Branding Iron

We’re in from out of town and thought we’d give this place a try. Unfortunately it didn’t work out so well for us. We were brought lukewarm water with which to make hot tea, and when our meals arrived both steaks were criminally undercooked. My partner’s medium rare prime rib came cold to the touch in the middle. I got the floppiest, purplest (medium rare) ribeye I’ve ever had. They should apologize to that cow’s next of kin. Our waitress was nice, which was the one shining spot in the whole debacle. I’m sure this place has its good nights but today was not one of them.

We took a group there and the service was very slow. Not our waitresses fault. She was running her tail off. Not enough staff to handle the dining rooms. Also, one of our party ordered the fried chicken. It came out very dark brown and didn’t look edible. I tried to get him to return it but service was so slow he didn’t want to hold everyone up. He did eat it and came down with serious food poisoning the next day.
We had eaten here before and ordered the wings as an appetizer during happy hour. We told the waitress we didn’t want anything hot so she suggested and we ordered the ranch. When they came they were reddish in color. We questioned whether these were the right ones and she assured us they were. We were used to ranch being a much lighter color. We both ate one a piece and they were so spice we couldn’t eat them. We told the waitress and she simply restated they were ranch. We left the rest of them and ordered our meal which actually wasn’t too bad. We were charged for the wings and were just really disappointed in the management there. The Management was busy running a customer out of the restaurant out for visiting with another customer. Very unprofessional.

Terrible food & weak coffee. The only thing ‘nice’ about this place was our server. The omelette my husband ordered was basically scrambled eggs piled ON TOO of the 3 ingredients he requested IN his omelette. Rude lady working in the front part of their gift store as well. Couldn’t wait to get out of there! Not sure how this place is still in business?

The hot wings were spicy buy good. I ordered the ribeye steak medium well and it was cooked perfectly and it tasted delicious. The mashed potatoes were OK and the gravy was jelly like.
The salads were really good though and the waitress was super sweet and attentive

Well, the very colorful locals seem to love this place, but we did not! The menu was «diner» at best and the wait staff not very attentive. We went there because I wanted a salad bar with actual vegetables – which we did find. However, the abundance of flies on the food at the salad bar… let’s just say that the Board of Health would have closed this restaurant immediately if they’d seen what we did. In my opinion, the most interesting things about this place were the old fashioned bath tub and pedestal sink out on the patio. If you have a car, go find some place else to eat.

I’m going to give 2 stars because my husband’s Burger and Fries were good. The waitress (sweet but slow and only checked on us once) recommended the Hot Roast
Beef Sandwich. I assumed that would mean the mashed potatoes and gravy were homemade. I’m sure the potatoes were instant and the gravy looked more like jelly. The roast beef was a bit grey. Thankfully my husband shared his dinner with me.
The bathrooms (both men and women’s) were disgusting. I’m not sure what was on the floor and baseboards but it was gross.
The manager spilled stuff on the floor and then barked at her staff to clean it up.
A very cute 2 – 3 year old was helping to set tables.
If you go stick with Burger and Fries.

Great food. I had the elk burger. It tasted just like a normal burger though so I was a little disappointed by it. The waitress was great and friendly. The chairs were extremely uncomfortable though, but that’s about the only bad thing that can be said.

Great brisket (smoked on site), fish and chips were tasty with friendly staff. Lots of parking and will work with larger groups.

We came in for dinner on a busy Saturday night and were pleasantly surprised. The food was delicious. I had the salad bar, which was really good. My husband had a burger fries, which he loved. I would definitely go back!

Spent the night in Buena Vista and this place was recommended by the hotel staff. The staff seemed a bit busy when we walked in as it took a few minutes to be greeted and get our drinks. The staff was more than helpful and friendly, but they could have used some more help.
The food was great! The special, a vegetable lasagna was amazing! The flavor was plentiful! The soup, salad, and potatoe bar needed to be filled constantly… and the staff didn’t have the time to do it while taking care of the other customers. It was filled when asked, but the staff seemed as if they needed an extra set of hands.
We ordered some basic drinks– vodka and cranberry and a gin martini. The employee taking our drink order did not know what types of vodka and gin they carried; additionally, he had never made a gin martini… the vodka cranberry was very pink… meaning more cranberry than usua– as in I couldn’t taste the absolute vodka in the drink. After some coaching and teaching, the employee made the second round of drinks much better… time and practice will only benefit him.

Service was great, staff were really friendly and the venue is super relaxed. Food was average but still had an enjoyable evening! :-)

This worst place we have ever gone! It took the hostess forever to seat us. By the time we were seated, another couple 15 minutes after we were seated got there drink order. The waitress still hadn’t seen us. This same couple had already placed there order for food and we were still waiting for the waitress to serve us. The buffet looked horrible and not will maintained. So, we left! I don’t recommend this place. They were rude and didn’t seem like they wanted to serve us because we were gay.

Buena Vista isn’t exactly on the cutting edge of the culinary scene, but as far as comfortable laid back restaurants go, Branding Iron ain’t bad.
ENVIRONMENT:
Environment was kind of cheesy and lackadaisical, but nothing off putting. Stuffed animals and kitsch for sale, Budweiser promotional material on the walls.
FOOD:
Filling, and mountainous portions. Nothing exceptionally exceptional, but I would say the fries were quality.
SERVICE:
Waitress had no idea what beers tasted like, which was odd.

Very very good breakfast. Portions are big. The pancakes & patty sausage are very good. Dinner is good too.
We eat at the Branding Iron every time we’re in Buena Vista.

The worst restaurant I’ve eaten at west of the Mississippi River. Stopped in on a Sunday on the way back from Black Canyon because it was convenient… I should have stopped for a gas station hot dog. The atmosphere had a very cheap feeling and the food was bad buffet quality.

Not many reviews to base our decision on, so we decided to go for it. Went with the family for a quick trip to Buena Vista.
Overall, it was a disappointment. Food wasn’t terrible, just so so for the price/​experience.
Service: There were two servers for the entire place. Probably about 20 tables, so not unmanageable, but not optimal. Did pretty well considering and were pleasant. One seemed more Sr. than the other, so she was good (but was quick, in a not so good way). I would give service 3.5÷5
Food: The food was all over the place. The salads were clearly pre-​made (chilled in the fridge), which is not terrible, but also not too welcoming. chicken and rice soup was below average, with chunks of chicken skin floating in it. I had a chicken fried stake that was clearly a frozen patty dropped in a deep fat fryer (not good at all). But the asparagus and the mashed potatoes were good. 2 of the kids had the ribs, which were pretty good, but were not smoked. Looked like they were broiled, with sauce on the side. they were pretty meaty. My daughter had a rib eye that was ok. kind of fatty, but I didn’t expect much. Overall, would give this a 1.5÷5. Some good, not so good.
I don’t think I would give it another try. For the money we spent, would return to the Eddyline.

In the back of a crafts style gift shop sits the Branding Iron restaurant. The seating area is much larger than what it appears to be from the outside. Standard diner type of offering — breakfast foods, burgers, a pulled pork sandwich, a salad bar. The service was dead-​on. The food was average, but passable. If you need a hearty meal and are road weary, this might just be the place to suit all tastes in your party. Plus you can buy some hand crafted souvenirs.

We ate here when we first arrived in BV. Friendly staff, cold beer, and good food. I had the rib eye steak and hubby had the chicken fried steak. Plan to eat here again before we leave!