3 generations of women are going to Boulder at the end of February to celebrate a (not mine) 50th birthday. We are staying at a hotel, and I’m looking to book a restaurant for a celebratory dinner, as well as 2 other dinners. Does anyone have recommendations?
Frasca is hands down is the best resto in Boulder and for me in CO. Amazing service and I just put any wine selection in the hands of the Somms
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Agreed, and their casual pizza place next door is pretty darn good for a low key meal as well.
Pizzaria Locale is closed right now as they are renovating it and changing the name. But agreed that it is quite good. I go there more often than Frasca these days.
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Are you familiar with Jill’s Bistro in the St. Julien? That’s where we are staying.
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The Chautauqua Dining Hall is worth a stop.
I have probably had some food there but do not recall. You can get on the Frasca waitlist if nothing is currently available online. They release spots a week or two in advance.
There are a slew of restaurants within easy walking distance of the St. Julien. Mateo is very good and many other choices you can walk to. Personally I would always try to go somewhere other than the Hotel for dinner especially given your prime location.
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I agree about looking elsewhere unless the hotel has an excellent restaurant. I was able to get a reservation at Frasca. Worthwhile restaurants within walking distance from the St. Julien are especially appealing.
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Frasca is amazing.
Bobby Stuckey is all around fantastic and one of the best somms / GMs / Owners in the industry.
Jill’s in the St. Julien is good, fine. The hotel is great. Frasca is wonderful and where I would most recommend. Oak on Fourteenth is also very good.
We have enjoyed The Kitchen several times: great small plates, fun vibe, great cocktails and some interesting wines, great service. More formal but still fun is Oak at Fourteenth also with great service.
is the flagstaff still there? we used to end every ski trip there before dropping a friend off in boulder
We went to Flagstaff a few years ago. View is great but the service not so much. Given the options we won’t be back unless we are with people who really want to go…and are paying!
We had a wonderful time in Boulder. When I arrived it was 7 degrees and just 3 days later, we enjoyed sunny skies and high 50s. We stayed at the St. Julien, and absolutely loved it. Rooms, amenities, and public spaces were lovely, and service was outstanding. The location, just off of Pearl Street was perfect, and we walked everywhere.
My daughter and I arrived a day before everyone else, and we had an early dinner at The Kitchen, which was a 4 minute walk from the hotel. Cast iron skillet roast chicken and fries was delicious. We shared that with a couple of cocktails. A nice, quiet start to our weekend, and then we ended our weekend back here with a few of the remaining group. It was another very good dinner.
The younger members of our group wanted to have coffee at Boxcar. Long line on a Saturday morning, but it was fun and the various coffees were good. The next day, we had brunch outdoors at Snooze. Lots of good breakfast options.
Dinner at Frasca was nothing short of superb. Bobby Stuckey was fully there, seating, serving, and chatting. I stopped to talk to him on our way out, and he is humble and charming. It was a great place for us to celebrate.
Thanks for the recommendations!
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Diane,
So glad that you enjoyed your trip. When we visited in March of 2021, I loved it. We had the opposite weather experience from you. We arrived and toured CU with my kid and wore shorts and t-shirts. 36 hours later we were in winter jackets and it was snowing.
This picture of the sunset over the flatirons was taken from my hotel room at the Boulderado.
Beautiful picture, Mike.
Did you like the Boulderado?
Thank you.
I thought the Boulderado was cool. Amazing lobby and architecture, solid location. The whole place felt like a step back in time. Like instead of pulling up in my rental car, I rode up on a horse. But the room itself was a bit dated.
I’d stay there again.
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One thing with the Boulderado is that they have several different parts of the hotel, and the rooms can vary pretty drastically. I’ve never had a bad stay there, but definitely I’ve had some rooms that I considered mediocre at best. Though to be fair, my last stay there was several years ago, so it’s possible some things have changed.
The St. Julien is always my first choice when I am visiting Boulder, and the Boulderado is my backup if the St. J is booked up, or I can’t stay there for some other reason (e.g. it was a business trip and the St. J rate exceeded what my employer would allow).
Thanks for the insight, Sean. We were all very happy with our stay at St. Julien.