Cascades - The Stanley Hotel

It’s clear the chef has carefully picked each menu item and everything we had was outstanding. There was an appetizer special that resembled gnocchi that was truly special. The raclette is incredible! My lamb was cooked and seasoned perfectly. Highly recommended. Great service and surroundings.

The setting was beautiful, the service staff were attentive and polite and the food arrived quickly. The food presentation was excellent (we split an entrée, so I cut them a lot of slack), and was delicious! Since we split the entrée, the price was more than reasonable.

Out of state friend visiting

Very nice restaurant. It was expensive, but very delicious. I would highly recommend if you're willing to spend the money on a good dinner.

it seems the food keeps getting a little less exciting. it was decent, cocktails are great, service (Josh) was great, but the food was just average. Still, if you enjoy the older wood finish and copper ceilings, this place is always beautiful.

Service was fair to poor. Waiter seemed very new and also was assigned to many tables at once. Was not really confident with wine list, some language comprehension issues. We had to grab the pepper grinder off the credenza for our salads because it was not offered.

Lamb chops were great, cooked perfectly.

I had been here once years ago and had great service. For the cost of this restaurant service should be much better.

Next time I go to Estes I will try another local restaurant.

Don't miss a rocky mountain gem. Great restaurant. Wonderful staff.

Had dinner before the Los Lonely Boys concert. Service was slow. Then they overcooked the steak so had to cook a new one, making us wait even longer to eat! Was very expensive, not that great of food for the price. We had breakfast the next morning which was better service, better food. Can’t say I’d eat there again.

Great breakfast and service. Their bacon is the best

We were in town for a girls weekend and I’ve always wanted to see the Stanley Hotel, so I made reservations. The hotel and ambiance is amazing!! The waitress and food, on the other hand, was not the greatest. My friend and I split a steak, crab legs and a side. The steak was blah and somewhat tough, even for a strip, but the brussel sprouts were very good. Our waitress was inattentive and distracted. We loved the atmosphere and the setting but the meal left a bit to be desired.

Excellent meals. Fantastic ambiance. We plan on another dinner there in the near future.

Bartenders are so knowledgeable and the waiters are awesome. Great service.

They have gotten me up eat Kale, arugula and lamb because they know how to prepare the food

The service and food were ok. If you're going to spend that kind of money on dinner, you want it to be more than ok. I wouldn't go back or recommend it to anyone. There's just too many other places that are better than "ok."

I went with a group of 9 people and the food was delicious for the rest of the people but since I was vegetarian there was only one dish to choose from and it was ridiculous pricey. A couple of dishes were blend and the service started ok and then got worse.

Our waiter was awesome and attentive. My order was wrong. Crab legs came instead of lobster. The Crab legs were taken back and when the lobster was brought out it was cold and tough. My husband had French fries that were served cold.
Our steaks were perfect! The wine was to die for! And Our dessert was absolutely wonderful! Overall a positive experience. I felt like it was a bit more expensive than necessary.

We were very diagnosed. Terrible menu, terrible service, terrible food. It was loud with large groups of party goers around us. The menu didn't match what was online and it had no good cuts of beef. We shared a cut because nothing less tjan 12 oz. It qad a horrible, cheap cut they completely overcharged for. The side items cost more but ar2 cheap. The mashed potatoes tasted like flakes. I sent back a white sangria that tasted like tang orange juice. Our waiter didn't speak much English which would have been ok if we could hear him over the other tables and if he actually came by our table. It is not an upscale restaurant but they are changing upscale prices.

We drove up for a friend's birthday. It was a great spot to have a nice lunch with great food. Not to fancy but still provides that nice environment to make you feel like your 'going out' for lunch. The food is superb.

Definitely enjoyed! Great atmosphere, good service!

Tasty food (I had elk), good cocktails (sazerac), and attentive service. The restaurant has the ambience you want when visiting The Stanley Hotel. It was very nice, but also a bit spooky and of a bygone era. Highly recommend checking it out.

For the HIGH price point, we expected to be WOWed. Not a single thing we ordered, from bread, appetizer, soup, to entrees, got even close to WOW. Portions were TINY and almost everything was tasteless. I'm fine with small portions if they are well-prepared. Not the case here. You're paying for the location and the convenience, if you're staying at the hotel like we were. The drinks were FANTASTIC, though, so we ordered another round instead of gambling on dessert. Service was just okay. Had to ask multiple times for my cocktail and we spent half the meal with dirty plates from previous courses on our table.

After we closed out our tab, we decided to give constructive feedback to the manager. He said was really appreciative and empathic to our experience. We weren't asking for anything in return for our feedback, but he did give us a couple drink tickets as a thank-you, which was really nice and appreciated. He also said they are about to roll out a new menu. He showed us pictures and it looks fantastic, so it might be worth checking this place out with the new menu. If it's the old menu, however, give it a pass.

I’ve been a few times and over the years the food has been ok and it’s just gotten more expensive. The entrees don’t come with their own sides and the plate of food is not very big.

I choose the restaurant because it is an iconic spot and my brothers wre visiting from CT. My filet was good size but the rest of the entrees were a bit on the small side. everything was ala cart which made things quite pricey. The waiter did not offer that the sides were large enough to be shareable till we asked. The waiter seemed to be having a bad night. He was polite but not real friendly. We were celebrating my 70th birthday and were having a good time which he sort of ignored and stayed professional.
In the future I would not choose you over another restaurant of equal quality. I would recommend it for the same reason that I choose it, its iconic reputation, but would add my comment that i share here about the price and small portions. We didn't drink more than 1.25 drinks each and with 5 people our bill with tip was 450.00. Yikes.
Thanks for the opportunity to share my experience. I hope it makes a difference.
Donna

DINNER #1: Staff was lovely and accommodating. Food was legitimately HORRIBLE. There was one vegetarian offering, a grilled cauliflower steak with quinoa, & what was described as a caper & golden raisin relish. The cauliflower was flavorless. The relish almost nonexistent, and the quinoa tasted totally bland, as if the chef boiled the quinoa then spooned a large heap on a plate. We couldn't eat it & were not going to pay $18 each. The server & manager were accommodating & we ordered fine salads instead. MORE disturbingly, the server and manager were well aware that this dish was awful. The manager said the menu was going to change very soon & they'd just left this dish on.

DINNER #2: We ordered 2 Caesar salads to go. It was a pretty busy night but still... It doesn't take 40 min. to put together 2 Caesar salads. We only got or salads after we complained to the front desk. The hostess was unavailable. Eventually other restaurant staff brought our food & took our payment, but they messed up the order. (We'd made a dressing request that wasn't honored.)

I’ve had lunch and now dinner at this restaurant and it really isn’t good at all. I don’t mind spending good money on great food but when the food is subpar, I don’t go back. If it wasn’t for the location being in The Stanley Hotel, not sure if this restaurant would survive. Also, if they suggest the special, get a price. We forgot to ask and it was extremely overpriced.

Really enjoyed dinner. Atmosphere, service and food (although my steak was a bit under cooked). We visited the hotel for our anniversary and the restaurant was a great place to enjoy dinner. I would recommend this restaurant to my family and friends.

Amazing New Year’s Eve experience! The food was wonderful, the atmosphere perfect, and the service excellent. Worth the money.

My friend and I went on New Year's Eve. The atmosphere was energetic, beautiful decor and the food and wine was grest.
Josh was our server, he was very attentive to our needs. He was awesome.

I came from out of town so really wanted to see the "famous" Stanley Hotel so decided to do dinner while we were there. Prices were in line with a tourist destination, food was decent, pretty standard presentation and taste. We had the buffalo rib eye, scallops, mushroom soup, and mashed potatoes. The mushroom soup was my favorite part of the meal and the bread that they served before dinner was warm and yummy. The menu selections were fairly limited based on what I am used to, but it was NYE so they may have been serving a limited menu that night. Service was pretty standard, they were busy that night and seemed to keep up with it well. If I happened to be going to the Stanley for an event or to stay overnight, I would probably eat there again. Otherwise, there was nothing particularly outstanding about my meal that would bring me back for dinner.

We had a wonderful meal to celebrate New Year’s Eve! They gave us the small semi-private area and because I use a power wheelchair it was wonderful. I didn’t feel like I was in the way and it made our meal a true celebration. The service was superb.
We look forward to going back.
It’s perfect for a special occasion!

Only table with no flowers.
No bread before dinner like other tables.
Food was cool and small portions for price.
Advertised crispy red potatoes as a side but was clearly plain Yukon potatoes.
Was checked on once the entire time.
Tourist trap.

Was looking forward to staying at the Stanley for a girls trip and dining at Cascades. Sadly it was a huge let down. While the waiter, the bread and the whiskey were all great, the food was below average and way overpriced for what we were given. In addition, all of our food came out cold - the lobster Mac ($17) comes out on a cast iron skillet and it wasn’t even warm to the touch, the cheese on the French onion soup had hardened and the soup was Luke warm, the mashed potatoes and mushrooms were cold (and tiny portions for $9!). I wouldn’t recommend eating here.

The food was overpriced. The atmosphere was nice. The service was fine. The lobster mac & cheese tasted like velveeta shells and cheese with imitation crab meat and wasn’t worth five dollars let alone 17 . The mashed potatoes were bland in the steak was fatty .

We had to wait 35 min past our reservation to be seated. Then one of the entrees was cold and had to be redone by the kitchen.

We had family in from Texas, they really enjoyed our time at the Stanley. The food and service were fantastic. We made reservations, which was a smart decision. I can’t wait to go back and do it all over again!

OK, the hotel was packed for a concert, which was great. But the restaurant really let us down. We asked if we could split the game meatloaf, so we could also get a salad. The waiter said it was a pretty small serving so steered us away from sharing it. When the meatloaf arrived, it was FREAKING HUGE and totally dry, served with a thimble of sauce to wash it down. Cascades is a great bar, and I've had decent but overpriced meals there, so I'll give them another chance. But this was awful.

Good food, but very overpriced. There are many options in Estes Park.

Cascades is the best place in Estes Park for high quality gluten free food. Though they don't have a gluten free menu, the chef and waiters are careful to point out which items are available GF and are happy to offer alternatives. Though there are vegetarian appetizers and sides, the best food is geared more towards meat eaters featuring elk, bison, boar, and venison all cooked expertly and to taste.
This place is expensive with most sides offered A La Carte on top of an already pricey entree. But the food is absolutely delicious, and you may not have room for dessert. On busy nights, my wife and I found the din to be a bit loud but could still have a conversation without shouting. The bar area and dining area are separated by a half-height wall, so it's not a place for a whisper-quiet dinner out. Overall, a great experience we intend to repeat.

I surprised my wife with a date night to Cascades Restaurant inside the Stanley Hotel for Christmas. We live close by and have never been. The previous reviews I read before I made reservations were pretty close to my own experience. The ambiance is great and it's located inside a landmark hotel. That part was fun. When we arrived for our 5:30pm reservation, we waited and waited at the reception desk where no one seemed to be stationed. There were several parties in front of us and behind us and we all just stood and waited wondering what was going on. Finally, a young and unprofessional woman shows up and does not say anything, but just tilted her head and waited for us to speak to her. We were able to eventually get to our table where another young and inexperienced waiter arrived who seemed very nervous and in over his head. That was all fine, this was a date night experience without our kids in tow, so we were easily able to overlook the 'fast food' quality staffing for the night. Then, basically from there, we had awkward moments with our waiter. After seeing the overly priced food menu and the ridiculously overpriced 'mediocre house wine by the glass' menu, we just shrugged our shoulders and realized that we were about to get a truly oversold dining experience. The food is mostly a la carte and gets expensive really fast. I will say that the wild game meatloaf and salmon were pretty good and the $18 sides to go with it were marginal. All in all, I wouldn't go back or recommend this place to anyone except under the guise of knowing that this is a unique dining experience that maybe you'll do once. Be prepared to hand your big bills over for a mostly decent meal with unprofessional service. Okay, you've been warned.

Generally nice for group of six, separate room and good service and food. Not an inexpensive place to eat so saving it for special occasions. This was one of the nicest experiences we have had there.