We recently visited The Fort on Thanksgiving for a feast fit for… a barbarian. OK, maybe not quite so extreme but the menu items were those that could be found on a table of a skilled hunter. My father got the game plate, which had a sample of elk, buffalo and quail, all of which tasted excellent and not very gamy. My fiance tried the prime rib of buffalo, it was huge and cooked a perfect medium rare. I had the traditional thanksgiving dinner which was just so-so.. the turkey was a bit dry and everything else a bit thick.

The atmosphere was the best part about the evening. The restaurant is set high on a hill overlooking the twinkling lights of Denver. The building itself was actually in the shape of a fort, (gift shop included.) On special occasions the waiters sing a song and carry out a large headdress that they gently place on your head. Then they take a picture and post it on their web site for everyone to get a giggle… so check out their gallery at thefort.com.

So, if you visit The Fort, take my advice, be brave, be bold, and try something with antlers.

I’d heard about the Fort. That they had different types of meat – Venison, buffalo, elk. That it was a good place to go for something different from beef. So after closing a business deal I took my wife and child to the Fort for a celebration dinner. Something special I thought. It turned out to be a big disappointment. The restaurant environment was great and unique. The view was outstanding. The staff was professional. The meal was well served. But the meat was bland and tasteless. I got a combination dinner of elk, deer, and buffalo. The meat did not taste fresh. It tasted like meat that had been frozen and thawed. Except for variations in texture there wasn’t any taste difference between the meats. They all tasted bland. Not a trace of game taste. I regularly make and eat buffalo burgers and this meat was not as tasty as the packaged buffalo meat that I buy from Safeway. It was an excellent meal but tasteless meat I can certainly find and eat elsewhere. Definitely a classy and nice restaurant but after spending $160.00 for two adults and a child for meat that tastes like a frozen poor grade I’m staying home and making buffalo burgers on my home grill. The Fort has glitz but it was a $160.00 disappointment.

I went to The Fort for my 20th birthday, and it was amazing! Along with an innovative atmosphere of the old west, and a little bit of class, the experience was one to remember. To start, we ordered for appetizers the stuffed jalapenos, guacamole, and duck quesadilla. My favorite was the quesadilla, it was topped with little bit of mango, delicious. For the main course, I had the Game plate, which included, buffalo filet, elk, and quail. They all were so tasty, but my favorite was the elk, which had a little huckleberry sauce on it. Get the meat done to a medium, anything more would make the meat too tough. We were then allowed to go onto the patio for dessert, and since it was my birthday, they brought out a fox head and skin and put it on my head. It was hilarious. For dessert, we had the creme brulee, which was very strong and not for the weak of heart . If you don’t like expresso, don’t get this. We also had the lime pie, perfect, as was the malted ice cream. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants an experience like none other, oh did I mention that we were offered black diamone rattlesnake for an appetizer?
The only downfall is that it is pretty expensive and if you don’t watch it, a poor college student may be forced to take out a loan. But as far as food and atmosphere go, it was an amazing experience, and everyone in Colorado should go there at least once in a lifetime.

The Fort is one of the restaurants I think about when someone asks me for a uniquely Colorado restaurant. The restaurant outside is a reproduction of Bents Fort and coming into the courtyard you can almost feel you are leaving the present behind and stepping back into the old west. Once you come inside, that illusion fades away as the smells from kitchen hit your nose and your mouth starts craving to taste what is coming out of there. The menu itself is very game heavy with buffalo, quail and many other items to tempt you.
The fort is a great place to take friends from out of town to show them a piece of the old west or just to go and enjoy for yourself. If you would like to see some pictures of the fort and the food they serve along with a full review of the meal we had feel free to visit our blog at www.milehigheater.blogspot.com