Mather Lodge Restaurant

We had an excellent lunch here after our hike to Cedar Falls in Petit Jean State Park. The views are fantastic, service was on point, and my husband and I both finished our entire plate of food. Portions are hefty, and the specials are reasonably priced. We both had lunch, an appetizer, and drinks for around $ 32. Definitely the best placed we’ve stumbled upon during this vacation so far!

The views in this restaurant are breathtaking. The service was very friendly! The food is not so good. We were visiting last week on vacation, and waited until our last day to eat there. My french fries tastes and felt like they had been cooked earlier that day, or maybe earlier in the week and just added to hot oil. The bun on my sandwich was very doughy and cold.

The Mather Lodge Restaurant has good food, great service, wonderful ambiance, and priceless views. I’ve eaten in lodges in many state and federal parks, and the Mather Lodge holds its own with similarly sized lodges. The menu includes home style favorites and enough variety to hold the average guest through a three to four day stay, which is what you’d expect. The dining area itself is simply incredible. It has been rebuilt in the style of the original Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) construction from the 1930’s, but is so much more grand than the original, while fitting in wonderfully with the historic lodge structures. I am very impressed with it! Of course, the best aspect of dining at the Mather Lodge is it’s location. The best time to be there is at sunset, when you can watch the sun slip beneath the horizon while looking down the valley of Cedar Creek. This is a sight not available anywhere else!

This is one of my favorite places in central Arkansas. The food is surprisingly good for a state-​owned facility – a major upgrade from what it was in the past. The atmosphere of the rustic lodge looking over the valley adds an ambiance that you just an to get anywhere else.

Some of the best breakfast you can have if a little uninspired but focused on doing what they do very well.
I had an awesome experience with my meal but a few things keep this nestled little gem from being little more than a novelty than a respectable restaurant.
First of which is the very limited menu. While I was not there during the buffet the menu covered the basics and if that is all you want you will be very happy.
Secondly the price point is somewhat inflated for the appearance and amount of food you get.
With that out of the way let’s talk quality: biscuits are a thick, more fluffy then wide and crispy style so that is more to personal preference. The gravy is a respectable thickness with a significant and not overbearing amount of spice for the average person (with sausage). Hash browns are thin and crisp or piled high and soft with little middle ground. The fries chicken has considerable thickness, juciness and quality in the breading. Even my egg was cooked to picturesque perfection. Bacon was very crisp which is another personal preference as I prefer mine to have some chew to it.
If you eat here choose wisely and you will not be disappointed.

Great dining experience for our group of 10! Dinner took a little longer than we would have liked, but we enjoyed good conversation during the wait. Everyone was pleased with the quality among a variety of entrees that were ordered.
Staying in Morrilton for 5 days… Wouldn’t mind going back for another hike-​dinner combo.

My husband and I had not been to the lodge or restaurant since the renovations. We camped at the park this past weekend and decided to go to breakfast on Saturday at the restaurant. We were pleasantly surprised with the renovations, the food and the service. I am not a big buffet fan, but the waitress mentioned that they had an omelet station so I went to investigate. They had a fair selection of choices for the ingredients. When we saw the size, my husband and I split one. It was excellent. The buffet had a great selection of fresh fruit– all perfectly in season. We were in breakfast nirvana! It’s a huge improvement over what we’ve seen done there in the past and well worth the reasonable price. (I think it was $ 8.99) My only complaint at all was that they could have probably made myself and others happy by walking around with a coffee pot and refilling coffee. Mornings are a tough time to leave the caffeine-​deprived sitting around like drooling zombies.
Cudos on the improvements! Keep it up.

My wife and I were staying the park for a week and decided instead of cooking we wanted to stop at the Mather Lodge for a late lunch. Since the last time we stayed in the park the lodge had gone through a complete renovation and expansion. The new addition to the lodge is amazing. They did an incredible job on it.
The new restaurant has breath-​taking views of the vistas from the top of Petit Jean Mountain. Our food today was okay. My wife had a hamburger and I had the shrimp plate. My wife enjoyed her burger but not the fries. She doesn’t like «coated» fries. My shrimp plate (10 shrimp) plus two sides was good but nothing to write home about. The shrimp were a bit greasy for my taste.
Overall we had a very nice experience and will definitely dine again at the lodge next time we stay in the park.

For a lodge restaurant this is a pleasant surprise – the food is pretty decent and the view is amazing! We’ve eaten here for breakfast several times now – it’s always a buffet. They offer omelettes made to order, a wide variety of fresh fruit, and the other breakfast standards (biscuits, gravy, grits, French toast, bacon, sausage). The waitstaff is friendly and it’s nice to sip your coffee while you take in the beauty of the natural state.