The Fort Restaurant

05/30/2008 Posted by pgco

So let me start by saying, we were a group of 5, sitting at a 4 top table. We were cramped and uncomfortable. We were directly under the A/C vent which they finally turned off. The ambiance, given those constraints was absolutely terrible. Our waitress was obnoxious and completely unknowledgable about wine. The only reason this place got the 3 stars that it did, is simply because of the appetizers. We had just about every appetizer on the menu and they were all beyond excellent. I ordered the game plate, which came with Buffalo tenderloin, elk and a pheasant. The Buffalo tenderloin was superb, while the elk was overcooked. I am not a huge pheasant fan (too much work for too little food), but it was cooked perfectly. Another party at the table ordered roasted duck and it was phenomenal. The long and the short of it is...if you are going to charge what they charge, everything: ambiance, food, waitstaff...all should be top notch. I felt as though only one part of this meal was top notch...the price. So to sum it all up...wow, what a letdown.

Pros: Location Location Location, Appetizers

Cons: Just about everything else

03/11/2008 Posted by foodcriticstomcolicchio

The Fort has one of the best wine list in Colorado. The meat was a good quality and the service was in average. As appetizers I liked Sam' s Guacamole. We loved the Gonzales grilled steak. Overall a good place to go.

Pros: Great Wine List

Cons: Expensive

07/16/2007 Posted by cwcohn

I have been to The Fort several times over the past few years and have never been disappointed. The food is always and consistantly outstanding, and the wait staff is probably the best ever. I have brought business associates and family here and they have always had a wonderful meal. Occasionally there are new and unique items on the menu. The out of towners find The Fort to be provide a terrific dining experience. Highly and exceptionally recommended!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

06/21/2007 Posted by intlfoody

Twice now I've been disappointed in this establishment. The last visit began with being ingored at the host desk. The entire staff was unkempt and seemed very inexperienced. When we were finally sat, the manager asked us, after our cocktails arrived, if we wouldn't mind moving to another table. We picked up our drinks and moved. He had another party which appearantly needed our table more than we did. The service was lacking. Our meal dragged out almost two hours as we had to waaaaait for each step of the meal. The food was not prepared as ordered. I actually bit into a clod of dirt which was in one of the items. I had to wash crunchy dirt out of the right side of my mouth with a funky tasting cocktail. I lost my appetite and my $40 entree went to waste. The manager offered to comp something for us for moving tables and then the waiter insisted that we order desserts (which we did not want) so he could comp them instead of our $25 appetizer. Too bad. This is an institution around here. What happened?

Pros: Well known institution.

Cons: Appearantly, it has really gone downhill.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

05/28/2007 Posted by 1foodie4u

The Fort is a unqiue venue for parties and individual diners and almost an institution in Colorado. Worth a visit , but don't get your expectations too high... I keep going back every few years because it is what it is...a part of Colorado tradition

Pros: Great views, unique atmosphere, game menu

Cons: very rustic (could be a pro?), cement floors, inadequate restrooms

05/03/2007 Posted by mandy80129

Wow it has been about 7 years since i had been to the Fort and it has really gone down hill. Seating and service at the table were very slow. The muffins were under cooked and the bison was overcooked. I ordered the bison rare and it came out looking like a piece of shoe leather. I had them replace it and the second steak was overcooked also but not as bad as the first. Prices are outrageous. I will never return.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

10/18/2006 Posted by allison_hranch

The reviews posted on 9/25 and 10/5/2006 are obviously written by someone that works at the Fort. What a bunch of nonsense! I have been to the fort several times (unfortunately) in the last 6 years. Don't get me wrong, it used to be very good, and the muffins are still decent. Generally speaking the preparation of the rest of the food has dramatically gone down with each new chef. The veggies are bland and quite often, served cold. On a good night, your entre will be prepared as you order it, but culinary skills do not appear to be required for the fort employees anymore. They always boast about the Summit of the Eight.....and that was an honor for them, but what is new? All the boasting only reminds me of what agreat restaurant The Fort was...... I hope that they get back to what made them great, but they are really on a down hill slide. Location and view is the only thing that the fort has going for it now.

Pros: View

Cons: Everything else

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

10/05/2006 Posted by sweetkness

THE BEST MEAL WE HAVE EVER HAD!!! Read on if you want the details. How anyone could give this place anything below a 9 is beyone me. This place was suggested to us as a place to have a special honeymoon meal, and what a great suggestion it was. We each started with a drink, unique choices, quite pricey, but very good, and served in oldfashioned drinking jar. Their appetizer menu was very unique....mango peanut butter stuffed jalapenos, bone marrow, even a rattlesnake cake, locally caught, a special that night, but too pricey for an app. You get an option of adding smoked duck or shrimp to your predinner salad, I tried duck, the wife tried shrimp. This was probably THE BEST SALAD I have ever had, wonderful unique options such as jicama, ginger, some type of sweet pepper, roasted nuts, some kind of seed, and more, with homemade jalapeno buttermilk ranch dressing....and with the smoked duck, fantastic!!! Definetly try the pumpkin almond muffins, very good bread option, the sourdough was ok. I tried their customer favorite, the fort game plate for an entree, which came with a buffalo tenderloin, an elk steak and a quail (my wife also had the tenderloin). Maybe not the best steak, but it was the most tender steak I have ever had, one of those melt in your mouth steaks, and I had never had quail before, WOW, the best fowl I have ever had also, unbelievably tender and juicy. Even the sides were prepared perfectly, wonderful potatoes, perfectly cooked green beans with almonds and a wonderful huckleberry sauce to dip in. Dessert was also fantastic, a huckleberry creme brule, so tasty!!! The only complaint I could find was that my espresso was not as hot as I would like. Our service was great throughout, not complaints. One quick recommendation, there was outdoor seating with an amazing view, it wasn't offered to us, but request it if its a nice night, you won't regret it. We might not have lots of fine dining experience, but we know a top place, this is it!!!

Pros: Romantic dining, steak, quail

Cons: Some loud guests with little class.

09/25/2006 Posted by topperviews

Last Friday we went to The Fort with friends from out of town. Because the founder, builder and owner, Sam Arnold, died last June 2006, I was worried the restaurant's food quality and unique ambiance had suffered from his absence. All that worry for nothing. This is a one-of-a-kind, world class restaurant, a must-see-and-do place for anyone with an adventurous spirit. Dinner began with yummy made-from-scratch pumpkin muffins and square white biscuits along with soup or salad. Not just any soup, mind you. A soup like no other I've tasted. Absolutely delicious with the added bonus of nutritious. It was a meal all by itself. The serving portions were extra large. After the heavenly muffins and soup I was tempted to ask the attentive and friendly wait staff to box up the rest of my meal. Next came a massive helping of a half serving of smoked buffalo ribs, complimented with fresh string beans and lip-smacking baked beans chockfull of meat chunks and different kinds of beans in a mouth-watering sauce that Sam Arnold was famous for inventing. Whoooa! In fact, all the western-style recipes were meticulously researched and perfected by Sam. While stuffing our faces, Eric Herrera, dressed in his gorgeous western garb, wandered around playing his Native American flute, talking to anyone who would listen. He had some interesting stories to share. Two in our party of four were having birthdays and got to wear the 10-lb buffalo bonnet. They even took their pictures and posted them on the Internet for sharing with others near and far. On your way in or out of The Fort, treat yourself to a stop-and-browse session at the Trading Post in the restaurant's courtyard. Yes, the place is a bit expensive but well worth every penny, pound for pound. Don't miss this one even if you have to save up for it. It's that good. A few years back The Fort hosted dinner for the political bigwigs of the Summit of the Eight global meeting. The Fort's website is at thefort.

Pros: thumbs up, loved it

Cons: not for those who can only tolerate bland, nondescript food

09/20/2006 Posted by psue61

I have recently relocated to Denver from a city with many fine restaurants.The Fort was suggested to me by one of my employees(I will not hold it against her). Price does not bother me when I get something good. I went to the restaurant with three friends from Colorado who also raved about the Fort(none of them had been there in that last couple of years),and they were excited to go. I was anticipating somethin special! What we actually received was an old west version of the Rainforest Cafe. The restaurant is a novelty.That being said I will address the service and that quality of the food. Food & Dis-Service: We were seated promptly, but it took more that 20 minutes to get a drink or order an appetizer. We did order 3 different appetizers to share and they were OK - A different waiter brought the appetizers to our table and we advised him that we were ready to order our meal. It took another 15 minutes for "our" waiter to return to take our order - we were finished with our appetizer before we ordered our entre. The restaurant was not even half full. We also ordered 4 different entres so that we could try different things. I love Bison when it is properly prepared. I ordered a Buffalo Tenderloin Filet rare (the only way to cook buffalo). It was brought to the table with no pink in the middle, at all! It was served with cold potatoes and what appeared to be canned vegetables. I cut into the steak and asked the waiter to bering me one that is prepared properly. He suggested that I try a couple bites first because "it was cooked to order"-I complied and advised the waiter that it had the texture of a tennis ball. Before he took it back to the kitchen he took the opportunity to whine a little more and to advise me that there "chef" knows how to cook. The food that my friends had was decent but nothing special by their standards. We all wondered about the cold potatoes and canned vegies-None of us will return! out of space

Pros: Has potential to be Ok

Cons: Service - Food quality