Always love stopping in at True Grit every time we come to Ridgway! We love their bison burger! Also had a great chicken sandwich with a side of fried okra this time around. read more

Small town America at its absolute best ! I'm writing this while sat in the True Grit Cafe, Ridgway. My table faces the kitchen door. I have NEVER seen such a positive sense of teamwork and hard work from a group of staff (and I've managed 1000+ groups of staff in large corporations in multi-national companies). These guys go the extra mile to ensure everyone is looked after. I salute you, and thanks ! read more

This place was yummy and priced well. I got a light beer, and the combo where you can get a bowl of green chili and half a turkey swiss thousand island sandwich. It was all very good! Mmm, the green chili was good, but very spicy. O and we got the fried pickles with ranch too and they were great. Fun place and yummy yummy yummy! read more

In the heart of downtown Ridgeway this bar/restaurant is popular with the tourist crowd especially the Baby Boomers who grew up on John Wayne movies and believing the old west was just like Hollywood portrayed it. That being said don't let this stop you from paying this place a visit. They check all the boxes for a good watering hole and a place to grab some tasty grub. Friendly staff? check Solid selection of local beers? check Tasty fresh food? check Our visit occurred during the annual Ride the Rockies Event which meant the restaurant was being over run by MAMILs (middle age men in lycra). I include myself in this group but at least had the decency to shower and change out of my cycling kit before bellying up to the bar. Needless to say the place was crowded and for larger parties the wait to get a table was probably in excess of an hour. Tammee (?), who I believe may have been one of the owners, was amazing. My wife and I watched from our bar stools as she acted like a conductor- directing staff, managing the wait list, pouring drinks and putting self entitled customers firmly but politely in their place. I can't wait to go back during a less busy time to really soak in the atmosphere as this place strikes me as a local gathering spot when tourist season isn't in full swing. read more

Had a grilled cheese and fries, they were just okay. However, the rest of my group said they enjoyed their meals! The crispy chicken salad and chicken finger sandwich. read more

We had the most amazing experience!!! Adam was a FABULOUS waiter!!! Thank you for the most fun evening! And the food was delicious! read more

Just not a lot to say about this place. Not bad not really good. So so food but excellent service. would give another try on another visit to the area. read more

Truly not good, they're trying and they are kind but the food needs to be better. They opened up a box of Sysc o food and put it on a plate. read more

We stop here every time on our way to Telluride and it's always been great. I pretty much always order their shrimp tacos with avocado and cilantro crema as they are quite tasty! I have also tried their burgers and their green chili. I love all the John Wayne memorabilia on their walls as it takes me back to when I was little and watched his movies. There's a cute shop next door that's got a lot of western wear. read more

Fun, John Wayne themed restaurant in cute town. Expansive drink menu with fun cocktails. Had the Pina Colorado ($10 horchata-type colada), and it was a white slushie with limited flavor, and I'm not sure if there was even any alcohol in it. Ordered the Rodeo beef burger, and it was pretty tasty. I personally would have liked more bbq sauce, but it was still good. Husband ordered the Southwest grilled chicken sandwich, and he said it was pretty good. I had the fried okra as a side, and it was decent. They forgot my son's ranch for his chicken strips (turned out he didn't like the ranch anyway - extra herbs in it that I liked, though). They lost stars for the expensive, non-impressive cocktails and the fact that I felt like the wait staff wasn't super motivated to talk to people. They weren't rude or anything, but weren't sociable. read more

Second time at True Grit, first time with my Fiance. When we walked in I was thankful we got sat so quickly since it looked busy. The host was such a nice southern man! He made me the best Mississippi sweet tea, was off to a great start. My guy ordered the fried pickles as our appetizers. When we got them, they looked a lil funky. I asked another waiter (I thought he was our waiter) if he felt they were burned and he said no, thats how they just look. I've never had them so I took a few more bites, then our waiter came and took the basket and apologized. He said they look burned and that some people want it like that, but in his opinion they are burned. I kinda felt dumb at that moment because I was eating burned food?? So he brought back out a new batch but forgot the ranch. He had taken off cuz the restaurant was busy. So we waited and waited until we could get his attention to get ranch. Basically the whole night went like that. If we wanted more soda or tea, we waited. Super busy restaurant, forgot something, we had to wait to eat, wait to get his attention. One thing that got me mad was the table beside us, was served their meal before us. We were sat 40 minutes before them, there was another party there when we ordered. The table next to us even ordered the same food as me. My guy said after he served that table the waiter saw our reaction to him serving them and he put his hands on his head. If there was a kitchen miscommunication, please come to us and tell us. Lastly, we were given the check. Went to sign the check. No pen. We waited to get our waiters attention. We just wanted to sign out check and leave at that point. read more

We really enjoyed this restaurant for lunch. I was a bit skeptical after reading the reviews, but we had a very yummy meal. Hubby had the catfish special, and I ordered the 1/2 turkey sandwich with homemade tomato basil soup. It was so delicious! Our server was super sweet and efficient. My husband read the plaque that explained that the movie "True Grit" was filmed here, hence all of the John Wayne memorabilia on the walls - it was interesting. We talked about going back while we are visiting and trying out the bison burgers. read more

We came here for our small town anniversary dinner because we didn't feel like driving to Ouray or Montrose. Read the bad reviews about the food & service but decided to give it a try anyway. We sat upstairs just inside the door so we could still see the great view & feel the fresh air. I had a mojito & hubby had an IPA. Both were good. Hubby had the pork chop special & I had the salmon. The waitress asked how I wanted the salmon cooked which was appreciated. I like it well done. Both were good meals. Then for dessert we split a piece of key lime pie. Overall a nice experience. Service & food were good & reasonably priced. I would come again if I was back in the area. read more

Great home style comfort food. Delicious burgers. Had dinner here on a Thursday night. Seated and served fast. Lots of taxidermy and of course John Wayne memorabilia. read more

True Grit Cafe - American Near Me - Ridgway, Colorado

Me and my family have been coming here as part of our family vacations for years. Its always been such a wonderful experience. Today has completely turned that around for us. My mom ordered the meat loaf, when she told the server that she didn't like it she was told she could order something else. The owner then came to ask my mom what was wrong with the meat loaf in a very aggressive manner. Me and my sister both ordered the 'Guac on the Wild Side' burger. We couldn't finish the burgers due to feeling sick within minutes. When this was brought to the owners attention she said it wasnt her responsibility. All I can say is I'm disappointed, and now I have food poisoning on my vacation. Thank you true grit :) read more

I'm vegan and this place used to have a few decent vegan options but now there's almost nothing for me to eat there. I'm real bummed because I used to look forward going to True Grit but now I won't. read more

Fun. Funky. Good bar food. Great selection of beverages. Friendly and efficient staff. Easy parking. Bit out of way for many. The place to go if you are in town. read more

If you love John Wayne, this is a great stop along the way. We came twice during our stay. I had the chicken fried steak which was awesome! It was a large portion, crisp and tasty breading with a good dose of pepper on the steak and the country gravy. The green beans with bacon and onions were standard restaurant fare, but tasty. Service the first night was superb! They refilled beverages, and quickly realized they needed to bring us a pitcher which they did. Second night, I had chicken fried chicken to shake things up. Flavor was great again, but portion was much smaller. Baked potato was good as well. Would highly recommend. We sat on the balcony outside in the evening air overlooking the community park with large cottonwoods. read more

Place was quite descent. A little bit busy. My food was good. I ordered catfish served with 2 sides and hush puppies. I really like it since the fish has thin batter and hush puppies are crunchy but soft inside and tasty. The only complain I have was we were waiting and waiting and not being acknowledge for a while. We were not sure if they are cleaning our table or just forgot about us. It felt a bit weird when waitresses and waiter walked around and not say have you been help yet read more

We tried this while we were in the area because we had heard good things and were sadly disappointed. The restaurant was not busy yet it took 10 minutes for our server come over to get our drink order and another 10 to get them to us. The overpriced food was lukewarm when it was delivered and my steak was not medium well as ordered but medium rare instead. Our waitress never asked if she could refill drinks despite empty glasses on the table and her "check in" after food was delivered was done in such a manner that we did not have a chance to answer before she walked away. She didn't check in again until she was bringing our check. read more

Party of 11-everything was superb! Kayla kept up with all of our request with ease. Meatloaf, nachos, burgers, potato soup, green Chile soup just to name a few. And the pie and bread pudding....wish this place was closer to our home. Can't say enough good things about our experience. Thank you again Kayla and crew! read more

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Good food. Friendly efficient server and a great location across from the city park. I had the BLT which was loaded with porcine tastiness and the wife had the vegan salad which was also excellent. The lemon basil salad dressing is so good that she ordered two small portions to go, the ultimate compliment from her! read more

While it looks like a tourist trap, the food was GREAT! Don't let any less than stellar reviews sway you. We ate dinner there on 7/30/2020 and were very impressed. My husband had the ticket sandwich and I had a burger (I don't remember which one). The staff were great too! read more

So glad we stopped at this quaint , charming cafe. Food was delicious and good service. Best tomato soup I have ever had. My husband's burger was amazing... locally sourced beef. Highly recommend. read more

Flew into Montrose for work and we decided to checkout Ridgeway. My boss is obsessed with True Grit and so it was natural that we went here for dinner so she could see where the original western had filmed. The True Grit Cafe has a nice, casual feel with a good variety of comfort food on the menu. The waitress we had was really sweet. The chicken fried steak was great--Classic, nice crunch on the batter with quality steak. The Mac & cheese had a thick texture and the roux-cheese was a bit gritty. The sugar snap peas were buttery and tender. We had queso/salsa/chips and onion rings for appetizers. Could do without the chips & dip and just go with the onion rings. Overall good experience! read more

True Grit Cafe - True Grit Cafe - American Near Me - Ridgway, Colorado

Had to eat at True Grit and we are so glad we did! Service was as exceptional as the burgers!

I'm long overdue writing this review from September 2021. The cafe was recommended by a friend who had a great experience and loved the decor. I came into town and wanted the same experience. The cafe is neatly decorated for sure. Unfortunately the food left much to be desired. The worst of it was my daughter had a BLT and there was a black piece of bacon sitting on the plate. My daughter lifted up the bread and the bacon was black in the sandwich as well. We got the waitress and she said "oh I was hoping only the piece on the plate was black" which blows my mind that she didn't see that and send it back immediately before it got to the table. It also blows my mind that the cooks would even send out burnt bacon. Otherwise the food was so so and disappointing. Maybe it was an off night between service and cooks but I will never go back to find out. read more

We arrived to True Grit on a Saturday night at 8:03pm, 57 minutes before they close per their posted hours. Mind you those hours are posted online and on the door. The restaurant was empty and I promptly asked the bartender if they were still serving food. She said the kitchen closed in 25 min; we promptly sat and were looking to order. Before we could even open a menu she said "what are you drinking" - I said we needed a minute and she snapped "the bar closes in 10min"!! I joked and said well we better order a few rounds. She asked for our IDs, as she should. I had mine - my friend left hers at the house. Again, I joked and said "oh, she's 40"! Which she is. Before I could suggest running back and grabbing it this rude waitress had a snarky reply which spurred us to get up and walk out. I find it rude and lazy to treat potential business this way. We ended up going to Full Tilt and had great service and food, in a much nicer atmosphere to boot. Oh and mind you... the last time my friend ate at True Grit she got sick. 2 for 2! Such a shame in a small town to not be able to rely on local establishments to provide quality service and products. read more

Definitely a cafe with local flavor. Service was great and we ate on the upstairs deck which overlooks the city park. Would go again.

Homestyle cooking with reasonable prices. This is why the locals come here to eat. A must do!

Wow. Host did not wear a mask and is not sure what personal space is. Service at a new level of terrible. Waited a very long time to be greeted by server. Ordered a appetizer. Never showed up. Ranch dressing basically dill in white sauce. Burger edible after adding my own salt and pepper and copious amounts of condiments. And on and on. Wow. read more

True Grit Cafe - American Near Me - Ridgway, Colorado

Great food I recommend the all American BLT the bacon is fantastic.I would also try the ice cream brownie sundae just amazing.

True Grit in Ridgeway, Colorado is a rustic place to get your country/western on before heading to Telluride. The food was good, homemade food and a great western atmosphere. The prices were fair and was a good place for lunch. The quirkiness of the interior is centered around the movie with John Wayne-True Grit. We stopped in for lunch on a Thursday of Christmas week. Service was somewhat slow. Menu has typical western/country and American-Mexican items. Prices are good and quality is good. There's lots of True Grit memorabilia to look at on the walls and it is located right downtown near the square. read more

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Excellent food and excellent staff all around. Fun atmosphere. Sierra D went above and beyond to make our first time here wonderful including recommending sights and trails to us with the help of the Mississippi fella who also was very attentive and welcoming ensuring we had a great experience. Had the club with Mac and cheese and was delicious my fiancé had the buffalo chicken strip sandwich and both were excellent Mac and cheese was super yum! read more

Oh my gosh, what a fun place! We came up to Ridgway from Durango to see where some of the John Wayne movie True Grit was filmed. Ridgway is such a nice little town with lots of info about the making of the movie. And this cafe is crammed with John Wayne and True Grit memorabilia. That said, it's also a great little small town cafe. Menu has typical western and American-mexican items. I had tacos and my hubby had chili. Both were excellent and huge portions. And homemade pie for dessert. Service was quick and friendly, and prices very reasonable. I recommend it with the caveat that it's fun and good but homey not fancy and may not be to everyone's taste. read more

True Grit Cafe - Map of True Grit movie locations. - American Near Me - Ridgway, Colorado

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Arrived after lunch rush hour and was promptly seated (for 2) upstairs and ordered drinks delivered. We then waited for 1-hour for the 2 burgers, and one order was incorrect. We left immediately without eating following the same people we arrived after over an hour before, but they (group of 5) ate their food. Speaking with who appeared to be the manager was not helpful as we only received a nonchalant attitude about the situation. read more

This is one of those places you just go for the experience of saying you went to the place where the western was filmed...la di da. It's a classic Colorado cowboy bar with servers with a bit of hometown attitude. I'd kind of expect this place to cater more to tourists, but it seems like more of a local hot spot. Vibe just wasn't very welcoming. Food was ok. My husband's steak was a bit overpriced and not spectacular. I had the fried fish special which was also not something to write home about. It could have just been an off night, but we'd likely skip this stop on our way through next time. There's a lot of solid restaurants popping up in Ridgeway, giving this place something to rise to the occasion for. read more

"Under Old Management" -- actual sign on the Grit (as the locals call it) when the old owners took the place back over from young buyers. The previous owners brought back the old menu, and even some of the previous wait staff, and brought it back up to snuff. It's basic American "comfort" food like burgers, steaks, meatloaf. But there are also some other goodies, including a decent green chile with pork, wraps, and a few Mexican entrees. A full bar rounds things out. The place is named after the John Wayne movie, which was filmed in and around Ouray County. Lots of Wayne memorabilia on the walls, plus an extensive corner of Dennis Weaver (Gunsmoke, McCloud) items -- he lived just outside town. Pretty much good down-home cookin', and a favorite of the locals. read more

Delightful experience and yummy lunch, too. Lunch special was just right for the trail boss and the little lady feasted on the cranberry salad with crispy chicken on top! read more

True Grit Cafe - Lunch at True Grit Cafe with John Wayne, pilgrim. - American Near Me - Ridgway, Colorado

Pretty cool restaurant in a beautiful town with a lot of history Service was great, fast and friendly Food as usual is subpar. Just kinda bland and Tastes like low quality ingredients read more