Twin Owls Steakhouse: a steak my daughter still talks about

We took the whole family to Twin Owls the week of Thanksgiving. We booked a later table, so it was full dark by the time we pulled up to Taharaa Mountain Lodge on South St. Vrain, and that's the first thing I'd change. The dining room has floor-to-ceiling windows over the Estes Valley, and the view from that room is beautiful. We mostly saw our own reflections. In late November the sun is down before the kitchen opens at five, so if the view matters to you, come in summer or take the first table of the night and catch the last of the light.

Twin Owls has been around since 1999. It opened in the old Black Canyon Inn on MacGregor Avenue and took its name from the Twin Owls, the rock formation on Lumpy Ridge you could see from the old patio. The same owners moved it up to Taharaa Mountain Lodge around 2020. It still feels like a lodge dining room, with a stone fireplace and a bar, which suits a steakhouse fine.

Start with the Elk Kabobs. We did, and they were awesome, the best way to open the night. The wedge salad was the classic done right, a big cold wedge under blue cheese dressing with bacon and sweet little red and yellow tomatoes. My daughter ordered a steak with her salad, and to this day she says it was the best steak she has ever had. The kids raved about every plate that came out: a filet with herb butter and crispy fingerling potatoes, and a pistachio-crusted plate over roasted beets and carrots that I'm fairly sure was the elk. They also pour Avant Garde Aleworks' French Pilsner, which is brewed in town on Dunraven Street. A steakhouse could do a lot worse than a local beer.

Now the honest part. At these prices I expect the service to match the food, and that night it didn't quite. Our waiter was a little aloof, and I'll admit it irritated me at the time. This is a restaurant inside a mountain lodge, not a big-city steakhouse, and I've learned to set my expectations to match. I also went back through what other diners have written since, and I'm not the only one. Service and pacing come up more than anything else, including a few long waits for entrées. The view, the elk and the steaks are what people praise most.

Plan on a real dinner bill. When I checked the menu, entrées ran from about $30 to $75, with sides ordered separately. With a family that adds up fast. The kids' menu helps.

Would I go back? Yes. Earlier in the evening, in a season when there's still light outside, and expecting a good mountain-lodge dinner rather than white-glove service. Order the kabobs, let the kids order whatever they want, and look out the window while you still can.

Blair paid for this meal. Reviews on Estes Park Local are never paid for, and businesses can't buy their way into one or out of one.