Just wanted to get some coffee and a snack. Can't get anything unless you are paying to stay the night.

St. Nick's restaurant doesn't exist anymore lol. The hotel sets up a small breakfast buffet down in the old restaurant for guests. It's alright, the biscuits and gravy were good, muffins and waffles were good but scrambled eggs and sausage were kind of gross. Next time we stay we'll just go to the Denny's that's about 5 miles away. read more

We stumbled across S. Nick's when we were driving cross-country, and were taken by it enough to make a point of stopping in again the next time we were in the area. This restaurant is actually in the basement of a hotel, which strikes me as more than a little strange, but perhaps this was done so that it can continue to be the best kept secret in Santa Claus ;-) It's not always offered, but when it is they do a seriously excellent Sunday brunch buffet here!  The selection is outstanding, and the prices are very reasonable. read more

See all

This places was amazing! The food was elevated and the butter cake was out of this world. Something I never had before & completely loved. It was the perfect balance of sweetness. The street corn was not your typical Mexican corn it had a different flavor as in more creamy & doesn't have the string taste of cheese as a traditional Mexican corn would have. It was still delicious & I would definitely come here again! The Mexican flavors do have a twist to them as they aren't completely traditional. read more

See all

We visited off-season. We were the only ones in the restaurant. There's plenty of tables and a nice view. Clean. The draw during the season is, apparently, the buffet, which was not offered. I had the fillet. I can say it was the best fillet I've had for less than $20. Without the bourbon sauce, it had no taste. They did not have the sirloin because of a delivery problem. Catfish was OK. Vegetarian burger was OK, too. I believe the restaurant exists as an offshoot of room service of the hotel the restaurant is in. Nice, but nothing special. read more

St Nick's Restaurant - tables and chairs in a restaurant - New American Near Me - Santa Claus, Indiana

I'm a lunch regular since they have an all-you-can-eat soup and salad bar. The salad bar is always stocked and the lettuce and vegetables are always fresh. They have an excellent selection of dressings including no sugar/healthier options in packets which I swear by. Keep in mind this is your typical Southern Indiana salad bar which means more side salad options like potato, macaroni, coleslaw, etc. so don't be surprised when you have more of those options to choose from than the veggies. As for the service, I've come to know the employees and servers well but when I first started going they were always friendly, fast and accommodating to whatever I was in need of. Now I love them to death! The restaurant is good for larger groups or meetings as well. Always good to know in a small town. Full bar service as well. read more

See all

Dirty tables. No drink refills. Dirty and outdated restrooms. Couldn't locate waitress to pay for our bill. We were only customers in the place. Odd for a Saturday afternoon? read more

Santa Claus does not have too many options. We ended up here after the people at Frosty's wouldn't check the ingredients on their bread. So on that note, the staff was willing to check ingredients for me. Our waiter was friendly, but the service was quite slow, which we didn't quite understand since we were basically the only people there. We did not do the buffet, rather ordered from the menu. I ordered a burger with tots. And it was fine. I didn't have the highest expectations, but it filled me up so I don't really have any complaints! read more

Being a local, I can rate and review based on multiple visits and experiences. I find it rather difficult and not-quite-right to negatively rate and review an establishment based on a single experience. So, here goes. On almost every occasion the buffet has been excellent. Service has *always* been excellent and above average. The staff is helpful and is always willing to assist you. They keep the restaurant clean and the wait staff are all polite. I have overheard the staff giving tourists great tips on what to do in our area many times. The salad bar is usually stocked with fresh offerings and the soups are a great touch. It seems to me that many of the negative reviews are coming from tourists who come during very busy times and are expecting a big city experience in a quaint little town. St. Nick's is not a large restaurant and they do go the extra mile to try to keep the food fresh and the conversation going. Rather than drones or numbers, St. Nick's hires real people who real personable. Yes, I have been there when something wasn't superb, but everyone is allowed a little slack. They immediately offered me something different that was either not on the menu or just cooked or provided me a replacement. No biggie. I've not been to the bar, so I cannot comment on that, but I have heard great things and I've seen what they stock on the shelves. Mostly good stuff. My only real nitpick is the lack of fun or themed decor. It feels pretty bland down there... Oh, also, I am always annoyed when a place does not have free wireless access. The signal down there is too poor to utilise and mobile signal is almost nonexistent for crappy 'ole AT&T. read more

Here is my review in a nutshell. There is a full bar and a restaurant at St. Nick's Restaurant. I'll rate each separately. The bar is AMAZING!! Great, festive atmosphere. Reasonably priced, and bartender Larry is a great mixologist. I love hanging out here. Bar gets a great, social group of people. FUN! The restaurant is OK. Service is fair, food is marginal, decor is more-of-the-same over the top Christmas fare that the rest of the Hotel sports. Yes, the restaurant is downstairs, so there is not a lot of direct light. That said, folks need to realize that dining options in the general Santa Claus area are LIMITED. You can either drive 25 minutes northward to Jasper to get what you want, or you can get an OK meal at St. Nick''s. Need to set expectations accordingly. It's a few steps up from fast food, but it's not the Ritz Carlton. Bar = 5 stars Rest = 3 stars read more

It says on the website they're open for lunch dinner, but we got there and were told they only serve breakfast. When I brought it to their attention, they were very dismissive. read more

The service is excellent. I have been here three times and I would say it's hit or miss. The first time I thought everything was good. I had a hamburger from the buffet and I am not a hamburger person but this one was really good for some reason. The last visit I had some kind of a chicken breast with mashed potatoes and gravy and that was really good but the Salisbury steak (?) was not very good at all. The green beans were just the way I like them and my daughter loved the corn, tater tots & mini corn dogs. There is not a lot to choose from. The desert is chocolate pudding or the cobblers if you are a cobbler person which I am not. The salad bar was fresh and the ranch dressing is the homemade kind. There is also a full service bar which is a God send after spending the day chasing your kids around Holiday World. The kids meals are 4.95 while the adult meals are 10.95. I think that is very pricey for no more than you are offered for an adult meal. But I feel it's reasonable on the kids side. read more

Not exactly the best of food. Great service but everything else was either boxed mashed potatoes, stale ice tea, or long waits for food. Disappointing. read more

Not a good experience. Buffet food was lacking flavor and salad bar was lacking salad.

Not much to say good food good help thats it really nothing stand out simple cheap buffet food

This was one of the worst restaurants I have ever eaten at. Instant mashed potatoes, frozen food heated up. Nothing was fresh, and we were there at 5pm for dinner on a Saturday. Also, not good service. Our waitress sat us and we never saw her again until we asked for our check. No drink refills or anyone to clear our table. There was only 2 other families there. Just an overall bad experience and won't be going back. read more

The buffet was average, but the service wasn't great. I know it's a buffet, but they didn't even explain if menu items were availble too. We had no idea what the price was until we paid at the register. There was one sweet lady who came to our table to tell us about the special bread pudding available if we wanted it. The great news is you can take selfies with Santa outside the restaurant. read more

We went here for an early dinner last Friday (3 days before Christmas). I would call it the perfunctory hotel restaurant. It was a very limited buffet when we were there. I would imagine that they get more business when Holiday World is open, but we were the only ones there this time. We all left full. Service wasn't great, but it was satisfactory. None of our drinks were refilled, but I am sure they would have if we asked. I don't think you should have to ask, though. I doubt we will go back again. read more

A nice pleasant place to eat after a big day at Holiday World. Although there was a full menu upstairs that lured us in, once we were seated we were just told to "enjoy the buffet." So we did. It's classic country cooking: broccoli in cheese sauce, fried zucchini, barbeque, a salad bar that also includes chocolate pudding. Nothing was the least bit sophisticated but the food was all delicious and we stuffed ourselves happily for $11 per person. Both the waitstaff and the fellow (I assume the chef) tending the food at the buffet were very pleasant and attentive. With few options for eating in Santa Claus, I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone. read more

If you enjoy frozen dinners, then this is the place for you. The "buffet" consists of what tastes like a bunch of TV dinners thrown in warmers. Do yourself a favor and eat literally anything else. Service is good and waitstaff is nice, but food is just a huge no. read more

This was the worst value ever experienced. The "buffet" is downstairs in the basement, had dated decor, and one section had plastic tables and chairs. The food was horrible. What few selections available on the buffet were either empty or old looking. When I tapped the rolls, they were all hard. I found one that seemed not to be only to find that the bottom was rock hard and the top somewhat soft. They had a bin of rolls on the table labeled 'fish food". Every roll on the buffet should have been fish food. The salad portion of the buffet looked good but 1/2 of the items were empty and it wasn't even that busy when we were there. Service was excellent but that couldn't make up for the horrible food. Stay away from this place. Not sure if this is associated with Holiday World where everything is excellent. This was quit an unwelcomed surprise. Yuck! read more

We were very disappointed. While the service was great, the only option for food was a low quality buffet with few options. Since we already carried our stroller down the staircase, I felt awkward turning around. I wish we would have left though. The experience felt like attending a mediocre church potluck, down to the lack of decor. read more

Awful experience. Thank God we only ate here and didn't stay at their hotel. Saw the menu online and thought it sounded good. Big mistake. We should have turned around the second we walked in, place was a dump. There were six of us, five adults and a two year old. They only had a buffet when we arrived. We were told this was bec a use they can't handle the menu when it's busy(maybe you shouldn't have a restaurant then). The food was all frozen or instant garbage. We could barely eat anything. They tried to charge us $10.99 for this dad excuse for a meal. We complained and the manager didn't even have the guts to come face us. They knocked the price down to $6.59 a person which was still way too much. Avoid this place like the plague. read more

I wouldn't recommend eating here. The breakfast was "limited" which was fine, but the food didn't taste good at all. The bacon wasn't cooked and I asked for extra crispy. They forgot my hash browns then when they were brought to the table they were soggy, like microwaved. Then the coffee was awful, it was coffee flavored water, heavy on the water. It was way to much for that little bit of food. I feel sick after eating here. I won't ever go here again. read more

They have amazing waitstaff and the "head cook" Tina even told us how she got her mashed potatoes to be so thick and creamy all in all a great experience! read more

I gave it a "1" because there wasn't a "0". We were passing through and saw it, thought we'd try it....never again. It was around 1:00PM, a family of four, another couple and my party of 2 were the only ones in there. When the waitress finally came by, we ordered iced tea and the combo tray for an appetizer. The first sip of tea, I almost vomited, it was sour. She finally came back, I told her the tea was bad and asked for water. She left the tea on the table and brought us water. Appetizer: "cheese fries" - they were melded together to the point I had to chisel a big chunk off...inedible. Onion rings - practically dripping with grease and very soggy...inedible. Chicken strips - the breading was burnt and the chicken was very dry...barely edible once you removed the breading. Cheese sticks were edible but certainly not good. Main meal: cheeseburgers: buns were dry and stale and the meat was dry and didn't taste good. No condiments (mustard, Mayo, etc). By the time the waitress showed back up, I had eaten most of mine and my wife couldn't even finish hers. Very bad service and worse food. I'll never go back and I wouldn't advise anyone else too either. read more

Great buffet when they offer it. Weird for a hotel to have the restaurant in the basement but it's the best kept secret in St Claus I think when it comes to food! read more

Food was hot and fresh. Staff was friendly and very helpful. It's nothing fancy just a good old buffet that will fill you up for $11 an adult. We will be back. Make sure you stop and fees the fish. Ask your server about feeding the fish, very cool experience. read more

We didn't think it was awful. In fact we enjoyed the buffet, especially the peach and blackberry cobbler.

I visited this restaurant on a Sunday morning after church, thinking it would be a nice little place for the family to eat. As soon as I walked downstairs from the hotel lobby into the restaurant, I had by then already realized how my experience was going to be. First of all, it is quiet as a mouse and has the atmosphere of a grandmothers kitchen from the 1970's. Second, there were no menus and the only option was the buffet. Third, there were only eight items on the buffet. Yes, only eight. They were cold items that had definitely been from a can. If that hasn't persuaded you not to eat here yet, the $11 for the meal might scare you away considering what you are paying for. The only reason I am giving a 2 stars is because of the employees. They are very nice and I could tell that deep down inside, they know the restaurant is terrible. Although, they are only servers, so they can't really fix any of those issues. All in all, please do not eat here. I just want to save your family and your wallet from any issues. read more

Paid a lot to stay the hotel and the food here was not good along with the service! Definetley should have taken the drive to get good food and service! read more