subjective and not an issue with the restaurant. -Rocky Mountain Oysters (aka bull testicles): The other food I wanted to try in Colorado. As expected, it was nothing special; all fried food tastes like fried food. When I picked off the batter to taste the meat better, I was slightly reminded of liver. The texture reminded me of thinly pounded pork and pork fat. -trout: Also recommended by the other customer. It was okay. It is topped with your choice of lemon, almonds or pecans. No sauce which I like but others may dislike. My friend pointed out that it is somewhat dry. -another fish dish: Not memorable as I cannot recall what it was. No sauce. All dinner entrees come with your choice of soup or salad which you serve yourself. Soup choices were tomato basil (highly recommended by the other patron), chicken vegetable, and mushroom cream. Being on a low-sodium diet, I found the soups too salty. Instead, I enjoyed the salad bar. Yay for fresh/canned veggies (non-iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, chickpeas, beets, mushrooms, etc). I also loved the "garden vegetables" that came with the steak and elk chops. As highlighted by the other customer: no frozen vegetable medley here. They're fresh and plain as I like them. Special requests: One friend is on a gluten-free diet and inquired about gluten-free. The server said anything can be made gluten-free if you order it without sauce. Since this is not a gluten-free specialty restaurant, I wouldn't bet a celiac's stomach on this; I doubt the fried Rocky Mountain oysters or bread were gluten-free. Per their suggestion, we ordered all our dishes with sauce on the side to share, but the steak and elk came with sauce on top. It was probably a miscommunication with our server. The person ordering the fish had made the request for all of us and the server replied the fish has no sauce. Since it would be a lot of food to recook and we could cut portions without the sauce, we didn't complain about it. Just make sure to make your own special requests if needed. In short, get the buffalo steak with the fresh vegetables. Enjoy.
(3)Bill R.
Ate on the porch for lunch; waiter was very pleasant, stuffed mushroom appetizer was uniquely different and my Reuben sandwich had just the right mix of sauerkraut and corned beef with thousand island on the side.
(4)Veronica V.
Our family took a trip to Estes Park and decided to eat at Wild Rose Food & Spirits because my cousin wanted trout. We had pretty good food, however it was nothing amazing. My aunt and I had the beer battered fish, while my cousin and grandmother had the trout with almonds. They enjoyed their meal, however wished there was more on their plate. My cousin shared with me as I could not finish my food, but I have a tiny stomach. The coleslaw they gave us was delicious! It had cranberries and was very different than most of the coleslaw I have tried. I enjoyed that the most. We had to wait a good amount of time for our food as well, and they did not check up on us. We had two small children who were very impatient, however they were nice enough to bring them their food first to help calm them down. Another family member got the buffalo burger and said it was okay, it tasted the same as anything else she has had. I am not familiar with the area, however our food was pretty good and the service was okay.
(3)Meo W.
The menu lies... 4 bucks for a hot chocolate "with lots of whipped cream" yeah right! Also the "crispy bacon" on my "burger" was chewy and disgusting. My brother couldn't even finish his "burger" it was so gross. I was amazed I could eat as much as I did, but I was starving being a nursing mother. Skip this place for sure!
(1)Sharon N.
Of all the restaurants in Estes Park this is one of the better ones. Which is not a lot to brag about. But when you are enjoying the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park and you get hungry, what are you to do? Don't waste time looking around, go to The Wild Rose and you know you will be getting a good deal and fresh food. Atmosphere is dated but the service is great.
(3)Vanessa M.
This place is just OK. It is very outdated. It kind of has a retirement home vibe and smell to it . Here is what we got... - Elk Burger - This was very dry and very dense and flavorless. Good french fries. - Turkey Club - Tasted good along side some yummy onion rings. Service was great and the place looked clean.
(2)Rob R.
Wow so my wife and I decded to try this place well to our surprise it was the worst restaurant I have eaten in. The decor was run down trashy . The servers well none spoke fluent English. looking around seeing what was coming out of the kitchen very scary. The menu said executive chef well I guess any one can open a bag and claim there a chef the pricing was high for the food you got and 5.95 for a Patty of meat that cost you 90cents your crazy. If you want good food try elk horn or grubs right accrossed the street and chef if you need cooking lessons let me know.
(1)Jim M.
Two stars is fair, if not generous. I hate to crush restaurants, but here we go. The salad bar was a stripped-down version of Sizzlers so we opted out of the sad offerings in favor of the corn chowder. That was edible with the aid of croutons. We searched for some bacon bits back at the salad bar but that was wishful thinking. We split a stuffed mushrooms, which they were quite up-front about the surimi. The fake crab wasn't offensive, but the fake lemon sauce was! Once I got past the first gamey bite of the swordfish, it wasn't so bad but it was pretty tough. My girlfriend did a little better with her NYStrip but it had a bizarre berry sauce on it. The veggies reminded me of a hospital, although not overcooked (I guess I should be thankful for that). The server was a nice young girl and she did her best, but my girlfriend & I agreed this was 'roundly disappointing'. I will qualify my review by admitting to getting two high-risk items so far from the sea. I should've scoured Yelp before taking my seat.
(2)Lexie W.
It's a good thing I did not read the reviews before I came here because I probably would have avoided the place. Despite the poor reviews, my boyfriend and I had a good time and a wonderful meal. I had the trout, which I thought was good and my boyfriend had the elk chops which were also tasty. The food is simple, but tastes pretty good. I also didn't go there expecting a five star meal like others may have. The atmosphere was mellow with soft Jack Johnson playing in the background. Our waitress was from Belarus and I thought her accent was charming. Bottom line - don't listen to the reviews of the people saying that McDonald's is better. They probably eat Mickey D's often and can't recognize what real food is supposed to taste like.
(4)Kendra C.
Small, cute place. Quiet, with polite staff. Good selection of wines and microbrews--was able to try Estes Park Raspberry Wheat, which was absolutely delicious. We started out with the baked brie, which was scrumptious. It was served with a cranberry chutney. Every dinner dish comes with a choice of soup or salad--with several soups to choose from and a do-it-yourself salad bar. I had the chicken tortilla soup, my boyfriend the buffalo. Both were tasty. For dinner, I had the swordfish ($19) with a cognac sauce--one of their nightly specials. It was a good portion and came with rice and vegetables--and it was delicious. My boyfriend had the Buffalo NY-cut steak, which he loved. We finished up with a snickers cheesecake (YUM! even though we could only finish half after our meal) and a Nutty Irishman--a warm mocha coffee with Frangelico and Irish Creme. Also delicious. Our server was very polite, professional, and attentive. It was a very relaxing ambience with a lot of great choices. We left feeling extremely satisfied, would definitely recommend this place!
(5)Brad D.
Very diverse menu, food was excellent & lots of it. If you cannot find something to fit your taste here you are to high maintenance. I travel & eat at all kinds of generic places, this is not.
(4)Annette F.
This restaurant is listed twice on Yelp and the other reviews are fairly good compared to this site. Had I read these reviews first, I would have avoided this place. However, after seeing the favorable reviews, we stopped here for lunch and found the restaurant to be cute and the food delicious (and we are pretty picky with high standards). We all had a Chicken Chipotle Wrap and fresh brewed iced tea, which was delicious. So I don't know if we just got lucky or what, but our experience was a good one and we would definitely eat here again sometime. As some reviewers mentioned, the decor is a little different and maybe old fashioned, but the restaurant is after all a "European" style restaurant, so I wouldn't expect anything too modern or fancy. I would say the decor was quaint and cute in its own way.
(5)Nicole C.
A big disappointment. I've walked past this place for years, always wanting to go in because it looked so romantic and pretty. Do not be fooled by its pretty exterior. The inside is very outdated. (Previous reviews of it looking like a retirement home are dead on!) Our waitress was a little hard to understand (I think she was Russian?) but I can't hold that against her, she was nice enough. I got an elk burger and my husband got the buffalo burger. Both were dry, no seasoning (not even a little salt) and the fries were just ok. I should have gotten the onion rings, because they were actually good. Unfortunately they weren't on my plate. Overall, not the best experience. Seriously, McDonalds is better.
(1)Heather M.
Great happy hour 3-6 and enjoyed the patio because it was beautiful outside. They aren't ramped up for summer yet & so the service was adequate . I'd come back for HH but probably not dinner.
(3)Liz L.
Wild Rose is a sweet little cafe. My husband and I enjoyed the food. He had the Reuben and salad bar and he raved about the potato soup. I had the grilled chicken pasta, which I loved; the sauce was not too heavy and the flavors were a great combo. We also shared the snicker's cheesecake...amazing! I think we'd come back to Estes just for that cheesecake. The service was also wonderful. The restaurant is located in downtown Estes, so stop in for a break from shopping. We'd definitely recommend the Wild Rose!
(4)Elle E.
Great service, reasonable prices, terrible food. "Caesar Salad" had mayo as the dressing! UGH! French onion soup: terrible. Green salads, dry and bland. Burger: average, but dry. Milk shake: great. I won't eat here again.
(1)Thom C.
Brought the family here for lunch, didn't yelp before so didn't see the bad reviews....boy was that a mistake. All the bad reviews were pretty accurate. Food is over priced and not good. We had the sword fish, bass and pork chops. Both fish entrees were bland and overcooked. The dinner salad which didn't have many options was decent. The pork chops were good but overpriced. All in all, won't be returning until the place adds food worthy of the price.
(1)Robert M.
Brie was good. Had an elk burger which was dry. Service was slow. We had high hopes based on earlier review but that didn't meet expectations for a great restaurant in Estes Park.
(3)Butch K.
Horrible, Horrible, Horrible!!! My wife and I both wanted wild game. We were told that this was the place to go. They were not busy at all, when we walked in we counted 2 tables that had people seated. Service started out very good. We were seated as soon as we walked in and given menus and our drinks. Then we waited, for almost 10 minutes before a young man walked to our table smiled then turned around and counted the tables. He came back to our table and said he had to make sure that this was his table. He asked if we had decided on what we wanted. We had to ask about the specials. We both ordered the special, Buffalo steak and an elk medallion served with fresh steamed vegetables and some kind of potatoes. When we were served both plates looked delicious, the presentation was beautiful. Then came the first taste.... Let's start with the vegetables, by far the best item on the plate, they were nicely steamed but did not have any seasoning. No salt, pepper, nothing....blah. The potatoes, we think that was what they were. A pile of mush hidden under the meat. Again, no seasoning, flavor was blah. The Elk & Buffalo, both cooked to a prefect medium rare. I don't think they have any salt or pepper in the kitchen. It tasted like they took the meat straight out of the cooler and placed it on the grill. These were the toughest, plainest tasting pieces of meat I have had in a long time. I am very familiar with wild game and I must say that neither one of the pieces of meat had any gamey taste or smell to them. When our waiter returned to our table we told him that the meat was very bland, and tough. He's replay was "oh" them turned and walked away. When he returned to take our plates still half covered in food, he brought our bill. We asked to speak to the manager, but he must have been to busy because our waiter returned with our bill and said the manager told him to take tax off. We will not be returning! The only reason it is getting 1 star is because I have to give it a rating.
(1)Cranky Greg M.
OMG!! This place just sucks! I mean really, really sucks! We had about 10 of us eating lunch here this week, and everyone hated their food. I had something simple - a ham sandwich. Can you imaging anyone screwing up a ham sandwich? Well, the fine folks at the Wild Rose did! Others had a hamburger, and complained that the meat tasted "funny." Even their Diet Cokes suck. This place is far too expensiveandthe food is not even worth McDonald's prices. In fact, I highly recommend McD's or Subway way more than this hell hole. Estes Park is such a charming little town, but the restaurants here mostly suck.
(1)Adam S.
Blah. Not only the worst meal we've had in Estes Park but one of the worst we've had in a long time. Wild Rose is a perfect definition of an overpriced tourist trap. Plain, bland; like eating a TV dinner. I'm certainly no professional chef but even I walked out of Wild Rose thinking, man I could run THAT kitchen. If you're going to run a restaurant at least do something with the food. There was absolutely no effort put into anything at Wild Rose. Every dish on the menu comes with either plain, boxed wild rice or a mushy little mound of au gratin potatoes and perfectly ordinary steamed vegetables. They also have the most listless and understocked salad bar around. It should be called a "salad b." My wife got overpriced trout; I got a sea bass "special" that I made the mistake of not inquiring about the price because it was about $7.00 too much. Our waitress seemed afraid of the kitchen staff because I had ordered mine with the potatoes instead of the rice but she very meekly asked if she could bring a side of potatoes instead of replacing the rice. Someone had loosened the pepper shaker so my wife accidentally dumped a ton of pepper on her trout. When we sent it back the same trout was returned, rinsed or scraped, and rearranged on the plate. The vegetables had no flavor--they were just steamed like at a senior center. The sea bass was served with an odd, sweetened bernaise (the only attempt at personality in the entire meal) and the trout was dry after having been reheated when she returned it. Both dishes had fish cooked exactly like your grandma might prepare it at home--cooked okay but perfectly plain. Other diners are right. The restaurant's exterior belies an interior that looks like a doctor's waiting room or a retirement home. The salad bar has about 4 items (and that's counting the lettuce,) nearly inedible dressings and a couple of truly sad, dead-looking soups. The $53 tab for two entres, salads and sodas made us feel like we'd been robbed. I'd say avoid this place like the plague but in a town like Estes Park avoiding places like Wild Rose is almost impossible. Even Gordon Ramsey couldn't salvage this place.
(1)Whitney W.
Service was good but the food was meh. The veggie burgers here were dry and lacked flavor. I can't remember what the fries tasted like but they probably weren't spectacular. The only thing we really enjoyed about this meal was the brie appetizer.
(2)Bryan B.
Despite all the negative reviews, which did make us think twice about this place, we had a good experience there! We arrived at around 9:30p on a Weds night and most of the restaurants were closed. The initial service was kinda slow but the waiter was apologetic and once he waited on us, it was all good. They had several specials, and we had the Sea bass. It was excellent and presented very nicely. One of our party had the Chicken Marsala and wad good as well. The sides including the bread and salads were great as well! Like I said the previous reviews are pretty lousy but we had a very nice meal!!
(4)Donna R.
Don't eat here unless you like tasteless food. They need a new cook or this restaurant won't be in business much longer!
(1)Frank G.
Had a great lunch at the Wild Rose yesterday. We started with the baked brie with cranberries appetizer, which was really yummy. I had a buffalo burger which was very good (except for the limp bacon). For desert we had the caramel apple pie which was very good as well. Service was a tad slow, but we were in no hurry. We are going back tonight with some friends for dinner, looking forward to an equally yummy dinner. Updated: We did go back for dinner and had an equally yummy experience. six thumbs up from our group!
(4)Alston A.
Bad food, really bad service, over priced for what it is, and we played it safe with hamburger and French dip. I can't imagine how bad something more complex would be. Even told people outside looking at the menu not to bother. Estes Park may not have a lot if options. But don't consider this one of them.
(1)Dom M.
Fair service. Salad bar lacked variety. "Hand Cut" New York Steak was 3o% gristle and fat...
(2)V Y.
Service was efficient, food was good, and option for outdoor seating added the fourth star.
(4)Derrick J.
Enjoyed a nice quiet family meal. Ordered the blackened rib eye and the beef tenderloin both medium rare and it was pretty good. Got half price on the ribeye which made it worth it. The staff was friendly and the service was good.
(4)Lana H.
This place blows. It is a faux-Sizzler trying to disguise itself as a fancy restaurant. The decor is very cheap and outdated. I felt like I was in a nursing home cafeteria. Our waitress was not friendly and I guess we arrived right before they were closing (even though they never mentioned this and seated us for a dinner service) because waiters were running around us blowing out candles and putting up silverware. Our waitress acted like she could care less and seemed put out that she had to wait on us. I ordered the halibut which was surprisingly decent, and my bf ordered the pork tenderloin. The vegetable medley was straight out of my high school cafeteria, however. And the salad bar was a joke. I wanted soup instead of a salad but they were out of soup since it was late. Of course, I was not informed of this until I got my bowl and prepared myself for soup. All in all, not a place I would recommend. Save your $$.
(1)Shiho F.
So we take a mini road trip up to Estes Park since it was highly recommended to us. We trot on up there on a beautiful Sunday morning taking the "scenic" route parched and ready for a nice little feast. Well we were in for a rude awakening... there were no restaurants in site, we thought we may had gone blind from the sun and the myriads of tourists. Not just your average tourists but tourists stuffing their faces with ice-cream and lots of it. Our first shock of the day hit when we realized there was a plethora of Subway sandwich shops that had people lined up in a queue out the door. "Hmmm... ", this is strange we thought. We kept walking and yet again ran into another Subway with similar characteristics. We finally came across Wild Rose, they served us Hess Chardonnay which kept us hydrated for a minute and a little sane, just a little. When our waiter approached us with our Lime Ginger Chicken we hit rock bottom. It looked good and smelled good but it was too good to be true. The chicken was not chicken at all, there was no hint of ginger and the mini lime wedge just sat on top of our faux bird. We ate it since we feared getting too close to the brink of starvation. Since the sandwich was small in general we looked forward to a little ice-cream or taffy since candy shops adorn the streets of Estes Park. Another low blow, they don't except credit cards. What! We ran to the car and got out of their as quick as possible and headed toward Denver. We remembered passing a little winery on the way up and we vowed to stop at for a refreshing taste or 2 of Colorado's finest grape juice. The looks of the tasting room were a bit deceiveing, they had a decent set-up and poured with passion. Once sip of the wine and WHAT! No wine bucket? It felt like poison. To be continued...
(1)