Restaurant 1858

The restaurant is very beautiful. It had very little patrons on a Saturday. If you do make reservations, you may want to show up for the bus ride at least an hour before the reservation. There was a large line to get on the bus, and they dropped you outside the gate unless you stayed at the hotel. They drop you off on the other side of the gate if you stay at the hotel. I went with my elderly parents who walked at their pace all the way up the hill. The walk is beautiful. The service at the restaurant was not great. The staff did not take the orders correctly. They forgot drinks. The food was OK. It was not exceptional, but it wasn't terrible. The ambiance was delightful. It could have been worse, but it definitely could be better.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 2

The service was friendly and attentive. The menu is unique and cocktails were very good. The coleslaw tasted old and the buffalo burger meat was not freshly prepared. The Pikes Peak or Bust Nachos were excellent. Be prepared for a 20% service charge on every table, regardless of party size. For example, our receipt showed: sub-total $150.00, PIF (public improvement fee) $0.00, tax $9.24, 20% service charge $30.00, tip said $0.00, so it was confusing if we needed to leave a tip. At all Broadmoor restaurants (this one is owned by Broadmoor), the service charge goes into a pool for restaurant employees and not wholly to your server. We had to look this up as it is deceiving at face value. So if you want gratuity to go directly to your server, you will need to tip additional on top of the 20% service charge. We loved the ambiance but will not return due to the high cost. One kids salad, one bowl of soup, one burger, one appetizer, two cocktails, one glass of wine, one beer, one lemonade totaled $189.24 without an additional tip, which we did end up leaving, making lunch $200.00.

Kid-friendliness: Offered kid's menu with good variety.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

We came here after a day of travel and exploring the falls. We waited 30 mins to even be greeted by our server to be given a glass of miscellaneous red wine instead of the Angeles and cowboys sparkling wine I ordered. We ended up ordering the SEVENTY dollar grill to go only to receive this depressing portion and then waited 20 mins to get back to the parking lot via shuttle. (Pictured is the grill that they advertise on their menu)

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

Great experience to done outside by the falls. Trout was perfect and Jessica our server was excellent. It's cool in between rock formations so be sure to have a jacket! A really nice meal in a unique location. I'd do it again!

I did not eat there... Can't give total assessment

Love this place. It is so beautiful. Food is good but a bit over priced. They used to have wonderful mashed potatoes and need to bring those back. House wine is $25.00 a glass. So it is a great place but our dinner and drinks for 3 was $400.00 and then you also have to pay to get into the park as well. So almost $500.00.

Great place to people watch and decent views outside depending on your seating. Waitress was nice. Appetizer (fish dip) was surprisingly good but the Mixed Grill (Lamb Chop, Sausage, and Ribs) were terrible. Never had ribs with a bone like crust on the top. Sausage texture was similar to a vegan type meat with a hint of cherry; gross. Lamb chop was cooked well but taste was off. Best part was the bed of green beans the meat sat on. Grits were meh. Salad was good but hard to mess up.

We visited 1858 as a couple and were NOT staying at the Broadmore Hotel. I will say that the food is excellent at the restaraunt and I think the falls and surrounding areas are likely very nice to see but we did not have time to do so. They really treat non-Broadmore guests as second class citizens, especially with regards to the transportation necessary to get to the site. We had to wait for over an hour for a shuttle and a similar time (in the dark) after dinner to get a shuttle back. As a result we were not able to really enjoy (or even see) the falls and surrounding areas. However, guests at the Broadmore got much more direct access with shuttles picking them up directly at the restuarant after dinner with almost no wait. So, while I would like to recommend the restaurant, I would have to suggest you pass on it unless you are staying at the hotel. There are other very good restaurants in the area.

After visiting Seven Falls, we went for a late lunch and had a great experience. Our server, Jessica, was outstanding. Very friendly and personable. Food was bigger portions than expected and very good. Highly recommend the onion rings, super delicious.

Lunch for 3 with one glass of wine and one beer with tip was over $175! My $28 chicken sandwich was dry, but the fries were great. The trout was really good. Overall, not worth the price of the meal especially if you include the service. The atmosphere was great.

I didn't appreciate the 20% service charge added to my bill. The meal was already overpriced. The server told us he only received a small portion of the charge and suggested an additional tip. I'm glad to support staff but I prefer to determine the amount I tip. If management wants more profit they should be honest and raise prices on the menu instead of adding it to the bill.

Food and drinks were delicious. Our server Sydney was wonderful. It is such a relaxing atmosphere listening to the waterfall in the back ground. We treated ourselves on the last night of our vacation. Only reason I gave 4 stars, is because of the shuttle ride, having to pay $20 per person and then hike about 20 minutes to the restaurant. It is not easy to get to unless you are a guest at the hotel.

Expensive.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 2

Amazing

I have never been more disappointed in the lack of professionalism and absolute disregard for customer experience ever. We made a lunch reservation for a business meeting, and based on the details we read online it would be a shuttle ride from parking then a golf cart from the entrance to the restaurant after purchasing tickets to Seven Falls. Simple enough.

We were more interested in the views for this particular meeting than hiking, but for the local experience with our clients it seemed like a unique way to go about a lunch, so the $96 for getting into the park was just fine.

What they don’t explain on OpenTable or website is that the shuttle ride from Norris Penrose Arena is waiting in line for 30-45 minutes for a shuttle to show up, then a 15 minute ride up. We all tried to laugh it off - but puffing a “simple” solution to parking when it’s a chaotic fiasco is not great.

Once we arrived at the gate we walked in, bought our tickets, and waited for a golf cart from the gate to the restaurant. Here is where it all fell apart.

A golf cart came down the road about 10 minutes after our arrival and dropped off maps to the gatehouse, but said he didn’t have enough battery power to take 4 people to the restaurant. He drove away. Another 10 minutes later a shuttle pulled up from the Broadmoor (15 person shuttle) with 3 people on board. They got maps for the 3 people, but when we asked if they were our ride they said that the shuttle was for Broadboor guests only and drove off. They circled back 5 minutes later empty and PARKED at the turnabout by the gate and just sat. A couple minutes later a van with “1858” on the side pulled up - BUT WAIT - it was for a private party that had not yet arrived. Another 15 minutes goes by and a shuttle from the Broadmoor comes through the gate EMPTY to pick people up from the restaurant. They stopped and the crew at the gate said we had been waiting for a ride , but this shuttle driver said the same thing; Broadmoor guests only.

Keeping in mind this was a business meeting, and we were all dressed in business clothes - it was sunny and warm and we were getting pretty uncomfortable. We decided to leave and asked for our money back - but the kids working the gate didn’t know how to process a refund. We left, took a shuttle back to parking, got in our car and went downtown for lunch where we were seated immediately.

The follow up to all of this includes that after emailing Seven Falls and the Broadmoor about our experience, not a single person returned my call or email. I left a message with the restaurant as well. Crickets!

They got my $96 and seemed to be too busy to reply. The business meeting involved selecting a hotel for a convention and restaurant for an awards ceremony for some of our top tier partners. I can guarantee neither the Broadmoor nor the 1858 made the list.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1