Great Denver Restaurants
 

Hi -- I am going to a conference in Denver the end of November for 4 nights. We are staying at the Sheraton Denver Downtown. Ideas for good restaurants? Italian, Asian, steak ---- we are open! Looking forward to your ideas. Thanks

It's only a brewpub, but worth a visit. My wife and I enjoy a meal here when are in Denver, fun part of town.

http://www.wynkoop.com/

You might take a look at 5280.com for reviews of most restaurants. In the downtown/Lo Do area the better restaurants are -- Colt & Gray, Rioja, Vesta Dipping Grill, Olivia. They are all in walking distance of your hotel. There are some excellent new restaurants in the Highlands or Cherry Creek but that would require a taxi ride if you don't have a car.

here are a few in the downtown area--take the 16th Street Mall shuttle

Panzano http://www.panzano-denver.com/ Italian
Rioja http://www.riojadenver.com/ Mediterranean
Tamayo http://www.richardsandoval.com/tamayo/ modern Mexican
Bistro Vendome http://bistrovendome.com/ French

less up scale
Dixons http://www.dixonsrestaurant.com/
Osteria Marco http://www.osteriamarco.com/ one of Denver's chefs--also owns Luca d'Italia and Mizuna--which would be a quick cab ride from downtown http://www.lucadenver.com/ http://mizunadenver.com/

Here's some steak restaurants in the downtown area

Outposts of national chains
Denver Chophouse http://www.chophouse.com/
Sullivans http://www.sullivansteakhouse.com/
Mortons http://www.mortons.com/denver/

Local steakhouse owned by the former quarterback of the Denver Broncos
Elways http://www.elways.com/downtown/

For a really really terrific pizza go to Marco's Coal Fired Pizzeria on Larimer. It is far from a "pizzeria", and they have terrific wings, marinated in limoncello and cooked in their coal fired oven. Artisan pizzas in the brick oven. TERRIFIC antipasto platter and salad plates.
If you go to the Denver Art Museum have a meal at Pallettes--one of Kevin Taylor's restaurants.
Mizuna and Luce are just terrific, as is Fruition, one of their former chefs.
Also Barolo

And you will not have a better steak anywhere than Elway's. Don't mistake that it is a "sports bar" because it is John's!! Fine dining at its best.

Go to -----

http://www.5280.com/magazine/2010/03/dining-denver


In March 2010 issue, 5280 listed Denver area's 25 Best Restaurants. These are all very upscale restaurants. Many of the above "favorites" didn't make it. These listing are always very subjective. One of our favorites is the Wazee Supper Club. It is a hole in the wall, once owned by the mayor soon to be governor, and has very good pizza and great beer. And I don't care for Elways -- over priced and over hyped.

I had the chance to visit Denver twice this summer and I owe a debt of gratitude (and a trip report) to some of those who've responded here and who gave me great advice.

Panzano (we stayed at the Monaco)
Dixon's
Wazee Supper Club
Pallettes

and one that was recommended, which we loved, that hasn't yet been mentioned here:

Le Centrale

Try the Buckhorn Exchange. They serve elk, moose, buffalo, quail, etc. I had the buffalo prime rib and it was the best piece of meat I have ever had. Also, the atmosphere is fun.

I have to agree with fmpden about Elway's. It's a hang out for cougars and wanna be's. The hostesses have an attitude problem although the wait staff is good. While the steaks are usually excellent, the place is over priced. I'd rather go a couple of blocks north to the Cherry Cricket for a hamburger.

OR you might get to hang out with Rascal Flats at Elway's bar. Tell me about the hostesses "attitude" please.
Fmpden's problem with Elway's is with me--and I didn't mention it first. Grass fed Colorado beef cut by their own butcher. You get what you pay for.

I am also in the anti-Elway's camp. We had lukewarm service, were seated next to a table of professional cheerleaders (what a thrill! haha), and it did seem to be a place for aging old guys to oggle young women. Just my impression.

The food was ok and the atmosphere was just ok. We will never return, mostly because we have decided not to patronize any stupid restaurant that charges $35 for a small steak and can't even give you a potato or vegetable with it. The sides are another $7 or so. I hate restaurants that do that.

Elway's needs to get over itself. "Fine dining"? I don't think so.

Otherwise, lots of good recommendations above. Especially The Wazee, Barolo, Le Centrale.

Has anyone mentioned Strings, or Avenue Grill? Both on 17th, so not far from downtown. Both are excellent.

Wow, thank you for so many good ideas! I will definately check out the web sites.

I'll just add that there are two Elway's--one at the Ritz, and one in Cherry Creek. The latter is better.

FYI, my review is for the Cherry Creek Elway's.

PeaceOut..." for aging old guys to oggle young women" or aging women to oogle young guys.:)

If anyone still wants to try Elway's, the Cherry Creek location is better than the one at the Ritz.

I'd REAlLY like to hear about the hostess's attitude.

Hi, Gretchen. Not sure about our hostess's attitude. It was not remarkable one way or the other, except to be kind of brusque, not really personable. That was certainly not my biggest problem with Elway's.

I do recall our server took awhile to come take our drink order. And he never came back to see if we were happy with our hunks of beef, or if we needed anything else.

Just a bad experience all the way around. Over-rated and over-priced.

P.S. I did have the distinct feeling at Elway's that we didn't rate good service, because there were some old farts at the bar and elsewhere, who were being paid copious amounts of time and energy by the staff. They must have been somebody's. Which we are not. Thus, we felt ignored.

Regarding the hostess's attitude...We've been to Elway's on several occasions and never has the hostess welcomed us, smiled or given any indication of being pleased that we were there. We frequent a number of Denver's top restaurants including Fruition ( my current favorite) Barolo Grill and Mizuna to name a few. In each of those places we have been welcomed with smiles and a "How are you tonight" etc. Not so at Elway's. When we give our name, they always ask if we have a reservation ( without even checking the list) as if anyone knowledgeable about Denver restaurants would attempt dining there without one. It is certainly not a big deal, but I find there is a big difference between the greeting at Elway's and every other restaurant I've dined at in Denver. We've lived in Denver for nearly five yers and have been to Elway's including the one at the Ritz about a half dozen times. I'm still waiting for them to make us feel welcome.

The Elway's at the Ritz kept us waiting for twenty minutes even though we had a booking and arrived on time. No comp drinks or anything other than a hesitant apology. At Fruition they always offer Kir Royals to all their customers if they have to wait more a couple of minutes. They even comped our wine and dessert the one time we had to wait.

I agree with PeaceOut that having to pay $35 for a small fillet and then another $7-$8 for each side dish is a bit exorbitant. The steaks are great, but, IMO, Denver has far too many good restaurants to settle for Elway's flaws. The only exception I would make for dining at Elway's was if I was craving one of their fillets. Still looking for a subsitute. Flemings is too far and Elway's is in our neighborhood.

...Fmpden's problem with Elway's is with me--and I didn't mention it first..... What is that supposed to mean?? No one can challenge your beloved Elway?

Gretchen, I thought you lived in Texas, maybe Houston. So how come your are such an expert on Denver?? My comment was pretty simple and not directed to you or anyone else. But it appears more agree with me than with you. And it seems to be coming from folks who actual live here and frequent the local restaurants scene.

Someone mentioned Buckhorn Exchange. I would second that not because it is great restaurant but for its historical value. It is above average and a tad expensive for the quality but it is unique. Probably the oldest restaurant in Denver, holds the No 1 Liquor license, lot of wild game on menu and on the wall which is what makes it expensive. serves a lot of Rocky Mountain oysters which everyone should have at least once in their lives. Easy to get to. Has it own light rail stop. First stop south of the city on any of the south bound light rail lines.

The hot new area for restaurants is the Highlands -- north of the LODO area across I-25 but walkable if you like long walks. If a little adventuresome you could try the Bike Share program for getting around the downtown area.

And if you think the Blue Stallion at airport is interesting wait till you see the "art work" at the south end of the walking bridge across I-25. After you seen I will give you the local name for it. Perhaps Gretchen would like to describe it for you.

Do come prepared for a wide range of weather. Could be 60+ and it could be snowing.

No, not Texas. Why the attitude? We visit often, and eat out a lot--is that a problem.
I don't mind that others don't care for Elway's either, but would really love to know which Elway's and what offended with the hostesses. AND I guarantee you, Elway's would like to know. They should TELL them, not carp on a travel board.
AND probably most important, is it every time they go in for, say, 5 times. Stand the test of time.
And as for not getting a side--I find that incredibly irritating also--AND at Morton's, The Palm, Sullivans, etc.--all the steak houses.
Another unique restaurant is Domo. We haven't been for several years, so hope it is still there. it is a Chirashi sushi restaurant--"country" japanese. Their sake selections are marvelous. Really good and very different Japanese restaurant.
And I second and third La Centrale for French. Very reasonably priced. We LOVE it.

Well, Gretchen, we have "told" Elway's-- by not ever returning. That's what consumers do. I sure would not give them 5 more times to fail. Just IMHO.

I did not realize you are not a Denver resident?

LCP, Maybe you should just go to the brewpub I originally suggested! :)

Or, go to the Rio Grande and have a marg. Then you won't care where you eat.

I'd like to put in another plug for Fruition. You'll probably have to take a taxi there, but it is a very good restaurant. Let me explain why they impressed me.

Two years ago, we were flying to Denver from Orlando and were going to celebrate our anniversary that particular Saturday night. It was also the weekend before the big Democratic National Convention began. It was an extremely busy night. Our plane was late in arriving into Denver and we could not get to the restaurant at the scheduled time - 7:00 PM I think. I called them to advise them what had happened and asked that we be seated at 7:30 instead...if possible. Without any hesitation, they very graciously said that that would be no problem. The taxi let us off at the curb in front of the restaurant and we walked up to the front door. There, we were welcomed with "<b>Good evening Mr. Orlando_Vic </b>", even though we had not yet given our names. It was almost as though the host was telepathic.

As for the meal that followed, food, service and ambiance were excellent, albeit a bit pricey. However, it was our anniversary and we didn't mind. I'd rate their customer service as <u>outstanding.</u>

Apparently a lot of other people like Fruition too. They are the #1 rated restaurant on TripAdvisor. http://tinyurl.com/28nr4tr

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

If I visit a place 3 times a year for 15 years and go to a lot of places, and have knowledgeable relatives and friends, do I have to live there to offer advice? WOW. High bar.
And it is fine not to go back, of course. You'll never know if it was an off night, or you were "off". They would have loved to hear from you, and probably would have comped you a return. Sounds like buyer's remorse to me--next morning, "they are overpriced and I should have gotten more". Still won't say what the "attitude" was for the hostess?

Fruition also has one of the outstanding sommeliers in Denver according to knowledgeable friend sommelier who DOES live in Denver.

Gretchen, not sure why you keep harping on the "attitude" of the hostess. I have answered that question above. It was my not point in the first place, though.

Saying the restaurant "probably would have comped you a return" is a huge stretch. I have never had any restaurant do such a thing. Free dessert or glass of wine, maybe. An entire return visit? No way.

Anyway, no need for you to second guess our experience there, or act superior as though you would not have encountered such a poor experience.

Calling Elway's "fine dining" is definitely not how most people define that term. Call it a good steakhouse, if you must. Nothing more than that.

And yes, usually locals give the best advice on restaurants in their own city.

"not my point in the first place"

If you like bbq, try Big Papa's BBQ. There's one on Monaco and Evans. Casual, inexpensive for what you get. The food is terrific.

" <I>Fruition also has one of the outstanding sommeliers in Denver according to a knowledgeable sommelier who DOES live in Denver.</I>"

I've been dining at Fruition on a regular basis ( about once a month) for the last couple of years and have never seen a sommelier. They do have an eclectic and good wine list but a sommelier? I don't think so. Maybe you're thinking of Barolo Grill.

He may not present himself as a sommelier. He will give you good advice on wines and is very knowledgeable. He has chosen the wine list so at least we can agree on that--geez. I assume he is still there--it's been a year and a half since we were there last. may go there for our special celebration in a week or so.
Tough room today.

So much good info here....Thank you! May have to checkout Elways just to see whats going on there ;)

It's a "tough room" because most advice comes from locals, who know a place and have heard from friends if it has changed, improved, gone downhill, etc. If you were there a year and a half ago, that rules you out. I am pretty sure we have had this discussion with your posts on previous Colorado threads.

I agree about Elway's, we go once in awhile to the one in Cherry Creek for lunch. Would not pay the price for dinner.

Once again. Fruition does not have a sommelier. While I believe that a variety of opinions should be welcomed on this forum, hearsay is not the best way to pass on advice.

IF he was a sommelier he would present himself as a sommelier. They have to work some damn hard for that distinction that they proudly wear the neckless. I have never seen a sommelier at Fruition but we don't go that often either. And some wait staff can be very knowledgeable about wines without a lot of training.

It is necklace -- not neckless. Do wish an edit button was provided.

Want to give you an update on my trip to Denver. Went to some wonderful restaurants-- thank you all for your suggestions. I went with a group --so I was able to taste lots of good food!

The first night we went to Roija -- such a treat and my favorite meal: great spanish red wine, brussell sprout and chesnut salad, black truffle gnocci, and lamb.

The next night we went to Osteria Marco--wonderful Fromaggio and Salumi bar! The third night we went to Elways and had a great meal (coconut shrimp and seared scallops. I didn't try the steak...). Then the final night we went to Panzano. Good pasta, but a crazy night -- the same night as the Festival of Lights and the restuarnt was on the parade route. Lots of excitement --and lots of crowds!

I must of gained 5 pounds on this trip. This was my first trip to Denver and the restaurants were memorable and delicious. Thanks again.

Thanks for reporting back. Glad you had a good time.

Thanks for the report. You had some great food, I know. I love Denver.