The Best Breakfast in the Mountains
Every guest we've ever had has loved breakfast at The Butterhorn!!! And the place SMELLS GREAT!!! Don't miss it. And they have great pastries to go.    [13 May 2002 09:58:51]

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     ­Jocy, Frisco, CO   

Watch the Cashier
The food was good, the waitress was good, but the counter help and the wait staff need to get their act together. Don't ask for separate checks in your party and be prepared either to figure out your own portion of the bill or get chastised at the counter for causing an inconvenience by wanting to pay your portion of the check only. I did not appreciate having my intelligence questioned simply because my friends and I wanted separate checks.    [08 Aug 2002 23:31:05]

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     ­Anonymous, Cedar Rapids   

Best Breakfasts and Lunches
I have never eaten anything at Butterhorn that has been anything less than wonderful. The sandwiches are huge and very affordable ~ and the cookies are to die for!    [21 Nov 2004 13:41:12]

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Recommended Dishes: Try the Reuben or the Mile High Turkey Sandwich!

     ­Carol/Dillon, The Lodge at Carolina in the Pines   

THE BUTTERHORN BUMS RUSH!
Many people have claimed to have had the worst dining experience in the past, but my experience has to rank in the top five for shocking rudeness. The food was fine, and up until the end, the service was fine. I was seated at about 8:30 and I was asked to leave by 9:00. I was informed that the Butterhorn Cafe has a time limit for breakfast! I was jaw-dropping, speechless to learn that I had been told this by the owner, Cindy Abramowitz, who pointed this little piece of information out to me to my utter disbelief. I can honestly say I received the "Bum's Rush!” I had ordered breakfast and two large lattes and was contemplating picking up one of the Easter Cakes in the display case as a surprize for my children, when she came by to evict me from the worst table in the restaurant. As a reference, the families that were seated at the same time as I was were not asked to leave; apparently, the time limit only applies to "Parties of One."

Before I left I did tell the owner that I was from Conifer and had frequented the establishment during the off-season many times with my family. We certainly must have taken more than 30 minutes to eat and chat after a nice hike in the mountains.

What if I had been a tourist? What if that was the first time I had been to the mountains of Colorado and I never got to come again? It goes without saying that she exercised poor business acumen, but more importantly, the poor impression she made on the families/tourists that could not help but witness the drama. This incident will be among the memories of Colorado that these families take home with them.

As it turns out, I plan the corporate meetings and functions for a global company with an office in Lakewood. There is an old customer service rule of thumb, that an unhappy customer will tell ten people about their experience. I am sure I have met this expectation already. Unfortunately, the other unwitting businesses in town of Frisco may also feel the sting of Ms. Abramowitz's policy during the off-season.

As a mother of three, I was certainly looking forward to some stolen peaceful moments and an enjoyable meal. I sincerely regret walking into the Butterhorn Cafe, and in my state of disbelief and embarrassment, allowing myself to be treated so poorly.    [28 Mar 2005 21:49:54]

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     ­Anonymous   SGRUBER at GOLDER dot COM

Wedding Cake
Best wedding cake ever!!! Well worth every penny. It was breathtakingly beautiful and the taste was so wonderful, that most folks had seconds.
Thank you.    [20 Sep 2006 20:33:06]

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     ­Liz Hagan   ericandlizhagan at msn dot com

The Number One Most Awful Restaurant Experience I Have Ever Had
I sympathize with SGRUBER and her experience with the Butterhorn, as I personally know how unbelievably rude the owners of that business are.

On 03/11/07, my family (three of whom were visiting from out of state) and I decided to stop in to the Butterhorn for a quick coffee and pastry before our snowmobiling trip departed. The place was packed, and we were fourth in line for a table, so we put our names on the list and began to wait. We noticed that they also served food from the counter, and we figured that we could save their wait staff some time (since they were so busy) by ordering ahead. So we got our pastries, and when they called our name, we went to our table. We asked the waitress for coffee, and she simply walked away! Wondering what was going on, we looked around and noticed a menacing woman approaching. She quickly informed us that seated patrons were expected to order food, not just coffee. We told her that we pre-ordered our food from the counter to save time, and she said that, in doing so, we had disqualified ourselves from receiving a table. We told her that we had waited in line for a table like everyone else for a table and she said that didn't matter since we ordered food from the counter. Obviously, this made absolutely no sense to us, so we asked her if we would have been ok if we had ordered the exact same pastries we already had from the waitress instead of from the counter and she said yes! "How ridiculous" you're thinking? Imagine how we felt. We then asked her to refund us our money for the product we already purchased and then to bring us the exact same product, thereby re-qualifying us for a table. She then proceeded to walk away just like the first waitress had. A minute or so later a man came out and told us that he was the owner, that this happens all the time, and that it is their policy that if one orders food from the counter, one cannot also sit down at a table and eat the food, regardless of whether or not they waited for a table. He said that this "mistake" of ours could be overlooked this once, but if we ever made this "mistake" again, we would be escorted out by the police! We told him to stick it and left, and tried as hard as we could not to let it ruin the rest of our day.

What an embarrassment to the town of Frisco and the state of Colorado this establishment is. The owner indicated that this happens to people "all the time", and I wonder how many tourists have left Colorado with a sour taste in their mouths not from the Butterhorn's pastries but from their unfathomably poor service. At least the "Soup Nazi" had a product so good people were willing to put up with such nonsense. What does the Butterhorn have to offer?    [20 Mar 2007 21:59:30]

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Recommended Dishes: Something Far Away From the Butterhorn

     ­Chad   

Mandatory Tipping?
We recently visited this restaurant and were very surprised to learn that they added a 20% tip to our bill. We had 3 adults and 2 children (11 and 13). The service was terrible, and when we questioned the overly generous tip, the owner informed us that she did not pay her waitstaff well, so she passed the cost to her customers. We informed her we would not be back. We would not want to support such poor service.    [04 Sep 2007 12:02:58]

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     ­Anonymous