Steve H.
Yelp
Wow! Lot's of low-rated reviews for a bad tourist experience at the buffet here. I think that paints a deceptive picture for this iconic old West hotel.
I didn't stand in line for all-you-can-eat prime rib with my cranky children from Michigan or Florida or wherever. I stayed at the goddamn hotel. This is a hotel, right?
This place is awesome! It's a piece of wild west history. The rooms are incredible. You'd expect them to be very tiny, as this is a 19th century establishment, but I've always stayed in luxurious, big rooms with stuffed leather chairs and tables. They look the vintage part. I've stayed her twice and loved it both times. Despite its history, the prices are reasonable--no higher than other hotels/motels in Cody, and yet right on the main drag with walking access to all kinds of stuff.
Now onto that buffet. The dining room is equally spectacular, complete with a stuffed cougar on the wall, and buffalo heads, and whatnot. This is a wild west tourist destination after all. It's cool. It's what you came for, right?
They regularly have an all-you-can-eat buffet (nightly I think, but I'm not sure), featuring prime rib. I think this is where things go sideways for expectations. Telling people "for a fixed price I'm going to let you eat as much meat as you want" is a tough business model. All-you-can-eat anything is mostly bullshit food. As a business owner you simply cannot pull out all the stops and remain profitable.
I'm always dumbfounded by people who go to an all-you-can-eat place and expect a Michelin 4 star experience. If you want a life-altering dining experience, you have to pay! And pro tip: don't go to an all-you-can-eat buffet. High quality dining experiences will never involve "as much food as you can stuff down you gullet." Do you want the finest quality food, or do you want as much food as you can stuff into your body? Because you can't have both. You have to choose. No business can stay in business by offering both .
Speaking of which, if you don't like buffets, order from the menu like people do in any other restaurant.
The buffet has prime rib, which is decent. I didn't orgasm when I ate it. I didn't write letter to my mother regaling her with how mind-blowing the experience was. It was good prime rib. Not great. Good. They also had roasted ham, which was also good. No great ham. Good. Some salad. Mediocre. Some green beans. Okay. Some kind of potato. I stayed away. I don't do carbs, so I can't comment.
Also, to live up to its tourist expectations, they have buffalo ribs. Not Buffalo wings (Buffalo here meaning Buffalo New York, and wings meaning chicken). Buffalo ribs (Buffalo meaning the North American bison and ribs meaning the ribs of this giant beast). How are they? Well, they're big. A lot like beef ribs, but larger. More a novelty I guess. You can tell the folks back home that you ate Buffalo. Nothing outstanding, but what you'd expect. I had seconds. I liked them. That said, I've had better ribs many, many times.
You should go. It's an experience. Ratchet down the all-you-can-eat buffet expectations. Note that it's a popular tourist destination in a tourist town and plan accordingly. It might be packed and it might be better to retreat and come another time, maybe in another life.
Better yet, stay in the hotel. It's a hotel after all.