The Boulder Cork — Restaurant in Boulder

We can always count on very friendly staff at the Boulder Cork. They are all very sweet. Their friendliness and warmth goes a long way to adding to a pleasant dining experience.

The hostess and our food server were both very kind and friendly. Everyone who works there seems to have a professional, clean cut, well mannered demeanor.

The dining room is cozy, ( fairly small), which I prefer, but it can get a little loud, depending on the other diners. But not too bad, it doesn't echo or anything. It's still an upscale environment.

The lighting seemed a little harsh / dramatic to me this time. But at least there was enough light so that we could read the menus with our middle aged eyes. It just wasn't very romantic. The first time we dined at The Boulder Cork with friends, the dining room was almost empty and it seemed like a romantic atmosphere with warmer, softer lighting. But we were at a different table. This time every table was full, so that changed the ambience a bit. But there weren't any children crying or being loud, so it was still a pleasant atmosphere.

The wine list is extensive and has anything you could want.

We made reservations, but I was thirsty by the time our server finally waited on us and someone brought us water. She was VERY sweet and a good server. It just took longer than expected for anyone to wait on us. They serve bread that is complimentary. It was very bad. I love bread, and this was either slightly stale, or just gross. Flavourless, a dry, stale texture. Edible, but not good. I don't know if the baker is bad or if someone left it sitting out for hours getting stale. Either way, they need to up their bread game.

Bread should always be fresh, warm, delicious, flavorful, with a nice crispy crust and soft chewy inside. There should be fresh real butter, on a plate or butter dish, that also has a pleasing taste. ( The butter here was fine)

The bread is my first impression as a diner. This is not the only restaurant in Northern Colorado, who doesn't think the quality of their complimentary bread matters. Or even worse, some restaurants charge for their sub par bread. At least this was included with our meal.

I had the surf and turf special, for $85, and the lobster tail was, sadly, fishy tasting, and not quite the right texture, compared to fresh lobster. We were not impressed with it, but ...I ordered lobster in land locked Colorado. So, that was on me. On the plus side, the texture of the filet mignon was perfect. I usually order between rare and medium rare. And I ate every single bite, every single piece was perfect. Truly perfectly cooked and an excellent thick filet. Colorado knows how to raise cattle, and cut and grill beef. And the Boulder Cork certainly prepares a delicious filet. ( Better than Sonny Lubick's, Still Whisky Steaks, and The Moot House in Fort Collins) For my taste, the "smoked mashed potatoes" are just okay. I think I ate a few bites and I wasn't pleased with it enough to eat more. The two pieces of asparagus that came with my special of filet and lobster tail, were good and fresh, not overcooked, which is unique to Colorado restaurants in my experience. And the Bearnaise sauce was VERY well made and delicious. It's definitely better than mine.

The chocolate mouse is rich and decadent, and VERY good. The quality of the chocolate is excellent. ( I'm really picky about the flavor of certain chocolate mousses, and chocolate desserts, and this is really top notch) We split one, and it was still too much food for us. They gave it to us as a gift for our 20th anniversary, and that was very kind and a much appreciated treat. The strawberries and cream on top were delicious and fresh. We were very full and satisfied.

Overall it was a good experience, the quality and perfect texture of the filet was dreamy and memorable . I might come back to try the trout, because I haven't tried that yet, and I love well prepared fresh mountain trout. Who knows? Maybe next time the bread will...

I have been coming here for 22 years, and it has been one of my favorite restaurants. 2 years ago, I found out that I have a dairy allergy, and I convinced my friend to celebrate her birthday party there last night. Kym, was my server. When I explained to Kym that I was dairy free, she wasn't too helpful. I though I would order the prime rib, but she informed me that there was dairy in that. I had asked about 2 other steaks there, and was told there was dairy in that too. So I had to order a hamburger. I was told that none of the bread they served there was dairy free. I was quite disappointed that the cork only serves a hamburger without dairy. BTW, when I asked Kym for a burger, her response was, "would you like cheese on that?" OMG really.

I tried to call the manager later. She said her name was Donna. Donna explained that she was aware of the situation, and that the Au Jus was always pre-made, and prepackaged and that there was nothing she could do. She would not apologize. I told her I would call the owner tomorrow. She said fine.... At this point, it looks like the Cork is a different place. Its a shame... all of the older restaurants are going away.... It would be a shame for the Cork if this is their new attitude...

BTW - I just remembered that I saw a sign on the way out the door. It looks like Donna is retiring.... Maybe she just doesn't care about customer service anymore.

Update: Thank you for your response Alan, I spoke to your manager (Donna) after I had left and went home. This is when she informed me that she already knew about the situation. Donna did not ask me what they could do to make things better until after I left, and after it was over. Though Donna was aware that it was happening in the restaurant, she NEVER came over and didn’t say a word to me. Kym did not offer any substitutes, nor offer suggestions as to what might be dairy free. As I was saying, she was VERY unaccommodating. She wasn’t rude, or spiteful, she just would not offer any help. Donna on the other hand was not very nice, and was the reason that I sent you this poor review. My question to you would be, why did Kym tell Donna that I was upset, if she didn’t do anything wrong? Why didn’t Donna come to our table to see if she could help with the issue if Kym told her I was upset? Why was Donna so defensive when I called telling me that she knew who I was because Kym told her I was upset? Each of the times I’ve been in the restaurant over the past 20+ years, either you, or the manger will have come by our table to say hello, and make sure everything was okay. This is what happens at dine dining restaurants. This didn’t happen this time. Believe me Alan, I know people have bad days. I believe Kym can be a great waitress, and was having a bad day. I believe that Donna can be a positive person, and probably is a great person. What I am saying however is that I was treated poorly by your staff. I was disappointed in the service I received and thought I might inform you of the situation. If you don’t believe me, I guess it’s fine. I wasn’t doing this for my satisfaction, I was doing it for...

I saw the happy hour sign earlier in the day, so I decided to stop in for the happy hour later that day. I arrived at 5, checked in with the hostess and let her know I was there for the happy hour. She informed me that the happy hour was in the bar/lounge area and it was open seating. So I sat at a table in the middle of the lounge area. Someone brought me a waiter right away. I then waited for a server to place my order. After 5 minutes, no one came. All the while servers have stopped and checked in multiple times with tables all around. So now I'm really wondering why I hadn't received service still. I asked the guy that brought my water if my table had a server. He apologized, said yes and went to go check on it. No one ever came. After another 7 minutes pass, I see my opportunity to catch someone... a waiter stops at the table directly in front of me and when he's done with them he zooms off but I catch him mid-stride and ask if my table has a server. "Yes OMG I'm your waiter I'm sorry. So I let him know my concern with the lack of service and asked what happened and he says

"I didn't see you."

How do you not see me after been sitting in the same spot in the middle of the floor in YOUR section for almost 15 minutes?? But okay. So even through continued concern and an arising feeling of discomfort, I still placed an order because I wanted to try the happy hour. The waiter did offer me my glass for free. But as I'm waiting, I thought about it and I don't understand how he didn't see me when, again I'm sitting in the middle of the restaurant and he stopped at the table that was literally in front of me. So I tell him I don't understand, to which he responded "I don't know what else to tell you, I just didn't see you." At that point I'm more than too uncomfortable to still remain at this establishment. I gather my belongings and ask to speak to whomever is in charge. I tell him what happened, to which he apologized and offered me a drink on the house as well, but I really was too uncomfortable to remain there. I was shown that my patronage meant nothing to this staff so I simply couldn't remain there. and it's unfortunate too, as I was pretty eager to try the happy hour specials. But between boulder cork and effrains, I learned that a locally owned boulder restaurant is no place for a minority if you want to be treated like a...