Eating and drinking around WinStar
A good weekend is mostly good meals with a casino in between. This is the food and drink guide for a WinStar trip, from people who host a few minutes down the road and have eaten at all of these more than is sensible.
The two steakhouses
WinStar has two and they're different restaurants. Kirby's Prime Steakhouse is the formal one — prime cuts, seafood, a long wine list, the room for the anniversary. Mickey Mantle's Lounge does aged steaks and a serious wine list with the Mick's memorabilia on the walls and a looser feel; Mickey Mantle's Grill is the same family's casual room, better for a burger and a beer. We wrote a full comparison because it's the question every guest asks. Book any of them before a concert night.
The lively rooms
Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill is American food, big plates, live music some nights, and loud enough that a big table doesn't register. It's the birthday room. Vino's Italian Kitchen is handmade pasta and pizza in a calmer setting — the menu with no losers. Chips 'N Ales does British pub food, fish and chips mainly, quick and filling.
The buffet
Gran Via Buffet is international and all-you-can-eat, and for a group of eight with a picky eater it removes every argument. The person who wants sushi and the person who wants meatloaf sit at the same table.
Coffee and quick bites
Le Paris Bakery & Café is the best breakfast on the property — pastries, sandwiches, proper coffee. Panda Express is the honest ten-minute answer when doors are in forty.
The bars
The Hudson is the cocktail lounge, the one drink made by someone who cares. Rotunda Bar is the big one in the middle of everything, and where the post-show crowd lands first. Our late-night guide covers timing — the twenty minutes after an encore are the busiest both get.
Across the river
Gainesville, Texas is a short drive south and has a downtown with real coffee and lunch options; the Red River wine trail runs through the area for anyone who wants an afternoon of it. Both are in our Gainesville day guide.
The meal you don't buy
Here's what changes when you stay in a house instead of a hotel: you get a kitchen. Full-size fridge and freezer, stove and oven, dishwasher, a drip coffee maker and a Keurig, plates for eight. Most of our guests do one meal a day out and make the rest — breakfast in the kitchen at Girl's Night Out, with the marble island and the blush cabinetry, is the photo half our guests post. A late dinner around the farmhouse table at Hunter's Lodge is the other half.
The houses are two to four minutes from WinStar, most under a mile. Close enough for the steakhouse, far enough to cook.
A note on what's not here
Every venue above is on WinStar's own dining listings. We've left out prices and hours on purpose, and we've left out places we couldn't confirm are open — a guide that sends you to a closed door is worse than no guide. Check winstar.com/dining before you go.