The Chop House offered the best overall meal we ate in Telluride, after dining out every night for a week at most of the highly rated places. We stumbled in one night when we didn't have reservations and were steered by some locals.

Rather than trying to earn merits from tackling nouvelle cuisine, the Chop House sticks to an inventive approach to a traditional steak house. The atmosphere is lively and crisp. Service was no nonsense and attentive. It was a great end to a day of skiing and a stroll around town.

The food was all excellent. The salads were sparkling with freshness and solid combinations. The meats and sides - all done right. In a town where many of the "top" restaurants are trying to be like their big-city counterparts, I am happy to scarf a steak in a feel-good, yet upscale setting. This place feels Telluride.

The restuarant was recommended due to its reputation of a "good" steak. This was our last night in telluride, and we were looking forward to a nice evening meal in one of the oldest buildings in town.

I must say it was a serious disappointment to the whole group. Mind you it was not the "tenderlion", in fact I found it to be well cooked, seasoned and on a scale of 1-10 it alone ranked a 8.2, what lead up to and followed ruined my feelings for the restaurant itself. We had reservations, and ended up waiting 20 min. for our table. We were asked to wait in the entrance wich in fact felt like a small coat room, because it was sectioned off from the hostess desk by a velvet curtain, and the window seat was small, cramped and had a ton of winter coats hanging all around. We were hidden in the coats, and uncomforatable trying to move out of the way of guests looking for coats as they were leaving. Finally, asking when we could expect to be seated, the hostess, relplied in just a few more min. We waited at the hostess stand, tired of feeling like the third stepchild in the coat room and constantly moving out of the way for other guest to go through the piles of coats on hooks. Finally we were shown to our table.

Not only was it difficult to get to, because so many tables were in the room, but because they were filled and we were asking guests to excuse us for squeezing by. Not to mention we are not overweight by any means. The music was loud and did not fit with the atmosphere they describe, the acustics of the dining room did not help as it was a very high ceiling, and guests were having to speak so loudly to hear each other at the tables.. this all combined echoed from the ceiling to contribute to the very confusing feeling of chaos.

Once seated , we had fine table cloth linen, and upolished silver, waterspot glassware, and the "pretty menu" printed in such a script typeface that was very difficult to read. I could hardly hear my new husband who was right next to me. No to mention the bar that was onlyl seperated by the booth seat back. So this noise also tended to filter into the music, and noisy neighbors, which was not there intention either, but had to raise voices to be heard across the table. I could not speak to my son with out feeling like I was yelling at him across the table. The server was kind enough, yet, honestly had no time for us and didnt even remeber to tell us his name or the special soup of the day until asked.. I was a little taken aback when I found Mac and cheese on the apps list, and of course my son thought how cool for a fine dinning rest to have it.. WELL it was premade and warmed under what restaurant owners know it as a "salamander" otherwise known as a broiler. This made such a simple dish terrible and was sent back to be removed from the bill. Now as a mom, I know young men love mac and cheese and can tolerate it most any way, and I even found it unacceptable. Further into the meal, as my family became more digrunteled at me for choosing this place, was also frustrated that bus persons kept bumping there behinds on the back of the chairs as they too had to squeeze by.

Moving on to the second course, salads, were nothing to speak of and had little time to even ask the waiter for he was not able to be found, for extra dressing that was practicly non existant. Once the main entree arrived the " oh so highly" recommended steak arrived, we were famished and disgusted. Tenatiive we tried a piece and it was cooked to perfection, what a relief! We enjoyed the steak itself, but it hardly compensated for all the classic flaws a fine dinning establishment tries to convey. By this time, I was asking for more wine to make it throug the family complaints... sorely disapointed, not only due to being from a restaraunt family, and owning my own fine dining establishment..... but because we were so late at getting the final entree.

My new husband knew they dessert menu had creme brulee on it.. and how I love it.. I tried it and although he was ready to leave, he patiently waited, the dessert was okay, good but not out of this world, and my sons dessert, was creme puffs halved with a small scoop of ice cream and immination chocolate drizzle. This to me was the final straw, it was not fine dining, and it was hurting me to kown I WAS paying 8-12 dollars for a dessert of this poor quality!

By this time, I knew I had to mention something and after watching the manager watering tables and bussing a few, it was known to us all that we would never visit this restaurant again.

If you are looking for a relaxing enjoyable meal, this is not the place, fine dinning is not what this establishment provides.. ONLY A NOISY, LOUD FUNKY MUSIC, CROWDED TABLES AKA EAT WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS WHETHER YOU WANT TO OR NOT ...PLACE TO GET A GOOD STEAK. Even now its hard for me to keep in mind the steak was good, for all the events from start to finsh were a dissapointment and I found hard to pay for, and I love to dine in wonderful restaurants all over the world... many much more exspensive than this one and much more worth the money! Pass it by, and enjoy a dinner at the Cosmopolitan twice!!!

I've eaten here once a year, for the last 10 years. It's always a perfect Colorado dining experience. The elk is my favorite. I really like their wine selection. I've enjoyed every visit.

Received gracious and friendly service from our Aussie waiter as we celebrated my wife's b'day on 7/31. No extra charge for sharing an entree, as we usually do, and the kitchen split the entree without a request. The house provided a complimentary cheese cake birthday dessert with candle without advance arrangements in response to my simple comment to the maitre d' upon being seated. Reservations a must! Like an earlier reviewer, we ate another night at the Bluepoint (which we enjoyed), but found it to be more expensive and not as charming.