La Taverne — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

Update: 1/29/2025...Partner and I took advantage of the January Colorado Appreciation Menu, a prix fixe menu with three options for appetizer, main course, and dessert. It was an excellent meal all the way around, with service that was friendly, effusive, efficent without being obtrusive, the kind of service you wish you could have in every restaurant. I've enjoyed the Taverne at least 20 times, and this meal was the best one yet.

Update 1/26/2024...Partner and I shared a steak, two baked potatoes, creamed spinach, and tiramisu. The steak was perfect, spinach just right, but the potato was horrible. The server warned us that there'd be pulled pork on the potato, but the potato was 90% pulled pork. I guess I should have sent it back. I finally used my fork to remove the pulled pork to find a little bit of potato. The bill came to $300, not a good value, would have been a good value with a decent potato.

The entertaining aspect of the meal was that my partner wanted A-1 Sauce and not one, but two the managers went to find some. They finally found some in one of Broadmoor's kitchens, so partner could enjoy it with his last two bites of beef. It was service above and beyond. But, I don't get it. It's a steak house. They should have standard steak sauces on the shelf, like I do at home, where I plan to be eating my steaks from now on.

Ironically, years ago I met the maitre d' of The Penrose Room at The Eagle here in Denver. I asked him point blank, what if my partner asks for A-1 sauce at The Penrose Room. His answer, we'll go get him some A-1 sauce. He then told me that The Broadmoor hosts all sorts of guests which include ranchers and farmers from Colorado or elsewhere. Perhaps The Broadmoor has forgotten about ranchers and farmers and us "down home" guests.

Server was excellent, worth his weight in gold, professional, effusive, converational, although little quick to remove plates..("Dang, I would have loved to eat those caperberries on the shrimp cocktail plate.")

All things considered it was a lovely meal after an unfortunately stressful day.

Update 1/17/2023...Lunch for me included a wonderful steak tartare, a little spicier than expected, perfect in every way. Partner enjoyed his French dip sandwich. The complimentary bread is amazing.

Update 8/11/2021...two wonderful dinners at the Tavern. The most memorable was a seared scallops dish with romesco and fennel sauces, served with a shaved fennel salad. Marcona almonds and sauteed smashed fingerling potatoes added an earthy contrast. With some dishes you search for the perfect bite. With this dish you couldn't avoid the perfect bite. There was a delightful flavor suprise around every corner.

Service was spectacular as usual, down to earth, efficient, not the least bit pretentious, just like the service from the entire staff at The Broadmoor.

I STILL haven't found anything that matches the earthy dry rose wine I had at The Broadmoor a few years ago, but the sommelier did set me up with a couple great bottles of rose to take home. Fresh, light, perfect for summer.

Update 4/23/2021: Two dinners at Tavern this time around, and they were the usual amazing quality. I also took an appetizer back to my room each evening for a snack. The snapper with the creole sauce is one of the best things I've ever eaten. Staff was it's usual down to earth elegance, informal enough to let me feel comfortable, but the professionalism to make sure my experience...

I hesitate to write this review because the Broadmoor is one of my favorite places to stay. Its staff and, usually, its restaurants are top of the line and match up with any place that I've stayed, anywhere in the world. However, we had a recent dining experience there that was simply bad. And so I'm offering this in the hopes that it will make its way to the Broadmoor staff and as a caution to those of you who are planning to dine at the Broadmoor steakhouse.

We dined there on a Saturday evening, 1 October 2022. The restaurant was not full when we arrived , although it got about 1/2 full over the course of our dinner.

Things started going wrong from the very beginning. My wife ordered a dirty martini , which arrived with virtually no olive juice in it the first time, and something that tried to pass for olive juice the second. In both cases, it was undrinkable.

We ordered oysters as an appetizer. There was no description of the oysters provided, and despite our request for horseradish, none of that was provided as well. Although we ordered wine, it did not arrive and we had to request it from a different server. We both ordered filets, although done to a different degree. The steaks arrived on the wrong plates and, in my wife's case, cooked completely wrong . Specifically, it was blood rare , while she had ordered medium. The mashed potatoes arrived with a good sized cube of butter on top but were so cool that the butter did not melt at all over the course of the entire meal.

But the food preparation was not the biggest issue. We did not take the opportunity to correct the underdone steak, or the lukewarm potatoes, because there was no follow up from our server until the meal was virtually over and she stopped by to see about dessert. We advised her about the problems with the steak and the potatoes and she offered to correct them, but by that point the meal was too far gone. Moreover, her manager watched this entire exchange and did not intercede. Our server did manage to take $20 off the bill for the underdone steak.

The Broadmoor restaurants serve up not just excellent food, but a sublime dining experience. For a cost of more than $300 for a dinner for two, its customers should receive perfect or nearly perfect service, and if not, immediate corrective action. Our experience that evening would not have done credit to a Steak and Ale, much less a restaurant at one of the premier hotels in...

For a $200 meal for two people, they could have done much, much better. I'd personally advise you take your $200 elsewhere.

What they did well:. The dining room was very well-appointed. The garden area was beautiful, as were the dining areas we passed through to get to the dining area.

Macy, our server, let me taste the Riesling before completing the five ounce pour.

The steak was cooked to the appropriate temperature. It was delicious, but not the best steak I've had this year. The glaze (not requested, just what came with the base 6oz tenderloin) was a bit salty and spicy, but it didn't detract from the flavor.

The raspberry fudge cake was five stars. Delicious fudge (basically a tort) and the raspberry sauce was scrumptious. If I based my review on the steak and cake, it would be five stars.

The gentlemen who refilled my water were on point throughout the meal. Kudos to them!

My wedge salad was great. No onions, as I requested. The plate size was adequate for the salad.

What they didn't do well:. The maitre D seated us at an uneven table that wobbled throughout the meal. We were next to a family of four celebrating a birthday and a large party with underdressed sullen adolescent boys playing on their phones. No care was placed into seating arrangements to give couples a more private romantic dining atmosphere.

My fries were spilled on the way to the table, and they got a new order of my truffle fries. They were tasty.

Service was a bit slow, because our server was also assigned to the party next to us (maybe even the whole dining area). She never asked if I wanted more wine or another drink.

The restaurant seems to have reinvented itself or switched management. I still really don't know if it's "La Taverne" or "The Tavern". Management needs to nail this down. Pick a name, remove improperly named plates and menus. It's confusing to have one dish served with "The Tavern" and another with "La Taverne". I didn't like this. It would make me not come back. Stop trying to save money with improperly named items. The dessert menus had another name on them. It's a stylistic nightmare. It's one-star or two-star restaurant behavior with a five-star price tag. Grow up if you want this to be a restaurant worthy of...