The Fort Resteraunt

Oh my how far it has fallen.
It used to be a very upscale, destination restaurant that specialized in tier 1 gourmet wild game dishes with an incredible location, facility and ambiance.
I grew up not far from there, my father was the owner?s veterinarian and I remember that my sisters were thrilled when their prom dates took them there.
It was THE PLACE to go on the SW side of Denver metro.
My wife and I would typically go there once or twice a year and we generally had good meals- I think the worst mishap was Creme Brulee that was soup- meh- stuff happens.

We went last night and I can?t begin to say how disappointing the experience was.
It started off when we checked in with the ?hostess? when we got there. I should say ?Host?- it was a tranny and a bad one at that, my wife even commented how poorly it had done.
Why do we have to endure this shit EVERYFUCKINGPLACE you go?
The ambiance is absolutely flat, the care center my father was in before he passed was livelier than the restaurant was.
Whatever- we get seated, waitress is great. We order a 1/2 liter of margaritas and appetizers (Chorizo bean dip and guacamole).
It takes about 20 minutes to show up which if they were busy I would understand but they were not- odd for an early summer Friday night.
The guacamole was good but the Chorizo bean dip is another story- way over heated to the point that the refried beans had pulled away from the side of the cast iron dish and the cheese on top was charred black.
The worst part of it was even though it had been heated to excess in preparation it was cold when it arrived at our table. It was so cold that you had to use a spoon to cut through the cold cheese plastic like substance and try to smear it on your chip without breaking it[facepalm].
WTF?
I ordered a bison filet with peppercorn sauce and the wife ordered the bison ribs- mashed potatoes & gravy come with it and the wife requested no gravy.
Another 20 minutes pass and our main course arrives, everything looks good but the wife?s mashed taters are slathered with gravy. I flag our waitress over, point out the oops and she runs and grabs a side dish with no gravy on the taters- cool, thank you.
I slice into my filet and it?s cooked nicely-I take a bite and almost spit it out. It tastes like it was marinated in soap- a terribly bitter, earthy, soapy taste. I give the wife a bite of it and she doesn?t taste just what I described but she did agree it didn?t taste right.
I took a chip and scooped up just the sauce and peppercorns to make sure it wasn?t the sauce and it wasn?t- the sauce was great- it was clearly something funky with the meat itself.
I couldn?t eat it at all. The waitress came by, asked how things were and I explained the meat thing- like I said earlier she was great-she offered repeatedly to get me something else etc and I told her that wasn?t necessary.
She ended up taking it off of the bill which was appreciated but unnecessary.
The wife?s ribs were awesome though.

Really disappointed that a great place like this with allegedly premium food and the prices they charge and you have this type of experience.
It is truly sad that such a great place has fallen so far.


I guess there is always Casa Bonita……

I too have found the restaurants I used to enjoy visiting have gone downhill.
The quality and amount of food you get is nowhere near the price you should be paying.
I get the whole inflation and the price of food items but at the end of the night you should not be left with a $50 turd to flush.
I’m willing to pay premium for good food, good service and good portions from time to time. But to see your favorite restaurants do a nose dive because we are now forced to pay for the employees to own homes and drive nice cars and vacation more than we do and still demand a tip is more than I want to sacrifice from my paycheck. Limiting our going out to eats has actually saved us money. I would rather use that money to buy groceries. $60 or more for dinner or a lunch has gotten out of hand. This is how restaurants die.
Folks will just stop going if their hard earned money is not getting them any value.

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. It sucks when you plan to enjoy a special evening out with your spouse, knowing it'll cost you a bit more, but decide that the occasional splurge is worth it.

What really sucks is that this occurred at what was once a Tier 1 restaurant, but it looks like the disease I've noticed growing over the last decade + has now spilled into these places too.

It's surprising to hear the the server was so good. My experience has been that the server attitudes take a huge dive before the food quality gets that bad.

Where at one time managers kept their fingers on the heartbeat of things like this so they could be corrected before getting this bad, most managers nowadays either don't care or are too busy trying to navigate all of the employee requirements and issues.

People are working harder for their money and are receiving less for it in both quantity and quality and are choosing to keep it rather than waste it on a poor experience. So you and Rico called it - this is how once good restaurants (not just restaurants, but all businesses actually) go out of business. I find it odd that, instead of correcting their attitudes and deficiencies, most businesses would prefer to just close their doors.

Now you've found another business that you, and by sharing your poor experience with others - we, can scratch off of our list of places to visit.

A year ago on a weekday afternoon, I decide to dine at the Broadmoor Hotel. $15 parking, OK fine. So I go to the bar and am told I will need to leave a credit card to order while sitting at a table. It is fairly quiet time and not busy.
I order a sandwich and it arrives looking tasty. I bite into it and it is great. Then I notice blood on my napkin. They had toasted the bread a little too much. A bread "spikelet" had formed and pierced my lip. I grabbed my linen napkin and ran to the bathroom. I am bleeding like a stuck pig.
I am so embarassed because I am leaving blood all over the towels. In the Broadmoor, they have real cotton towels in the bathrooms. I wanted to explain to the staff what happened, but I figured they would just think I did not want to pay. I managed to stop the bleeding and finished my food. The sandwich was not worth $38 and the attitude of the servers was ridiculous.
I need to learn to read a map...
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Bert-o, I will teach you how to make a nice pizza-pie!

We had our company Christmas party at The Fort are couple of times around 20 years ago. Amazing food and atmosphere. Too bad it's taken a dump.

We have pretty much stopped eating out(occasional fast food/take out pick up that I don't consider "dining out").

The line of demarcation for us was COVID lock up. After things opened up and people started to return to public establishments the entire industry had changed and declined. Service became nonexistant, food quality deteriorated and prices surged.

Dining out, even at historically quality establishments, became intolerable for us.

If you're unarmed, you are a victim

Yep, went there a couple years ago before a concert at Red Rocks. They blow.

The Fort was the place for date night. But the attitude now shown by the staff makes me vote elsewhere. Anymore I like my steak done at home. A cast iron pan, butter, salt, pepper and garlic… Better than restaurant steak.

Sounds like The Fort could use a Gordon Ramsay or the like.

I can't tolerate foul/rank protein. I think the processor that did our deer had some rancid pork fat when he did our burger. It smells/tastes so bad I can't eat it and we mostly use it in seasoned dishes.

I think the problem is easily solved. Just have one beef dish, one chicken dish and one seafood. You want pasta, go to an Italian place. You want pizza, don't go to a Chinese restaurant. You have a four page menu with so many entrees and none of it is really good. Keep it simple...

Never liked that place. Took in laws there for 50th and the food was average at best. Food was cold, small portions. They charged some ridiculous price to open a bottle of champagne with a tomahawk and the waiter dumped most of it on the floor. They even charged us a $5 per plate fee for the anniversary cake we brought to remember the nite so 25 people x $5 to cut a cake.

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Originally Posted by Tor Larson

Never liked that place. Took in laws there for 50th and the food was average at best. Food was cold, small portions. They charged some ridiculous price to open a bottle of champagne with a tomahawk and the waiter dumped most of it on the floor. They even charged us a $5 per plate fee for the anniversary cake we brought to remember the nite so 25 people x $5 to cut a cake.

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Sounds like you remembered the night!

Yup I've become completely (fed up) haha with poor quality food and services at almost all eateries. I've pretty much came to the conclusion that I can make a better meal at home and enjoy it more, even the lowly cheeseburgers I make are so much better. Bon Appetit !!!

I last went to The Fort probably 15 - 20 years ago. It was still very good then with excellent service, even if a bit pricey. But it was the kind of place you took guests from out-of-town for the experience. It's a shame places like that take such a dive in quality and service.

There is/was a steak place in Kittredge called the Black Hat Cattle Company. Dave Rodriguez, the owner, used to wander around and personally greet customers and check on their experience. Best meal I ever had in a restaurant was at that place.

Anyone been to the Buckhorn Exchange lately?

Me and the wife went there years ago. She was curious about the place.
At the time we paid about $75 for lunch, granted we ordered a lot of different meats and had a great experience. Hoping if we ever decide to visit again it will be worth the travel and price.

The fort is for tourists.

I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels it’s gone seriously down hill. I was there in 2015-the food was decent, the service was still good. I went early last year and was seriously disappointed, I’m done with it.

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Originally Posted by TEAMRICO

Anyone been to the Buckhorn Exchange lately?

Me and the wife went there years ago. She was curious about the place.
At the time we paid about $75 for lunch, granted we ordered a lot of different meats and had a great experience. Hoping if we ever decide to visit again it will be worth the travel and price.

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The Buckhorn has always been mediocre at best. You go there for the Buckhorn, not the food.

As for the OP, never been to the Fort but have always been curious, just too far of a drive when I've got a wide range of acclaimed restaurants within a quick bus or Uber ride. Sad to hear that the quality isn't up to par with the hype though. Looks like a cool place. Didn't it change ownership not that long ago?

Looked it up, the daughter took over full ownership back in 2006, I could have sworn that I read something about a management/ownership change post covid.