Kissing Camels Golf Club

This review is for the Kissing Camels Grille and Bar. If all you're after is a lovely view of Pike's Peak, you'll like this golf club restaurant. But our experience beyond the view wasn't very good. We ordered an appetizer that didn't show up before dinner. My wife ordered a wedge with grilled chicken. It came with nearly no dressing and the chicken was cold and shredded (and we only got that on request when they, at first, forgot it altogether.) My ribeye steak was tasty, but there was so much gristle that only half the steak was edible.But that view...

To be clear, this review focuses only on the Kissing Camels Grille and Bar, which is located on the golf course itself: Contrary to earlier review, the Kissing Camels Grille is open to guests staying at the Garden of the Gods Resort, a very upscale resort overlooking the Garden of the Gods. I'm not sure that it's open to the general public. In order to get to it, you do have to pass a security guard, but this may be a formality. That said, I was expecting something snootier than what we found, given that it's located at the heart of a very good golf course at this upscale resort. However, some patrons were wearing t-shirts and cargo shorts, so there's that. We settled into our reservation, and the atmosphere was mellow. My mojito came without enough watermelon flavor to it--the server's own unprompted admission--and I was offered a second one free of charge. Deal. We ordered a plate of buffalo chips (seasoned potato chips), which looked to be something meant for 3-4 people to share. My wife's tomato bisque ($8) was just kind of there, but her Asian shrimp salad ($18 or $12 for a half (intriguing math) was complex in a good way. They can make any of their burgers with an Impossible Burger--something not listed on the menu, so I ordered the Cheddar BBQ ($19). It was quite large - perhaps an inch thick! That was a pleasant surprise and started to justify the price. It was pretty good, certainly filling, but didn't make me sit up and say, "damn, that's good!". That's the kind of reaction I hope to have at that price. I would say that the food is very good but overpriced. Burgers all approached $20. There's a pho dish that's $20. Cocktails are around the $15 range. At a risk of offering a back-handed compliment, this is the entry-level restaurant for the resort as a whole. I might give it a 3.5 out of 4.

Went to the grille for dinner around sunset and sat on the patio. Beautiful setting looking out to Pike's Peak with the golf course in front of us. Food was well prepared, we had the crab cake appetizer and two different burgers. All were prepared very well, using premium ingredients. Service started out great and then disappeared until we needed the check. Good thing they were using expediters to get food to our table.