Red Lion in
Vail (CO)

We had a very disappointing experience at Red Lion due to poor service. A simple seating misunderstanding with the hostess was handled with unnecessary rudeness and aggressiveness by a server, despite the restaurant not being busy. The interaction was unprofessional and appalling. We left and went to Pepi’s, where the service and food were excellent. Night and day difference. Based on other reviews, our experience seems consistent with many others. With so many great options in Vail, I would not recommend this one.

Nachos were great, would defs recommend ordering. We also ordered 2 BBQ sandwiches, one with pulled pork and one with brisket. Pulled pork was defs better. Fries were ok. White mac and cheese side was really good. Service was great!

Why they treated us so good!? Only God knows! Dan was our executive server was on point! The manager is the best!!

My first trip to Vail and was told we needed to experience the Red Lion. As I understand it, the Red Lion has been there a long time and is an institution in Vail. We enjoyed a great meal there on our last night in town. They have a bar area as well as a dining section. We sat in the dining area which was good bit quieter than the bar. As an appetizer we had the Loaded Nachos and they were really good. Our table had burgers, onion rings, a Chicken Gyro, the Grilled Chicken Club, and a variety of good beers. The staff there was great including the hostesses, bartenders, and servers. I also met the manager and she was really nice and helpful. There are some rumors that this place may be going away in the next year or two which would be sad as it’s been around for a long time and was a great place to hang out and eat.

Red Lion delivers great food that’s exactly what you’d expect from a bar right off the mountain. The wings are fantastic and absolutely worth ordering, especially after a long day on the slopes. Pair that with a solid beer selection and a lively, no-frills atmosphere, and it’s an easy go-to for a casual, satisfying stop in Vail.

What I like about restaurants typically falls under categories like affordability, quality of food, and service. If you also value these things go ahead and find anywhere else to go. I hail from the Wisconsin dairy land and I can tell you first hand that I wouldn’t feed the Mac n cheese to my worst enemy. Probably because it comes from a Kraft box, yet somehow worse.

vails worst restaurant I’ve ever been to messed up all of our orders ribs more like chicken on a bone onion= lettuce DO NOT GET THE BRISKET SANDWITCH i can make it better at home. dont order the vail burger its worse then chicken in a bone overpriced for poor food

Cooper was outstanding! Best service we’ve received the entire week at Vail. Thanks Coop!

Red lion nachos were better than expected. Next time I know to just order the nachos and not a burger as well. Overall, great atmosphere, great customer service. Will be back soon

We arrived at 7:30 on Monday evening. Six employees greeted us at the door to say it was a slow night so they decided to close the kitchen, and then started giggling. One of them said we could have a drink at the bar but had to go somewhere else for food. We have been coming here for 15 years, but this is our last trip to the Red Lion. Management has lost all control of the staff.

This place has gone such down hill. The tipping, the food and the service suck. I think the only good thing on the menu are the nachos. The servers shame you into tipping when you attempt to split a check and you just walk out of there feeling gross. Our entire party had to be there to sit at a table despite there being open tables all around us and when we talked to the server they told us to "respect his job"? There are plenty of other bars in the village that id rather go to

Run of the mill bar food but which is a nice change with everything else Vail has to offer. Great spot to throw a few back and listen to live music.

Went in for a quick snack after skiing - got the mack and cheese and baked potato. The mac and cheese was $10 and I can’t be convinced it was not just Kraft Mac and Cheese. The baked potato was fine but it seemed like most of the food was overpriced for what you get. The silverware was also dirty when it arrived at our table.

Looking for a casual but great ski town bar in Vail? Go ahead and check this one out. I’ve been coming here all my life. Gotta say - it’s living la vida loca baby.

Great location close to Gondola One in Vail Village. Drink prices are un-Vail like. The Nachos were delicious and easily could have fed 6 people alone. Nice outdoor seating and the server was fantastic.

Dont bother. Management doesn't want your business unless you are a party of 6 or more. Spend your hard earned money at any other bar in town. Pepi's has gret service and fresh beer. The Red Lion has a bad attitude and flat beer.

We came here excited to try their burgers. The burger meat itself was actually juicy and really good, but everything else completely ruined the experience. They didn’t toast the bun at all — it was literally frozen bread. After about two minutes, the burger juice soaked the bun and it became so soggy and disgusting that we couldn’t even hold it. We ended up eating only the patty and veggies because the bun was impossible to use. We told our server, and she was very nice and apologetic. But then a lady (not sure if she was the manager or not) came over and told us she could bring toasted buns for the leftover half of the burger that was in the box. At that point we obviously didn’t need it anymore. She came back with buns and took only $5 off our $104 bill for three cheeseburgers, saying she just removed the price of the buns. I understand we ate the burger meat, but the whole experience was awful and honestly, as a manager of such a busy restaurant, she could have handled the situation much better. I’ve never seen a restaurant take only $5 off three cheeseburgers for a mistake like this

Very overpriced for very below average food. Stay away from the crispy chicken sandwich, it’s something you could buy in the frozen food section at the store. It was soggy and cold and tasteless. The brisket was dry and flavorless but the fries and ribs were okay!

Visited vail for the first time and had dinner at this fun and lovely place last night 9/28/25.What stood out the most was Michael's amazing service at the bar side.He was so nice and made us feel welcomed.I thought he was the manager but he said he wasn't but I believe he should be! Thanks again Michael for the amazing service. Keep up the great work!

Nachos were great but the starving the show was our server Ashlyn. Wow. What amazing service and attention. Even brought my wife a Diet Coke to go with a lime on top!

Sat down at the bar. Bartender asked if we needed a menu. Told her no and that we just wanted a fountain drink. Bartender filled 2 beers for two ladies that came in after us. I let it slide. When she started to take care of another person that came in after us, I told her not to worry about my order. I couldn't tell if she heard me, so I said it twice. No response again, and I know she heard me but she still wouldn't acknowledge me. The 3rd time she grunted but still wouldn't look at me. Total disrespect. Never again will this place get my money.

We had wonderful food and service at the Red Lion! Vegetarian options at this restaurant are excellent. We ordered a veggie burger for me and a burger for my husband, and we both had the jalapeño style option. For dessert we shared the avalanche brownie. The portion sizes were large, we found the pricing to be reasonable compared to most other options in Vail, and our server was so friendly and fun. We also enjoyed the live music and outdoor seating.

We decided to stop by for a late afternoon drink and to check out the dinner menu for that evening. Unfortunately, our experience started off on the wrong foot with a rather cold and indifferent reception from the hostess – it honestly felt like we were disturbing her afternoon. Inside the bar area, service was initially good until the shift change. The new waiter clearly had an attitude problem and seemed uninterested in serving anyone. When we were joined by some family members, we asked to move outside so our 1-year-old wouldn’t disturb other guests. This request was met with more attitude and a visible lack of enthusiasm from the waiter. Once we moved outside to finish our drinks, no further service was offered. We eventually had to go back into the bar area to ask for and settle the bill ourselves. Needless to say, we didn’t return to the Red Lion for the rest of the week. Fortunately, there are plenty of other pubs and restaurants in the area that value their patrons and genuinely appreciate the business.

I had the crispy chicken sandwich with onion rings and it did not disappoint! It was so delicious! The only thing I would change is upgrading the cheese to Bongards (we’re dairy farmers here, so it matters) just by doing that would take the sandwich to a whole new level!

Was unimpressed with the food, I think I had higher hopes for it due to being in Vail. We ordered the Vail burger, build your own burger and two kids mini corn dogs ($10 each). The burgers had no flavor, very bland. My cheese was wrong on my burger, but didn’t say anything since it’s just cheese. For $25 a burger, and the board out front saying “best burger” it should be flavorful and good. I would not recommend eating here.

Have been coming here over two decades. Never disappoints. Went to Greece last year had lots of Gyros. The gyro at red lion is amazing, but French fries in it for the Greece experience.

First off, Google maps should fix the ratings on here for a restaurant. Not the lodge. Anyway, Texan visiting vail, go figure right? I've been to Red Lion multiple times for some Après and it is a great location to grab a drink and listen to some live music when they have it. It can get very busy in here so large groups may have to wait for a table. Solo traveling I've always been able to find a single seat at the bar. Lucky, I guess. Out if all the times I've stopped in before I had dinner plans so I'd never tried the food although I've eyed the mountain of nachos at others tables and taken in the smells of the smoked BBQ. I figured as a Texan I would give the BBQ a try and opted for the ribs and brisket combo plate. Most would/could probably share this plate but, I skipped lunch for more runs on mountain so I'd worked up an appetite and did not leave hungry that's for sure. The ribs were fall off the bone and super tender. A hint of smoke on them not heavy like Texas BBQ. The brisket I'd say the same. Very tasty but we're not in Texas here so things are done a little different in Colorado for sure, which brings me to the sauce. Was not bad but not my favorite by far. The sauce was like the meat a hint of smoke. The sauce also had a bit of a tang to it but also a bit of vinegary flavor. In my opinion it's as if they mixed a Texas sauce with a Carolina style BBQ sauce. Maybe that's what Colorado BBQ sauce is? Again it wasn't bad. But was different compared to what I'm used to. Try it out and formulate your own opinion. Food 4 stars Service 5 stars Atmosphere 5 stars.