The service here is great. Our hostess was on it when it came to our drinks and coffee. After a long hike (about 7 hours), the meal was very comforting. We all enjoyed salad plates, the catfish was amazing, the chicken was on the dry side, but still tasted great. Desserts were very yummy too. Everything was clean, everyone there was friendly, and can't beat watching some cute squirrels while eating. read more

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SO! First time I've ever had a Hot Brown and enjoyed it. A friend and I split it and I'm glad we did, as it was a good sized helping! And it left room for dessert! I don't remember what the pie was called, but it was absolutely delicious. Just remembered that we also shared an appetizer of fried green tomatoes. The service was good and the ambiance was nice. Quiet and enjoyable. Reasonably priced too. read more

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Home cooked food was on the menu but we were there at end of season so the buffet was the only offering. It was ok. We were hungry and it was one of the closer places available. Wait staff was very pleasant. Beautiful view from the dining room. We weren't blown away but we weren't mad about it either. read more

My bf and I went here for dinner during our stay at the resort. Service was a tad slow due to rush hour but the staff was so friendly! The restaurant was clean and the menu had a lot of options. I ordered the grilled chicken breast meal which included 2 sides and was $12, added a second chicken breast for another $3 which was an incredible deal! For my side, I chose the green beans and potato salad, since they were out of mashed potatoes. The quality of the food was great and the chicken was cooked perfectly! Everything was fresh and delicious. Loved the view as well and how there were so many windows! Would come here again for sure! read more

My two siblings and our spouses met there for lunch. We had a great view of the treetops from our table. Our server Chris was delightful, and very attentive. The food was great, and our whole experience was very enjoyable. read more

We ate breakfast and lunch at the lodge and surprisingly we had great meals and good service. For lunch, two of us had all-you-can eat fried catfish. It came with two side choices and our other friend had the double burger with one side choice. The fish was hot and fresh with a peppery cornmeal crust. Coleslaw, steam vegetables and fried onion rings were delicious. We ordered a second round of fish and sides. Give the server about a 6 minute notice for more fish because the order is cooked fresh. The burger had two thick beef patties and was dressed with fresh lettuce, onions and tomatoes. It came with a pile of fresh fries. The next morning we had the complimentary breakfast bar which had hot biscuits, gravy, sausage links, and powder scrambled eggs. There was make your own waffles griddle and cereals, fresh fruit, individually wrapped pastries, bread and English muffins you could toast and yogurt, orange juice, milk in a fridge. Hot coffee and teas. Not a bad breakfast. Gravy and eggs were a little bland and if you like piping hot biscuits and sausage, there was a microwave to reheat. Overall it was a tasty and filling free breakfast if you stay in the State park lodge or cabins. The servers were friendly at both meals. Definitely eat there for breakfast lunch or dinner, especially if you are staying in the park. Prices for lunch was not bad and didn't have to leave the park property for a decent meal. read more

These chicken tenders- wow!! Yummy and filling. This is the best size plate I have received in a long time. Their fries are great as is their honey mustard, but their mixed vegetables were definitely a frozen mix with some seasoning on top - that was not so enjoyable. The path to the restaurant isn't the most obvious, but if you keep walking back you'll find it. The restaurant is simple with a nice window view. The server was very kind, but also felt a bit absent. You're definitely coming here for fuel and a great plate. Maybe don't plan on eating veggies, and you'll enjoy this place! read more

Very nice setting to sit and take in the beauty of the hillside and sky. Nice clean place typical of Ky State Park type read more

Sandstone Arches Restaurant - Kathy had the pork chop was pretty good but the vegetables were not hot enough. Service was very good. - American Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

We were seated by a window with a beautiful view. Birdhouses by every window. The food was very good. Our waitress was amazing. Very affordable. We will definitely go back! read more

I appreciate that this place is still open amidst the pandemic, and with all the restrictions they are still serving the costumers. The service was really good, our server was very attentive and friendly. The food was great! The fish and pork was perfect and delicious. However, the green beans was over cooked and it tasted funny- more like it has a meat flavor that I cannot identity. The wine was great! I just don't like that the server opened and poured the wine when she brought it on our table. I am just particular about my drinks, I like it better when it's presented to me before opening, and letting me taste the wine before putting me a full glass. I know this is not that kind of restaurant, but for wines regardless of the price I think that's the common protocol. I will set one back again to this place. Food was delicious and the place was clean. read more

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We drove from Winchester tonight to enjoy the "farm fresh to-table" buffet dinner. The service/waitress was excellent! The food was filling and satisfying, yet a little disappointing. The green beans and corn-on-the-cobb were the best. The mashed potatoes were very thick . The fried chicken was a little dry. The pork ribs were very dry. The meatloaf was too much filler. The cobbler dessert was mushy. All tasted OK, but not great. Will likely try again in a few months. read more

Service was adequate, overall slow time, so expected to see the server. The decor is state park lodge,functional,not fancy. The food wasn't great, green beans too salty to eat and mashed potatoes served cold. Had to send them back. The fried chicken was hot, not great, no real flavor. Also, the tea as thrown out while we were still eating( they were cleaning up) so no refills. Overall, find somewhere else to eat. read more

Had lunch today at the Sandstone Arches Restaurant inside Hemlock Lodge in the Natural Bridge State Resort Park. The restaurant has three vertical rows of tables if you look from the entrance to the rear. The middle row was left empty for distancing purposes, then tables were seated with one left empty between, beginning with the row next to the window wall. Our party appeared to be the first that was seated directly next to another party. Our server was friendly and attentive; all of the servers we've had here have been lovely. The food arrived quickly: a Kentucky Hot Brown, a fried catfish sandwich, and a veggie burger. The sandwiches came with a side, and we both chose French fries. All of the food was good, as usual, no complaints. What I like the most about this restaurant is the view. When you walk in, to the left is a window wall that overlooks the park, which is gorgeous, and they have placed bird feeders close by, too, so you're sure to see some birds and squirrels having a snack. As we entered the Lodge, there were signs that said wearing facial masks is required indoors, but most guests did not follow the rule in public areas of the Lodge. Inside the restaurant, the guests (obviously) were not wearing masks, and surprisingly, our server also never wore a mask. The server who seated us did wear a mask the entire time, but only over her mouth. A member of my party shared that Kentucky government employees who have been fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear masks indoors, and I believe anyone working at the Lodge is a government employee. I have not verified any of this information; just sharing some possible context. Pay a visit to the Hemlock Lodge if you are in the Natural Bridge / Red River Gorge area, even if it's only to have a look around. There is a seating area in the lobby where you can relax and enjoy that view, and the gift shop is nice, as well. read more

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Great staff and the catfish was the best I've ever had. It was cooked perfectly. The prices were great. You get to look out a wall of windows and watch the birds while you eat. Not sure I'll ever be that way again, but if I'm close, I will go out of my way to eat there again. read more

Honestly so convenient and a great value. We were so pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity of the food and the friendliness of the service. read more

Loved the cat fish and service was exceptional. Great food great view and atmosphere.

Annexed to the Natural Bridge State Park Resort, this restaurant is perfect for regaining those calories after an arduous day of hiking or paddling. The lighting was perfectly suited for a romantic date as well, with options to accommodate larger group sizes. I especially loved the prompt service and genuine hospitality from the waiters. I ordered the KY Hot Brown, which was a first for me, considering I'm a Belizean gal. It was savory, but perhaps had a little too much salt for me to bear. I loved their selection of appetizers such as the quesadillas which were very delicious! read more

Zero stars to the once a month seafood buffet. I've tried it twice. The first time, I thought it was a peak summer season fluke. After the second time, I came to grips with it's one of the worst dinning experiences I've ever had. I'm not sure why so many people gather here for such an overpriced, underwhelming experience. If it's about the crab legs, they can go to Lexington and find them every Friday night, at several of the local buffets. This past Friday, after the hour wait to be seated, our number was called and we were led to the first table. There we were eyeballed by the people hurding in, the ones waited for their number to be called, and but the ones who waited at the buffet line for their number to be called. The bar consisted of the salad options, a pan of corn and potatoes and the seafood options. The corn and potatoes were a sad rendition of the only hot vegetable options on a $25 per person buffet. I guess the price is because of the crab legs. Those were scarce, when they did replenish them, they were less then warm, not cooked properly, and very small. Again, disappointing, especially because of the wait and the price tag. read more

Sandstone Arches Restaurant - Easter buffet - American Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

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Only offered buffet service when we were there. We were told that was because the lodge was NOT full. That is unfair to those of us that choose to travel on less busy travel days. We do not like eating from a buffet. They are unsanitary. In Slade, Kentucky restaurants are closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but only other option was Miguel's Pizza. We gave the buffet a try and the food was horrible. Only dark meat fried chicken, ribs were gross, not even sure it was real meat, no gravy for the mashed potatoes. For $16.95 a person, we expected better quality food. Breakfast buffet wasn't any better. Fake scrambled eggs, overcooked biscuits, nothing had flavor, but, again, there are no other options in Slade. read more

This restaurant does NOT close at 3pm...so go try it out! It is wonderful , especially after a long day of hiking. We got the "all you can eat" and the portions were more than generous, lots of offers from the waitress for second and thirds, and the food was delicious! They are open until 4pm and then they open up again at 5pm for dinner. Prices are more than reasonable and the staff is super friendly. Great find! Hint...this restaurant is located inside of the Hemlock Lodge inside the Natural Bridge State Park. read more

This place should be higher rated than it is. The service and food were both phenomenal. We went in not expecting much due to the other Yelp reviews. The view was great, the food was really good (huge portions) and the service was excellent. read more

Very limited menu. The food was very good, service was fair. The location was pretty in beautiful mountains.

My husband and I visited the area during COVID-19 restrictions. The choices of restaurants were very limited. We stumbled on the lodge restaurant as we were passing through to hike. We thoroughly enjoyed our first visit and returned a second night for our anniversary dinner. The Kentucky Hot Brown was delicious and the Smokehouse sandwich was one of the better I've had at a non-BBQ restaurant. The staff was friendly and attentive. We enjoyed watching the hummingbirds and cardinals at the feeders outside the window, but the antics of the squirrels were the best. read more

You get gorgeous views for your yummy lunch. The Buffett is filled with really tasty fried chicken, hot brown casserole, and crunchy hush puppies. Cook knows what they are doing! Great place to start your day of hiking and exploring this gorgeous State Park. read more

We arrived at 4:30, seated by the window immediately, server was slow to appear but that was OK, we weren't in a hurry. My husband asked if they served alcohol, her immediate response was "Yes but I can't bring you a menu or serve it", my husband responded "Ok, we will wait for you to find someone to do that", she then said "Well, it's going to be a long wait, we are short staffed and it's about to get really busy here" (only 3 tables were seated at the time). At this point we say "Ok, we aren't in a rush". She again tells us she "can't serve us". We again say we want alcohol and don't mind waiting. About 10 minutes later a guy comes up with menus and takes our orders, he didn't seem to want to be bothered by us either (at this point we are talking about leaving) but he produces us lukewarm beers almost immediately so we decided to stay. The waitress who was so "busy" spent the entire time talking to her friend at the order area (she only had our table) but failed to come around more than once during our meal while the other server stayed busy. I had to go hunt down the guy at the front for a glass of wine and I had to have 2 separate checks, she took one but we had to pay for the other up front, that would not have been a big deal if he would have stopped talking to another employee the whole time he checked us out, we finally said "Are you done with us", he handed us our receipt without turning around to stop chatting. The "rush" our server informed us was coming was another 2 tables that arrived the hour we were there. The food was your standard greasy bar type food. My husband got the catfish, it was actually very good and so were the fries, slaw and hush puppies. I ordered the hamburger, it came out smaller than the bun so I had to rip a bunch of the bun off just to eat it (flavored ok though), my onion rings were soggy and had been sitting awhile which was really disappointing. All in all cheap decent food, service was meh, probably should have went up The Tavern next door. read more

I'm really not sure if I just visited this restaurant on a bad day or if today's visit is the norm. I visited this state resort for dinner after hiking down from natural bridge. I knew I was going to have an issue when I walked in and the dining area was dimly lit and No one was there to greet us and another couple was walking up to try to find a way to pay so that they could leave. I quickly notified that one of the waitress was noticeably upset and was bickering back and forth with several different employees. The special for the day was a buffet with deep fried foods. As I was being walked to my table I glanced at the buffet bar and it was mostly empty. Because of the emptiness of the buffet bar I chose to get the 12 oz ribeye with a baked potato and a salad bar. The salad bar was fresh with all the items you would except as well as real bacon bits and a yummy ranch dressing. It took a bit for my dinner to come out but When it did come out my baked potato was stone cold and my steak was cooked well done and didn't have any flavor. My opinion is that if you have to use A1 on a steak then it isn't any good. With this dinner I almost used a half bottle of A1. At any other restaurant I would have sent the food back but being that my waitress was visible mad I chose to just be happy with my meal. I was extremely unhappy with my dinner and I hope that this isn't how they usually handle their business. read more

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Good homemade style food. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Offers a buffet or menu of other option. Service was great. Drinks are $2 but free refills, felt that was a bit pricey. read more

Sandstone Arches Restaurant - American Near Me - Slade, Kentucky

Don't expect fine dining and you'll probably be satisfied. Maybe the best place near Slade but that's not saying much. Having cottage cheese as a side dish tells you what you want to know. But service is friendly and the views over the gorge are nice also. read more

This restaurant in the natural bridge state park is really inconsistent. We ate three meals here during our recent stay at the park. Dinner was barely edible. Overcooked food under a heart lamp. Even the salad bar wasn't fresh. Breakfast was good, but not great. The buffet seemed fresher than dinner and there was some very fresh fruit available. Lunch was the best. We stuck with the salad bar, which was much fresher than it was at dinner. My advice: check the bar before you commit. read more

My close friend and I visited the gorge in January 2017 and most restaurants we wanted to go to were not open during this time of year. We stopped in the Sandstone spot since we were crashing at the lodge for the night. They staff was awesome- so friendly, that warm Kentucky hospitality!! I had the jerk chicken and really enjoyed it! Since this is the down time of year we spoke to our waitress for a while and traded favorite places to hike ... what a great experience!!! Thank you!!! read more

The food was tasty but barely warm. Service was good but lukewarm fried chicken, bean soup, roasted potatoes et al is just not right. This was the Buffett. I have been here before and never experienced this. No explanation. read more

I was hesitant to try this when staying at the Lodge a couple weeks ago after reading all the recent reviews. But I had to post, because the food was very good...way better than I expected. We had a group of 6 of us and everyone was happy with our meal. We even went back the next night! I'm sure they're dealing with short staffing and that seemed to be most of the recent complaints on their Yelp reviews, but we had fast, friendly, attentive service both nights. The restaurant could use some updating to its decor but the food and service were both excellent and they use lots of Kentucky Proud products, so you know it is locally sourced. Definitely worth a meal (or two) if you're in the area! Recommend: my wife and dad both spoke highly of the portobello sandwich. Fried pickles had just the right amount of spice, catfish platter was delicious, salads were very fresh (maybe a tad heavy on the cheese), excellent club sandwich, grilled chicken had nice flavor and was very juicy (I went with cajun spiced which was tasty but not that spicy) read more

The Sandstone Arches restaurant serves tasty homestyle meals at reasonable prices in a bucolic setting. Occasionally they feature bluegrass bands. The menu features dishes typical of Kentucky, such as fried catfish in cornmeal batter, hush puppies, heavenly hash (a strange, but tasty salad with marshmallows not unlike the American Waldorf salad. It was here I sampled a popular, albeit strange Kentucky dish called Hot Brown. Hot Brown is an open-face sandwich/casserole made with layers of white bread topped with ham, Mornay cheese sauce made with American cheese, and strips of bacon. The whole lot tastes impeccably like the melted stuff that left on the wrapper of a bacon cheese burger. Delicious! And in Kentucky they've made a dish of it! Brilliant! I quite enjoyed the all you can eat salad bar and soup. At $5.95, it is a real bargain. read more

We ended up for a buffet brunch on a Saturday before our hikes. It was all home-style/soul-food and it was pretty good. Pretty good variety of food, unless you are vegetarian/vegan then it was limited. Service was good and was prompt. read more

Sandstone Arches Restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere and the panel of windows along the front of the lodge offers a beautiful view of the forest. Since the lodge is built on a hillside, the restaurant windows are almost at the level of the forest canopy, so you are looking into the treetops as you enjoy your meal. There is a menu, but the two times I have eaten there, the buffet has looked so appetizing that I ordered the buffet. The buffet is not huge, but there are soups, salad fixings, and a variety of very well prepared main course options. The dining area is clean, and the waiting staff is very attentive and professional. I do not recommend the ice cream here, but the blackberry cobbler is excellent, as are the dinner rolls. The natural bridge is only a short walk down a walkway, as well! read more

Don't expect fine dining! Good salad bar at the buffet. Service is slow, had to ask for refills.