Ender Bates
Mather Lodge Restaurant delivers solid food and steady service. The patty melts and burgers hit the mark with good flavor and fresh toppings. The sweet tea tasted clean and balanced. The dining area stays comfortable with a relaxed pace. Worth a stop if you want a simple meal with dependable quality.
… moreBill Penn
Mather Lodge at Petit Jean State Park is a perfect example of a state park done right. The log cabin lodge was rebuilt and expanded on top of the historic lodge, and it’s full of rustic charm. Perched right next to a cliff facing west, it offers amazing sunset views. We timed our dinner just right to enjoy the sunset while dining—truly a memorable experience.
… moreW. Pittman
We had an awesome meal at Mather Lodge Restaurant! The food was incredible and the portions were generous. The chicken fried steak was absolutely delicious, and if you’re a fan of chicken livers, theirs are some of the best around. The staff was friendly and attentive, which made the experience even better. The only downside was the beer — the taps could use a good cleaning, as it gave the beer a bit of a funky taste. I’d skip the draft and go for something else, but everything else, including the cozy atmosphere and gorgeous views, was perfection. Highly recommend!
… moreRichard Garcia
The food was great, I had the fried fish, mybwife ate the chicken and dumplings. For entertainment, a C-13 plane flew over the restaurant, that was very nice to experience.
… moreBrent Mayberry
Such a beautiful place to visit and have a bite to eat. The view from your table is beautiful! Our waitress Jamie was an absolute delight. She made sure we were well taken care of during our visit. We had breakfast here for our first morning camping. The view, service and food were top notch! Highly recommend
… moreScott Turner
Wonderful meal, spectacular view, great service, and very reasonable prices. It’s rare to get that combination these days.
Thank you!
… moreTravelerfromtexas
This was my 4th trip to Petit Jean State Park and I noticed a distinct decrease in both the quality of food and the service at Mather Lodge Restaurant. The wait staff are not attentive and the wait for the food was incredibly excessive even when there were very few people in the restaurant. The first evening I ordered fried catfish with a baked potato. The catfish was good but the baked potato was inedible (hard and dried up). The menu said it came with hush puppies but it didn’t mention that they were jalapeño hush puppies. This was new, in the past this wasn’t the case. They were okay but not my preference. For breakfast one day I ordered an omelette which was okay but the hash browns were severely overcooked and inedible. The bacon was pretty much burned yet not really crispy which was odd. Another day I ordered the Swiss Mushroom burger. It wasn’t as good as in years’ past but average. At every single meal the server didn’t check to see if I needed anything and took forever to bring the check. At one of the meals I had to hunt someone down to pay my ticket because I didn’t go there to spend half my time waiting on my server. I hope they get some decent management and return to the good restaurant it used to be. The view remains incredible. You’ll get to see it for an extended period of time if you dine there!
… moreCara
I’ve eaten here many, many times and the food is great. However the last 3 times (two dinners and a lunch) my food was only warm at most. In fact the food on my plate got cold about half way through the meal. Im not sure why the kitchen isn’t producing nice hot food. That being said, it’s a beautiful place and my review wouldn’t even keep me away.
… moreChristine B
What a great restaurant! Such a treat located in a beautiful state park. It’s a perfect place to stop after the Cedar Falls Trail. They had some nice local wine that was good. The food was also great. We had chicken fried steak, fried pickles, hamburger, chicken sandwich, and quesadillas. The brownie sundae is pretty awesome! Get there early and ask to sit by the window. You may even get to see the groundhog that lives in the grassy area by the restaurant.
… moreMichael Scott
Good food, very reasonably priced. Beautiful view. . Magnificent building
I’ve had dinner here three times.
Often the locals will come here to eat.
… more