The Brinkerhoff — Restaurant in Castle Rock

I booked The Brinkerhoff for my husband’s birthday and the experience was….interesting—not the best, but slightly redeemed. It was myself, my husband, and our 14 month old son. I booked this reservation about a month in advance with a note that we need a high chair for my son.

We arrive and the host says “We have you all checked in, but just to let you know we don’t have high chairs.” Thinking it was because they were newly opened and hadn’t gotten their high chairs in yet or something, I said “Are you able to run next door to your sister restaurant Savina’s and use one of theirs?” The host says “….no, sorry” After a moment of disbelief I ask “Is it your plan to ever get high chairs, or no?” Host says “No, it’s not in our plan.” ……mmkay. So we sit down at a booth with our son on our lap—not ideal for an entire dinner—contemplating if we should stay or go.

We sit down and our server, Jake, was absolutely amazing. He was sympathetic of our situation and even offered to go next door to Savina’s to get a high chair for us. He was the first person there who actually felt caring and accommodating. We order some drinks but it became clear we couldn’t do this the entire dinner (baby sitting on our lap while we eat and drink). I ended up asking for the manager because I wanted to tell them about my experience so far. He came over—Sean was his name—and basically echoed the same sentiment as the host stand, which was “No high chairs and nothing we can do.” I proceeded to let them know the situation: I booked this reservation a month in advance for my husband’s birthday, put a note on the reservation about needing a high chair, and the unaccommodating nature of the host stand upon arrival. He listened, checked with the general manager/owner and they said “no, we’re not willing to accommodate”—but we could go next door to Savina’s if we wanted. I asked if they had a table ready for us to walk in since there is usually a wait, he went back to call/check, then came back saying there was a 45 min wait so as a result of the situation “they would accommodate and get a high chair from Savina’s.”

We ended up staying and Jake our server was the best employee there, the food was good, but here’s the bottom line: IF YOUR RESTAURANT IS NOT KID FRIENDLY, YOU NEED TO SAY IT SOMEWHERE—ANYWHERE! It’s not online anywhere as of writing this review—not on the website, not yelp, not Google, not anywhere.

Had someone seen our note on the reservation about needing a high chair and called us saying they couldn’t accommodate, then fine! We will make a different reservation and go elsewhere—no big deal. Or even upon arrival, if the host or manager said “We can’t accommodate but we called our sister restaurant Savina’s who can take you right now” then even that is some sort of effort to accommodate given the situation. But for the host AND manager to be entirely unhelpful and accommodating? Not good. Very bad experience.

I can understand and appreciate the concept of an adult-centric, non-kid friendly restaurant—there are many out there—but The Brinkerhoff does not state this on their website, on yelp, or anywhere online. Further, if you see a note on the reservation that we are requesting a high chair, maybe call us and let us know the situation so we can make alternate plans BEFORE we arrive.

Just an interesting experience all around—fine food, nice environment, but not what I would call a restaurant focused on hospitality.

TLDR: •Lack of focus and dedication to true hospitality •NOT KID FRIENDLY—and this is noted nowhere on their website, yelp, etc. (lack of info is not what you’d expect from an experienced restaurant group??) •Unaccommodating staff and ownership (exception was our server Jake who was amazing) •Good food, not phenomenal (honestly, on par with Sierra, so just go there since they have much more friendly and accommodating staff) •Beautiful building and location (but doesn’t make up for average staff and...

Overall description: Speechless!!! Cannot say enough about everything! Be forewarned, this is a pricey, higher-end restaurant experience. Please don’t come here and trash the place because of the prices. They are worth it imo.

Atmosphere: Best front range views ever. Warm, inviting, comfy, beautiful, elegant but also laid back. Beautiful flowers, views from every table, chandeliers, big bar, wonderful panoramic windows…ugh!

Service: We had a reservation, but arrived 30 min early. They were able to seat us anyway (doubt this will stay the same, because when this place takes off, it’s gonna be major wait times I bet!) A little cold inside, so I asked if we could move outside (after water and drinks had arrived) and they happily accommodated the late table change. Moved all of our things for us. Delightful waiter, kind, knowledgeable, attentive without hovering or interrupting.

Drinks: We got a dirty vodka martini with blue cheese olives and the Jackie-O cocktail. The martini was perfection with freshly stuffed olives. The Jackie-O was delicious, a take on a Cosmo, but waaaay better! Highly recommend.

Food: First off, everything is made in house, from the bread to their own ice cream. That being said, we were wanting to try so many things, but couldn’t get away from the appetizers. We started with the pimento cheese dip. Literally delicious. Brought the left overs home for later! Then got the Coconut Tuna roll. Amazing. The tuna was so fresh, toasted unsweetened coconut on top added a great crunch, and it was delicious. Loved it so much, we ordered the Spicy Hiramasa roll. It was amazing as well! The fresh wasabi and in house ponzu sauce elevated the rolls so much. Finally had the Blue Ribbon Carrot cake with vanilla ice cream. Again, all made in house. It is huge (brought the extra home too) and literally the best carrot cake and ice cream we’ve ever had. Not too sweet, just perfection (and we chose carrot cake for our wedding, so we know good carrot cake!)!

Already planned to go back to try more menu items past the appetizers! We highly recommend and can’t wait to bring friends to...

My review is a bit mixed as it encompasses my whole visit.

Greeters 2/5 First I had no idea yesterday was their opening day but it was a bit busy. As soon as my family walks in we are not greeted but the couple walking in behind us are greeted and spoken to and seated. After that then was I greeted and told they would have room for me. A total of 5 people were standing at the front but not one said anything to us until after.

Servers 5/5 Once our server came over that’s when my experience changed to a positive experience. Our server was amazing. The other servers who brought our food were amazing. Always checking in on us and making sure we had everything we needed.

Food 1.75/5

The food review will be on the NY strip I ordered. I was given a steak knife and once the strip came over you can visibly see that the steak was not charred but burnt on the outside. The sizing was great and had the right amount of thickness to it. Cutting into it took a bit as the outside was burnt, not charred but burnt. It did take a few passes to actually get my knife through to cut. The fat cap was beyond charred and almost reminded me of chicharrón. First bite on the outside was a bit dry and flavor was a bit off. Once I got closer to the center it was medium rare how I ordered it but the flavor was off. The marinade and seasoning used overpowered the flavor of the steak and at $74 for a NY strip I would have wanted to taste more of the steak instead of a marinade. Now to the flavor of the steak, if I could sum up the flavor it would be like tasting the smell of Christmas morning in every steak bite. Maybe it’s not my preferred flavor but I personally do not think steaks should be sweetened. I am sure the steaks are of quality and salt and pepper can go miles for these cuts.

Overall the only positive experience was the servers attitudes and we genuinely felt welcomed by them. I will be giving this place another try sometime in the future but at...