Roosevelt Lodge Dining Room

Great meal. Ribs had a deep flavor. Ribs were more peppery than smoky. Pulled pork sandwich was really good. Tender and juicy pork. Only half the room is used for seating so space is limited. Expect to wait.

What a wonderful dinner experience. A rather small venue but with a very rustic and welcoming ambience. Perfect for families and couples. Really anybody looking for a great meal in a relaxing setting. During our visit it was not surprising loud. Everyone here seemed to be enjoying their dinner have conversation within their table and with others (even the servers). It was a truly welcoming environment were everyone greeted everybody. I like waiting area with the bar and sofa seating to enjoy a cocktail (which can also be enjoyed outside) before dinner. Dinner was great. I wish I took pictures of the delicious food. It was wonderfully presented. Servers were very accommodating to guest especially young ones. Prices here are on the higher end but it is what to expect and the value is there for the location of the restaurant and ambience. We stayed until they closed and didn't feel rushed. Thank you again to the wonderful staff.

It's one of the only places to eat on this side of the park, and it's a 100-year-old tradition worth trying. Long wait times, but the rocking chairs and revamped bar help. Solid portions of dinner, if unexciting, and not as expensive as other seated dining options in YNP. Bison chili was our favorite.

Our waitress Tori was FABULOUS! She had a stack of photos of animals in the parks she had taken. She was happy to make suggestions about things in the park and food items on the menu. We had the pork carnitas, half chicken, and trout dinner. All were delicious and hit the spot!

Family style mostly southern dishes, with such large portions (with two sides, also large) that you perhaps should not order the appetizers! We had a short wait to get seated, but the food came at good speed. Try the fried green tomatoes for appetizers, they are yum. The hot wi gs are 🔥. For the vegetarian, the tofu tacos are OK. The rack of ribs was a hit at our table, as well as the blackened trout. Chicken enchiladas were good as well. Service was very friendly, with our server checking in with us multiple times. The location is beautiful, of course.

Dining in Yellowstone is a little meager, which is ok because you're here for nature, not for foodie tour. That being said, it's nice to have a decent meal once in a while. This lodge provides one of the better offerings here. They don't take reservations so you should show up early especially in peak season. The food, while will not be winning James Beard award anytime soon, is quite good, it's more than you can ask for around here. Prices are ok, serving size reasonably large. Parking is not difficult. There are cabins here, a small general store, and you can even hike a bit before or after your meal.

I was put out from the beginning when I went early (6 pm), hungry after checking into the lodge after a 5-day backpack to discover that the half-empty restaurant had a 1-hour wait for a table. I was obviously puzzled, and the hostess explained that they were short-staffed. It just isn't possible in a Xanterra managed property to have everything working, it would seem. I am sympathetic to the management plight of gearing up a large-scale four-month operation in a hurry using temporary college-age employees who think they're there for a vacation, probably at minimum wage. But a reviewer has to call 'em as he sees 'em. I was finally seated and tried to quickly decide my dinner choice. In a place like this, I usually try to figure out what items require the least kitchen skills, and was thinking about a burger. But my server suggested the carnitas and she seemed very sure about that, so carnitas it was. Well, it turned out to be EXCELLENT. Three fresh flour tortillas were slightly crisped on a comal and served hot and folded into triangles. The pork was tender, juicy and well-seasoned. The salsa, guacamole and sour cream were tasty condiments, if a bit bland. Really liked it. It was offered two sides of my choice. My server suggested the mashed potatoes and sauteed zucchini. Although not typical pairings for carnitas, I went with her recommendations. The mashed potates were excellent, but the brown gravy was clearly from a powdered mix, not great, and the zucchini was bland and more stewed than sauteed. Oh, well, I was hungry and generally satisfied with the meal. But, why, oh why can't Xanterra ever get all the details lined up for an overall great experience? Great carnitas, mediocre sides, and poor service. It could have been so much better.

Parking excellent. Lodge/cabin & location nice & historic. Atmosphere was great & we had to wait about 20 minutes to get seated. Our waiter wasn’t very friendly & attentive when paying attention when ordering our food. No special requests either. Took about 20 minutes to get our food. Messed up our orders pretty good & even forgot food for our 6 yr old son. The root beer & food was excellent! Our other son who is 12 stated he loved his bacon buffalo burger. We would go here again for the food & atmosphere but will keep our expectations low with the servers. Again excellent food.

We stayed here for two nights and decided to get dinner on the second night. The restaurant is literally in the main area of the lodge, reception and sitting area. Roosevelt is really the smallest Lodge of Yellowstone, very intimate and rustic. The food was pretty ok, we had the full rack of ribs and sides. Service wasn't great, I'm not sure, he rushed us to make a decision on food, wasn't in the mood to answer a simple question, dropped the bill off with the main course, didn't bring the extra salad we ordered and then looked at us completely annoyed when we asked for a dessert menu. His comment, well I'll then go ahead and adjust the bill I guess. We clearly felt that he wanted his shift to be over, even though it was 6pm and the dinner rush just got under way. We decided to skip any more interactions and moved over to the bar, where a very friendly gentleman was happy to mix and serve some great drinks. I think other tables had a great experience, so don't discount the little lodge restaurant. Otherwise, drinks at the bar are top notch.

During our tour of Yellowstone Park, we decided to make a pitstop at this charming place. The ambiance, both inside and outside, was delightful, and the service was excellent. The rustic decor gave it a genuine cowboy atmosphere. However, when it came to the food, it left much to be desired. Regrettably, there weren't many vegetarian options available. I opted for the fried green tomatoes, chuck wagon corn, and a house salad. The tomatoes were passable, but the corn and salad were quite disappointing. If I ever return to the park, I won't be revisiting this establishment.

Was very happy to find a great plant based / vegan option with their tofu tacos. The ingredients listed were vegan (Three corn tortillas, tofu, pickled onion, cilantro, spicy radish, avocado salsa) but the dish is listed at vegetarian. I asked the server if it could be made vegan and he said he had checked recently and could not determine any ingredients that were not vegan. Three of us ordered this dish, and unfortunately it does NOT come with the ingredients listed. Upon three incorrectly cooked corn tortillas there is a crumbled flavored tofu, coleslaw, avocado, and pace salsa - did NOT have pickled onion, cilantro, spicy radish, or avocado salsa. The coleslaw was VERY much not plant based. On a side note happy they have pasta marinara for kids, and the chips were good with seasoning salt.

Good meal after a long day hiking Washburn Mountain. The Huckleberry mule was nice but tart. Ribs were really good and cowboy beans were good and different with all the different beans. The hamburger was average. My family of four got two hamburger plates and two rib plates and split the ribs and hamburgers to try both.

National Park Service needs to eject Xanterra from Yellowstone, as they did in Zion. No good comes from having Xanterra operating national treasures. They extract extract extract and nothing else. Food and service at Roosevelt are exactly what anyone would expect from Xanterra - superficially nice, but actually quite awful.

Two stars for ambiance and location. The staff was uninterested in providing more than the minimum. Food was sub par for everyone at the table and we all had different things. Also due to the building layout and brief closure between breakfast and lunch we ended up with a ton of people standing around waiting for lunch to start but instead of the staff organizing and trying to keep it fair it turned into a free for all trying to get seated first.

Food was ok. Not a whole lot to choose from. Service was not great. Wrong drinks and wrong food. Ordered barbecue chicken and was told by the waiter when he brought the food out "the cook put in for chicken tenders instead of bbq chicken.. sorry..." as he gave us the chicken tenders. Very strange. Also, we were a group of 8 and they can only seat 6 at the most so our party was split. Not a huge deal for us but might be for others. Lastly, they let anyone off the beaten path come in and use the bathroom so paying guests have to wait. My 2 hour visit there I could not use the bathroom because every time I went to use it there was a line or people going #2-which lead to me and others waiting in a horrible smelling bathroom, only to not even be able to us it. We had burgers, ribs and chicken tenders. Mediocre.

The ribs. It's all about the ribs. You must get the sweet, succulent ribs. If you're dying to try bison or elk - don't worry, they offer that everywhere else. If it wasn't for the ribs, the long wait and spotty food quality would equate to two stars. Bison Burger - yeah that was a misstep. The burger itself wasn't bad, on the dry side a little. The side of corn was horribly dry and cardboard flavored. Fried Green Tomatoes - pretty unique dish if you're not from the south. Tangy with breaded coating, a little mushy on the inside. Not sure if this was representative of the iconic dish but I'd rather just watch the movie next time. Sweet Potato - perfectly soft and sweet. Broccoli topping was regular. Applewood smoked full rack of ribs - in the end, this was the clear winner and the top recommendation here. Slow-cooked, juicy, soft and falling off the bone. Classic sweet and tangy bbq sauce coating the outside. The rub was noticeable but didn't overwhelm. You can choose two accompaniments among nine available - we ordered the Granny Smith Apple and cabbage slaw and the whipped cauliflower, which are both good choices. If you didn't order the ribs, then you're missing out and selling yourself short. Don't wait until next time - order them and you can thank me later!

The trick for dinner is to come later, when they're less crowded. My friends and I came for a late dinner around 8 pm on a Wed and it was half empty, so we were able to get seated immediately. Note that they close at 9 pm so don't come too late. I started out with a Lamar Valley Sunset ($8.50), which is a fruity cocktail that features a locally produced white rum. It was delicious and sweet. Great way to start the meal. They give everyone cornbread muffins to start. This was probably my favorite item of the whole meal, sadly. We were all starving after a long day, so we decided to each order our own entree and also split the full rack of barbecue ribs ($27.25). I went with the smaller wild game bolognese, which features their house-made bison and elk bolognese ($15.25). I was very underwhelmed with the bolognese. The linguine felt and tasted like it had been sitting around for a while; I barely make pasta but I think I could do a better job! The bison and elk bolognese sauce was okay but sadly I couldn't tell it apart from your regular beef bolognese sauce. The barbecue ribs were slightly better. Some pieces were really dry, but other pieces had enough fat where it tasted decent once you dipped in the extra barbecue sauce on the plate. Overall it was overcooked though. My friends and I weren't expecting very much from meals in the park, so this fit in with our expectation.

I would give 0 stars if I could. Do not come here if you have a large party, especially if you are Asian. Tried to get a table in this fairly empty restaurant with a big Asian family. Told the manager that there were 30-40 of us (there actually was only 30) but that we could all be seated in separate tables with our immediate family and pay separately...but the manager with long curly hair attempted to discourage us from eating there via many ridiculous excuses. Told us we would have to wait 3-4 hours to be seated (even though more than half the restaurant tables were vacant) that they didn't have enough chefs - we said OK no problem. Then stated that we would have to pay separately-again OK no problem. I mean, we all came in our own cars so it's not like we were co dependent on one another. Then told us that we should have made reservations but then later told us that they don't take reservations, continuing to contradict himself. Despite us agreeing to his requests, he continued to state that it would be too difficult to accommodate us. During this whole conversation, they proceeded to seat at least 3 other parties. One party of 10 came in after us and asked for a table while we were still talking to the manager and were seated immediately. WTF???!!!! Seriously? Of all the people that they had seated while talking to us, they could have sat us. We have a family of restaurant owners so we know how restaurants run. They made absolutely NO effort to seat or serve us in any way. Despite us agreeing to wait 3-4 and even 4-5 hours to be seated, and agreeing to be separated, the manager still said he could not accommodate us. Thus, he made it very clear that that we were not welcome to dine there and that they were not willing to serve us. What a demeaning experience!!!

My favorite of three restaurants I tried while at Yellowstone. The interior was quaint and super cozy, with friendly waiters and waitresses who were accommodating both at breakfast and dinner. Yes - they are slow - but not slower than any of the other restaurants. Their portions were generous. Major shout-out for the smoked trout plate that blew us away with how yummy and large it was. The buffalo burger was good but nothing surprising. The breakfast scramble was decent and free coffee is always a delight!

On arriving we were told it was a 45 min wait (late lunch, 2:30pm) and we asked if we could get a drink and sit on the porch while we waited. Matre'd said they could not serve any drinks until the lounge opened at 4:30pm (the "lounge" was a small bar 15 feet from the restaurant). We walked outside to wait and noticed a General Store immediately adjacent to the Lodge and walked over; they served single beers and soft drinks, which we bought for us and the kids while we waited. Not sure why the staff at the Lodge restaurant couldn't have mentioned this option to us and can only imagine that is because the restaurant and the General store are operated by two different concessionaires. Clearly the two organizations don't cooperate. Restaurants in the park are run by Xanterra and general stores are run by Delaware north. The service was polite but very slow. The food was below average- dry chili, inedible broccoli, unremarkable bison burger. The overall sense we walked away from at this restaurant and all others in the park was that there is generally little motivation to provide a high quality experience in service or product; the goal is to go through the motions of completing a task and moving on. We routinely saw overstaffed areas with employees chatting amongst themselves, not overly concerned with helping customers out. Disappointing because pricing is high and the park is a gem. Recommend packing in and making your own meals and skipping the restaurants in Yellowstone.

National park food with the requisite prices. Prepare to wait quite a while for a table. It reminded me of Disney World. Overpriced food that everybody is desperate to get because you have no choice and it's inside out of the heat. We barely were able to find a place to park. Fortunately, the wait is mitigated by being able to visit the adjacent gift shop. The kids even found some books to read (I'm sure the staff weren't thrilled because we didn't buy any). Why does it get three stars? The menu is decently interesting with some good vegetarian choices. The food wasn't amazing but it was pretty decent too. On the pricey side but at least we ate well.

We ended up here about noon on a Saturday and was surprised to find no wait for a table for 2. We both ordered the bison burgers. They were delicious! The service was quick and pleasant. The ice tea was refreshing.

The reason I rate Roosevelt dining a 3 is strictly because of the ambiance and the view. I have been eating at the old lodge for nearly 60 years and have to say the food quality is poor to average and always has been. Wait staff are mostly non-English speakers and service is very slow. Avoid evening meal and stick with breakfast. Hard to screw up bacon and eggs. Prices aren't outrageous but expensive if you have a family with you. Still this is an historic building with tremendous ambiance and view looking toward the the Lamar Valley. They do run the chuckwagon dinner which includes a horseback ride to the outdoor campfire where hands cook a steak for you. One of those western experiences you will want to try at least once.

Disgusting pancakes served after incredibly long wait to be seated. Aunt Jemima pancakes are 10x better. AVOID at all costs if you're traveling through Yellowstone Park!

Would not recommend. We walked in and was told 30 minutes. We waited an hour and a half to be told waiting on tables and two others were in front of us. There was five empty tables when I asked how much longer. It seem there was one person waiting on tables and one cleaning tables. Although employees where there but not working the dinning room. Most of them just standing around at there post doing nothing. The menu is limited. Again would not recommend unless you have time to waste.

Waited 40 minutes for a table. Finally seated - waited 15 minutes and never even got a glass of water. Walked out. Can't comment on the food cause we NEVER GOT ANY! Can't even comment on the water case we NEVER GOT ANY.

We had our best meal here during our 3 day visit. My wife had the tamales, our son had the gigantic wild game nachos (spring for the extra $1 for the guacamole--it's decent), and I enjoyed the enormous bison burger. The kids' menu for our younger kids is also extensive, reasonable, and well-portioned. Service was great from Chazlin, and hostess Izzy was very accommodating, allowing us to wander off a mile to see the nearby petrified tree, while keeping us on the waiting list. The "parchitecture"--a word we learned from a ranger talk--of the building is also cool. It's a log cabin built in the 20s after Teddy Roosevelt's camping trip nearby. (Too bad Teddy didn't get to eat here.) It's an unusually large, open interior for a log cabin and very bright because of the large, original windows (check out the old rippled glass). Stop by here for dinner, the take the drive east at sunset to see scores of bison, deer, and hopefully wolves and bears (oh my!).