El Paso: Cattleman's Steakhouse at Indian Cliff's Ranch

Our whirlwind national park tour of New Mexico and Texas ended with Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  On our last night in El Paso, we contemplated where to eat dinner and ultimately decided to treat ourselves to Cattleman's Steakhouse a bit outside the city.

Cattleman's Steakhouse is more than a restaurant.  It is a movie set, a children's zoo, a maze, a ranch, and a snake pit.  

Yes, a snake pit.

We got to Cattleman's Steakhouse after the sun went down, so we didn't get to enjoy its other amenities.  However, we did get to see half a dozen roosting peacocks on our way into the restaurant:

The place was packed.  There were multiple dining rooms and all of them were filled:

We amused ourselves in the gift shop and then looked at all the framed movie memorabilia until our table was ready.

To kick off the meal in proper Cattleman's fashion, we ordered BBQ beef ribs as appetizers ($8.85 each):

Then came the actual mains.  The four of us split a ribeye ($33.90 for 10 oz):

And the cowboy, which was a 2 lb porterhouse T-bone steak ($52.50):

Each steak came with the choice of baked potato, rice, or corn on the cob.  We tried the rice and the potato.  The potato came with butter and sour cream:

We added grated cheese ($1.10) and bacon bits ($1.00).

All entrees come with certain all you can eat sides.  There's the spicy ranch beans:

There's pineapple coleslaw:

And of course, there's bread:

For the sake of upping our veggie intake, we added on a side of mushrooms ($5.90), which was steamed in a wine sauce:

We didn't intend to get dessert at first.  But when our server asked, CK blurted out her innermost desire with a sudden and forceful, "Yes!"  Which is how we ended up with a slice of apple pie a la mode ($7.50):

We expected Cattleman's Steakhouse to be very kitschy and gimmicky and while it was all that and then some, the food was actually delicious.  Dammit.  Totally exceeded all our expectations.  While it's not cheap and thus not an everyday kind of restaurant, I can see how it could be a special occasion place for families.  

Just make sure to go when the sun is still out so that you can check out all the animals, walk around the lake, and enjoy the full Cattleman's experience.

Cattleman's Steakhouse

3450 S Fabens Carlsbad Rd

Fabens, TX 79838

(915) 544-3200

https://cattlemanssteakhouse.com/