The service was great, the view nice and relaxing and the food was awesome! The quiche was a large portion, moist and served pipping hot. The soup that comes with it (I had turkey rice) was very good. I substituted bread for corn bread as I love it...only very small negative as it was a little dense for me. Overall a wonderful choice and experience.
Review Source:Second time here, I really like this place. They seemed a bit overwhelmed/understaffed (it was a BUSY day on the mountain) but service was great and food was great! I had quiche with curried lentil soup and it was delicious. Dining companion had three pieces of pie...yep. I had a bite of each. Peach cobbler was my favorite but his was blueberry streudel. They have my second favorite pies I've ever had.
It's slightly expensive but when you factor in that they have to get everything from Tucson, and probably aren't nearly as busy during the week, plus everything is home made...well, yeah, it's going to have to be a bit expensive to stay in business. And we want them to stay in business.
Nice ambiance. Like a big wood ski lodge. Great view from the patio but we also had a great view from inside today. I want to go sometime when it's colder because they have a huge fireplace.
We started out at the competition in Summerhaven and we were rudely treated so we headed up to the IronDoor, very friendly service, Nick did an outstanding jobwaiting on several tables at once no still providing excellent service! The chili and cornbread are good but nothing compares to the pie! Worth the trip up for sure!
Review Source:Eat in Summerhaven if you like mediocre cookies, pizza, crepes. Â This is the place to eat. Â Known for chili, cornbread (awesome - Â you must partake), and pies (made by an employee), if you're lucky you might catch a glimpse of a family of wild turkeys (dinner, anyone?). Â Loved the large inset fireplace...classic.
Review Source:We drove up Mt. Lemmon to escape the summer heat and see about riding the lift we had heard about from friends. We were thrilled with a ride to the top of the ski run then grab some lunch. The Iron Door was what we found and it was great.
I believe our server was named Richard and I think he's the same guy others talk about as being funny & quirky. He was all of those things for us, too. Maybe a little slow on the service but, seriously, are you in a hurry if you're eating at the Iron Door?? We liked him.
The restaurant is straight out of Hot Tub Time Machine (the good days)- a cliche ski lodge with a huge hearth. The ambiance on the patio is the best-a mountain top, gentle breezes, hummingbirds & woodpeckers and everybody is really happy there enjoying the scene.
The food was really good. We all enjoyed our picks. Our order had a French Dip type sandwich, potato skins & quiche. They offer sweet potato fries and I didn't see burgers on the lunch menu. We also started with the bread & cheese plate which had melon slices & cucumber, too. My pick was the Southwest Quiche which had green chiles, a side of salsa melon & a cup of tomato bisque soup. Most of their offerings are cold-cuts or veggie delights. The quiche stood out to me as something I would not make myself but, otherwise the other menu things are familiar.
Sadly we were too full for pie. All-in-all the Iron Door was a fantastic end to our little road trip and I can't wait to go back again.
A wonderful surprise. Bratwurst good, home made applesauce GREAT. German potato salad good (and I normally hate the stuff); prices not bad considering this is one of the only games in town up there. The bread and cheese plate was really good, even had a kindof fondue type dipping bowl for the bread.
I expected a rip-off from a ski lodge kind of place but it worked out okay. Â They have a couple of good Paulaner and other beers worth trying though at 12 noon we passed on that.
Actually the only odd thing about the situation is that when we arrived the place was almost empty and the hostess sat us in just about the most undesirable spot in the place. Â When I asked to be moved to that "window table over there" the hostess got worried and said that the waiter would get mad as it wasn't in his section... I looked at her kinda dumbfounded and she directed us to another window seat on the other side. Â I didn't argue at that point.
First, understand this is a restaurant at the top of a 9,100 foot mountain. Â Most of the mountain is public land, the Mt. Lemmon National Forest. Â Anything they make and the workers they employ must be transported up that mountain, as the only private homes are in nearby Summerhaven. Â Houses in Summerhaven are very expensive, so not too many restaurant workers can afford them. Â
Because of this, there is a dollar premium paid. Â More expensive to run the restaurant means more expensive food. Â Also, let's face it, they're nearly the only game in town. Â Without them, you're buying hot dogs at the Summerhaven Mini Mart/Post Office for $5 each.
Atmosphere is very ski-lodge rustic, with some great views of the mountain valley and outdoor seating to boot. Â We were up there after ski season, so it was really not crowded.
Service - my, that cashier is legendary for her sourness, isn't she? Â She glared at us too. Â Really.
Once we were seated, the service was outstanding, and yes, the chili and cornbread are not to be missed. Â Very, very good. Â The hamburger was fine, nothing earth shattering. Â The cobbler is deadly good too.
One star off for Ms. Sourpuss. Â Otherwise, I'd recommend stopping in when you're up on top of the mountain.
We drove up the mountain to see the snow today, and had to make a pit stop for some lunch. Â We all decided to try the chili and cornbread, and we were not disapointed. Â The chili was thick, spicy and filling. Â I also tried the green chili quiche, which was pretty good, but a bit too fluffy. Â I prefer a denser quiche. Â Good flavor though. Â I looked longingly at their dessert special, blackberry cobbler, but decided against it. Â I looked pretty good though. Â Now to the prices. Â They are high. Â I realize that they are one of the the only restaurants on the mountain, and that they have to transport all of this food up from Tucson, but come on. Â $10 for a bowl of chili and a slab of cornbread? Â $10 for most sandwiches on the menu (although they do come with a cup of soup or chili). Â If the prices were a bit lower, I would have been more likely to come back.
Review Source:This is really the only place to sit down and have lunch or breakfast. We heard that the pie here was awesome so 10 of us decided to try it out. We arrived at 2:30 and at first we were told that we wouldn't get in before closing time, the wait was 45 minutes. Closing time is 4:30. I think from then on I knew that they didn't really want us there but we stayed nonetheless. As another reviewer noted once you get passed the hostess you are golden.
We waited quite a while before anyone came to the table but once we were recognized we were treated quite well. There are various pies and cakes on the menu and different salads and sandwiches too. Pie was good and the cake too. I just wish that they were more inviting.
Wow, what a riot this place was.
I don't think I've ever had an experience at a restaurant that took such a bizarre, unexpected, 180-degree turn as it did here.
We went here today for lunch with a group of 15. Now, there are basically two types of restaurants: the ones that welcome groups of 15 with open arms, and the ones who want you to die. I thought the Iron Door was going to be the latter, but it turned out all we had to do was get past the evil cash register troll that tried to keep us out.
As we walked in, a nice guy who worked there explained that they just finished a huge breakfast rush. We felt a little bad, but we tried to make it easy on them by sitting outdoors and sitting at separate tables. Just like a few unrelated carloads of people walked up at the same time, right? Then the harpy behind the register got wind of our plan and actually asked if we were sure we didn't want to wait an hour and go across the street to some festival the town was having. What? She began slamming things around, and muttering that the owner would never stand for this outrage, would surely say no to serving our group. Then she asked if we were the same group who had called earlier and been told no. The nice man intervened and said no, that had been a group of 44. Other workers started bustling around, all trying to calm the mistress of vitriol and get us seated. They finally overwhelmed/subdued her, and we were allowed in.
At this point we were all thinking this did not bode well.
However.
No sooner did we sit down than ice water came out, and some of the nicest people you've ever met politely and efficiently served all of us. Our server was really funny--a man who seemed fluent in several languages and quite pleased to have our business. The food was good--excellent, even. Try the Crash and Burn with German sides! I couldn't be happier with this part of the story.
When they brought all our checks out, they asked us to take them to the cashier ourselves to make things easier. No problem, as long as Ms. Personality didn't try to stab us with complimentary toothpicks. I walked my check over there and she rang it up without a word or even eye contact. Obviously she still wanted me to die but had been put into some kind of magical trance by someone who worked there who actually wanted our business.
It's good, really! You should go. I hope you can get past the door.
We came in at 2:30 on a summer Saturday-- not a super-busy time, although the server claimed (once we finally saw him) that they HAD been busy just moments before. From the time we walked in the door, it took 20 minutes to get seated and served a beer. Friendly enough but utterly incompetent service-- they know they're the only game in town. Can't comment in the food-- didn't even attempt to get any. Just don't come if you don't have a LOT of time in your hands.
Review Source:Awesome hot cider! And we ate mountain berry pie that was devine! We wanted to buy a whole pie, but at $25 bucks a pie it seemed a bit much. We got here 15 min to close, so didn't get to really get a look at the full menu, but I am sure everything is fairly tasty. The execution of the ski lodge atmosphere is  great. You sit around the fireplace which is sort of underneath the seating area, its pretty cool.
Review Source:I love this place!
The homemade apple cider is amazing, the place is truly charming, and the food is really good. True, it's a bit pricey, but it's kind of a tourist place, so that's to be expected. Plus, I think the old man server is fun. Try the chili, the potato pancakes, or the bratwurst plate - all the sandwiches are good, too!
Bonus points for the fireplace - it's so nice!
I was so happy to find that Iron Door actually has legit German plates on the menu. I got a plate of bratwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad, and this huge delicious corn bread that was really almost like a honey corn cake. The meal was very well-received.
A note of caution - the restaurant essentially caters to the Mt. Lemmon ski crowd, so expect them to only be open for lunch and expect shakier hours during the  warmer months. This is probably not a place to plan to go to on a drive up the mountain. By all means stop by to see if they're open, but don't plan your day around it.
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