The Ranch 1849 Restaurant

Don’t go for it

Visited for a lunch buffet, the options were somewhat limited but decent, considering the restaurant is literally in the middle of nowhere (!), and the price wasn't even that high ($23/person). Had a very tasty tomato soup, lasagna and a dessert. Did not expect to like this restaurant after seeing the Google Maps rating, but honestly I don't see what anyone could possibly complain about.

Had the breakfast and found the biscuits and gravy way too salty,and everything was dried out. The bottles of sauce were all messy or empty.

Breakfast not recommended. Cold coffee, cold eggs, burnt pancakes, no ham, no cheese.

The food was very poor

The worst meal I have ever eaten at a restaurant. Didn't look appetizing and tasted worse than it looked. Waaaaaaay overpriced too, particularly since it was so gross.

I was scared to eat here from the reviews but had no choice after the dirty ice cream parlor kept changing the food hours. We were pleasantly surprised. Definitely go right on opening hour for whatever meal you're having because that's as fresh as it gets, it doesn't seem they replace anything as the day goes on. We had lunch, I risked the salmon entree and had a good time for a buffet.

The breakfast selections can be great and well worth it. Dinner is pretty standard mid tier buffet. Prices are probably commensurate with other options on site. Very nice staff!

Arrived at 8pm (a full hour before they’re supposed to close) and there was hardly any food. Salad bar was completely empty. Your options were basically a corn dog or a plain hamburger on a dry bun. No cheese, nothing. The man running the register was rude for no reason. For $30, it was the worst “buffet” of my life. If timing is an issue and you start actually closing at say, 7pm, be upfront about that or charge half price after a certain time. Such an angering experience.

The buffet is incredibly expensive ($32) - I understand you're in the middle of nowhere, but for that price, you'd hope the food would actually be warm. Average food, tastes ok but it's just cold...
The man on the tills was miserable and completely unhelpful. Rather than eating here, I would recommend just bringing your own food.

Dietary restrictions: Poor. Don't come here

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 1

Good Value dinner, don’t understand why it gets such a low review….

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The restaurant is decorated like a rustic saloon. We enjoyed a drink at the bar and then dinner. I'm glad we got there by 6:30, as it got crowded and the wait was over an hour by 7:30.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Marinated Filet Mignon, Fried Chicken

The worst quality/price experience of my life. Forced by the fact of being in Death Valley, we went here. I would like to point out that there is a second "pub" right next door, but I think due to the lack of desire to work, at 8.00 pm, with the place half empty, they told us that there would be an hour's queue to sit down and that they categorically they would close at 9pm. $60.00 + tax, to eat frozen, poorly cooked and spoiled food, not to mention the very limited, but believe me, very limited choice. Those few hot dishes were totally tasteless, sometimes still frozen to the core, cooked with no desire, the cold dishes, salad, thin, half rotten and blackened, sad and left there, seemed to have been pulled out of the sink drain. The staff is listless, at times non-existent, and the tables and chairs are practically never cleaned. The only reason that is worth the candle is the free-refill of drinks, obviously I'm being ironic, $60.00...

Believe me, personally I am happy with everything and eat without scruples, but this time it was just too much. Avoid it like the plague, organize yourself first and buy some supplies before entering the national park, even a bag of chips that has been open for two days is worth more than the whole "buffet" in this place, don't make the same mistake as us.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

This place is great for breakfast, which is difficult to mess up. So, by all means, start your day here as you can get a filling breakfast for $21. For lunch and dinner, you might be better off grabbing food from the pool bar or a frozen meal from the gift shop. For starters, the buffet food was all lukewarm to cold. The Chicken Marsala they were serving for lunch was tasty, but completely cold. The meatballs were bland, but at least lukewarm. The sides were also barely warm. After a similar dinner experience, we made sure to arrive for lunch early, at 11am, expecting hot food as it would have just left the kitchen. But everything was cold. This means the food was cooked and then allowed to sit somewhere without maintaining it at the proper temperature. We notified the otherwise friendly and helpful staff and ended up eating the $25 per person charge rather than the food because Death Valley isn't the place where you want to roll the dice on sketchy food.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 5

We recently stayed at The Ranch at Death Valley during our vacation and had dinner at The Ranch 1849 Restaurant. It was wonderful to enjoy a nice meal in the heart of Death Valley National Park! The food was delicious, and we left feeling satisfied; the staff were incredibly kind. Be sure to save room for dessert—it was a delightful treat. ☺️??️?

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5