During the drive down from Aspen, my friend kept talking about rocky mountain oysters. Our trips are notorious for trying out nature's delicacies, such as guinea pig brains. Upon arrival in Gunnison, we were told Ol' Miner Steakhouse is the place to go to get the real deal.
Our waitress started us off with some beers. I'm a noob to New Belgium beers, but her suggestion of 1554 Black Ale based on my tastes was spot on. It's exactly what I needed on a chilly evening after driving all day.
The famous Rocky Mountain Oysters came out fairly quickly. They're thinly sliced, deep fried, and served with BBQ sauce. I was expecting something more wholesome, but a part of me is glad we didn't get that. They deep fry it to the point where it just tastes like a really thin pork chop. They're crunchy, but still maintain a decent flavor, especially when mixed with the sauce. It's not the crazy Fear Factor experience I was expecting, but at least I can now say I've had them.
For entree, I got the Pork Loin. It was pretty decently cooked and served with two side dishes. Not the best value for what you're paying, but it gets the job done. It's tough to make a pork chop that soft and juicy, and they pulled it off spot on.
For someone who just flew in from a major west coast city, you really get the small town diner feel here. Lots of locals, taxidermy galore, and plenty of local beer on tap. This is one of your limited dining options in Gunnison, and it doesn't fail.
First night in town we wandered into this little gem for a drink, stayed for dinner, and ate the remaining meals of our two-day visit here. Â Owners Sarah and Frank were the perfect hosts, making even Easterners feel welcome! Â Great food, real hospitality, and the chance to mingle with the locals ('cause they all eat here) made it a great experience. Â Bottom line: I'll be back.
Review Source:We visited the Ol Miner last weekend. Â Waited for what seemed to be a long time for a table even though their were multiple empty tables and only one other group waiting. Â Our waitress was catatonic. Â She maybe said 5 words to us, never asked to refill drinks, never asked if there was anything else she could bring us, never thanked us for our business. Â
The food was gross.  The gravy on top of my husband and daughter's mashed potatoes had coagulated to a  gel-like consistency.  My salmon looked and tasted like it sat under the heat lamp for far too long.  The salad bar was blah.  The dressings looked like they had been there for ages.  Just disgusting!
I dont know if our waitress was new, or this was an off day, or if this place just sucks, but I EASILY had one of the worst restaurant experiences of my entire life at this place.
It was my wife, my sister in law, our son and her daughter. We wait to be seated....why? I dunno, its a good questions though, because the place was almost empty and waitresses were just diddling around.
We get seated. There's no silverware. We have to ask for it. As far as I'm concerned, having to ask for eating utencils at a restaurant is a FAIL. Okay, so we finally get to order our food like 20 minutes after being seated and my sister in law finally gets her cup of coffee. Well, a half hour after ordering our food, my sister in law has to refill her own coffee because our waitress was MIA and every other server walking by didn't notice. 30 minutes after that, our food is brought out by a different waitress, probably because our waitress was afraid of us cause she had been giving us such poor service.
Food was awful, bland, gross, whatever, typical breakfast food prepared poorly would be the best way to describe it. Well, we then have to wait 20 minutes after were done eating for the check. Probably because our waitress was too busy sitting in the booth behind us talking to her friends to notice or care.
Never coming back here ever again. Literally, if I had the option to either be tortured or eat here, I would pick torture because it would be easier to handle than the bad food and service.
This place was okay. We stopped by for lunch on the 4th of July on our way out of Crested Butte. I got the grilled chicken sandwich, my dad got a blue cheese burger, my mom a Ruben sandwich, and my husband a side of toast.
The service was friendly (when we explained that my husband had altitude sickness and was therefore ordering toast she brought him a cup of ginger ale to make him feel better). We all enjoyed our food, although I did think that it took a little too long to come out. Granted, it was the 4th of July so maybe they were lightly staffed but I think we all got pretty simple things!
This place was clean, there were dead animal heads all over the wall though so maybe not the best place if you are with a vegetarian. I was expecting the bathrooms to be gross but actually they were clean and up kept.
If we were in the area and needed a lunch spot I would be down for eating here again, but I would also be up for trying somewhere else because there wasn't anything out of this world about the Ol Miner.
If you are traveling with an out-of-towner who thinks Rocky Mountain Oysters are the funniest thing ever or just know someone who likes these then you will be happy to know that they are on the menu and according to the menu "you will go nuts for them!"
We've eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner here in the past and never been particularly impressed, but this morning was especially disappointing. Â It's July 4th and many of Gunnison's breakfast spots are closed so Ol' Miner was pretty busy. Â The hostess said our wait for a table would only be 5-10 minutes--it was over 20. Â Then, after being seated, it was at least 10 minutes before we saw our server and she asked for our order before even offering coffee. Â Our food took over 35 minutes to arrive and was barely warm and not very good. Â Our server was not at all friendly and seemed annoyed to be there. Â We will not be back.
Review Source:I got the New York steak, my husband got the prime rib. They give you TONS of food, you get a trip to the salad bar, two sides, and your steak. Everything tasted amazing, it was really great and we both loved it. The total for two of us was $45, a little pricey for us but not bad for steak and it was tons of food for the price. Highly reccomended!
Review Source:The food is simply okay, but I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone who has even a shred of respect for women. Â The owner, who never served in the military, thinks it's perfectly okay to have a large decal of Jane Fonda's face placed in the one urinal in the men's room. Â There's nothing on the decal to indicate that it is Jane Fonda, so I felt compelled to ask who's face I was urinating on. Â Even though he was in diapers during Vietnam, he blames her for the mistreatment of veterans fifty years ago. Â Uh-huh . . . can you say, "repressed, self-loathing bathhouse patron?" Â I'm an honorably-discharged 82nd Airborne paratrooper, and I was not pleased. Â I'd give this place one star for the indigestion I suffered, but the food is honestly 2.5 to 3 stars and the staff shouldn't have to suffer because their boss is a misogynistic chickenhawk. Â By the way, Captain America, please change out the blue cheese dressing on your salad bar. Â It was so old it had that gelatinous-yellow Elmer's Glue look. Â And using real bacon bits instead of soy chips would be a nice touch. Â I know New Belgium Brewing gives you a discount to only serve their draft beer, but in the microbrew paradise that is Colorado it seems pretty lame. Â My rib eye was just so-so. Â The chocolate molten cake was delicious.
Review Source:I think I was expecting wagon wheels, fake dust and the look of the old west in this place. It sort of was that way, but looked much nicer and had a modern feel to it. It almost reminded me of a Chipotle restaurant because there was lots of metal and wood. I liked it much better than I thought I would. It was also very spacious.
I had trout. Hubby had ribs. Both entrees came with salad bar and two sides. The salad bar was decent. My trout was pretty good. Hubby ribs were funny. They were HUGE, like beef ribs, but they were definitely pork baby back ribs. They had a good smokey flavor and we liked them, but they seemed different from your average ribs. They were covered in sauce, too. If you don't like lots of sauce, be sure to ask for them dry with sauce on the side. (Their sauce is very sweet and slightly tangy.) We had the pineapple upsidedown cake and some ice cream for dessert. Both yummy.
Our server was great and we had a good time joking around with him.
The place was swamped when we walked in, but emptied out about a half hour later. I think everyone likes to eat at exactly the same time in this town!
On a recent road trip, a local shop owner told us to eat at the Ol' Miner Steakhouse on our way through Gunnison. The restaurant was right in middle of town so we thought we would give it a shot.
The food was okay. My french dip was decent, but the onion rings were just average. My friend had the grilled chicken sandwich and tomato beef soup.
The servers were friendly, but a little show with refills and requests even though the place was quiet (it was a weekday lunch though).
Decent place, but if I find myself in Gunnison again I might look for another place to eat for comparison.
Stopped by for lunch on a Thursday and we should have noticed the obvious red flag...the place was virtually empty. In fact, halfway through our meall, we were the only ones there.
I tried the meatball sub and it wasn't very good. My husband tried the mushroom and Swiss burger, mainly because of another reviewers suggestion who said "...by far the best that I've ever had!". He must not have had many burgers or we came on an off day because the burger was average. My son had the French Dip and that was good. Steak fries were average.
The decor was really cool, cabin like. Service was average but considering we were the only table one would expect at least average service.
*** Perspective of someone from Toronto that has heaps of restaurants
It was 6 o'clock and we were hungry. The previous night we ate quite a mediocre resto and didn't want to experience another dinner fail again. It was, after all, our last dinner in good ol' Gunnison. Situated in 'downtown' Gunnison, it's in a convenient location that is close to most hotels in the area. We were able to walk over from our hotel.
Imagine yourself going into a saloon. There are heaps of trophies on the wall; one could say that it's a taxidermist's heaven or PETA's hell. Their specialty are meat dishes; however, there is a salad/soup bar along with vegetarian options. They are open for business for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
There are daily specials that are reasonably priced. I ordered the trout with their lemon and capers sauce, which was quite good. Service was really good with the server (or one of her colleagues) frequently stopping by ensuring that our glasses of water were full.
Don't know when I'll be back again (isn't this part of a song... ?), but if I EVER find myself in Gunnison again, I'll have to have my dinners here.
YES!!! The mushroom and Swiss burger is by far the best that I've ever had! People may try to sway you and say that the Gunnisack's is better, but just do yourself a favor and try the Ol' Miner first.
And if you're trying to watch your figure/etc. the salad bar (whilst being small) is a force to be reckoned with. Prices are good and pretty reasonable when compared to other places; the Ol' Miner is absolutely my favorite restaurant in all if Colorado.
Three things I love about a restaurant: Full bar, big hunks 'o meat and local people present.
I ordered the prime rib. It was huge and good, not great but yummy. En route to the salad bar (part of the dinner), I eyed steaks at nearby tables and was disappointed that I order one. They really looked GOOD.
Our server was nice but she was incredibly slow. A warm bread loaf was supposed to be served with the salads but didn't come until after the meal was served. Her comment was, "they didn't bring your bread??". I saw no one responsible for our table except her, but whatever. We then waited another 10 minutes for the bread, which turned out to be a bit too doughy for our tastes. The check was another long wait though the price final price was good. The bartender brought my beer very quickly, and that was a definite plus.
So, in conclusion, I would suggest getting a biggo steak, because they looked delish and be patient if you happen to get the same server we did.
Nonetheless, I shall return.
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