09/13/08

Nothing spectacular

by breedo2000

We went during the 5280 restaurant week. It was really noisy and the atmosphere seemed more like Denver Diner or Pete's Kitchen, not entirely unpleasant, just not intimate. The food was mixed-cheese fondue was spectacular and the salad was good as well. The main course was bland and really quite disappointing. We had the dark chocolate fondue for dessert and it was amazingly good. A really good way to end a meal. Although I did enjoy the fod for the most part, I probably won't go back simply because of the atmosphere. Our service was good and the servers were all friendly but for what you spend on a meal it just isn't private or romantic enough. It may be a good place to go with a group of people, but for two I wouldn't reccomend.

• Pros: Cheese fondue
• Cons: dining area is not intimate

03/28/08

La FonDON'T

by keeki63

I was so excited to go off my diet at La Fondue, but now want back my calories and my money. We were seated for our 7:30 reservation at 8. Our waiter came to take our order around 8:01, but we needed more time (surprising, I know). We later noticed that other tables were given information about the menu and experience- not us! We then didn't see our waiter until the host directed him to us at 8:20. The cheese course was good, though the bread was not crusty and the apple/veggie supply was quite limited (we were told bread was unlimited, but no one offered us more and in fact brought our our next course very early and it sat there while we finished). Salad was okay, but we couldn't figure out how it really added to the meal. Following the salad, they (we have no idea who our actual waiter was, but it took a few of them to ruin our evening) brought out the oil for the meat, which heated up on our table for about 30 minutes before they brought out the actual meat, at which time they realized our burner was broken. We had to get up and stand in the middle of heavy traffic while they replaced the burner. I understand that this is not their fault, but an apology would have gone a long way. When they set us back up, the burner was on low and the heat indicator was on incorrectly. The result? Our food took an extremely long time to cook, was not cooked properly, and we had to try to figure out the heat indicator situation in order to correct it, as no one stopped by to check on us at all. After the meat course was dessert, which was good, but the chocolate was cold. We again had to fiddle with the heat and wait for the chocolate to warm up. Since the time at which our burner was replaced, no one checked on us- my drink sat empty for a good 45 minutes. And then we paid the entire bill- nothing was taken off for the inconvenience or poor service. As we left, we stopped at the hostess station to pick up a mint. She said NOTHING- no "good night," "thanks," NOTHING. STAY AWAY.

• Pros: dessert/cheese
• Cons: SERVICE

11/06/07

IT WAS GREAT!!!

by brandyjoe

My husband and I went to La Fondue for the first time on Saturday with our friends Sophia and her husband Patrick. I LOVED it, I was sad that I had missed out on this place for so long. The food was so delicious. It was a great experience and we will definately go back there.

• Pros: Great Food
• Cons: Our waitress would forget to bring us things, like my husbands salad.

08/14/07

i love la fondue!

by gwenny5

i've been to the meltingpot, they're so snooty and pretencious! so i went to la fondue with a few friends and realized the meal was a great deal for the quality of food, especially compared to the meltingpot! i read the other reviews and i completely disagree! we sat in the back room (we didn't have a reservation) but the hostess apologized and i actually liked it much more! our waiters daryl and valentin were real nice down to earth guys, who explained everything perfectly. valentin's accent was a bit strong, but that made him even more interesting! the managers both stopped by the table to see how everything was going, they were both young and professional, the hostess was extremely polite and energetic. fondue is a slow process and i could see how confusing it could be if you aren't familiar with the process, but its a good time if you just sit back and enjoy the experience! i would avoid little kids though, its too long for them.!

05/07/07

Paying $200 to be treated like crapola

by ihatelafondue

I joined this website for the sole purpose of describing the terrible experience I had at La Fondue. I'd been there before and knew it was expensive, but worth it for a fun time with friends. Of course, that was when I'd been seated in the main dining room.

Recently, I made reservations for 5 for my husband's birthday, about a week in advance. When we showed up, we were seated in the "back" room. It was about 100 degrees back there and everyone was wearing jeans and t-shirts. My party and I had dressed more appropriately and did not want to sweat through our meal. I asked the hostess if we could be moved to the main dining room and she was totally rude and snotty. She said that NOBODY else had ever had a problem with the back room. I asked our waitress if that was true and she laughed and said "oh no, everybody hates the back room. It's too hot and it looks less nice." And that was absolutely true. It was ugly and depressing, and once our waitress had shared that little nugget with us, she never came back. Too hot for her I guess. Our bottle of wine was spoiled by the steam pouring out from the pots; we all had sweat streaming down our faces. We ran out of cheese during our first course and the waiter I flagged down refused to bring us more. He literally ran away from us and didn't even respond.

So, if you ever make a reservation there, insist on the main dining room. I personally will not be going back. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

• Pros: IF you are in the main dining room, it's a lot of fun
• Cons: The back room should NOT be used to seat diners under any circumstance

Editorial Review by Dave Flomberg

by Contributor

Visitors dip and dine at a leisurely pace at this downtown restaurant offering a contemporary twist on the 70s fondue fad.

02/11/07

Awful Experience! Please read before going to this restaurant!

by kristaschell

My husband and I decided to try La Fondue for our annual Valentine Dinner last night. What an awful experience this was!! First of all, I can't figure out why they would say this is a romantic, good date restaurant because the tables are so large that my husband and I couldn't even hear each other to have a conversation. The booth we sat in was so uncomfortable, it was like sitting on a little hard bench, absolutely no back support. We made reservations for 6:00, but didn't get seated until 6:30. This restaurant has also been said to be a nice, long, lazy experience and that we could count on being there for a few hours. The reality is that once we sat down they hurried us in and out so quick then practically kicked us out! Romantic? I don't think so. Next, the service was AWFUL!! We had never been to a Fondue restaurant prior to this, and we were expecting exceptional service, where the servers were friendly and would explain to you how to cook the food, what to do next, etc. Nothing!!! They just threw the food on our table without a word as to what we were supposed to do with it. I finally had to flag our server down and ask what we were supposed to do, then she acted like we were putting her out. Instead of bringing out each course like we were told would happen, they did their best to bring as much out as possible at one time, and would take it off our table without asking if we were done. It was such an awful experience. My salad was barely edible, the bread tasted old, the server never asked my husband if he wanted a refill on his drink, no one came around to ask us how we were or how our food was. The only redeeming qualities were the gentlemen that refilled your water whenever you were low (sometimes a little too often,) and the tasty meats and desserts. We are so upset that we spent close to $100 on our romantic Valentine dinner that we had been looking forward to for weeks on this restaurant. Take my advice, don't waste your money. Go somewhere else!

• Pros: The Dessert
• Cons: The Service

12/07/06

What a treat!

by cakes26

We love this restaurant! This past weekend was my 4th time to dine there and the food/dessert was just as I remembered. My husband and I get the dinner platter for two so that way we can try a little of everything. The cheese appetizer, the steak, the chicken, the salmon - yum! And of course this would not be a review without discribing the dessert. This past time we ordered the Smore Chocolate. We roasted our marshmellows and then dove into the milk chocolate with pieces of strawberry, cheesecake, and snickers. I would have to say that this is my idea of heaven!

In order to fully enjoy all that La Fondue has to offer you must be able to commit at least 2 hours but if you have the time I swear you will not be disappointed! Their service is wonderful, the food is great and the atmosphere is romantic. Definitely a great place for a date night.

• Pros: Dessert, Ambience
• Cons: None

05/14/06

Poor Service Spoils Uncooked Foods

by j74151

Our evening at La Fondue was highlighted by generally poor service. Our meal of uncooked vegetables and meats took over one hour to arrive at our table. All aspects of our evening at La Fondue were excessively delayed. When we summoned the manager, he was equally unaccommodating and offered a weak remedy. Dining that otherwise might have been enjoyable was tainted by the unwelcoming reception we received which affected the whole of the evening.

Based on our experience, we could not recommend this establishment to any discerning Denver diner. A potential guest may consider looking elsewhere for a satisfying fondue experience.

• Pros: Quality food, Dessert
• Cons: Service, Assistant Manager, Poor valet parking

02/28/06

enough service?

by jasonerdmann

150 words is short! Original review 300+ words.

Cheese - pretty good but not great, plus, not enough for three

Meat - good, but over priced to cook my own meal

Salad - the ceaser salad wasnt that tasty, my cousin enjoyed his mushroom salad.

We had to remind the staff that we had salad when they asked if we were doing dessert, so we had salad after our meal. We had to ask for more silverware and were asked if we wanted pepper twice!

Drink service. For the initial water fill-up, the water person filled up my cousin's glass then my fiance's then mine... then topped off my cousin's because he took a sip of water. I'm a heavy water drinker but they filled the glasses so often the ice never melted. Please, let me drink my water without you filling it up every 30 seconds.

• Pros: ample parking nearby, very clean
• Cons: service, price