01/11/09

Love, love, loved it! Thank you Aix!

by DancinElla

I have been to Aix multiple times in the past few months. I recently moved to Uptown and wanted to find a place where I was comfortable and felt like a valued guest when there. Aix is it. Their menu has changed recently and has gone back to "Modern French Cuisine"; this I couldn't be happier with. The Marrow Encrusted Filet Mignon falls apart with a butter knife; it's one of the best steaks I've ever tried, and I'm not even a huge red meat fan. The House Salad is by far the best in Denver; mixed greens, warm pears, melted brie and the BEST dressing I've ever had, a maple vinaigrette. I finished my meal with their Creme Brulee, a Cherry Creme Brulee, again, the best I've ever had.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is what topped it off for me; it's small and quaint, yet surprisingly I didn't feel crowded. My server was excellent, was able to pair a wine with my meal for me, suggested everything I had ordered as her favorite and was extremely well educated of their menu. Love, love, loved it! Aix, thank you, and I will be back!

12/09/08

This retired chef gives Aix two thumbs way up!

by foodie424

I brought my husband to Aix for our anniversary after the restaurant had been highly recommended by a few friends. When we arrived, it was still happy hour. We were told about the specials, and decided to start with some of the $5 small plates. The duck confit hash, and the mache tuna roll were both fabulous. For dinner, I had the short ribs, which fell off the bone and were seasoned perfectly. My husband had the bacon wrapped tuna, which was cooked to perfection, and if I remember correctly, he left not a bite to go to waste! The chocolate cake with lavender anglaise was absolute heaven with the red wine that our server suggested. After this visit, we went back again for the Wednesday night special prix fixe menu. Both of us found the menu to be very creatives seasonal, and absolutely delicious. We noticed that it was much busier than the Sunday night when we first came in. It seems like the Wednesday night menu has a dedicated following. With good reason. My husband and I are both extraordinarily critical of restaurants, but neither of us had a bad word to say about Aix. I don't usually review restaurants in the public forum like this, but after reading the last couple of reviews, I felt that maybe someone who knows about food should get the word out. I was a chef for 20 years in California, and I will definitely be back to enjoy Aix.

• Pros: The food! Especially on Wednesdays!

11/21/08

This is not Aix! Please read:

by xrayputty

WOW. What happened to Aix. Someone replaced an amazing French neighborhood bistro with sub-par sports bar food. The seasonal menu is now a pathetic cliched mix of standard fare - presented at the same price range as the original AIX. What?s even sadder is that the staff is fully aware of the unoriginality the shell of a restaurant has become and has a fully rehearsed justification for the ?transformation? the establishment has deteriorated into. At the very least, Aix must advertise themselves as a gastro-pub, there menu is deserving of nothing more.

• Pros: Gtreat vibe
• Cons: Not Aix. Better off going to other generic menu's at cheaper chains

06/30/08

TERRIBLE!!!!

by denvernative80112

AIX is terrible! Incredibly rude! Everything was awful!!! I would not recommend AIX to anyone! What a terrible disappointment!!

• Pros: NONE
• Cons: Everything! This place was terrible!

06/19/08

Bad Service, okay food

by cchp

We went to Aix for the first time to celebrate a birthday. My husband and I arrived an hour early to have drinks and wait for another couple. Our waiter didn't offer any information about the happy hour specials. When we asked, he told us the bottle of wine we wanted was not available and then he made an incorrect recommendation on another bottle. For starters we had the salmon dish that was just okay. I only had two bites and that was enough. My husband waited at least 15-20 minutes for a second beer and we had to flag down the waiter and ask for it. Other tables seemed to be munching on bread so we asked for some too but was not offered any. Later, our friends arrived and the waiter only took a drink order for one friend and then walked away. Once again we had to flag down the waiter to place another drink order. He didn't apologize but rather laughed of his forgetfulness. Next, the waiter brought our menus and didn?t bother to tell us about any specials or changes to the nightly menu. So we proceed and select our entree only to find out the entree half of us selected was not available. It would have been nice to know this beforehand. About the food... Mussels were okay, short ribs were good, pasta was okay, shrimp was okay, and the dessert was okay. Music was great! We will not be back based on this experience. It's not worth it! Go somewhere else!

03/20/08

Nice little romantic restaurant....

by cmarcel

Took advantage of the happy hour and it was great! The drinks alone are worth going there for... though pricey. Felt like they were one of a kind, so worth it. My entree was fantastic and so were the rest of my party's. A pretty pricey place for Denver, but worth trying atleast once.

12/17/07

Wonderful flavors! Best to sample on a 5/5/5 night (read review for details)

by shnz821

I love this quaint little restaurant! It's wonderful for a date night or an evening out with friends. Yes, it's small, but that just adds to it's charm. My favorite time to go is during their 5 for $5 at 5PM special. You can try different small plates, desserts and wines for $5 each. It's a great way to sample several dishes at once. During nice weather, be sure to grab a seat on their patio and enjoy the people watching on 17th Ave.

• Pros: wonderful flavors, specials, wine list
• Cons: none

05/19/07

So many, so much better

by uncledave

Ok, I've been hearing things about this place for years and finally decided to try it. It may have been good in the early years but there is certainly no reason to go now. First, the space is cramped and even just half full it's impossible to carry on a conversation. There are no accoustically friendly touches so it is loud, loud. I was with a fellow "foodie" so we really sampled the menu and I feel comfortable saying that nothing was particularly good. Our overwhelming impression was that even with some luxury ingredients like morrels and caviar nothing had much flavor. Blindfolded I honestly don't think we could have told you if we were eating the escargot or the morrels. Not that if mattered, because nothing was worth finishing, but the portions are miniscule for the prices. One appetizer special was one seared scallop for $15, a tiny lamb chop for $28. Ridiculous. Service was friendly enough but spotty - had to pour our own wine and asked for bread twice before finally receiving it. Also, with all of the activity in the neighborhood now, parking is major hassle. Save your money and go to Potager or Fruition, or, frankly, even Mizuna is probably no more expensive and you'll be so much happier with the food and ambiance.

• Pros: I'm thinking, I'm thinking
• Cons: loud, cramped, flavorless food, miniscule expensive portions

05/05/07

Excellent food....no I mean really excellent food!!! Atmosphere is fun and facinating people watching. GO!

by revenge

Wow! This place is just about perfect. From the moment you walk into the room you are made to feel valued by the staff. It?s so chic and full of cool you can?t not have fun. There is just enough separation between the bar and dinning area. This is a great place to people watch while sipping wine. We were there Friday night.

They have an excellent selection of wines by the glass. Not the typical ho?hum wines. Aix has French Champagne by the glass! If you have a problem with French wines, no problem, they have some facinating choices.

The food is definitely the star of the show. Lobster risotto, pork tenderloin and seared tuna salad nicoise were superb. I sent my tuna back because I like it a little more done and the waitress was all over it! She swooped it away and with grace brought it back on another plate that had been re-decorated with dramatic presentation. I love great service! The waiter had a small team keeping an eye on our table. WOW!

The cheese selection plate was too sparse. I think they should pump it up a bit. That's my only complaint. It?s a little loud, but you can still hear each other. In this case the crowd didn?t bother us, because we had so much fun.

Go with a date, with friends, or alone and people watch. But go!

I recommend reservations.

04/28/07

Unbelievable food - small plates and large plates, absolutely amazing.

by kristylsummers

You cannot go wrong here - everything I have had, and friends have had, has been outstanding. Small plates - be sure to try the mussels, lobster risotto and tuna. Large plates - don't miss the tuna, but ask for it rare. They tend to overcook and only the center of the medallions are rare. If you do get it seared rare, it is fabulous, served with green beans, potatoes and olives in a delicious, light cream sauce. Very nice wine list, excellent service.

• Pros: Amazing food, wine, $5 parking across the street, not a place for children.
• Cons: A little pricey, but worth it. Very busy. Not a place for children.