Service:

2262 Larimer St. Denver                 700 Colorado Blvd, Denver              

(303) 297-0700                                  (303) 297-0700

Interestingly enough, Snooze will be opening up a new location up in Fort Collins. This will be located on Mountain Ave. across the street from the Rio. It is set to be opening its doors early next year. For all of you who can’t make it down to Denver to try this A.M. (and lunch) eatery, you will be able to drive just down the street soon enough to get the “Jetson’s meet Happy Day’s” dining experience.

Atmosphere

This restaurant has a very open, inviting feel. The first thing that I noticed was that it was crowded and for a very good reason. Snooze has been doing something right for years now and has a very loyal fan base. There is a very unique and funky design. They are known for their signature “half crescent/ Pac-Man” booths. Staying in tune with the breakfast theme, there are very nice, subtle but creative lighting decorations around the restaurant that have stars cut out and are backlit so as to give the twinkle effect. The wood that is used is very light and they are a very environmentally conscious establishment utilizing all of the natural lighting and taking full advantage of having skylights in all (soon to be 3) of their locations. They are also completely neutral in their water and energy conservation.

Drinks

They do have a full bar which is always nice to have as an option when you are out for breakfast.

Food

They have a very inventive spin on breakfast. Of course they offer the usual, traditional items but they also a away for the ordinary and experiment a little. Some examples are

BBQ Pork Benny: eggs, hollandaise and pickles. 

Surf and Turf: tenderloin, shrimp, eggs and hollandaise. 

Pancake Flights:  you can choose from any of the pancake options such as Peach Ginger, Carrot Cake, Pineapple Upside Down Cake

They serve breakfast all day and also serve lunch starting at 11am. This is a very limited menu of 6 items, none of which are too unique. They do cater and offer orders to go.

All of their meals, breakfast or lunch, are all moderately priced.

Service

The servers are friendly and tend to get in the “retro” character which makes the experience just a little more unique than your typical breakfast place.

Sushi Sasa

2401 15th St # 80
Denver, CO 80202-1143
(303) 433-7272

I have had my fair share of sushi over the years. Seafood is definitely my favorite type of food, so sushi is the perfect complement to that. I would venture to say that this restaurant has the best sushi I have ever tasted anywhere in Colorado.

Atmosphere:

The location of Sushi Sasa is excellent, it is very quick and easy to walk to. It is off of 15th street which is a very loud, large, busy road. They do have an outdoor patio, but I do not feel as though you would be able to experience the full effect of the great atmosphere and superb food if you sit outside. There really is no view of anything but the noisy street. But I understand a beautiful sunny summer day if one would want to sit outside and just enjoy being out in the open. I personally would not recommend sitting outside. However, the inside is a completely different story. When walking in off of the loud, busy street, you walk into an incredibly quiet,  peaceful and serene atmosphere. You are greeted with complete silence, which will definitely take you by surprise. Although the restaurant was very busy for a saturday night, it was incredibly quiet.  The decorations are very simple and natural using a lot of wood and very earthy colors on the walls with very simple asian inspired artwork.

Drink:

They have a great wine list but the main focus is on the sake. The sake list compliments the menu in that its very extensive and has many unique options that you won’t find at the typical sushi restaurant.

Food:

I can confidently say that Sushi Sasa has the freshest ingredients I have every had in sushi. All of the rolls were very inventive and adventurous, including ingredients that I have never seen offered at any sushi restaurant thus far. These unique ingredients include Japanese pumpkin, Maui sweet onion, black pepper (seems very ordinary, but not on sushi) , granny smith apples, sprouts and strawberry. We ordered 3 rolls:

All 3 of these rolls combined were $30. (Very reasonable for a sushi dinner!)

Poki Hama: Hawaiian style yellowtail roll- chopped yellowtail, cucumber, toasted pine nuts, granny smith apple, kaiware sprouts, poki sauce and wasabi tobiko >>  The Poki Hama roll was the most refreshing, unique, light and fresh roll I have ever tasted. I think the pine nuts add a lot of subtlety to the roll that is hard to find. The granny smith apple was nearly undetectable (in a good way that didn’t make it sour)  but also added to the crisp and fresh approach. This is my favorite roll I have had and would encourage anyone to try this!

Diablo: spicy tuna and avocado, seared tuna with ginger, spicy daikon radish and served with spicy ponzu sauce. This is the house favorite and recommended by the server as well as surrounding tables. >> I feel that the extra sauce that came with the roll was the aspect that made this stand out. This roll was not the most inventive and really didn’t do much to distinguish itself from the rest of the restaurants in Colorado. Although this was great, it was not the best!

Dragon: crab (real crab, not krab with a “k”), shrimp tempura, eel avocado and strawberries with sweet soy sauce. >> This roll was very different from any I have ever tried before. All of the main ingredients, although incredibly fresh, were not distinct. What really differentiated this roll from all the rest was the strawberries. I have never seen this offered anywhere that I have ever been to. It was a very complimentary dish, ultimately highlighting the strawberry but leading you back to the main ingredient being seafood.

Service:

Our waitress was very pleasant. Although the restaurant was packed and she had many other tables to pay attention to, she was very attentive and patient. She made excellent suggestions from the wine to the food. Everything that she suggested as a house favorite, we undoubtedly ended up loving. Sushi Sasa is one of the best places sushi and at a very reasonable price. I would however recommend to anyone who decides to give this restaurant a try to make reservations. It is always very busy and is still able to maintain it’s peaceful and serene atmosphere.

1520 Blake St
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 825-1550

“Sustainable, eco-friendly, reusable, recyclable, fair trade, natural, energy-efficient, organic, local, green, low-impact, fresh.”

Atmosphere

This is a very casual, quick restaurant that has a very open, light and inviting feel once you walk in. This is the very essence of Colorado I feel because the place is very environmentally friendly, open and organic.

Drink

This particular restaurant does not serve alcohol but has great fresh squeezed juices and a wide range of coffee and teas to choose from.

Food

All of the ingredients in the restaurant are natural, organic and locally produced, which I think really adds to the experience. You can choose from sandwiches (or build your own), soups salads and combo plates for lunch. There is also a decent (12 items) sized breakfast menu. Every item on the menu is very affordably, whether it be breakfast or lunch (although they are open for dinner as well.)

Prices range from $4- $9

Service

 You need to walk up to the counter to order and then your meal is brought out to you in a very timely manner. This is a very welcoming place where the owner comes around and has a personal conversation with every table.

Paris on the Platte

1553 Platte St

Denver, CO 80202-6105

Cafe:  (303) 455-2451

Wine Bar: (303) 217-5805

Atmosphere

Walking past this joint cafe/coffee and wine bar (2 separate, connected buildings), there is a warm, cozy and inviting feeling. A perfect place to be while we are in the midst of the season changes and the weather cooling off. The cafe side of the restaurants is a lovely place to eat breakfast or lunch and warm up with a great cup of coffee. The wine bar side is a very busy place in the evening. It is dimly lit and has many couches and comfortable seating to enjoy your glass of wine.

Drink

Cafe: The cafe has an assortment of teas and coffee even shakes in every variation possible. They have a very attractive price range and offer every size imaginable. They range from individual cups to family sized pitcher styles.

The prices range from single cups $1.50 to pitchers (small) and $12.50 (large)

Wine: There is an assortment of wines, red and white, that is sure to please anyone. Although the prices are not substantially cheap, they are very reasonable and affordable. This is a wine bar but they do not only serve wine, they also serve martinis, specialty drinks and after dinner. Perfect for any occasion.

Wines by the glass $6.50- $9.50 By the Bottle $20- $95

Food

Cafe: They have a great menu and I would suggest anyone looking for breakfast, brunch or lunch stop by and try one of their fabulous pizzas, sandwiches, soups, salads or cakes. They have a very unique menu that has tastes and flavors to please anyone and everyone. They also have many vegetarian options. Very moderately priced.

Ranging from $3.25- $9.95

Wine: If you are just in the area looking for a great place to grab a drink and a light bite to eat, you are in for a treat. Pairing perfectly with the wines are mini sandwiches, light pizza’s and tapas. These are nothing spectacularly cheap, but are a perfect late night snack. Finger foods are always a great way to eat a meal, enjoy a drink and spend time with great company.

Ranging from $6.95- $12.95

Service

The service was decent. They all had great opinions and suggested very exciting and interesting items from the menu that you may not be able to find any where else. I definitely recommend this joint restaurant destination to anyone looking for great atmosphere, wine or coffee.

2401 15th St
Denver, CO 80202-6105
(720) 855-9400

Atmosphere

There’s a vibrant, young and uplifting feel when you walk into (or even past) this restaurant. Proto’s is always packed and anyone can tell that this has to be a great hotspot. Walking in you are taken aback by the smells of fresh pizza coming from the back in the brick oven that’s open for everyone to watch your personal pizza being freshly made. Proto’s gives you the feeling of an authentic Italian pizzeria.

Drink

Proto’s has a great, reasonably priced wine list of red and white that will pair nicely with any pizza you choose.

Wines by the glass- $5-9   &   Bottles of wine $19-52

Food

All of the pizza’s are very original and many have red pepper flakes on them which I find to be a unique aspect to this pizzeria. This spices things up a bit but not too much for all of us that can’t handle the heat. All pizza’s are made with a relatively thin crust so you may be inclined to order a larger pizza than you typically would, but this can give you the option of diversifying your selections.

All of the pizza’s are moderately priced ranging from $6-21 (S-L)

Service

Proto’s has a very casual, yet sophisticated feel. The service mimics that as well. With the restaurant being so crowded all of the time, the service is casual and limited. I would not expect the servers to spend extended time at any specific table. But they are friendly and knowledgable.

2376 15th St
My Brother’s Bar Denver, CO 80202
303-455-9991

While continuing to explore around my new neighborhood, I decided to venture across the street to a darkly lit building with no name that was incredibly intriguing.

Atmosphere

A building with no name is inviting enough in itself, but having barely any windows and dim yellow/ orangish lighting, I could not pass up a little exploring. I went to read the menu in the window and suprisingly discovered that My Brother’s Bar is officially the oldest bar in Denver. After seeing the menu (bar food) and that the prices matched the dated restaurant (cheap), I decided to give it a try. Walk into the bar and you are surrounded with a warm, cozy and inviting feel. The bar seemed to double as the kitchen which gave the guests a view of their food being cooked as well as a very old fashioned bar. Beautifully displayed were the bottles of liquor as well as an elegant mirror. The restaurant was deceiving in size, it was almost 4x as large as I had initially anticipated. Even as you left the bar and went into the main dining area, the elegant and cozy feel was extended.

Drink

Being that we are in a bar, I reasonably ordered a beer. The selections were very unique and the majority of the choices of beer I had never even heard of before.

Food

The food was terrible. I ordered a turkey burger and it was smothered in cream cheese, which I was unaware of. The condiments are served in a box with toppings such as lettuce, tomatoes, sauerkraut, diced onions, ketchup ect. This box is just handed around from table to table- very unsanitary. I also had a cobb salad which tasted as though it had been sitting in a fridge for days- wilted lettuce, soggy cheese.

Service

Our waitress took almost 10 minutes to initially greet us. She was very rude and had very little input/opinions about anything we asked her. She was incredibly “offended” and appalled when we asked her for a menu, as if we were already supposed to know the only menu’s are posted on the walls.

Although the atmosphere was amazing and dungeon-like, I will never go there for food again. I would however enjoy going there for a drink and just enjoy the bar. I would reccommend any/everyone to poke their head in grab a beer, if for nothing else then enjoy the history this bar and its location have.

Also, I do not have the particular menu and the pricing since nothing is online and they don’t have any take home menu’s, but I can tell you that for a beer, a burger and a full salad, I spent less than $10.

1890 Wynkoop Street
Denver, Colorado
80202
(303) 296-0023

“Quality, comfort and value are three key ingredients that make The Keg Steakhouse & Bar experience like no other.”

The Keg is a very versatile restaurant. It is located directly across the street from the SE entrance to Coors Field so as you can imagine, this restaurant would have a very relaxed feel. But this is not your typical sports bar, although the lounge does have a few tv’s. This restaurant can also have a very cozy and inviting feel. This past weekend, my boyfriend and I decided to make it a very elegant and romantic restaurant as we were celebrating our anniversary.

Atmosphere

taurant has a long, relaxed patio right along Wynkoop street which is very nice to sit outside and have a few drinks with some friends before the Rockies game. This patio is always packed so you will be lucky to get a seat, but when you do it is worth it. I have been here before and I know that they have incredible happy hour prices, especially when there is a Rockies game ex) 2 beers and 1 glass of wine =$6! When you enter the restaurant, the colors are all warm, dark inviting colors with very whimsical artwork reminding me of New Orleans. All of the tables are very intimate as the majority of them are in their own private booths which feels very private and that you have the best seat in the whole restaurant.

Drink

We split a bottle of wine.

Wolf Blass Shiraz – South Australia $36.98

It is a medium bodied wine with red fruit aromas with just a hint of oak.The Keg had a great wine list with a fairly extensive menu for all very reasonable prices.

Food

Being that the Keg is a steakhouse and I do not eat steak, or any red meat for that matter, my options were fairly limited although there were some intriguing seafood dishes. For an appetizer, we started out with

Ahi Tuna Grilled rare, served with a mushroom reduction drizzled with cucumber- wasabi sauce $10.95

One of the great thing about this as an appetizer is that no matter where you go, you will never find it prepared in the same way. Although we seem to order this as our appetizer more often than not, it is always a surprise when you first taste it. The mushrooms were a great addition to the dish, as of course we have never had it prepared in such a way.

For dinner, I have always been a sucker for crab and since we were celebrating, I figured this is the perfect excuse. I had the

King Crab Dinner- One pound of steamed Alaskan King Crab Legs- $35.95

The crab legs were delicious as always. This dish is always very similar wherever you are, so this is always a safe choice for me. About half way through dinner the manager came over to check on us and see how are meal was. He then proceeded to ask me if all of my crab legs had meat in them, which I thought to be a strange question. I then checked the remaining crab legs and sure enough 2 of them were “meatless”. He said that he had just received a complaint from another table about this so he wanted to check with everyone else. One pound is more than enough so I declined his offer when he suggested another pound be brought out.

My boyfriend had the

Filet Mignon Tenderloin wrapped in applewood smoked bacon- 10(oz) $28.95

We have both worked in a fine dining restaurant, which is now a steakhouse for the past 4 years together and he confidently stated after the first bite that this filet was the most tender meat he had ever tasted. Although I didn’t try it, I could tell that it was cooked perfectly and was a high quality piece of meat.

Service

It was a saturday night and of course there was a Rockies game, so the restaurant was entirely full. Our waitress was very kind, but had little time to spend at our table. She took a while to get every course of our meal out, but we were in no rush so this wasn’t a nuisance. At the end of our meal though, we were pleasantly surprised when we got our bill and it was only $65.oo. We figured this had to be a mistake and then realized that the entire $35.95 for the Crab Leg Dinner had been taken off. This was incredibly impressive since we were not even the ones that pointed out the mistake in the first place. The manager pointed out the restaurant’s flaw and then proceeded to reward us for it. This was a very admirable reflection of the restaurant as a whole, which showed The Keg’s strive for perfection and complete satisfaction for its customers.

2364 15th St., Denver 141 S. Broadway, Denver
Phone: 303-455-4503 Phone: 303-778-1111

After a long night of celebrating a friend being home from Costa Rica, I decided to venture just across the street to a funky restaurant I walk past everyday. The colors were very appealing and eye catching. The very first thing I noticed about this restaurant though was the plastic “flapper” leg that is positioned right above the front entrance.

Atmosphere

The restaurant was packed and had a cozy inviting setting. Walking through the dining room, there are blackboards with chalk at every table which you are able to decorate while you wait  for your food. I sat out on the back patio under huge, sprawling umbrellas which kept the hot, end of summer sun out of my eyes.

Drink

IMy drink was over priced  but nonetheless refreshing and delicious with a bit of a spicy kick.

Bloody Mary ($7.95)

Food

I ordered a fairly traditional breakfast item as I am not very adventourous in the morning. I had an

egg sandwich on a croissant with pepperjack cheese ($5.98).

It was delicious but not very original. A few other dishes at the table were less tradtional. The

It was a very nice and inventive spin on the traditional egg’s benedict.

Service

My waitress was very friendly, relatable and attentive. The reccommendations she gave such as the Crab Cake Florentine were just as amazing as she had promised.

1610 Little Raven Street, Riverfront Park
Denver, CO 80202
Tel. 720.904.0965

“Zengo is Japanese for ‘give and take’ . It is chef Sandoval’s eclectic and energetic, Latin-Asian restaurant, receiving acclaim for its vibrant, fun atmosphere and light sharing cuisine.”

My very first night that I was able to explore “dtown” was a Tuesday. I walked around for just under 2 hours exploring the neighborhood and familiarizing myself with my new surroundings. The first restaurant I saw I was drawn to just by the presence it exuded when walking past. The colors were vibrant, the music was festive and the people looked satisfied. After attempting to find a restaurant that could beat my initial impulse, 2 hours later I found myself back where I began, at ZENGO.

Atmosphere:

On the patio are huge orange umbrellas, and by huge I mean each umbrella covered 3 tables. By 6:30 every table outside was occupied. The main entrance greets you with welcoming music and brilliant colors of blue and red. Pass through the revolving door and you will be exposed to the modernism that separates ZENGO from the rest. The lounge area is appealing,with dark colored couches and lights made to look as if they were candles, imitating a dark, cozy/ romantic setting. The majority of the room is secluded so it feels very intimate and inviting. The dining room is full of mouth-watering smells, you are able to see into the kitchen where the chefs are preparing each entree to order. The lighting is modern and over the raw bar which is surrounding the kitchen that infuses the Asian feel in the restaurant. The lights are covered with colored see-through boxes which are effective in setting the mood for the Latin-Asian theme.

Drink

The drink menu was incredibly inventive. The server suggested the mojito as they are well known for their mojito’s, but I decided to venture out and have a

Kimono Kiss- absolut mandarin- sake- blood orange- ginger- lime $10.

This drink was enjoyable but the lime overpowered the entire drink and almost turned it into a limeade with a splash of orange. Being mildly disappointed in my choice then looking around the dining room… every table had a mojito on it. I wish I ordered the mojito!

Food:

I have to go out on a limb and make a very bold statement: BEST FISH I HAVE EVER HAD! (almost) Last summer I travelled around Europe and made my way down to Croatia. Beside the Croatian Sea Bass, ZENGO’s Black Cod has topped my list. I ordered the

Char Broiled Black Cod- chile chipotle-miso/ asparagus with lemon-togarashi aioli $28

Once again this dish was a recommendation from my server. At first I was torn by the $28 price tag for a piece of cod (which in my book is sub-par to others in the seafood department.) It was my first big meal in my new home town so I decided to swallow the price tag along with what turned out to be the best fish I have ever had! (almost.) The fish couldn’t have been more perfectly cooked and layed on a bed of asparagus. The sauce was subtle but brought out all of the right components of the dish. If I had no self control, I just may have ordered a second dish… I could NOT get enough of the Black Cod!

Service:

The service only deserves one word, AMAZING! My server knew every little detail about every dish. His responses weren’t rehearsed, they were sincere and anyone could tell he thoroughly enjoyed his job. He spent the time to have “personal” conversations. I told him that even though this was the first restaurant I had been to as an official “dtown” resident, ” I can assure you I will be back!”