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Lancelot Restaurant

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 Vail, 81657

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About

Lancelot calls itself Vail's original prime rib house, and it has been slow-roasting the same prime rib since 1969, beside the Children's Fountain on East Gore Creek Drive in the heart of Vail Village. In a village of changing concepts, that continuity is the draw.

Chef-owner Werner Schadl, who was born in Austria, started working for the restaurant's Austrian founder in 1991, and the menu still carries wiener schnitzel and homemade apple strudel. It suits a planned dinner out, a celebration or a family with a steak lover, and it takes groups of up to 90.

Prime rib and the rest of the menu

The prime rib is roasted overnight and served in three cuts, from the 8-ounce House Cut to the 12-ounce King Arthur's, with a baked potato, au jus and horseradish. Around it sit steaks and seafood: filet mignon, Scottish salmon, escargots, mussels and nightly specials such as Colorado striped bass. The wine list reaches around the world, with an emphasis on California and Napa Valley.

The bar

The bar keeps its own menu of cocktails, including a Vail Sour made with Colorado 10th Mountain rye and a Moscow mule cart, plus small plates such as buffalo tenderloin skewers and a charcuterie board. It is a lighter way into the room if a full prime rib dinner is more than the evening needs.

Groups, weddings and rehearsal dinners

Lancelot hosts group functions from small parties up to 90 guests, with a creek-side view and an outdoor patio in summer. Rehearsal dinners, weddings and corporate dinners are all handled through the restaurant's group inquiry form or by phone.

Planning your visit

Lancelot serves dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday, and takes reservations through OpenTable; parties larger than six should call. The nearest parking is the Vail Village parking structure. Hours and prices are in the FAQ below.

Sources: about Lancelot, menus, bar menu, groups, reservations, directions. Checked September 23, 2026.

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Contact Information

Company Name
Lancelot Restaurant
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Location
201 E Gore Creek Dr
Vail, 81657

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About Lancelot Restaurant

Quick answer: Lancelot Restaurant is a restaurant at 201 E Gore Creek Dr, Vail, CO 81657. Lancelot has roasted prime rib in Vail Village since 1969, by the Children's Fountain, with Austrian classics, steaks, seafood and groups of up to 90.

Last updated

Lancelot calls itself Vail's original prime rib house, and it has been slow-roasting the same prime rib since 1969, beside the Children's Fountain on East Gore Creek Drive in the heart of Vail Village. In a village of changing concepts, that continuity is the draw.

Chef-owner Werner Schadl, who was born in Austria, started working for the restaurant's Austrian founder in 1991, and the menu still carries wiener schnitzel and homemade apple strudel. It suits a planned dinner out, a celebration or a family with a steak lover, and it takes groups of up to 90.

Prime rib and the rest of the menu

The prime rib is roasted overnight and served in three cuts, from the 8-ounce House Cut to the 12-ounce King Arthur's, with a baked potato, au jus and horseradish. Around it sit steaks and seafood: filet mignon, Scottish salmon, escargots, mussels and nightly specials such as Colorado striped bass. The wine list reaches around the world, with an emphasis on California and Napa Valley.

The bar

The bar keeps its own menu of cocktails, including a Vail Sour made with Colorado 10th Mountain rye and a Moscow mule cart, plus small plates such as buffalo tenderloin skewers and a charcuterie board. It is a lighter way into the room if a full prime rib dinner is more than the evening needs.

Groups, weddings and rehearsal dinners

Lancelot hosts group functions from small parties up to 90 guests, with a creek-side view and an outdoor patio in summer. Rehearsal dinners, weddings and corporate dinners are all handled through the restaurant's group inquiry form or by phone.

Planning your visit

Lancelot serves dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday, and takes reservations through OpenTable; parties larger than six should call. The nearest parking is the Vail Village parking structure. Hours and prices are in the FAQ below.

Sources: about Lancelot, menus, bar menu, groups, reservations, directions. Checked September 23, 2026.

Steakhouses Wine Bars Seafood restaurants restaurants/steakhouses restaurants/fine-dining restaurants/vail-village

Quick Snapshot

Neighborhood: Vail Village
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Service: Dinner
Established: 1969
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Business Hours

Closed · Opens 5:00 PM

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Mon
Closed
Tue–SatClosed
5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Sun
Closed

Amenities at Lancelot Restaurant

  • Full bar
  • Outdoor patio (summer)
  • Creek-side view
  • Reservations
  • Table service
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • TV
  • Garage parking
  • Takeout (phone)

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hours of Lancelot Restaurant in Vail, and is it open year round?
Dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday, from 5 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. The restaurant's own website says "Tue-Sat 5PM-CLOSE" and publishes no closing time; Google and Yelp show a 9 p.m. close. Do not trust listings that show Lancelot open on a Monday or Sunday, or closed on a Wednesday: OpenTable and TripAdvisor both print that schedule and it contradicts the restaurant. Lancelot is **not open year round**. It closes for the spring off-season, April 14 to June 7 in the Town of Vail's spring 2024 restaurant list, and the spring 2026 list would publish no hours for it at all, only "call for current hours". Owner answers also reference a fall off-season closure. No current-year closure dates are published, so in the shoulder seasons call (970) 476-5828 before planning a dinner there.
Do I need a reservation at Lancelot, and how do I book?
Reservations are recommended, and this is a restaurant where booking ahead matters: OpenTable showed it "booked 4 times today" in a recent crawl. Book on OpenTable, or call (970) 476-5828. For parties of more than six, the restaurant asks you to call rather than book online, and it also asks you to call if you do not see the time or party size you want. In the off-season, call first to confirm the restaurant is open at all (see question 1).
How much is the prime rib at Lancelot, and what should I order?
The prime rib is slow roasted overnight and served with an Idaho baked potato, natural au jus and horseradish sauce, in three cuts: the 8-ounce House Cut $42, the 10-ounce Sir Lancelot Cut $52, and the 12-ounce King Arthur's Cut $62. It has been the signature since 1969, when Hermann Staufer opened the restaurant; chef-owner Werner Schadl, who started under Staufer in 1991, still runs it. Around it: filet mignon (8 oz) $75, Scottish salmon $43, wiener schnitzel $50, and escargots en croûte $26 to start. Save room for the Old Fashioned, Home-Made Apple Strudel ($16), which the menu calls its house specialty and reviewers name as often as the prime rib. A full dinner runs well past the "$31 to $50" label some sites carry; Google's panel prices the restaurant at "$100+".
What do reviews say about Lancelot Restaurant?
Strongly positive, with the widest spread in Vail Village. As of October 2026, OpenTable rates Lancelot 4.8 out of 5 from 1,429 verified diners (food 4.8, service 4.8, ambience 4.7, value 4.6). Google rates it 4.4 from 428 reviews, TripAdvisor 4.2 to 4.3 from about 545, and Yelp 4.0 from 298. Diners praise the prime rib above everything, then the service, the patio and the apple strudel; the recurring criticisms are portion and attentiveness on a busy night, and price once tax and tip are added.
Is Lancelot Restaurant kid friendly?
Families are welcome, and families do eat here: Yelp lists Lancelot as good for kids, TripAdvisor lists highchairs, and multi-generational groups recur throughout the reviews, including a TripAdvisor review headlined "Nicer restaurant, but also kid friendly" from a family returning for six years. Two honest limits: the restaurant publishes no children's menu and no children's pricing on its official menu, so a child eats from the regular menu (the prime rib cuts and the small plates are what reviewers say children end up with), and it is a dinner-only room that fills up, so an early seating is the practical family move. Claims elsewhere of a dedicated kids' meal are not supported by the official menu.
Does Lancelot have vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free options?
Not as labeled dishes. Lancelot is a prime rib house and every entree on its published menu is beef, veal, chicken, salmon or shrimp; no dish is labeled vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free, and there is no vegetarian entree. A vegetarian can build a meal from the starters, salads and sides: roasted beet salad ($18), buttermilk fried cauliflower ($19), tomato basil bisque ($12), Caesar or wedge salad, and the vegetable sides. Third-party sites list this restaurant as vegetarian friendly with vegan and gluten-free options, but the restaurant itself does not publish that, so if it matters to your table, call (970) 476-5828 when you book and ask. Reviewers do describe the kitchen as sensitive to allergies.
Does Lancelot have a patio, and can I just sit at the bar?
Yes to both. In summer there is an outdoor patio with a creek-side view on Gore Creek, listed by the restaurant for group functions and praised in reviews ("We love sitting on the patio!"); no official source promises patio seating in ski season. The bar is a genuine lighter route in: cocktails run $14 to $16, most at $16, including the Vail Sour (Colorado 10th Mountain Rye, house-made maple sour, red wine floater, $16) and a Moscow Mule Cart, plus a $12 non-alcoholic Mocktini, draught Colorado beers at $6 to $8, and small plates of shrimp skewers ($18), a charcuterie board ($25) and buffalo tenderloin skewers ($25).
Can Lancelot host a group, wedding or rehearsal dinner?
Yes. The restaurant takes group functions from small parties up to 90 people, with a creek-side view and a summer outdoor patio, and its inquiry form lists Wedding, Rehearsal Dinner, Corporate Event and Other as its event types. Note that 90 is also the restaurant's stated seating capacity, so a group that size is a whole-room booking, not a corner of it. Call (970) 476-5828, email the restaurant, or use the group inquiry form on lancelotvail.com/groups. Events are hosted in the restaurant; Yelp lists the restaurant as not catering off-site.
Where is Lancelot Restaurant, and where do I park?
At 201 East Gore Creek Drive in **Vail Village**, beside the Children's Fountain, on Gore Creek. It is not in Lionshead. The restaurant's own directions page says parking is available in the Vail Village parking garage, and OpenTable puts the Town of Vail public garage under a 5-minute walk away. There is no valet and no validated parking. Vail Village's core is pedestrian, so park once and walk.
Does Lancelot offer takeout or delivery, and are gift cards available?
Takeout is listed by OpenTable, ordered by phone at (970) 476-5828; the restaurant publishes no online ordering, and no delivery service for Lancelot turned up when we checked, so do not expect app delivery. Gift cards are sold as gift certificates, but not as an online checkout: download the form from lancelotvail.com/giftcards and return it by fax to (970) 476-4746, by mail or by email, or order one by phone.

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