Genesee Pub and BBQ — Restaurant in Colorado

My beautiful bride and I stopped by the Genesee Pub and BBQ after spending the day in the area. BBQ sounded perfect, and we were excited when we found this place.

Walking up, the smell was spot-on and really raised our expectations. It took a little while to be acknowledged, but it seemed like staff were busy cleaning up after a private party in the back, so we gave them the benefit of the doubt.

Once seated, we ordered a beer and my bride went with the Pinapalooza. After a quick clarification (the nachos are fries, not chips), we decided on the burnt ends and a Green Monster sandwich.

The burnt ends came out quickly and looked delicious. Still no drinks besides water. The brisket was tender, but surprisingly lacked the smoky flavor we expected from the reviews, and definitely from that amazing smell out front. The BBQ sauce didn’t help much either, as it was nearly flavorless.

Before we finished the ends, the Green Monster arrived—but still no adult beverages. The sandwich itself was underwhelming in size (not exactly a “monster”) and didn’t include any sides, those are extra. We asked both the waitress and the food runner about the drinks. Still just water.

The pork was very tender, but again, lacking flavor. The green chili didn’t add much either. The only bright spot? We finally got our drinks—about three-quarters of the way through the meal.

The Pinapilooza was about as satisfying as the meal: not worth the $14. Honestly, we would’ve been better off grabbing a bottle at the liquor store or saving it for some post-dinner ice cream. My beer was… fine.

I always try to give the benefit of the doubt and avoid overly negative reviews, but this one was tough. With a 4.6 rating, we expected way better. Honestly, the corner gas station might’ve done better with a microwaved BBQ sandwich and at a fraction of the cost.

Maybe it was just an off Saturday at 3 p.m., and hopefully your experience will be better than ours.

At least the setting...

One of the worst places I’ve ever eaten. How does it have 4.5 stars? The service was so bad. We waited about 10 minutes for someone to bring waters and take a drink order, then another 10 for someone to take our food order. I actually went up to ask who our server was and someone told me “any of us can wait on you”….yeah but whose table is it? I served at different restaurants for 9 years so I know it can get crazy, but this was just bad service and seemed very disorganized from an operations point of view. You also cannot tell who the servers are since they just wear whatever.

Then the food…man I was wanting and expecting some amazing BBQ, but this was just so bad. I ordered brisket and pulled pork and both were completely flavorless…like they’d been cooked in a crockpot with nothing but water. I had to put salt on it which just felt wrong. I got a to-go box thinking, since it wasn’t seasoned, that my dogs could have some. Then the “French fries”….which were wannabe potato wedges except they were as thick as a nail maybe? Also zero taste- neither crispy nor soft, and definitely not seasoned. The baked potato was OK, HOWEVER, the servers forgot it in the window and my friend waited 10-15 minutes for it & we had to flag someone down- no one checked on us before to see if we got everything…waitressing 101. The pork sandwich was so bad that my friend who was really hungry only ate half, and my husband said the burger was decent. But a BBQ place should have good BBQ, right?

The atmosphere and live music were cool, and it was nice to sit outside. But it wasn’t enough to make up for the sub-par...

Been here a bunch of times, keep hoping it will improve. Friendly staff and owners, locals bar vibe. Totally mediocre BBQ. Super drafty in the winter. Lots of TVs with sports on.

I've ordered a couple dozen pints here and never gotten a full one. Tonight's pour was well over an inch from the top. For the L of G, wait for the head to fall and fill it all the way to 16 oz!

I think I've had all the meats here. Brisket is probably the top, but the pulled pork wasn't bad either. Surprisingly, the salads are the best thing on the menu. Super fresh and flavorful fruits and veggies. "Wait, the salad is the best thing at the BBQ restaurant?" you're probably thinking. Yeah, I know.

Protip: save yourself a couple bucks and get brisket instead if you were thinking of getting burnt ends. Here, those are just big cubes of brisket, rather than all that caramelized crispy goodness you get from real burnt ends or even cubing the point and then tossing it in a glaze and reducing it. Literally just cubed brisket, sauced before being cubed so I don't see how this differs from brisket.

To be fair, this would probably be considered great BBQ in Massachusetts, where the owners are from. But Colorado has some really great BBQ, so I'm just disappointed every time I give this place another try. Just doesn't compare to real Texas brisket and BBQ. Try this next to food from Post Oak and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, see y'all again in...