The fOod was horrible. I ordered the special, which included prime rib, mash potatoes, green beans, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Everything was horrible. The only thing that was good was the bread & butter, enchilada soup and the customer service. Besides that the Thanksgiving special was disgusting. read more

Cattle Baron - Steakhouses Near Me - Ruidoso, New Mexico

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We came to the location- family of 5 to eat, was a little different then what I thought, the restaurant looked like it was once a great restaurant. 10 min wait was not bad but it was early, we decided on the special that was listed on the sunset special menu 9.99 Mon - Thurs starting at 3 - it was 3:10 so we were happy. Waiter came and said they are not offering it today, so why have it on the menu? The only special priced menu is not offered. Oh but he had a solution for us - we offer the dinner menu prices for 19.00 for the same thing we should be getting for 9.99. Food came and the kids said the chicken strips were good. The Mac and cheese was okay for the kids and well priced. However the sirloin I ordered was not the best I have ever had. Had like a fake smoke taste to it. My wife had the same thing and ordered it well done and it came med rare. Most of it went to waste - I guess what set off us on the wrong foot was the menu prices were high- and the only early sunset menu wasn't being offered because - well I have no known reason why? But I guess they wanted to charge us double... They get two stars for the kids menu~ but that is it! read more

This used to be our favorite steakhouse. Unfortunately this place is tired and falling apart. Salad bar was very good. Prime rib was very mediocre and almost had expired taste. Waiter was too busy cleaning up older tables and did nit give us the attention we needed. Will not return. read more

Quoted 45-hr, waited an hour and 15 before we left. We were "next" on the list but they couldn't seat us for kitchen back up and no server. So we couldn't even get salad bar. Hostesses were terrible and not helpful. Bartender couldn't follow the drink menu. Go anywhere else!!!!!!! read more

My husband and I were having trouble finding a restaurant that was open in Ruidoso. We had tried at least 7 places before happening upon this place. Honestly, we were looking for a Mexican restaurant that served good margaritas, but we had given up on that by then. We had to check it to see if it was actually open and to our surprise it was! We were seated promptly and welcomed warmly. Matthew our server assured us that his margarita would do the trick and he was right. He made it quite well as promised. We ordered our food and were served I. A timely fashion, hot rolls, fresh garden salads that we hand-picked and they fixed. Great job! Our entrees came out very timely. The hubby got a chicken fried steak which he gave a 2 thumbs-up. I received a blackened chicken with green Chile's and melted jalapeño cheese with a zucchini squash grilled side. My meal was outstanding- hot , fresh made and so tasty and satisfying. I highly recommend this place for having a nice supper that fills you up. We have enough left over for lunch. Signed, Happy Customers read more

Tried this place cause it said steak and seafood. The casear salad was watery, the chicken alfredo was watery, but the burger was good. The best thing there was the chicken wonton appetizers. read more

I've eaten here multiple times within the past few years. This was literally my favorite restaurant in Ruidoso, NM and my go to place for family reunions/celebrations. It's always been my #1 spot until today. I don't recommend it at all now nor would I come here ever again after this horrible experience: I came here today with my family to celebrate my youngest brother's birthday on top of the labor day holiday. Everything was fine starting off but as time progressed it slowly got worse and worse. First of all they had 0 complimentary bread with butter, no desert, and no salad bar. Their excuse was "Covid-19." So I let that slide but that was a disappointment. Then came the drinks. I ordered a Dr. Pepper and when I took my first sip I realized it had the most disgusting taste ever. Never in my life have I had a Dr. Pepper that tasted like that. It had a rancid flavor to it. Like some how it had spoiled or been altered. Then came the super long wait. We arrived at 12 o clock right when they opened up and the restaurant it self was less then half full. In reality there was less then that because of the Covid-19 restrictions. And even then it took them over an hour to finally give us our food. I saw other families getting served before us that arrived 30 mins+ after us. That is unacceptable. Then came the food. I ordered the pork rib entree (which has always been my favorite) plus a caesar salad and a baked potato. The caesar salad was fine but over drenched in salad dressing. I let that slide but what really p*ssed me off was the baked potato. For $23 I expected a "whole" baked potato not a "half" of a "baked potato." The chef clearly cut my baked potato in half and gave the other half away to someone else. If I'm paying $23 for my meal I expect a full baked potato period. To make matters worse I told the waitress I wanted everything with my baked potato meaning "butter" and "sour cream." She didn't give me any of that. That was the driest baked potato I've ever had. This is when I first realized this waitress was incompetent. The ribs were also cut down in portion size from previous visits. You'd imagine for $23 you'd be getting a "full rack" but instead they're giving you half a rack. There was also 0 complimentary sanitary hand wipes provided. Normally in most BBQ restaurants this is always customary and provided but here no. So the waitress was at fault for that. Refills. There were absolutely NO refills the entire time we were there. This waitress we had was absolutely TERRIBLE. She was probably the worst waitress I've ever had in my entire life. She was also no amateur because I've seen her working there previously for a year or more now. But today for who knows what reason she executed her job skills poorly. I don't know if she had an attitude or what but she needs to be fired. When our meal was practically over I asked the waitress if I could have several to go boxes. She left and then came back empty handed. She immediately took my mother's plate as well as my plate and put my plate on top of hers which ruined all of her left over food she had planned to put in a to go box. I immediately asked her what she was doing? And told her where's my to go box because I wanted to save my leftovers. And she said that she thought the to go box was for someone else. And I said no why would it be for someone else if I was the person that asked you for them to begin with? So she ruined my mother's food on top of almost ruining mine on top of forgetting to bring me any to go boxes. So unprofessional. Then she had the audacity to bring us those complimentary sanitary hand wipes when we're about to leave and say "I don't know if you need these but uh here they are." What do you mean you don't know? That should have been included regardless if we wanted them or not. Two people ordered ribs and you barely give them to us at the end? What is wrong with this waitress? Then after that she had the nerve to ask us if we wanted refills. When we're literally about to leave to pay our bill. We wanted refills like 50+ mins ago. So I don't know what was wrong with this waitress today but she clearly had something going on. She needs to be fired plain and simple. Afterwards we complained to the manager and told her the whole story. I've been here long enough to know who the owner is too. About 1 minute or less into our conversation with the manager the owner came over to listen to what we had to say but stayed quiet the entire time. The manager was semi-professional but what I didn't like was she tried to deflect part of the blame and blame it on "Covid-19" which had nothing to do with the poor service. She also said the reason why my drink tasted awful was because it was "out back." What the h*ll is that supposed to mean? Does that mean they're storing my Dr. Pepper outside in the sun or was it extremely old? We were given a full refund but even with a full refund we'll never be coming back. There's no excuse. read more

Terrible service! We were waiting an hour and a half when they would not seat us because the kitchen was backed up/no servers. Manager on site could not speak with us because she was on the phone. Ridiculous! Ruined my son-in-laws birthday! We will not be back & I would suggest you go at your own risk! read more

My wife ordered the salad bar for her main course. At $13.95 it was $4 more than K-Bob's, and had much less to offer. She was quite disappointed. She also felt the rolls that came with the meal were tasteless. I ordered the French Dip Sandwich ($13.95) + the salad bar ($4.95 extra). The sandwich was the worst French Dip I have ever had! The meat was thick chunks as if they were the trimmed off parts of some steak, not sliced roast beef as I expected. It was quite chewy with quite a bit of gristle and other unchewable bits which I had to spit out. I couldn't finish it. Instead of a hard french roll, it was served in a soft, plain white bread type roll, which was unsuitable for dipping in the sauce as it quickly came apart when dipped. We will not go back. read more

Very average steaks. They come with one side and the waiters don't notify you that they're actually "extra" as in extra $4 for a $22 steak. Service is attentive. Atmosphere is nice. What I was disappointed with was that they're enforcing not accepting vertical ID to order alcoholic beverages which seems ridiculous since if you're over 21 and you're vertical license hasn't expired you shouldn't NEED to get the horizontal one to order a drink. read more

We love Cattle Baron in Ruidoso! The food and drinks are wonderful! I had a BlackBerry Long Island Ice-T that was wonderful! Courtney had a margarita which she loved and Gary enjoyed his steak and Ice-T We also enjoyed our steaks they were cooked and seasoned perfectly! And as always the salad bar was delicious!! Our waitress was very attentive and sweet this is a wonderful place to have a nice dinner you won't be disappointed I promise read more

had the steak with baked potato. potato foil was hot, but the potato was cold. steak was just o.k. if you want a pepper or jalepeno with your meal, stop by the grocery store and buy a couple for a dime before you go to the restaurant. they charge you $3.25 for each pepper. read more

I really like the Castle Baron's salad bar. Most of our party of 6 had the soup & salad. The soups were great! One of our party ordered the salmon which came very rare and they couldn't eat it but when we talked to the manager he removed it from the bill & offered to replace it. Handled the whole thing well. Service was good but not great. read more

Came through Ruidosa on the the way to kids. Decided to eat here. Wait staff was excellent. Salad bar was good. Steaks mm not so much. I had ribeye that was cold and lots of gristle. Wife had had prime rib same thing. I guess just poor meat. read more

Our waitress MJ was amazing!! We had a group of 9 and not a single glass went empty! She was a lot of fun and we will probably ask for her the next time we go! Steak was perfect! Out of our 9, 5 of us asked for steak medium rare and each steak was a perfect medium rare! We will eat there again!! read more

This is the second time we've been here and both times the food and the service was excellent. The salad bar was outstanding, great spread, everything was fresh and kept cold. The prime rib was cooked and tasted just right and the mashed potatoes were fresh (not instant ). I definitely would recommend. read more

Parking lot was a good way to enjoy great food during covid. Wait staff was excellent. Food was amazing! Always a treat!

So many better options in town than this. Food is always average. Salad bar is great. This the place for people who fear trying new things, i.e. boring. read more

We have eaten here over the years and usually enjoy it. Yesterday, we just went for the salad bar and we both were pleased. My only criticism is that one of the wait staff needs to be tidying up and monitoring the salad bar as it was not taken care of. Serving yourself with something that is difficult to handle or slips, there will be things that need to be taken away or cleaned up with a cloth. I do think the prices have gone up but we enjoyed it and after having a lot of brisket in Cloudcroft the night before, all we wanted was something light and more healthy. read more

This restaurant looks like it was great in its heyday but it is very tired and worn out now. It desperately needs to be updated if for no other reason than to get it clean again. And, unfortunately, the food has quit being a focus since the days when a friend who had recommended it was there four years earlier. The New York strip was thin and cooked well done, the salmon was under cooked and the bacon-wrapped stuffed shrimp was cold and amazingly tasted awful. The salad bar was good and the waitress did an adequate job, however. If you're an owner or manager reading this, please look at the restaurant from a newcomer's eyes and pay attention to the details, including cleanliness and quality cooking. read more

Ate at Farleys the other night. Great food in a fun atmosphere. Enjoyed all the TVs around the restaurant as it was easy to watch the Cowboys game while eating dinner with my family. read more

It turn out to be bad decision to eat here yesterday. Sense 4am I been spending my time in a restroom severe food poisoning. Wife and I are both sick. Will probably reach out to Health department Monday to get this restaurant fix, sense normally they are good chain. I do not look forward in driving 6 hours till home with this stomach issue. Wife and I both shared our entrees, ribeye and chicken rotisserie. Yes I am writing this from one restrooms I had to quickly pull into read more

I always take the time to read reviews both positive & negative to help gather an opinion on whether or not to go to a restaraunt. I usually start with the negative first & then move to the positive..... This time I stopped after the bad reviews & didn't pursue going to Cattle Baron. I changed my mind later because I was craving some steak & decided to give them a try regardless of any pre-notion I may have had. I'm glad I changed my mind..... The service right off the bat was spot on!! From the host, server & floor managers everyone was attentive & willing to serve. Imagine that, a team that wants to serve will expect great service. What a concept!! The food was excellent! Cooked to perfection & brought out in a timely manner. There was a minor mistake that was corrected immediately. My advice for tourist & locals is to try this place out, you won't be disappointed. If you are, speak up! I'm sure they would be willing to make it right, just like they did for me. read more

Just go somewhere else. Well, okay, you twisted my arm; I will tell you more. We were in the mood for a steak and since we were had our two small kids in tow, we opted for this more "family friendly" steakhouse instead of just going somewhere nicer. They brought a decent loaf of bread, which seemed far more like a large roll from Golden Corral. They have a giant salad bar with a very large selection of toppings but with poor, wet, ice burg lettuce and other low quality ingredients, it wasn't appealing or tasty. Both my husband and I ordered the sirloin steak cooked medium. It came with a baked potato/fries/veggies and a salad bar or caesar salad for $19.95. Our steaks had okay flavor and were pretty good cuts of meat but they were overcooked--like close to well done instead of medium. We also had glasses of cabernet. The wine selection and pricing was fine and the pour was ample enough not to feel jilted. This place is totally forgettable. And for a $65 meal (2 adult entrees, a kids spaghetti, and two glasses of wine), it was not good enough. read more

Golden Corral has nothing on this place.This is a local chain restaurant (located in NM only). As far as dining options in Ruidoso, there are far better choices. Why the parking lot is always full for dinner is a mystery to us. For a mire 28 dollars you can have an tasteless piece of beef with a bland potato. What could be better, oh, a salad bar. Didn't they get rid of salad bars in the 90's? The only good thing on the salad bar was the cheese. Now to the wine, yes we order a bottle of pinot noir. It should have been sent back, but we choked it down and regretted it. The service was good, but sadly it could not make up for the tasteless food. read more

The overall experience was super quick and we were very let down. We were greeted by a hostess that acted like we were a big inconvenience to her day. We did get our food pretty quickly but that was the only positive thing about our experience. We both ordered the ribeyes with mashed potatoes. The steaks were VERY bland and we had to lay on the salt, pepper, and A1 sauce just to make it edible and the mashed potatoes were hard and tasted like plastic. You'd think that for a steakhouse, they would take pride in their beef. All this to say, we will not be going back. read more

This place is a must just for the salad bar! It's really all you need. I ordered my steak medium and it was cooked medium well so just a fair warning on ordering how you want your steak cooked. Two people in my party ordered asparagus as there side and it came out cold. They asked for it to be redone and had it come out a second time still cold. We did get a desert to share and it was delicious! read more

Cattle Baron - Steakhouses Near Me - Ruidoso, New Mexico

We enjoyed the expansive salad bar at Cattle Baron. The soup was delicious and the wide selection of salads was a huge hit with our group. The fresh ingredients of the build your own salad bar were awesome! Our waitress brought us fresh warm bread and soft butter which melted beautifully into each slice of bread, a perfect accompaniment to the soup and salad. It was a very pleasant dining experience. read more

Be sure to notice that the negative reviews are at least two years old. We were in Ruidoso Labor Day of 2012. Made a mad dash to Cattle Barons right after the All American race. Lovely bar with good service and drinks. Phenomenal salad bar with two soup of the day choices. Unusual take on vegetable soup with what I believe is chili powder. Large chunks of fresh veggies. Outstanding salad selection including some pasta salads that don't all taste alike. Whole party ordered ribeye steaks. Two out of three were great - one was a little on the thin side and, therefore, dried out more than the others but still had a great flavor. Generous baked potatoes, warm bread, outstanding (did I say OUTSTANDING) pecan pie for dessert. Limited wine list but some of everything. We're going back tonight for the monstrous chicken fried steak and more salad bar and pecan pie! read more

I ordered a medium rare prime rib, which is their specialty, is it not? 30 minutes later, my food arrived and I instantly noticed that it was medium well. The meat was completely dry and very well-done. I informed the waiter. 10 minutes later, the Assistant Manager comes over and informed me that they were out of medium rare. He was rude and unapologetic. First, it was only about 7:30 PM. How could they already be out of food? Second, did they just try to pass-off a different cut and hoped that I wouldn't notice? Third, my GF ordered some cheese sticks and 40 minutes later, she still has not received her meal. Cheese sticks!! They are not that hard to make, are they?! I tried to eat my prime rib but it was inedible. It was dry and had no flavor. I informed our waiter that I wanted to see the manager. 15 minutes later, the manager came over and apologized for the unfortunately evening. She offered to comp our dinner. What a deal!! My GF still had not received her cheese sticks!! We left the restaurant and ate at Denny's which was much better by comparison. Wow! This is suppose to be one of the classier place in Ruidoso? Think again! read more

We enjoyed a great dinner tonight with our family. Prices are reasonable and the food is fantastic. Everything is reasonably priced. Must haves were the appetizers! Try the bacon wrapped shrimp and sautéed mushrooms. read more

We have been coming to Cattle Baron for just over 30 years (we had our rehearsal dinner there, that's why I know this year is 30 years). Despite the negative reviews you may see the service and food was great for all six of us. Prime rib, kbob , rio pollo was all top notch. read more

For a supposed up end restaurant, I've had better steak at Applebee's, very very dry, and over cooked- I asked for a medium. My wife's chicken was just as bad as my steak, salad bar had dried out brown pieces of ice berg lettuce in it, just very basic overall in the salad bar. Ordered sautéed mushrooms, which never came out. Only good asset was the waiter was a very kind gentleman. read more

Have eaten here for year and each time it has gotten worse. This time the floor around the salad bar was so sticky it almost cause us to loose our shoes. Steak was over cooked and the wait time for the food was too long. Others in the group got cold food. Not going back!!! read more

This was our first time eating here and we enjoyed it. The service was quick. The salad bar is great and everything was fresh. Our food came out quickly and was very good. Our waitress was extremely sweet and helpful. She was very attentive and took time to ask us how our stay there was and where we were from. We will be back next time we're in the area. read more

We've come here several times in the last few months. One time, everything was perfect - great service, yummy food, etc. The last couple times were just OK, though. The service was wonderful - friendly, helpful, knowledgeable employees, but the food was inconsistent. The salmon plate was excellent, but the grilled chicken was so dry, it got stuck in my throat. The prime rib was overcooked and tough, but the sweet potato and other veggies were great! The last two visits were during the holidays and they were quite busy with many large groups, so I'm sure this was part of the problem. Then again, this is something they should prepare for, as the servers we spoke with said it was a common occurrence. read more

Pretty decent place. This part of town u won't find if u r a tourist like me. Good to have friends in the area. Huge salad bar, and the steak was good. It seems like a popular place, with the wait being about 30 minutes when we were there. read more

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED!!! My wife, 2-year-old, and I were extremely hungry and decided to stop in on a Saturday at 1 pm. Of the two "greeters" at the front, the younger woman assisted us. The usual "table or booth" & "highchair or booster seat" questions were answered. We were then led to a booth directly next to the entrance to the dirty dish staging area. There were more than enough empty tables & booths elsewhere, so I requested a different location. The young lady then let out an audible sigh of frustration, slammed down the silverware she had picked up from the table, snatched up the booster seat, and stomped to another table - directly next to the other entrance to the dirty dish staging area. She then slammed the booster seat into a chair, tossed the menus onto the table, turned around, and snidely muttered, "enjoy." I immediately told her we were leaving, to which she seemed perplexed. I then went to the front and spoke to the other woman greeting customers - she stated she was the manager. I told her about the younger woman's attitude problem and that we were leaving. No apology offered; she just said, "really?" WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED!!! read more

Great atmosphere. Great service. Awesome salad bar. Rib-eye was sub-par. Blackened catfish was pretty good. A little too expensive but a nice place to dine in Ruidoso. Jan 2010 read more

A name change to "salad baron" would make it more truthful, because how do you manage to ruin filet mignon. Nice staff ..however they should take more pride in cleanliness - frames and pictures where dirty. Finally ice cream that is rolled in Frosted Flakes is not called fried ice cream. So if you are in the mood for a salad ..this is what you will enjoy the most. That is all. read more