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    Wendell's

    3.3 (136 reviews)
    PriceySteakhouses
    Open 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM

    Wendell's Photos

    WENDELL'S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Wendell's

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    Creme Burlee was fantastic!!! I don't usually have room for dessert, but couldn't resist
    Karen W.

    Best fine dining in the area.. Service was excellent, food was excellent and dessert was over the top!!! Highly recommend

    Jacob B.

    The service at this location was absolutely terrible. One of the worst experiences at a fine dining restaurant of my entire life. Our server in addition to being incredibly slow and barely checking on us throughout the night deposited a near empty dining room brought us the wrong orders and overcharged every single person at the table for items they did not order. It was either incompetence or a deliberate scam but it took so long to get our cheques that we decided just to pay and cut our losses (fitting for a casino restaurant). He also struggled to do basic math when we asked to split a menus item cost between two people. The food was extremely overpriced for what was served to us. The steak was fine but not at the value of the cost. The one redeeming factor was the Green Chili's Lobster bisque. One of the best things I'd ever eaten. Just wish the rest of the food and service had been to the same level. Only thing saving this from being a 1 star review.

    Ribeye 16oz

    We were so disappointed. For the price you think we would've got a good steak. We ordered a 16 ounce ribeye, medium. We got a rare steak and it was almost half grizzle and not chewable. We told the manager and he said ribeyes are fatty. There's a difference between fat and grizzle. One of the worst steaks we've had for $65-$75

    Chocolate cake

    We have been to Wendell's three times. The first time was amazing (2023), second time was not great ( March 2025) but this last time was beyond fantastic. We had the prime rib, Wagyu filet, elk tenderloin, broccolini and bacon, truffle macaroni and cheese and chocolate cake and creme brulee for dessert. The waitress Johnnie was fantastic and everything was delicious.

    Presentation is awful. What is this a snowman?
    Fetima W.

    This establishment is portraying themselves as fine dining but giving a subpar dining experience. What a disappointment. The ambiance is just ok and needs work to match what they charge. We were seated at a rocky table and asked to be moved. The man playing the guitar was a nice touch and much needed to add some type of elegance. Without him, you would be focused on the other people looking around for their food to come out. They are overcharging for their food that is no where near impressive. The only positive is it being located in the resort, but at this price, go somewhere else. They couldn't even get a chopped salad right. Drenched in ranch dressing and missing the ingredients. How does this happen? We waited 90min for unappetizing food. My husband's $65 steak was well done and had been overcooked. When you charge fine dining prices the expectations are much higher. There was an employee floating around to tables trying to help but it was giving "damage control." I would not go back here.

    Filet and Yukon mash

    Let me start by saying Gabriel was the saving grace for this place. If it weren't for him we would have walked out. We stood at the host stand for about 10 minutes watching employees walk past us without acknowledgment(incredibly disappointing considering the pride that clearly went into building this restaurant). Finally a young man acknowledged and sat us. Again, we sat at our table with no service for about 10 minutes while tables that got sat after us were given water, bread and their drink order taken. My husband spotted our normal server and went to ask if we could switch to his section, meanwhile our server(Johnnie) finally showed up and immediately asked "are you ready to order?" Mind you we hadn't even ordered drinks.....so we switched to Gabriels section and our service was immaculate the rest of the evening. Lobster and scallops were fantastic, the steak was tender and juicy just lacked flavor. The highlight was the raspberry caviar, it complimented the scallops very well! If you're going to come to Wendell's ask for Gabriel.

    Elk tenderloin
    Scott O.

    We ordered the chili relleno, Caesar salad, Elk tenderloin and butter poached lobster with scallops. $127. The Caesar came first. It was unusual in that a lot of the ingredients were separated from each other. That have us the chance to play around with the different tastes and combinations - something that we found to be rather enjoyable. Next was the chili relleno. I don't even know how they were able to fry it so crispy yet delicately. It was really great and the cheese square was extremely delicious. It was only sad to us that we didn't have a spicy chili. The Elk was surprisingly good as well. Our host Kory steared us to it and we were both glad. It was our first elk and it was amazing. It even made us feel like we had eaten something much healthier than a typical steak. The butter poached lobster with scallops was super awesome too! Not only was everything cooked to perfection but also the butter sauce was better than drawn butter. Just as awesome as our delicious meal was the awesome service we received from Kory.

    Lobster tail shrimp wagoo meat!
    Barbara G.

    Johnie did a great job as our server. We loved our scallops and steak and lobster! It was great! Our server Johnie was awesome! I had 2 glasses of Sauvignon Blanche wine! So yummy ! The lobster tail was so good! The scallops were excellent! The man playing the autistic guitar was fabulous! He played our wedding song! Thank you Wendell's Steak House! It was our anniversary and we loved our meal and experience!

    Cheyanne C.

    Food is always good. Our service was alright. Kinda disappointing for a $300 meal but all in all it was fine. The Wendell's Lounge on the other hand, the waitress was grumpy, her drinks reflected her attitude and the outside seating area is absolutely DISGUSTING. Cigars and cigarette butts scattered everywhere and not a single ash tray. There was one trash can with no bag. The cushions were in poor condition and not picked up and put up. Just tacky and gross. Drinks are not cheap there which I don't mind but at least have a nice atmosphere for your guests to enjoy the sun

    Classic Caesar Salad

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    7 months ago

    The food was Amazing and the service was even better! The staff were attentive and considerate. This was the best steak I've ever had.

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    6 months ago

    Steak, potato, and baked Alaska all wonderful. Waiter was attentive. Restaurant was clean and very well decorated.

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    2 years ago

    Service was good even while accommodating several large groups. Food was okay but I not memerable.

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    2 years ago

    Wendell's Lounge is nice. Beautiful view of sunset. Wed Wind Down is nice deal with music playing.

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    The Ranchers Steak & Seafood Restaurant

    The Ranchers Steak & Seafood Restaurant

    (264 reviews)

    $$$

    My wife and I celebrated our first anniversary on Saturday, March 21, 2026. We went to Ranchers in…read moreRuidoso. We were told that the wait time was 1.5 hours, and we decided to wait in the bar. Brianna, the amazing manager (we had met her on our previous visit) arranged to have us seated in the bar for dinner, no waiting! There we met the incredible Ed the Barman, who took care of us personally, both drinks and dinner. Ed made us the best martinis we had in years and even created a special cocktail for my wife. We had the onion rings as an appetizer, which were amazingly tasty. Among the four of us, we had shrimp cocktail, prime rib, sirloin, and filet mignon. We had a side of excellent grilled asparagus and my wife had a superb Caesar salad. Everything was delicious and cooked perfectly. For dessert, we enjoyed cheesecake and carrot cake, both top-notch. My father, who was from the East Coast and constantly in search of 'New York style' cheesecake, would have been delighted. For our family, Ranchers is the cream of the crop in Ruidoso. Brianna and Ed, along with other employees, turned our anniversary into a world-class celebration! Thank you, Brianna, Ed, and all the Ranchers staff. (If you go to see Ed, which we recommend, be sure to wear a Hawaiian shirt.)

    10/10 absolutely will be back!! My husband made reservations for us for Thanksgiving since it is…read morejust the two of us. We reserved seats in the bar area which was dimly lit and so quiet and intimate. The service was excellent and attentive without being overbearing. The food was - wow, wow, WOW!! We have never been here before so I'm not sure what the normal menu is - there was an option for a turkey & ham dish for Thanksgiving but we both opted for the ribeye. Hands down the best steak I have ever had. It was served with some delicious lightly baked/fried... I'm not sure .. maybe toasted ... potato that was mashed inside that was like a pillow of heaven, and also came with a perfectly roasted side of broccolini. We're definitely making reservations for Christmas! If you are looking for something less intimate, book the dining room - that seemed more boisterous and had more lighting than the bar area. Our meal, the service, the ambience - it was all absolutely perfect!! 10/10!!

    Rio Grande Grill & Tap Room - Carrot cake

    Rio Grande Grill & Tap Room

    (468 reviews)

    $$

    Everything here was great. The service was awesome and they have a great selection of beer on tap…read morewhich we loved. They do not appear to serve liquor though so be prepared for that. The homemade salsa was fantastic. It was so garlicky and had a good kick thank you for seasoning your food! And the burger, that was a backyard, 4th of July type burger. It was great!

    First off, been here before, the food was good, the beer was better than most in El Paso. But I'll…read morenever go back here or recommend it to anyone coming to Ruidoso. Called inquiring about reservations, told it's first come first serve and I should expect about a 15-20 min wait. Showed up, 3 adults w/ 3 kids at 5:30. Was told I was the 2nd name behind an 11 top, and should be able to be seated in 5 min due to a few tables just waiting to be cleared upstairs. 20 mins later I watched them clear a 6 top at the front door downstairs, then split it so they could seat two tables of 4 who had shown up after my family. After waiting another 10 min I asked about how long we were looking at, the woman at the door told me she would go upstairs and check on the table, she returned to inform me that I was now looking at probably 20 min before we could be seated. We left... I don't know if the elderly woman working as a hostess at the door is an owner, a wife, family friend, or simply a pity hire due to her old age, but she has no business working customer service at a restaurant. She lied to me and several other groups about wait times, and seating availability only to double down several times about how soon we will be seated. She obviously has zero idea about how food service works, customer service relations, or kitchen service/food service times. Side note: an obviously drunk group of six made their way in during my wait, the bartender had no issue serving them, fingers crossed they weren't driving home, but I doubt anyone is that lucky.

    Log Cabin - Best breakfast in the county!!

    Log Cabin

    (281 reviews)

    $$

    My Family & I had an amazing delicious breakfast best advice to give "Come hungry" lol the plates…read moreare big! Service was great as well.Our sever was attentive & kind. We felt welcomed highly recommend those visiting Ruidoso or just passing by to stop here!

    This restaurant had great reviews and it didn't disappoint. If I had to compare it, I'd say it's…read morevery similar to Cracker Barrel or Black Bear Diner. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and it was delicious. My daughters also ordered burgers and really enjoyed theirs. My son ordered fish (cod) and chips and thought it was decent. Hubby ordered an all meat scramble and enjoyed it though he didn't anticipate the sausage to be ground. A texture thing. My younger kiddos split a chicken strip plate and it was large enough. The waitress brought out an extra plate and that was appreciated. Me and my kiddos ordered juice and it was room temperature. Is that normal? Eh, I don't know. But we asked for a cup of ice on the side and they graciously brought it out to cool our beverages. You pay at the counter after the waiter brings you your receipt. Upon delivery of our receipt, the waitress informed us that the gratuity was not included. I found it a little tacky and like she was ensuring her tip. I always tip (even for poor service), so that put a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. It was a nice hearty meal before our hike. I would eat here again and probably order the burger without juice lol. There seems to be a consistent line out the door, so plan to wait some. They close at 2 pm, as they're only open for breakfast and lunch, so plan accordingly.

    Wendell's - steak - Updated May 2026

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