We had lunch here as part of 1/2 day horse ride. If we had known how good it was we would have eaten here sooner and more often. I had the Buffalo Stew and it had great flavor for a stew. My wife had the Eagles Nest burger which was good, but our son ordered the Dakotah Dip which was incredible. We wanted to steal the other half of his sandwich which was huge, but he ate the whole thing. Our daughter had the macaroni and cheese with grilled chicken. Our trail guide had the buffalo quesadilla which was large enough for two meals. Service was a little slow at first as it was one of our servers first day, but he was very friendly and attentive and took good care of us. Jason the manager even checked in on us at one point which was nice. Compared to our experience with the buffet at the Custer Park Game Lodge buffet (dry over cooked meats) we would recommend going to Blue Bell Lodge for lunch. read more

Cloth napkins and prompt service push the dining area to a solid four. We tried the buffalo burger and buffalo quesadilla. Both provided the novelty of nibbling on an uncommon meat-- though now that I've been there, I've done that. Food was presented well, fairly priced and sitting on patio was more than fine. Servings were large--possibly could have shared. Park concessions have the luxury of no competition, but this place tried hard. And clean restrooms! read more

Cabins pricey but perfect. Rustic, but tons of amenities. Air conditioning, fridge, microwave, stovetop (we made pancakes!), plenty of chairs, table & chairs for eating, porch seating. Quiet, peaceful sleep. Saw wild turkeys. General Store & lodge nearby for dining & sundries, as well as souvenirs. Only drawback- Zero cell signal & internet in cabins. Have to go to lodge for service. But, it made it more peaceful!! read more

We have been staying in Custer State Park for the last week, we had lunch here and it was very good. I have eaten here in the past and didn't have the fondest of memories of the food, that has sure changed! The menu has been all redone and is much more upscale than before. The menu is rather meat heavy so if you are a Vegetarian there are few options that are for you, they did accommodate and hold the meat out of a meal to make it acceptable. The atmosphere is western and decorated with nice taste. The only knocks that I have against this place is the time that it took the server to wait on us. He was very inconsistent with the time that he would check on us, secondly the menu items were rather pricey for what you got for food, they could be a couple of dollars lower. Other than that it is a good place to eat and relax read more

We visited on our way to the Custer state park. Good location and the outside seats was comfortable. I like the atmosphere inside, too. The burger I ordered was tasty. read more

This review is for the Dining Room, not the Lodge. Blue Bell is easy to get to but still retains the perception of a quiet forest location. The interior has a nice, rustic atmosphere and decor. The animal trophy heads on the wall allows newbies to learn how to distinguish between the two main deer species in the area by ears and antlers alone. They offer dishes made with buffalo meat, along with traditional dishes. The cornbread was delicious. The buffalo meatloaf was tasty, but the buffalo stew was far too salty. The salad was mostly lettuce with no croutons, and the only salad dressing available was Ranch. The host was a bit abrupt and the server brought the check without asking if we want dessert, but in general it was a pleasant experience and we recommend this restaurant. This business participates in some kind of program for foreign workers and patrons make a game out of guessing from what country their server is from. read more

Food great, friendly and knowledgeable staff. Room clean and comfy. Great weekend retreat.

Loved our cabin but wouldn't give 2 cents for the dining room. Service so slow it's ridiculous. Had dinnet there the first night. Hot beef sandwich was so cold that skin was forming over the gravy. French dip just as bad. Sent food back but ot came out just as bad the second time... Microwaved, half hot half cold. Gave up at that point since we were coming up on the 2 hour mark and rest of family long finished with their meals. Offered free dessert but declined as we didn't want to wait another hour for it. Breakfast next day just as slow. Stayed four days, didn't eat there again. Cabin was good, kitchen pretty poorly equipped. Chuckwagon all it promised and more. read more

Loved the Blue Bell Lodge restaurant. Stopped for lunch after driving through Custer State Park. I had the pulled Buffalo with lodge homefried potatoes. Hubbie had a Buffalo burger and also the potatoes. The potatoes were like the homefried I love. Great flavor. My pulled Buffalo sandwich had BBQ sauce; really good. Hubbie said his burger was great; really good flavor. To finish off, we tried the Cinnamon Apple Crisp w/a scoop. So yummy. Big chunks of oatmeal crumble under throughout the apples. Ice cream was powdered with cinnamon. So glad we stopped. Great decor, friendly wait staff, cute bar with saddle topped stools. Loved it! read more

Blue Bell Lodge is good for what it is. We didn't expect extremely high quality fancy restaurant food. We came here as it was on our way passing through the park and is in quite a nice area of it. The staff was super friendly and our waitress was awesome. The food was good, no worse than we expected. My buffalo burger was actually cooked pretty decent. A lot better than I expected, it wasn't dry at all. I enjoyed the experience but it would be difficult choosing this over the State Game Lodge. read more

After a long afternoon of driving through the wilderness looking at Buffalo it was a pleasant surprise to come across the Blue Bell restaurant. Rustic atmosphere with Outstanding service. They started us out with corn bread which was outstanding. The kitchen was a little slow but the waiter was made up for with his wit and charm. The Sandwiches and salads were both fresh and delicious. I Don't know if I'll ever be in this area again.. but if you are I would highly suggest stopping in. !!! read more

Delicious meal! Generous portions. Great service...what else is there to say! Classy yet rustic and amazing outdoor patio views. Love this place! The BBQ buffalo Quesadilla was amazing! read more

I took a group of 8 friends visiting from out of state to dinner at Blue Bell Lodge on our last night in the Park. We were extremely disappointed. We didn't want appetizers but the waitress decided we needed the sausage & snake app. I thought it a little strange but things got worse. The bartender was the opposite of accommodating & the drinks were weak. It took forever for each course to arrive. There were only 2 tables in the dining room! The entrees came 2 hours after we arrived! The meals prepared in a skillet were over cooked. I called management the next day & they said they were short staffed in the kitchen. What was supposed to be a highlight turned out to be the most disappointing part of the trip. read more

Awesome food at a fair price.We had buffalo burgers and the buffalo stew and our food was just full of flavor and sooo tasty.The buffalo stew was one of the best I have ever had and the cornbread simply delicious.The atmosphere is wonderful- outdoors and indoors.We will definitely come back!!! read more

Eat here every year we visit the hills. Buffalo was delicious. The buffalo skillet was a favorite. And the cornbread. Great location when camping the park. read more

Beautiful rustic and Western atmosphere. Delicious food and reasonably priced. I had the Bison stew. Very tasty.

What an amazing place to eat after driving through Custer State Park. Service was excellent, we will definitely be back.

We had breakfast here not even 30 minutes ago, it was delicious! The venue is adorable and the food has soul. The service is a little slow, but it's nice to just slow down and enjoy the history of the Lodge. Give it a try! read more

Go into town! Service is sooo slow and the food takes an eternity to come out of the kitchen. The food itself was over cooked and dried out. The place itself is nice and woodsy but that's about the best of it. That's why we usually stick to chains. Lesson learned,again! Seriously, do yourself a favor and find a chain restaurant in Custer or Hill City. read more

I'm giving this 2 stars because of the service. The food was FANTASTIC! I had the pulled bison sandwich and my husband had the buffalo stew - best meal we had on our trip. However the service stunk - asked for a water refill twice with no luck. Our waitress seemed to be inconvenienced by our presence and was more interested in conversation at the bar. A shame because the food is awesome! read more

This review is only for the dining room. It is in the main building, which is rustic and charming. There are lots of deer and elk heads on the walls. Our waitress was Hannah, and she was excellent. My husband and I both had the fireside buffalo skillet with an added side salad. There was also corn bread with honey butter. We shared an apple crisp for dessert. All the food was very tasty. read more

Stopped at this place only because we were passing by...so glad we stopped! Beautiful log cabin with wild west decor. Nice selections on menu-we had a variety and it was all great. Our waitress was super friendly and went out of her way to take care of us. A great setting in a beautiful place. read more

We had reserved a camping cabin in Custer State Park during our recent road trip. I wasn't really sure what to expect when we got here. To our delight, it turned out to be a great experience! The lodge is very well maintained and the restaurant is a lot better than you'd expect from a state park. There were five of us, and we each had a different entree made from bison. My bison stew in a sourdough bowl was tasty. My wife had a bison burger. It was a little over-cooked. The BBQ bison brisket quesadilla my brother had was also delicious. And our friend had the bison meatloaf. All really tasty. No bison desserts unfortunately. Lol. There are also non bison foods too. It was a very casual and relaxed atmosphere. There was another large party just hanging out, having some drinks and chatting. The waiter was very friendly and patient, even though he was busy. We would definitely go back and spend more than one night the next time! read more

This is THE PLACE for dinner when staying in Custer State Park. Was camping in the park (but not cooking) and lucked out finding this lodge and its restaurant. Everything from grilled salmon to sirloin and bison steak were delicious. Spent a few hours one afternoon sitting and reading in their outdoor patio with my dog and enjoying wine and their spinach-artichoke dip....skip the tortilla chips and ask for extra veggies....a meal in itself. read more

Ate here this evening with my husband and kids. When we walked in, we were seated immediately, but the host didn't even bother to ask about booster chairs for my kids. The dining room was only about a third full, but the service was so slow it was excruciating. The food was ok. Nothing to write home about. read more

Nice place, really well kept old log structure. Food was good, reasonable prices, not great, but good for being in the park. BUT, when we got back from vacation and checked my VISA I found that they overcharged me $20 on a $29 bill. I spoke with them and they are going to credit my CC the $20. Typo by server? Server trying a fast one? Not sure, always reconcile your CC statements! read more

We stayed in the cabin for 4 nights. Loved the campground. The Blue Bell Lodge is another story. We stopped on our way back from a hike. As we entered, we asked if we could sit in the bar. The hostess told us "if you can find a seat." There was an empty table in the bar so the 7 of us sat there. After over 20 minutes of the bartender waiting on all the tables around us and just glaring at us a member of our party went to the bar and ordered our drinks. After we got them we decided we wanted some appetizers. Still, no one had come to wait on us although every table around us was getting waited on. I went to the bar to ask for menus and tell the bartender we would like to order some food. She gave me the menus and told me she would see what she could do. A few minutes later the blonde hostess came to our table and told us there had been a long wait for the table we took. We apologized and said we had asked when we came in if we could sit in the bar. Where we come from tables in the bar are part of the bar. She said she meant we could sit at the actual bar not at the tables. We again apologized and offered to leave. She said no, she would send a server over. After 30 more minutes, no server had come to our table so we left. Two members of our party decided to stay and eat at the bar. They were also going to get takeout for another member of our party. When the tried to order, they were told the kitchen was too backed up and the restaurant would not serve them. This would be bad enough, but we tried to go again the following night and it was just as bad. We tried to follow the rules this time. We made a reservation. Our table was ready for us when we got there. We sat at our table for 30 minutes and no one came to wait on us. The same bartender was on duty. She was visiting other tables but never came to us. A member of our party went to the host stand to complain. A gentleman I believe to be the manager came to our table and apologized and told us a server would be right over. After a short time a server finally came over. She took our drink order and brought it to the bar. More than 15 minutes passed and still no drinks. We didn't even have water. The bartender was washing dishes and waiting on other tables but not making our drinks. A different server actually went to the bar and asked if we were his table because he had passed by us and realized no one had helped us. The bartender told him we were taken care of. The manager who had come to our table came into the bar, saw what was going on, and went to the bartender to make sure our drinks were made. I would like to say that things improved after that but our server was awful. She was slow and lacked personality. There was no follow up to see if we needed anything else, no offer of desert, nothing. She simply dropped our check and left. As someone who works in the service industry, I can't believe any restaurant would treat patrons like this. We were 7 adults who would have visited this lodge several times but as a result we did not return. I realize the Blue Bell Lodge has a captive audience but I can assure you when we return to Custer we will not be visiting this place. read more

We ate at the dining room. The menu looked fantastic. We shared a rabbit and rattlesnake sausage plate that was really delicious. My wife had the Buffalo meatloaf which was very nicely done, the mashed potatoes were real and the mushroom gravy was excellent. I had the hot beef and it too was very good. What stood out over and above the excellent food was the remarkable service. Alex was our server, he had great energy and was constantly smiling. I would recommend this establishment to anyone and everyone. We will be back whether we are camping or just driving through. They have earned our repeat business. read more

LOVE the restaurant at Blue Bell Lodge!!! What a great find. We were staying in the area so had researched restaurant options in park. Stopped here cause served buffalo burger and were extremely pleased with the quality of food, service and ambiance!!! Mark was a great server and we enjoyed his recommendation of the South Dakota Dip sandwich....BEST we've ever had! Get the lodge potatoes with side of garlic mayo...yum!!! Came back the next day for lunch and again was amazing! Especially the apple crisp. Would HIGHLY recommend this restaurant! read more

Fabulous cabins in Custer State Park. We stayed in a one bedroom cabin. Plenty of room, very clean, and well decorated. We had neighbors, but did not feel crowded. Also did the half day horseback ride. If you have riding experience, definitely recommend that. Restaurant is very reasonable and food is good read more

We were here just over 3 years ago and it was fantastic. Today July 18th, 2016 not even close to being the same. I can say that the food was not horrible; it was just ok. Of note however was the seating hostess. She was about as unfriendly as they come. We felt like we were putting her out just coming in the door. Slow slow service!!! And there was only two other tables in the restaurant that had guests. Slow is ok if the food is really good. Unfortunately it wasn't. I'm sad that it isn't the place that it once was. Really sad because it's a beautiful place. read more

FOOD POISONING ALERT: DO NOT EAT AT THE BLUE BELL DINING ROOM IN CUSTER STATE PARK. On July 16 I ate the bison meatload and exactly 12 hours later came down with THE WORST case of food poisoning. Fluids coming out both ends. I passed out, fell on my face and lost my two front teeth. I've subsequently had surgery on my lip to remove the tooth fragments and have paid $2000 to replace my teeth. Left a message 2x for Jim Bob Layng, the restaurant manager, but he won't return my calls. Beware! read more

I highly recommend the "sleeping cabins" (with kitchenette, running water and electricity!). It was just perfect for our family. The cabin was very clean and comfortable -- plenty of room. We ended up in a handicap accessible cabin, which could have impacted the size of the kitchen. In our cabin, the sink and counter space were super-tiny. That said, we used the heck out of it! We cooked every day, which allowed us to eat healthier and cheaper. Most importantly, staying in this cabin put us right at Custer State Park. Thus, for four days we were able to see amazing sights without driving a ton of extra miles. We could literally just go 10 minutes down the road in any direction and find a great trail to hike or wildlife to ogle. Yay, Blue Bell! read more

I had lunch with 17 other women today at the Blue Bell Lodge Tatanka Restaurant. The service was good and the room they reserved for us was very nice. However, the food was not very good. I and several other women had the salad with grilled chicken. It contained a few pitiful pieces of chicken and lots of old, wilted greens, a few sliced grapes and some canned apples ( I think). Terrible. I picked out what was edible and left the rest. The salad bared no resemblance to the item described on the menu. They did also serve cornbread with honey butter so that helped to sate my appetite. Not worth $15 for a bad salad, iced tea and some cornbread though. I hoped for better. The restaurants have not been good since Phil Lampert left the park. Wish he would come back. read more

We had lunch in the dining room. Great service and great food! Decor is what one would expect for a lodge. Had picnic tables outside and a general store across the street. Will keep it on our revisit list for our next trip to the Hills. read more

I ate at this place several years ago and remember really liking it. However, this time - not so much. We had a group of 15 or so - and only one waiter. It took many, many minutes just to order drinks. By the time they were ordered and brought a couple at a time, the ones who got their drinks first were ready for a refill. Meanwhile, a few other staff members sat idly by, talking with each other. Our waiter was obviously overwhelmed and doing the best he could, but one waiter to 15 people is a poor ratio. Especially when others are around, doing nothing. (Just a note: the place was not packed. They were not short staffed. The staff just sat around, and they didn't appear to be on break.) Not only that, my well done burger was most certainly NOT well done. Fair amount of pink throughout. My friend's medium well was definitely red. I was impressed with our waiter's perseverance, but I was not impressed with anything else. read more