eating out / cafe|bar

Restaurant Week in Denver is always super fun! I had never before lived in a place that has this type of culture/event. It's about two weeks every year, a true celebration of the culinary scene in Denver. Participating restaurants will offer a multi-course dinner for the fixed price of $52.80 for two, or $26.40 for one (not including tax or gratuity). So, we try to use this opportunity to get to know new restaurants. A few weeks before, we received the issue of 5280: Best New Restaurants which helps us choose among the more than 300 restaurants that participate in the event.

Our first choice was cafe|bar in West Washington Park. The description in the magazine reminded me of Kitchen, in Boulder: American fare cooked with local and seasonal ingredients. And I was correct, as soon as we entered the place, there it was, the gigantic board with a list of the ingredients and where they come from, every single farm is listed.

The most impressive aspect of the restaurant is definitely the decor and ambiance. They have mixed rustic with mid-century modern furniture and the light fixtures are to die for. The atmosphere is wonderful, a lot of chatter, friends enjoying themselves everywhere. Even though this is a small space, it didn't feel crowed. The service was slow, Restaurant Week might have compromised the service a bit, there were plenty of people with reservations at 9 and 10pm! The food tasted amazing. We had the crab and roasted corn chowder and it was fantastic. The entré was roasted lamb ribs: phenomenal and the dessert was a let down, a blend panna cotta, it didn't take like anything. We will def. be back.