Dunraven Inn

Best restaurant in Estes Park!!! Awesome food, awesome environment, awesome ownership and staff! Will definitely be back as soon as possible!

My wife and I have now visited the Dunraven on two separate, important occasions. Both times, we loved it. The atmosphere is wonderful. Love the dollar bills on the walls in the waiting/​bar area, and the shift to a more elegant tone in the dining area. The cocktails are delicious and creative and the food is traditional and amazing. We both ordered steak the first time and the second, I got the fettuccine alfredo. Both were delicious. We will return to celebrate our next major life event at the Dunraven.

A welcoming, warm atmosphere with an amazing staff and amazing food! Andy, the owner is always visible making sure every customer has an enjoyable experience. The appetizers are delicious, especially the artichoke cheese dip and the shrimp scampi! The meatballs are huge, steaks tender and seafood fresh. Our favorites are the Chicken Parm. and the Lord Dunraven. A trip to Estes wouldn’t be complete without a visit to The Dunraven!

Fifth time visiting The Dunraven Inn within the last year and once again, it didn’t disappoint. This was a pre-Valentine’s Day dinner and it was amazing. Amy had the NY strip with a lobster tail and steamed veggies… I had the baked lobster ziti. The steak was cooked perfectly and the lobster was as good as anything I’ve had in the east coast. And the ziti is my fav dish here. We finished it all off with some Bailey’s cheesecake and some chocolate cake… she also had some lemon desert drink made with vanilla ice cream and Absolut Citron… I had a mudslide. Service was impeccable as usual.

We had a fantastic dinner here @ Dunraven on New Years Eve.
We had no trouble getting a reservation. The staff was friendly and the food was delicious (scallops dinner, pesto shrimp and the caprese salad.
And they even had a few stories to share while we were on our way to the haunted Stanley Hotel.

WOW!!!
We even had a new waiter and he was beyond amazing!
We came here in November and life has gotten very busy but this place needs it’s 5 stars! It earned them.
The food was really good.
BUT it was our long haired male waiter that made it so wonderful. The customer service this guy oozed was impressive. He really made sure that we knew each and every option and helped us so much. He checked on us a ton but was never annoying.
It was a magical snowy night and this place made it even better. Happy anniversary to us!

This was recommended to us by a colleague. So my wife and I tried it out for our anniversary dinner! I booked it on open table for reservations they were very accommodating I strongly recommend reservations if you’re going the food was absolutely on point I have the prime rib my wife had the fillet both were very tasty and we will be coming back when we come to Estes Park again!

Great food! Lobster Ziti and my Husband had the spaghetti and meatballs! Both were great!

The dunraven is always a safe bet for a good Italian dinner.
Estes is not known for great food as most places cater to tourists and really don’t care if you come back. They know the next group will show up.
The Dunraven cares. Good food, cocktails and service.
We stop here every time in town!

Excellent food and service!
We went to the «Inn» for dinner after a long day of hiking at Rocky Mtn National Park. I ordered the pesto chicken and potato soup. The starter soup was great… it wasn’t too salty like many potato soups are.
For dinner, the chicken was cooked perfectly and juicy. The pesto sauce was great with the pasta. Pasta tasted fresh and made to order.
Finally, the service was great. It was a busy night for the restaurant and all the tables were full. We sat in the bar area where it was open seating. I would recommend calling or using the online reservation system. Ambiance was great and fun. It has dollar bills that many past customers left on the wall. Great for a family or romantic dinner.

Funky, be anything you want it to be restaurant. Reservations highly recommended!!! The name, Dunraven Inn, suggests old English or something — you drive about 2.5 miles out of town on YMCA road and come upon what appears to be a plain if not somewhat run down building flanked by parking lot.
We learned later the building was built in the 1920’s or 30’s near what was then an entrance to Rocky Mtn Nat. Park… the ceilings are low, the exposed dark wood beams and tartan plaid carpet scream Scottish or English Pub… you walk in through a single door, no double door with grand entrances — the front door looks like a back door kitchen entrance. You enter directly into the bar, again think old English but for the thousands of $ 1 bills affixed to the walls, ceiling, every exposed surface –with name and date posted written on each bill, a tradition going back to the early 1970’s.
The desk to be seated in the restaurant is in the bar, and once into the dining room the exposed dark beams, low ceiling, low light, tartan plaid carpet all contribute to the relaxed atmosphere. We were among the most dressed up — I had on jeans, a polo shirt, and casual jacket — my wife jeans and nice top — but we saw shorts and t-​shirts too. In spring I’m guessing prom dates go there, but also great for very casual. The guys busy seating everyone were dressed in jeans and button down shirts, neither of them tucked, and you wouldn’t have known they were staff but for the fact they were busy seating people.
Then once seated, you notice the wall ‘art’. Mona Lisa theme in caricature — for instance, one by us showed the normal picture of the Mona Lisa, and right next to that picture in the same frame was Mona Lisa as a blonde with push-​up bra and a lot of cleavage showing — the caption read: «Mona Lisa 24 hours after coming to America». Goofy, fun, interesting reading.
Food was excellent. I had the Chicken Parmesan, my wife had a filet with Béarnaise sauce, sautéed mushrooms. We ordered the artichoke dip for starters — very good, very cheesy and no spinach in it that we could tell, great crisp bread — a very good spread.
I had a Caesar salad which was good, my wife the spinach with strawberry champagne dressing with just the right amount of sweetness. Both portions were adequate if not a bit smaller than most restaurants, but in context of the full meal the portions were spot on.
Word of note to the restaurant — drop the oregano seasoning on the sautéed mushrooms. That combination is against nature! Sauté’ with sherry, yes. Or a nice wine or something, yes, but a horrible combination with a steak — if anything season the filet and not the ‘shrooms!
The chicken on the Chicken Parmesan was fork tender, and the marinara was NOT runny — not a drop of water on the plate from the pasta or marinara — and tasted great.
Dessert was a molten chocolate cake with ice cream — ok, not great, but good end to a meal. So with 1 water, 1 iced tea, 1 appetizer, 1 dessert, and 2 meals: $ 90 plus generous tip for the excellent, thoughtful, and proactive server and staff… we’d go again in a heart beat.

Another year and another visit to Estes Park and Dunraven Inn. Estes Park is always beautiful and as always Dunraven Inn is fantastic. My wife and I enjoyed another sumptuous meal last night. While the food is impressive the service and staff were equally spot on. A trip to Estes Park is always worthy of a trip to Dunraven Inn. See you next year!

This was a super find in Estes Park! The main dining room is upscale and still comfortable, and the front bar area is more casual, the walls and ceiling covered in guests’ dollar bills. It can be fun or romantic.
Next, service: excellent service. Plenty of bussers and a manager making the rounds to ensure guests are cared for. Excellent waitress, kind to my aging parents and attentive to what we needed for dinner.
Finally, food. Entrees come with soup or salad. The cream of tomato soup was good but not excellent, different from the standard — slightly thinner with chunks of potato. A dash or two of sherry would brighten it up. Nice but basic dinner salad. Bread sticks tasted of the frozen-​and-​reheated kind with an odd dipping oil, mediocre. You probably won’t want more than the one per person they bring out but they will refill it upon request.
Excellent choices on the wine list — we had a super Barbera d’asti for $ 30, and choices ranged from that modest price point to the very expensive.
Entrees: excellent across the board! My mom’s small portion of spaghetti and a large meatball was plenty with excellent flavor, well cooked. The halibut special was amazing — my dad got it with spaghetti as a side instead of baked potato. I had lasagna … Mmm … It was served piping hot with just the right amount of decadent meat sauce and cheese. Enough to share some bites around the table. Desserts looked good but we needed to call it a night and passed.
We were very happy with the Dunraven Inn. It was festive and delicious with great atmosphere and service! I can’t wait to come back with the husband. Fancy enough with high quality to feel special without totally breaking the bank. I think dinner was about $ 150 for all the items I mentioned here out the door. Lasagna was $ 15 and came with the cup of soup, for example.
Update: thanks to the management for their note — we used Unilocal,of course! Also, in town there was a printed map on which the restaurant was listed with an ad, and that was helpful to see location.

I used to have dreams about the four cheese Alfredo. But alas. A new recipe dashed those dreams. I guess the only good thing about that is now I’m free to order other favorites… oh except my backup meal of linguine and clam sauce is gone from the menu.
My family has been eating at the Dunraven for 20 years, and the new changes are not for the better. Too many tables lend themselves to a cramped, loud dining experience. I miss Dale, guys! Come back!
I could get over that if my favorite meal of all time still existed. Alas.
Still has the best house salad in the world. Get the creamy garlic. And the meatballs are out of this world.

This establishment is a decidedly mixed bag. First the positive: friendly servers and a great wine list. Also, despite waiting an hour for our main courses, the plates were nice and hot. The not so great: decidedly mediocre food and a long wait on a busy Sunday evening. Eggplant Parmesan was one slice of eggplant on a mound of spaghetti. My wife’s lasagna was good however. Soups and salad were also competent. Perhaps the kitchen was just overwhelmed by the high volume.
Would be willing to give this restaurant another shot on a weeknight when not so busy.

Omg… Authentic European food!!! We stopped by the Dunraven after it was recommended by some local of Estes park and it was delicious. Had the creamy chicken veggie soup for starters. It was creamy, full of tender chicken and veggies. For our entrees we got the lobster mac n cheese, scallops and spaghetti and meatballs a la carte. Let me start with the lobster mac n cheese. It came fresh out of the oven– creamy, cheesy deliciousness– not too heavy like most mac n cheese and there were big chunks of lobster claws. Simply amazing. Their Cesar salad had homemade croutons in it and the croutons were still warm– fresh out of the oven as well. Scallops were big and perfectly cooked in a white wine butter sauce. Whoever was in the kitchen knew what they were doing. Wish I could kiss the cook. I couldn’t even touch the spaghetti bc I was so full but it looked good as well. I couldn’t believe this hidden little gem in beautiful Estes Park. Great find!!! The décor was different. Dollar bills covering every inch of the walls– pretty cool. I absolutely love the Dunraven Inn and just the fact that it’s nestled in Estes Park makes it even better. Sometimes it’s hard to find a decent meal up there after a hike but this is the place to be!!! I’m drooling as I write this lol

Dunraven Inn was the excellent venue for my boyfriend’s birthday dinner.
The hostesses were sweet and acknowledged his birthday, Forest was an excellent server, and the food was top notch.
Prices were reasonable, considering the fact that living in LA, I expected the bill to be twice as high.
Great ambiance as well.

Wow! What a great little dinner spot. We drove 3 hours to spend a long weekend up in Windcliff and after the drive and unpacking, we stopped by Dunraven for dinner. We were pleasantly surprised with the food.
Sure, it’s not a Michelin rated restaurant but it was quality food at a fair price. I had the filet stuffed with garlic and gorgonzola and it was amazing. The steak was cooked perfectly at medium (which is more often than not, the main issue when I go out to eat) and the stuffing was a perfect pair. I also ordered a side of béarnaise sauce and it too was tasty. The wife ordered the prime rib and said it was cooked perfectly too.
If you are in estes park and are looking for some good Italian/​comfort food, check this place out!

I haven’t been to the Dunraven since I was a kid… about 20 years ago, but since The Boy and I were vacationing in Estes, I decided we needed to go there again to see if it was as good as I remembered.
I’m happy to report that it was actually BETTER than I remember. The meal started with the standard bread and oil/​vinegar. They added roasted garlic to the mix which was a nice touch. For dinner, we ordered lobster ziti and a grilled ribeye. The server talked me into a grilled Caesar salad and I am forever in her debt for doing so. It was hands down and without a doubt one of the best things I’ve ever eaten… and this is coming from someone who doesn’t even like salad! It was a romain heart cut in half and the charred on a grill, then topped with Caesar dressing, bacon, candied walnuts, and parmesan cheese. The char and smoky flavor the grilling imparted made the romaine very flavorful while still maintaining the crisp crunch and freshness of the lettuce. The bacon was frankly unecessary, that’s how good the grilled salad was!
The lobster ziti was fantastic as well — they did not skimp on the claw meat. The steak was perfectly cooked to order and seasoned well with a nice crunchy char on the outside.
The Boy ordered a meatball on the side and we both agreed — BEST MEATBALL EVER. It was very herby and had a little bit of a spicy kick on the backside and it was covered in a super thick, rich marinara sauce.
For dessert we ordered a Tiramisu to split, and it was also a win. Very boozy, just the way we like it!
We enjoyed our meal so much that we sacrificed trying a new dinner spot on the following evening in order to go back for more. Oh and we ordered extra meatballs to go.
We’ve decided we don’t want to wait until our next vacation to come back to Dunraven. The next time we want to have a little day trip, we’ll drive the two hours there and back. That’s how good the Dunraven is.

Solid Solid 3.5 — 4 star Italian eatery tucked along scenic highway 66 in on the outskirts of town. Love it!!!
This is another «set in time» unique eclectic places where the personality and history of the place shines through. If you are an Estes frequent visitor, you must try it!
They have plastered the walks with paper money: «the place with the dollar bills», y’all. A sight to behold, kind of in the tacky-​but-​fun department. Also, check out the Mona Lisa art around the dining room– she’s art bombing some of the greatest works of art– hilarious!
The food: The Fam shared the mussels 3 ways as a starter: excellent with (real) buttery breadsticks. Huge, surprisingly good!
We tried the Chicken Parm and the Lasagna, both excellent. Caesar salads a little soggy but great flavors. Chicken Piccata? Skip it: flavorless.
Dessert: we tried the house made Pana Cotta– it registered on the global scale of deliciousness! Covered with caramel and nuts, the chef got this one right!
A great meal in a fun setting!