Crook's Palace — Attraction in Black Hawk

My husband and I met our friends in Central City the other day for an early dinner. They raved about a BBQ place they'd been before, so we drove down the road to the restaurant in Black Hawk. I didn't know until we arrived that it's located inside of Crook's Palace, a place I'd known about ever since I was a young girl. I was very happy to find they're still using this great old building. We walked in the side entrance to the restaurant after finding a space in a small parking lot adjacent to the building. We all ordered drinks, and while waiting for our food, my friend and I walked around and enjoyed all the antiquated photos on the walls. I explained to her that I was an acquaintance of one of the owners of Crook's Palace a long time ago, so I was curious to see if anyone there had heard of him. I made my inquiries, hoping something I said sparked a memory. Unfortunately, no one working there knew about the musically and theatrically talented guy who owned the bar so long ago. I couldn't remember his name while I was at the restaurant, so I came home and looked up photos and information from back then. As I poured over old newspaper articles, photos, and a playbill, I saw his name, Douglas Ball. We had worked together in a musical production of "Showboat" at the Shwayder Theatre located in the Jewish Community Center in Denver. Hopefully someone who reads this review will remember Mr. Doug Ball. He was a neat guy and always very kind to me. When I was living in Colorado (back in the day) I'd occasionally take day trips up to the mountains, and if I had the chance, I tried to take some extra time to visit him in Blackhawk. Well, speaking of review, oops---let's get back to it! My husband and I ordered the brisket/pulled pork sandwiches with fries, and our friends each ordered different plates. The food and drinks were brought to the table quickly. Our sammies were wonderfully delicious and piled high with both beef and pork, and the fries were great. One of the two BBQ sauces seemed a little thin but was good; the thicker sauce was hot and spicy. Our waitress was a hoot and a half and very attentive to our needs. We received "gold" star service in a place that was once known as the richest square mile on earth! Kudos to keeping the past alive with all the neat photos and the restoration of Crook's Palace! May God...

Visited solo 8-1-25 while passing thru on a roadtrip. Easy parking. Only a handful of people on the “family” side of restaurant . I was placed on bar side which was no issue for me. Server was not friendly. Tried to have small talk with her but she was not receptive. I was not in this town to gamble. Didn’t even know this town was loaded with casinos. I only stopped because I was hungry and saw “saloon”. I travel ALOT and this I would not consider a true saloon type of setting. As for the food, I wanted a light lunch. Ordered Salmon BLT with potato salad. Dry, ate half and thought I would eat later. Definitely no flavor and very dry. Potato salad tasted like it came from a large pre made container. Not a place I recommend. I considered a higher score rating but the...

We had been across the street at Hearts and Legends and saw two different couples walk out of the patio area with dogs. We had a dog with us. We stopped by to double check and ask if dogs were allowed on the patio. We had a large party of 8. There was a waitress smoking outside. She didn’t answer our question and rather looked us up and down before asking how many we had. She said “we don’t have a table large enough for your party.” (They did.) She then went inside and this older woman came out and told us “As you can clearly see, we don’t have room for YOU PEOPLE. Try again in an hour.” This was said in front of my kids. No one answered the question about dogs. It’s 2024 and it’s crazy that people are...