Desiree K. L.
Yelp
The first time I went there 2 years ago, I was wowed by the bison ribeye and the service. When we were booking a trip to Zion this year, we specifically chose to stay at Zion Mountain Ranch (despite the slight drive back into the park) because of the dining experience we had at Cordwood. This time, however, the restaurant was a bit of a letdown. First night, they didn't tell us they were out of the bison ribeye until I went to order it, so I was a bit bummed and instead did their chicken entree which was bland and the chicken was dry. The portion sizes appeared to be all over the place - some entrees were small, and the venison bolognese was seemingly an entire box of pasta ordered by our youngest child, so we would have appreciated if the wait staff could have let us know and either we could have split the meal and shared amongst us, or chose a different order as she was unable to eat even half of the dish.
The next night, we went for dessert one night and the girls got brownie sundaes and I shared a slice of apple pie, everyone agreed that it was pretty good, though the sundaes did not come out with the full fixings as listed on the menu. Ours were missing the whipped cream and caramel/fudge topping.
Breakfast on our final morning there was uninspiring. The eggs were not seasoned at all and there was no salt and pepper on the tables, as well as they were out of the house made hot sauce shown on the menu, so it was pretty bland to me. The coffee pot and hot water were on the fritz, so instead of telling us, our waitress brought us lukewarm microwaved water (which she never told us, but we heard her tell another table). I'd rather have had juice than water barely warm enough to steep tea. The breakfast potatoes they do are pretty terrific, they're really crispy and good. The toast and jams were of good quality. Portions for breakfast were much more reasonable.
Each of the three experiences was marked by a noticeable need for more staff. Each dining experience took much longer than it should have because the hostess was also the server and also seemed to be bussing tables after. There was another gentleman who we thought worked there, but didn't do a thing besides chat with some of the tables and play his drum. The first night, it took an hour and a half to complete our dinner service. We didn't return for dinner service the next night because we simply couldn't risk it taking so long and missing out on the horse ride we scheduled that evening.
The setting is very cool, we love the rustic feel and that they seem to make everything from scratch. Their greenhouse with aquaponics is very cool, and we loved seeing the pigs, chickens, dogs, horses, etc all outside. Last time we were there, they also had rabbits, so it is nice to see that they rotate their livestock. Their four Great Pyrenees guard dogs are super friendly and welcome any scritches, and patrol the grounds even up near the cabins we stayed in.
Overall, it was ok. A bit of a letdown for me compared to a couple years ago when we stumbled upon it randomly and had a great experience with better service.