The Butchery- Steaks, Chops & Seafood — Restaurant in Arvada

My wife and I have gone to The Butchery on a few occasions for date night, and each time the experience has been the same..

First.. the food is amazing. The food, drinks, and general ambiance of the restaurants are all stellar. We have never had a bad dish, never a complaint about the food. The servings are plentiful, the steaks are juicy and right in every way I could hope, and I cannot recommend the Green Chili Corn Bread or Creme Brûlée enough. When it comes to the food, no complaints and exceptional.

Where we've had issue however, is with the hostess and wait staff. To us, it feels like there is some stereotyping of patrons that affects where you will be seated and the type of service you will receive. While we live a most comfortable existence financially, we choose to not always "dress like it." We tend to dress down a little on date night, and opt for our most comfortable pair of jeans and a comfy flannel over a collared shirt or a dress. We have noticed that if we arrive more "dressed down".. we are seated in different areas of the restaurant (where they can hide us) and we also noticed that this tends to be the same areas where they have seated patrons who identify with the BIPOC community. But if we dress up.. and arrive with a collared shirt or nice dress, we are sat right up front and center, where everyone can see us. This has happened enough times now, and we've even made a conscious effort to experience, that we feel it is by no means coincidental and they truly do seat patrons according to their level of class.

We also notice that the type of service we actually receive also depends on how we've dressed. If we are in a collared shirt or dress, there is expert attention given to our table. We get the good server, our water glass is never empty, and we always have a drink coming from the bar quickly. But if we're dressed down... we get the wait staff in training or someone who "needs work." We're seldom checked on, our water glasses are empty, and we're almost never asked if we want another drink. To us, it always has felt like they assume we can't afford more drinks (when we certainly can), and perhaps they want us to leave as soon as possible.

We may continue our experiment to see if service continues in this way dependent on how we present ourselves, but we've done it enough at this point that we may not need to. There are other great steak houses in Arvada that we patronize who we see as treating all patrons with the same level of respect and service regardless of how they are dressed or the assumptions about how much money they're about to spend. We want to love this place.. but the service we've received seems to be based on gentrified...

After 3 experiences at this restaurant, the best word to surmise this place is inconsistent. Very inconsistent. Our first experience in 2019, was average and overpriced with mediocre service. Enough so we did not try it again until Christmas time 2022. Our experience in December was exceptional, and everyone at the table was impressed. Our server was very attentive, our meals served with impeccable timing, steaks on point with temperature and taste, and drinks refilled as necessary. I was so impressed, I thought maybe the prior experience was a glitch. Unfortunately, we visited again recently for our anniversary, and were sorely disappointed. Our server was the speed of molasses. He never offered me a second drink. Our steak temperatures were swapped, and mashed potatoes cold. We did not tell our server because we knew we’d probably not eat for another hour if we tried to rectify it, due to how inattentive and slow he was. The cornbread, which on our previous trip was lovely, this time was overcooked and chewy in spots. For the price your paying: service should always be on point, and food should be consistent and exceptional. When my fiancé comments multiple times we should have gone to Longhorn you know there is a problem. After this experience, we will be hard pressed to give it another shot. We really tried to give this place a fair try, but with the five star prices, inconsistent service & food quality, we cannot continue to waste our money hoping for a “good experience this time”. Not acceptable for a restaurant that should be 4-5 star service for the price point charged. My advise: be cautious. You may have was wonderful experience & server one night, and the next be trash: with no explanation. We are sad this is the case because the atmosphere is lovely and it’s so close to our home. I hope management can pull it together, because being local: you really have to step up your game to compete with other restaurants that are consistent with fair prices. Especially in this economy. Or, lower your prices so people’s expectations aren’t to that price point. If I pay $50 for a steak: I expect it to exceed the taste & service at every chain steak restaurant I’ve ever been to. If management can fix consistency, we would be frequenting often. Our December experience gives me hope that they can do this, but not confidence to continue...

Disclaimer: I attended The Butchery as part of Denver Restaurant Week so there was a set and limited menu available which should caveat the review to some degree.

Overall the service and ambiance at the location was quite nice. Our server Ryan was very attentive to our needs on a busy night and the host staff was friendly and inviting. The cocktails and drink menu were very good. The food however was disappointing in a few ways given the price point.

We started with the green chile cornbread which was actually quite good and I would recommend. Was perhaps a bit overdone towards the edges of the cast iron but still delicious. In addition to this the caesar salad was also very well prepared and tasty. So on the appetizer front I was very satisfied and was the best part of the meal which ends up being a problem at a fine steakhouse.

The main course was an 8 oz filet mignon along with vegetables and mashed potatoes which is perfectly reasonable given the deal for restaurant week (maybe even a bit generous to go to 8 oz instead of 6 oz). Unfortunately the steak was quite overcooked (medium rare came out closer to medium well than medium and I say this as someone who avoids rare), the vegetables were snow peas and were very one note in regards to seasoning/flavor (the note was butter), and the mashed potatoes were honestly the same quality as instant mashed potatoes and had no flavor whatsoever.

Dessert was fine (tried both options) - not a big dessert guy to be honest so I won't say anything further here. Both tasted good and if you are in the market for such things I wouldn't steer you away.

I think ultimately this may have been a case of mass production for an event leading to some sloppiness on some of the menu items and wouldn't hold it against the restaurant overall (hence my disclaimer) but it was an opportunity lost as it did not leave me with a good impression unlike some of the other places I visited for...