My husband, three kids and I had a fantastic meal at Beano's Cabin this past weekend. The only hitch is that your dinner reservation time is actually your sled reservation-- an important tidbit they neglect to tell you, so keep that in mind when timing your dinner. Aside from that, the brisk sled ride up the mountain with the beautiful, clear Colorado sky and bright stars really is an experience to remember. Once you arrive at the cabin, you are brought into a warm room to hang your coat and put on slippers if you'd like. The dining room is rustic yet elegant, and the cozy atmosphere is enhanced by live music-- we had a great musician who played guitar and sang great covers of both classic and current songs.
The food is fantastic- very high quality. We were actually surprised at how large the portions were given that it was a five-course tasting menu. The service was excellent-- it is very evident that the wait staff is passionate about the food, and they are very eager to thoughtfully answer any questions you may have. They are very accommodating with food allergies/tailoring the meal to kids etc. You know walking in that it is going to be very pricey (our meal for five was $800), but well worth the splurge. All in all, it was an excellent experience.

Experience is always a treat. Service is good and food is excellent. Stick with the local favorites like Elk and Lamb. Dress warmly for slayride.

My husband and I have been living in Beaver Creek part time for many years and have gone up to Beano's Cabin several times at all different times of the year. We went up again last night in temperatures hovering around 4°. In the winter, the conveyance to Beano's is via sleigh pulled by a SnowCat. It has several rows of benches and you are given a fleece lined poncho to wear for the trip. WEAR IT!!! Also - add a layer to whatever you would normally wear in whatever conditions you are having on the night you go up. There is usually a wind chill to factor in and if there is any fresh snow at all, it will be blowing up from the Snow Cat and all over you. Hint: Sit in the benches closest to and facing away from the SnowCat so that all that blowing snow doesn't go straight into your face. This also gives you an awesome view down into the Vail Valley as you go up and the starry night sky and moon-lit ski runs as you go down. Wearing a coat with a hood is much better protection than just a hat - no snow down your neck. The poncho if you wear it instead of using it as a blanket will give you that protection as well. In the winter, there is no other option transportation wise. Even the waiters go down on the cat after their shift. Since they arrive during the day, many of them ski or snowboard in - fun! The restaurant is toasty warm and there is a roaring fire in the bar that you can snuggle up to when you first arrive. And there are boxes of tissue all over the place to stop the cold weather sniffles. In the snow-free months you can go up via a shuttle van or on horseback. We love going up on horseback. Go ahead and wear jeans - you won't be out of place with the other diners at Beano's Cabin. If you are horribly afraid of heights or a bit afraid of horses, riding the horse up is not for you. There is a short period of time where the trail is very narrow and drops off rather precipitously on one side. You also ford a creek which requires a rather steep descent into the water where if you are not used to riding, you may feel as if you are going to tumble forward off your mount. But we think it's a great way to go up and have been taking our kids up that way since they were small. It's super safe and lots of fun. Your ride down will be in the shuttle van. You will smell like horse after your ride so if you don't like that idea, bring a fresh pair of pants in a back-pack. There are nice washrooms at the restaurant with plenty of room to change and freshen up. The dress is Mountain Casual - pretty much anything goes. I've gone up wearing my jeans, riding boots and a fleece and I've gone up wearing a fancy top and slacks. You will fit in no matter what. In the winter, boiled wool slippers are available in just about every size if you want to remove your cold, snowy footwear but you are not required to do so. Beano's serves a prix fixe meal with five courses. At the time of this posting the cost was $112 per person not including drinks or tip (there is a special price for kids before 6pm). The first three courses are kept to tasting size which I really appreciate because you don't want to be over-stuffed for the main course. I felt the servings were still really generous. Last night we started with a really tasty potato leek soup drizzled with a bit of truffle oil and served in a copper dipper. It was the tiniest bit on the salty side but super delicious. A great selection of baked on the premises bread comes out with your first course. For our second course, my husband and I both chose the wedge salad - a quarter of a head of iceberg with Maytag blue cheese, bacon, tomato, etc - very tasty (and yes - this is kind of a typical appetizer/salad course at many restaurants currently so not super special). The other salad choice is a red kurri squash served with a walnut vinaigrette which we did not try. For his appetizer, my husband chose the rabbit which comes in croquette form and is served with a sweet/spicy aioli. I tried a bite and it was hefty and delicious - loved the sauce. I had the Elk tartare which comes out looking like a thin raw hamburger patty and is unbelievably tasty with wonderful layers of flavor. It's served with home made potato chips (again a bit salty), pickled radish and creme freiche. A great choice! My husband had the Wood Grilled Elk Chop for his entrée - super delicious and not a bit gamey. It was served with squash and a pork belly hash (the new chef loves his pork belly and uses it in many mouth watering forms). I had the Whiskey Glazed Berkshire Porterhouse which was a gigantic bone-in pork chop cooked for hours so that the glaze is carmelized and sweet. Amazing flavor. The chef leaves a great deal of fat on the chop which just adds to the juicy deliciousness. I could only manage half of it and had the other half for lunch today and it was just as amazing. The chop is served with retro grits (ask your waiter to explain) and squash. For dessert my husband had a layered chocolate mousse which was quite tasty and I had this amazing lemon dessert - lemon mousse with a raspberry gelee center served wedged between a delicious lemon bar and a crispy, buttery bit of carmelized sugar. Since it was my birthday, the dessert chef had piped Happy Birthday around the sides of my plate in chocolate and topped it all with a candle. We enjoyed wine by the glass with our dinner but Beano's has a very nice extensive wine list to choose from as well as drinks from the bar. Port, Scotch, Whiskey etc. are available as well. Special thanks to our 'head' waiter Jeff, his co-hort Chris and a couple of additional servers that never hovered but were right there as soon as we finished a dish. Timing between courses was really nice - not too long or short. As we finished our dessert, the hostess dropped by to alert us to the sled schedule going down. We had two different departure times available and didn't feel the slightest bit rushed. Obviously, you can stay longer and enjoy after-dinner drinks at the bar and take a later sled. Last night, we chose to dine early and there were a number of families with kids but it was still quiet and ambient. The restaurant is warmly decorated and beautiful and a table for two by the windows feels quite romantic. In the warmer months, you are likely to see deer grazing in the meadow just outside Beano's Cabin. And you may be lucky enough to get a visit from Priscilla, the porcupine. I think there have probably been a couple generations of Priscillas for us but it's such a delight - especially for the kids. She will waddle onto the restaurant porch and wander about from person to person sniffing shoes and just enjoying the attention. Quite the photo op! All in all, a wonderful way to celebrate a special occasion or no occasion at all. We love Beano's Cabin and highly recommend it for a special mountain dining experience. During ski season, you will want to book your visit long before you arrive in the Vail Valley. If you want to dine during Christmas break make your reservations as soon as the winter reservations open for the season - usually in mid-November. Enjoy!!!

We had dinner here during the recent holidays (Dec 2012). From other reviews, you may have deduced that you have to take a sled to get to this restaurant--actually a large conveyance with benches that holds approximately 30-35 people and is pulled by a large mountain SnoCat. So DRESS WARM! The ride up and back is beautiful, but cold. If the night is clear, you have views of a beautiful night sky--just lovely. When you arrive, they have a coat room so you can shed some layers, and they have polar fleece slippers if you so choose (mmmm....not for me thanks....been on someone else's feet).
The sled picks up a group every 15 minutes--so you can imagine what that is like for the restaurant....every 15 minutes they have a large group come charging through the doors--needing to be seated and waited on. So yes, like someone else mentioned, this gives the dining experience a bit of a feel like a banquet--an expensive banquet.
There is a large stone fireplace that adds to the ambience and walls of windows. So.....beautiful location, interesting conveyance, charming atmosphere.
The dining experience.....not so much to rave about here. Being the holidays, they were definitely over-booked....very busy, very crowded, weird timing on the courses. Our soup followed by appetizer followed by salad came out very quickly--then we waited almost an hour for our entrees. When they arrived, one was greatly overcooked--well done when the diner had asked for rare and a pork chop that was, for the most part, raw in the middle. One of the appetizers, pork belly--was nothing more than a huge hunk of fat...ugghhh. One of the salad options was a wedge of lettuce with blue cheese...not very imaginative.
We wanted to order wine with our dinner. We told the sommelier our price range, but he proceeded to make suggestions at much higher prices--it felt like he was working on commission. The wait staff was very friendly, but very rushed and so didn't have time to be very attentive.
Our group was glad to have the experience, but not someplace we would rush back to.