Double Arrow Resort

Service is a huge issue. Wish I could have tried some of the food discussed in other reviews, but never had the chance.

Arrived on the Sunday morning of Memorial Day weekend for breakfast. No excuse for being understaffed on the "kickoff to summer" holiday weekend. No one greeted us, no one took our name and we watched as two groups sat themselves and one other group that arrived well after we did was seated right in front of us as we waited at the vacant hostess podium. It was a truly baffling and horrendous experience - one of the worst customer service related experiences of my life.

I will never return, regardless of the reputation of the food, while the restaurant is under the current ownership. Apparently, the restaurant manager is owners' daughter, so I'm sure they are completely blind to her managerial inadequacies.

I'm rating soley on the dining experience.

For Seeley Lake this is the best place to dine. I have esten here about 5 or 6 times over the past few years. Sometimes it is 5 stars and other times it is 2 stars. The lamb has always been good, as well as the appatizers and salads which are usually huge. The beef and other game are hit or miss. The last time I had the buffalo kabob wich was honestly terrible but the lamb and ribeye were  good. the plating was very boring and not as impressive at all as the last time we ate there.

I likley would have given 4 stars but the service really needs some help. They have an extensive wine list which none of the servers seamed to have a clue about. I had one waitress actually tell me that the wine I was asking about was " its a red that taste like it has a little white wine mixed with it" after she said that I realised that I was on my own for picking out wine for everyone for there dinner. I am by no means an expert but when I ask a simple question I expect the server to have at least a little information. she also was very unsure about the menu when we asked if there was garlic in a few dishes adn she had no clue and was reluctant to go ask the chef until I told her that someone was allergic to it so we really needed to know the answer.

Overall its a hit or miss place and the servers really need some better training.  It really is the only decent place to eat in Seeley Lake.

For the restaurant: 5 stars. (We did not use any other parts of the resort)

The resort restaurant is open to the public, and with its current 2010 chief this is fine dining with a fine natural setting.  The outside patio with its view of mountains, plains, and golf course is both exhilarating and relaxing.  The tables inside are classy, but even then the decor is dominated by the natural sights coming through the windows.

This year the food is a match for the extraordinary physical beauty of the landscape.

The young chef, Matt Lenz, offers three menus: bar food, fine dining, and Tuesday - Thursdays, a pizza menu.  Wednesday night we were offered all three -- there are crossovers on the bar and fine dining, and the prices were the same both places.

We ordered bluepoint crab on corn fritters with cilantro pearls and smoked baby back ribs for appetizers.  Our mains included grilled shellfish brochettes for one team and rib eye wrapped around mushrooms, bacon, and bleu cheese.   Deserts included Banana's Foster (lit at tableside).

This is not a backwoods, meat and potatoes, selection. Yet, the execution of each dish was perfect.  Really.  

The shellfish kabob had a reasonable side lobster tail, three very large shrimp, and one or two large scallops.  The food looses heat quickly at this altitude, so by the end the fish was cold.  Any flaws would have shown up then, but the food was excellent quality, cooked uniformly, and delicious.  The rib eye eaters were equally impressed.

The wind from a near-by and possibly approaching thunderstorm frightened us off the patio to a table inside after the appetizers.  The staff, particularly our server Renee, were completely gracious and helpful with our move.  In fact, they paced our slow dinner exactly as we requested and provided very friendly, professional service throughout the night.  Thank you, folks!

Good. simple food is the best I expected in this small town where the attraction is nature not big-city fluffiness.  But, Double Arrow provided truly destination dining with excellent service.

One caution:  locals say that over the years the quality of the restaurant varies dramatically according to the quality of the chef.  These comments may be good only while Chef Lenz is in the kitchen.