Gemini — Restaurant in Boulder

Forgive the poor quality photos; I was trying to be respectful of my fellow diners. We came in for a Valentine’s lunch and left extremely disappointed. But, the positives(?) first: The interior was very well lit and welcoming. The meatballs were the star of the show; cooked perfectly, seasoned almost spot-on, and paired with pretty decent sourdough. Although two pieces of sourdough for four meatballs seems like a plot to charge for more bread, which they absolutely did. Also, the two drinks that we chose were great, albeit pricey. The patatas bravas were decent, but fried potatoes with a zesty sauce for $9…just get Five Guys fries with Canes sauce and it will be more worthwhile. The Tershi dip was also middle-of-the-road and a tad one-note. Where it went completely downhill: I opted for the Spanish Trio sandwich, while the pregnant wife went for the Kale Salad w/ salmon. When my sandwich first arrived, I noticed that the bread looked burnt (photo does it no justice), but I thought that maybe it was well-caramelized…nope. The sandwich tasted of NOTHING but burnt, tough bread, with a side of overcooked and greasy potatoes (again, photo does it no justice). After a refire, the sandwich shockingly came out just as burnt, but the potatoes were great. Unfortunately my appetite was completely gone after the two single bites from each of the sandwiches. The wife’s kale salad was another shock. Completely unseasoned salmon, not-even-close to ripe Asian pears, massive pieces of uncut kale, and an extremely bland vinaigrette. Ladies and gentlemen, a $25 salad… And to boot, my duct-taped seat left a lil residue for later. Our server (Amanda, I believe) was very sweet and attentive, along with the maître d', who graciously took the sandwich off of the bill. I wouldn’t normally leave such an in-depth review, but the lack of care that seemed to emanate from the kitchen really irked me, although I would come back solely for the meatballs. Hopefully it was just a REALLY off-day for the restaurant, and hope to give it another chance in the future. We did not stay...

I recommend this place for certain people. We went there yesterday for something lite to eat during happy hour. From the Aperitivos (appetizers) menu we chose a meat and cheese plate which comes with crackers with seasoning baked in. We selected Manchego, cashmere and Bailey Hazen Blue cheeses, and Jamón Serrano, Lomo and Chorizo meats. The Manchego was a little like Swiss cheese in flavor, but without holes. The cashmere was a lot like brie in texture, color and appearance, but more flavorful in my opinion, particularly if you let it rest on your tongue for a few seconds to let the flavors reveal themselves to you. The Bailey Hazen Blue cheese has a sharp tangy flavor like most blue cheeses, but with smokey earthy flavors to add complexity. The Jamón Serrano and Lomo meats appeared to be cured, were thinly sliced and dry. Because they are pork, they tasted like ham, but with a lighter flavor. The Chorizo was cured very dry (kind of like jerky), and, unlike the type I’ve typically eaten at Mexican food restaurants which are cooked and made from spicy ground pork, it was flavorful, but not spicy.

We also ordered a Tortilla de Papas which is a type of omelet with potatoes mixed in, mixed greens on top and it rests on an herbed aioli sauce. It was not a combination I was expecting to enjoy since I hate salad, and it sounded like an omelet with a salad on top of it. It was wonderful! The thing that pulled it all together was the aioli sauce. I cannot express how much I enjoyed the flavor of that sauce mixed with the omelet and the greens. It was outstanding.

Even for appetizers, portions were small, so, if you just completed a full day of hard physical labor or exercise and you need to take in a lot of calories to recoup what you lost, you might go elsewhere. But, if you like to experience some well thought out foods with some unique flavors, I would recommend this place. The ambiance is clean yet warm feeling. The service was great. Go if it sounds...

Shocked by the 5 star reviews. This place is a solid 3 stars. We came for dinner on a Friday night and we were excited to try this new Spanish spot! Service from our server was great - he was very attentive and friendly and helpful. The food was mediocre.

No complaints on the meat & cheese - we ordered a variety and we were delighted with everything. We also had the house pickled vegetables - no complaints there, but wouldn't need to order them again. Now for Tapas.

The Escalivada was horrible - I LOVE eggplant and roasted red peppers - this was a cold, slimy mess that lacked complexity of flavor and was all one texture. The sourdough was thick, dry slices of toast - not crostini, not buttered or oiled - just thick, dry bread. I couldn't even finish it - and I finish everything!

The Champinones was delicious - I would come back just for that.

My date ordered the steak and potatoes. The cut of meat was disappointing - the flank steak was very tough and chewy and incredibly unevenly seasoned - some bites were overly salty and some had seemingly no salt on them at all. There was about 1/2 a tablespoon of chimichurri on the plate - no exaggeration - which was not nearly enough to help the meat. The potatoes excellent and string beans were fine.

We were hoping dessert would round out this meal - we ordered the flan. It was fine. The person who ran this plate quickly set it at the table and quickly left not realizing we didn't have spoons to eat it with. Our server noticed after several minutes and was apologetic for that strange interaction.

Additional aesthetic issues - half of our table was in a shadow so you can't really see your food. We were also sat right under an A/C duct and my date ended up switching seats because it was too cold.

For a $175 meal (this food and 1 glass of wine), we were a bit underwhelmed and likely won't...