I have lived in the valley for 23 years and this was my first time at Rustler's Roost. I have heard about many times over the years as it is somewhat of a tourist landmark restaurant but never had the opportunity to try it. The perfect opportunity arose last night when we had family in town and decided to give it a try.
This restaurant is situated at the top of a hill at the Arizona Grand Hotel. The views are incredible and the feel and theme are really fun especially since we are right of the I-10. It feels like you are in a small cowboy area in the middle of the city. This is a family friendly place that is actually really good for kids as it is loud and your little ones won't be bothering anyone. There is music 7 nights a week and it can be very crowded, despite the fact that the restaurant seats at least 500 not including the patio. We were able to get a reservation as we were a larger group of 10 so that was nice. The restaurant is very dim and we needed our smartphone flashlights in order to read them. Thank goodness for technology.
The menu is what you would expect from a theme steak house. The usual fare; steaks, chicken and some seafood with the typical side dishes. I decided on the mixed grill which was very tender filet medallions and you had a choice of another meat and I chose the ribs. They were also very good and tender. The side veggie were carrots that were tasty but some were not cooked enough so they were tough. We also all got cowboy beans (eh) and salad for the table as well as rolls that were kind of yucky. For dessert, we opted to try the cowpie (how could you not?) which was basically chocolate covered coffee ice cream. The description definitely sounded better than it tasted but it was ok to satisfy our sweet tooths. The meals that my family had they enjoyed as well.
This is definitely a place that I would come back to. I would say it is a place to enjoy with friends or out of town guests if you are looking for something different.