I made a reservation at 7:15. Our waitress didn't approach us until 7:36. She rudely dropped off waters, bread, and plates. Again, we had to wait a long time to get our utensils to even begin enjoying the bread. We ordered our meal. Steak came out cold and rare. No explanation on why service was taking so long. No warm welcome from our waitress. Beware of extra charges when you want to split an item such as a salad. I'd expect more from a "fine dining" restaurant. read more

My family had a great experience at Wendell's. We made our reservation on Open Table and we were seated quickly and had great service. Food was amazing! We will definitely return next time we're in town. Thank you! read more

Wow, the best steak I've ever had. Maybe not the largest, but the flavor was fantastic. Actually came here two nights in a row, which is rare, but it was just so go we couldn't resist! The side dishes were delicious as well, and our server Joe was informative, knowledgeable and responsive. Wish I could eat here tomorrow too, but it's on to the next stop.... read more

What a lovely surprise! Yes, it's pricy but sometimes you get what you pay for. I went with my server's (Gabriel from El Paso) recommendation and my steak was amazing. Best of all, I asked that the curtains be lifted so we could enjoy the storm in the distance and they did it so amazing! read more

Wendell's - Steakhouses Near Me - Ruidoso, New Mexico

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Terrible sat 10mim no service don't waste your time people are Rude and not even worth the trip to this casino by far the worst I've been to. read more

It isn't cheap, but it was worth it. From start to finish we had a great meal. We both had the soup de jour, which we both remember as being very good, but can't remember what it was. Dang getting old sucks, 2 weeks and can't remember what I had for dinner. But the mains... My wife had the elk, which was great. I had the butter poached lobster, which was excellent. The wine list was very good. But there comes the missing star. The waiter came back with the wrong bottle, twice. Guess third try is the charm, because it took 3 tries to get the right bottle. The view is excellent from the wide windows. read more

We were excited about our 11:45 reservation for Thanksgiving dinner at Wendell's. Had we know what a pale sad representation of a holiday buffet we were about to face we would have left. Also, we did not know until the check arrived that the buffet price had gone from $48 to $68. The buffet was greatly scaled back protein wise and the side dishes were rather depressing. The mashed potatoes were gluey, the gravy was thin and the cornbread dressing was basically just a pile of cornbread. In the past the buffet was lavish with a huge prime rib roast, oysters on the half shell, ginormous king crab legs, lavender syrup for the waffles, etc. This was like the ghost of buffets past . . . We live here full time but cannot imagine returning . . . . . read more

We came here for a nice dinner for our anniversary, and we were really pleased with the food and the service at the restaurant. I got the guinea fowl, and my husband got the pork chops, both of which were delicious. A couple people at the neighboring table were being super disruptive (having some odd argument that was both entertaining and mood-killing), and our waitress was nice enough to offer free dessert because of it. I thought it was really nice of her to go above and beyond for us (also, creme brulee was delicious). My only gripe was that at the lounge (which unfortunately does not have its own Yelp page), the bartender was apparently sick and sniffly, wiping his nose with the back of his hand, wiping his nose with napkins, and then not washing his hands. This was pretty disgusting. I wish they had the sense to bring in someone else to take over for this guy, but oh well I guess. Hopefully this was just a one-time thing. read more

First off, there really is no other nice restaurant in the area so my expectations were low. However, they had a great wine list and excellent cocktails and the food was wonderful. My husband has a steak and I had the short rib. The view is stellar and the service was great too. They even worked with us to offer something for my daughter even without having a kids menu. We were pleasantly surprised and will eat here again during our vacation. read more

They have always always provided great service and have fantastic food which is both good quality and fresh. They have very consistent flavors that always satisfy. The mountain back drop is awesome in every sense of the word and I will remain a loyal customer for as long as we are able too. The only fix they could have would be the wait time for food is long if the restaurant is busy or not. read more

We dined at Wendell's for our 20th wedding anniversary dinner. The wine choices were excellent and our meals were superb. I look forward to dining again there soon. read more

Wendell's - Prime rib - Steakhouses Near Me - Ruidoso, New Mexico

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My husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary while staying at Inn of the Mountain Gods. We had the most delicious meal at Wendell's. We both ordered the ribeye. They were cooked to perfection. The service was outstanding. We most certainly will be returning, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a breathtaking view, delicious food, and great service! read more

Don't go here ! Have been coming to our place in Cedar Creek since 80's. Came out for our 10 year anniversary had not been to Wendell's since redid Inn o Mountain Gods figured would be nice. Oh my this is some sub-par mediocre fine dining. I could tell you about out how bad EVERYTHING was but one thing sticks in my mind. Escargot...... served in a small skillet in 1/2 inch or so of water, seriously, when they brought it out I did not know what to say. Have had Escargot many times never seen it come out like this. Looked repulsive, taste wise also bad chewy and tasteless. Bill was over $200. Ruined our 10 year anniversary dinner. Casino trap. read more

I don't know why this place had some many low star reviews? I did not have a reservation and was seated within 10 minutes. I started with the spinach salad was very good. Had a 12 oz Kobe flat iron steak and peas carrots. I ordered the steak rare and it came out rare. I would recommend this place to everyone. It's right inline with other steak house prices. If your staying Ruidoso it's a little way out from town. Dark roads but the view of the lake and the mountains were great. This is in the casino so a plus if you like to gamble! read more

Wendell's - 12 flat. Iron Kobe - Steakhouses Near Me - Ruidoso, New Mexico

Not worth the money. Poor service. My husband ordered the elk tenderloin and I had the steak and crab legs. The elk was under seasoned and so was the steak. I order my steak medium and he ordered the elk medium rare. The steak was borderline rare and the elk was medium well. The salads and bread were ok. The best part of the meal were the scalloped potatoes. For $150 I expect better food and service. It took our server about 30 min to come over after we finished eating. After 2 hours we were afraid to order dessert. Save your money and eat at the buffet, better food and service! read more

Wendell's - Steakhouses Near Me - Ruidoso, New Mexico

Incompetence at its finest. TRULY! Drove 4 hours for valentines dinner, hotel, and casino. Made reservations for 8:45 and was told once here that we had no reservation and we would not be sat. I will never come to this place again. Never. read more

Damn delicious food! I ordered the petite surf & turf. What can I say... I couldn't put the fork down! read more

Wendell's - Surf & turf! - Steakhouses Near Me - Ruidoso, New Mexico

We have gone to wendell's since it opened around 2004. The last few years it had been an okay experience, but we went recently last month and we were so impressed. We ended up going back and celebrating our anniversary just last weekend there. They have done such a turn around. The service was great, food was great, and a overall great experience. Thank you for the changes you have made to make this a great restaurant again. read more

Really should be 2 1/2 stars not 3 . over priced for what it is .prime Rib was of very poor quality and no flavor. The Yukon potatoes with cheese were so so good.wedge salad was very fresh.. Took for ever to get our check good thing we weren't in a hurry.;) read more

We stayed at Inn of The Mountain Gods over spring break and had a date night dinner at Wendall's. The atmosphere is nice and the restaurant has a beautiful view of the mountains. Service was good for us but we noticed a couple other tables were struggling. Our food was good but not great. The ribeye was very thin and the crab stuffed shrimp were delicious but a bit over cooked. We really enjoyed the jalapeño corn custard. All in all it was a good dinner. With a little more polish and attention to detail Wendell's could be great. read more

My wife and I came in on a Wednesday day night for dinner. The table setting was very nice and elegant. Our waiter was very attentive and constantly checking on us to make sure we were good. The food was amazing. I had the crab stuffed shrimp and was very impressed. My wife had the filet mignon which was juicy and great flavor. I highly recommend Wendells if you are ever at The Inn of the Mountain Gods! read more

We had a 630 reservation for 7 people. We had our order in by 7:00- at 8:00 the waiter came by finally & said the well done steak takes 45 min! Our food finally arrived at 815, one of the baked potatoes wasn't cooked, the filet mignon wasn't warm anymore, beef medallions were mediocre- for a steakhouse they are not providing quality dinner. I had the sea bass & others in our party had salmon which was tasty, but when you've waited that long it's not enjoyable! The quality is no longer there. The manager only offered to take 50% off the beef medallions! Our bill was over $600- very disappointing! We will not be going back!! read more

We stayed at Inn of the Mountain Gods in September and visited Wendell's for breakfast one day. My husband was tickled to find Eggs Benedict on the menu, and he was completely satisfied with them. I had an omelette and hash browns, and they were very good. Our server John was very attentive. A good breakfast and a great view - a very pleasant experience. read more

We have had reservations for 730 for a few days and we arrived to Wendells bar at 530.   We had drinks and tortilla soup then went to the casino for a little while.  We arrived at 713 for our reservations and we were told that we would have to wait until 730 to be seated because the busers were trying to catch up.  As I was going to wait in the waiting area a party of 4 walked up and said they didnt have reservations but wanted to eat dinner....she told them it would be a few minutes.   I went up to the hostess and ask her if they were going to seat people who did not have reservations before they seated us..... she said she would not take anymore walk ins.... then low and behold... she seated the party of 4 before us..... &  we had reservations!     We immediately left!!  This is completely unacceptable & ruined our Christmas Eve!....we had reservations for several days and we should not have been told to wait while people who just walked in with no reservations were seated before us!   We are locals and frequent Wendells often but we will not be back to this restaurant! read more

Nine women went to this restaurant to celebrate December birthdays. Seven women really enjoyed their lunch. Two women did not but that was because of what they ordered. They had no idea that Buffalo chicken would be spicy. For myself, I had the cchicken enchilada soup which was excellent. I would have liked a half sandwich to go with it but that was not available. Therefore I ordered the chicken Caesar salad. It was absolutely delicious. However way too much food for me. I would like to see a lunch menu that includes the soup and a half sandwich. The atmosphere at this restaurant is very nice. It's upscale and has a wonderful view of the lake and golf course. read more

Wendell's "Fine Dining"........well..... It's dining anyway.... I'm giving Wendell's 2 stars; 1 for convenience when staying at Inn of The Mountain Gods; and another for the fact that there ARE some quality waitstaff; unfortunately we didn't get one of them. I'm tempted to add another star just to accommodate the fact that we probably went in expecting too much from a hotel restaurant. My wife and I returned after our day on the nearby ski apache slopes to our reservation (made via opentable) at 8pm; Wendell's does have a very nice atmosphere; slightly dark; soft lighting; table lamps; romantic and relaxing for sure; however; my wife and I were seated at a very dark table, no overhead lighting; and after sitting for a few minutes in the dark our "waitress" arrived and the fun began. She threw the wine menu at us; and flopped our dinner menus down on top of our plates which still held out unfolded napkins; basically acting as if we; the customers; were so discourteous as to have not cleared the area for her presentation of the menus?? Once she finished flipping menus down she was courteous enough to light the table lamp which was set poorly and 1/4 as bright as the surrounding lamps.... We surveyed the wine menu; but decided to wait until we decided on a meal to order wine; this obviously further agitated our waitress; we ordered 1/2 dozen oysters on the half shell; which she flopped on the table 10 minutes later and bustled off before we could ask for crackers; lemon slices, horseradish???? As it came only with a brimming side of red sauce and the tiniest Tabasco bottle I've ever seen. We has watched a smiling young waitress in a table over preparing a table side ceaser salad; and we ordered this as well; unfortunately our inept waitress not only had nothing to say as she prepared it; she also did not so much as notice the untouched oysters; so by the time she finished the unsavory task of making our table side salad we had a full plate of salad and oysters; finally we were able to get the proper oyster accompaniments; enjoyed our salads; all was well. My wife decided on a soup for dinner route; and ordered tortilla soup; which was presented shabbily by the waitress; a recurring theme I know; but was tasty enough; while I had the prime rib; asparagus with hollandaise; and potToes au gratin; well I ordered the potatoes; I never received them. the prime rib was cooked perfectly in my opinion but was much cooler than I would have served; au jus was thrown on top rather than the typical serving bowl I'm accustomed too; but all in all the meat was tender and flavorful; asparagus was basically raw; and again hollandaise sauce was obviously not freshly prepared as it was caked atop the raw shoots of asparagus. The potatoes would likely have been equally mediocre but as I never received them I can't say; if waitstaff forgets an item and my meal has arrived I never ask for it; I do not enjoy sitting watching cold food get colder as I wait for a side; nor do I particularly want to eat a side after I've finished my meal. Further evidence of our waitress ability was when the bill arrived potatoes; which I asked to be taken off; duh; and rather than an "oh, I'm very sorry" we recieved an "oh yeah". She returned with bill and a garbled discussion of charging to room versus paying by cc; as my cc was in my hand?? Anyway she flopped the bill down and stormed off as I was mid sentence in asking for clarification.... To end; I saw other waitstaff who were very friendly, upbeat, attentive; and to the chefs defense I believe most of the issues with food (except raw asparagus) were likely attributable to orders sitting in window; poor understanding by waitress if what should be served with what; etc. If your staying at IOTMG, Wendell's is a convenient eatery; but arrive with hotel restaurant expectations; and if you find you've been given the blonde waitress ask for another server, or suffer through your meal as we did. read more

Don't waste your time because that's what happened to us today. Went for lunch and wasn't even crowded. The few tables that were seated before us were all waiting for their food. When 45 minutes passed after waiting for our omelette and two steak sandwiches, we got up and left. Waiter couldn't have cared less nor could the hostess. In fact, rudeness was all we were served. If I could give zero stars I would. read more

Had dinner three nights in a row here while staying at the Inn for skiing. Steak is aged and delicious. The Elk tenderloin was excellent. Everything was good, but the elk was my favorite. Friday night there was live music to go along with the mountain view and delicious dinner. read more

I can't talk about the food because they would not serve us. I travel all over the country with my kids and I am used to us dining in nice hotel restaurants. I was told upon arriving at hotel and after checking in that this restaurant was not taking anymore walk ups even though restaurant wasn't even full. I was told our only other option was sports bar which doesn't allow kids or room service. This was at 915 pm so I was floored! Hostesses was rude and condescending. I will be back to the area but not this place! They won't get a second chance with me! read more

This was the third visit over the last five years . The first two we enjoyed the service and food. This time the spinach salad was supposed to have raspberry topping and pickled onions ( had neither ).The elk was done well, but the sauce was tasteless ( compared to the previous times when it was great ). The crab stuffed shrimp was very fishy. Service was poor . It will be a very long time before we go back. read more

Very very very understaffed!!!! Went with a large party and was there for over 3 hours!! Chef special salmon was burnt .. And had to flag someone down for water, bread , drinks .. To bad grutity was included !! read more

I had a belated birthday dinner here (we cancelled the previous night because we were feeling ill from Subway on the drive down the night before.) No attitude for the cancellation and no attitude for the late res. There was very minimal pressure because the kitchen was closing, but it was handled in the most professional of ways. Our food was perfect and the server was funny and friendly. I had a great Oscar style fillet! If you like wine, I say get a bottle. The bottle prices are great (from a Santa Fe perspective.) If you visit the IMG, have at least one meal here. Thanks again! read more

I'm really torn on this review because the service was good and atmosphere is good and view is wonderful BUT ultimately it's about the food! I will say that we came here for dinner so I can't say much about other meals. The bread was a sourdough ciabatta (delicious and great springy texture) and that's where the good food stopped. We asked about a tasting menu that was online but server said they didn't have any (I was bugged because the menu had a nice medley of flavors). So we got these piñon crab wontons (6 of them) for $18 and I couldn't find/taste any crab in most of the wontons (the wontons from the buffet had more crab in them). Then I had scallops with a berry sauce and bok Choy and I was disappointed that the scallops didn't have much flavor and they were a stringy texture (I didn't bother finishing them). My spouse had the elk steak with mashed potatoes. The elk steak was good but mashed potatoes looked like they were seasoned but tasted bland. I don't plan on going back here...Quality does not match cost...not even close. read more

Awful service and food was cold. Don't waste your time and money.

Filet Mignon steaks were over cooked. Both ordered Medium rare. Table next to us had to send there's back also as it was over cooked. Asparagus was under cooked and the glaze sauce had zero flavor. For the quality and taste this meal should have cost 30 dollars not 120. Pretty disappointed. Chilis would have been a better option. read more

Great eggs Benedict. Fast service. Friendly staff. Amazing view. We had breakfast at 10:30 and it was less than half full. Coffee was also good. read more

Went there for my two year anniversary and our waiter Scott took great care of us! Great food and great service. Will be coming back!

Excellent service and great food. Hostess not that great she tried not seat us because of two large tables. There was at least 15 available tables. read more

I don't really have to many nice words to say about Wendell's besides our dinner turned into great laughs and people watching. As someone who grew up coming to ruidoso this was my first trip in 11 years. I came with 3 other people for valentines weekend... 1st they shortened them menu. Which I expected but they shortened it to some not so awesome cuts of meat. However, we managed. Upon sitting down, we made reservations a month in advance, we were seated in the most well lit table in view of the hostess station. Not so awesome when the rest of the restaurant wasn't full. The acoustic guitar player was the BEST part of the whole evening!!! And then we met our waitress Jennifer. She had absolutely NO personality with us, even though we were her age, sharp and rude is what we got. There was no veering from the menu and when we got the food... We'll... Steak was mostly fat, chicken Alfredo- boiled chicken with NO flavor Alfredo, the worst chicken Alfredo I've ever had. For the fanciest place in town.. They should have hired a better cook ... Or we might just have access to better food and service in houston... Idk I'll let you be the judge. read more

Wendell's - Our fatty steak on valentines day! - Steakhouses Near Me - Ruidoso, New Mexico

Great atmosphere. Food was seriously lacking for the price. I ordered the Rack of Lamb. It was not warm when it came out and I had send it back to get heated. Meat was basically solid fat with a little meat that had a gamey taste. It was very hard to eat it. The staff was very nice but you can tell the staff of seriously understaffed. Everything was slow. They did comp my meal. I had much better food in town. read more