09/27/09

excellenrt food, wonderful service, great ambiance

by tbrothers

I recently visited The Fort and shared an excellent dinner with family. A year ago when I visited, portion sizes had seemed smaller than normal, but I am pleased to report that this has been rectified. Our portions this time were huge, in addition to the food being even better than I had remembered. I had the buffalo prime rib and it was juicy and done perfectly. I have read reviews that complain about "the sauce" but have no idea what they are talking about. The only thing on my plate was the meat, it's juices, and my sides. ( I've had it numerous times over the years, and this is how it has always been served.) Enjoyed the garlic mashed potatoes. Did not want the seasonal vegetable (corn on the cob) so I was offered anything else on the extensive sides menu. Other members of my family had the lamb chops, the game plate, and buffalo tenderloin. Everyone was quite pleased. This place can get noisy at times, but on this particular night (a Sunday), it was exceptionally quiet. There had been a Rendezvous that day, and some of the musicians from the event joined the Native American flutist to throw a little private concert for those of us in the main dining room. The music was on the quiet side so as not to intrude on dinner conversations. Though it didn't last longer than 10 minutes or so, it was quite magical. We will definitely be back.

• Pros: the food and service
• Cons: expensive, can be noisy at times

07/28/09

HORRIBLE FOOD AND RUDE OWNERS. DON'T GO!

by NoName2004

The owner (S) of The Fort are is nothing but rude,old and lonely and who have nothing better to do that insult people when they give a bad or negative review of The Fort, which I did. Obviously she and her father cannot handle negative feedback, so they should get out of the food industry and go retire!. I heard from someone on Yelp, that the owner's father called this person at home and gave this person the riot act. How rude is that?

Majority of the food on the menu was so not appealing at all.

Only great thing about this place are the views and that is it. I was there last month with my husband and we both didn't care much for my food, my husband said his was ok but mine was awful. I had their prime rob which was dry but I knew that part, but the sauce that was all over the meat was nasty, even scraping it off didn't help. So the owner had the nerve to tell me, that I don't know how a restaurant works and when your food is not good, you need to tell the waiter and so forth. Well DUH anyone knows that, I was having a nice evening with my husband and didn't want to ruin the evening.

So don't go to The Fort, they are also OVER PRICED, save your money and go elsewhere.

• Pros: The views
• Cons: Food stinks.Owners are RUDE!

05/30/08

What a letdown!!

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

03/11/08

Great wine list

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

07/16/07

Best Place for Regulars and Out of Towners

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!

06/21/07

Overated

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.

05/28/07

Unique charm, good but not great...but I like it

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

05/03/07

Just Avoid this Place

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.

10/18/06

Poorly cooked tripe!

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

10/05/06

FANTASTIC!!!!!

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.