Murphy's Mountain Grill — Restaurant in Colorado

GREAT ATMOSPHERE, MEDIOCRE FOOD. 3-stars because the draw of the space and descriptions on the menu draw you in. It's a fabulous setting and the staff was friendly.

When the elk burger and nachos came, our faces dropped as we were expecting something much more spectacular and unique. There was the opposite of "wow" factor when the food came.

The Black & Bleu burger was small, and did not look like the picture I'm seeing posted in google listings. There was barely a spot of Aioli on the bun, and it was in one little spot, not something that was integrated across the sandwich. No lettuce, tomato, garnish...give me something to help "frame the food" to match the atmostphere. Exactly 1 8-inch piece of bacon, cut in half, all laying to one side, not arranged by a chef, but thrown on by a cook. I did not taste any hint of the "chili dust" as outlined in the burger description. 3 soggy fries on top (described as "fresh cut fries), with one laying on the plate. The bun looked like it had been pressed down. I ordered medium-rare, and it was definitely well-done. What's the point in sending it out, if it's not to specification and looks unappetizing?

The burger was quite small and not near as tasty as the elk burgers I have at home. I can think of several upscaled fast food vendors and food trucks that do a burger better. Burger cam on a "lonely" steel fondu plate. It just looked so sad and unappetizing. Maybe $3.50 worth of ingredients, and 5 min. of effort on this $13 burger. Perhaps I was picturing the delicious black and blue burger that I've had at a tavern franchise over the years; Bar none, it was the louie.

Citrus Grilled Chicken Plantain Nachos: Maybe 1/16 cup of tiny chicken squares on it?. It had good flavor, but left you wanting more for the "value". I'd estimate it's value at $2, not $12. My guest and I didn't make issue of it, but I did ask for a teaspoon of bleu cheese for the burger on my guest's behalf. Afterall, they seemed to be tight on budget, so I didn't want to be greedy without specifying an amount.

My guest was disappointed, as she had been here before, and she thought it was better then.

So roughly $35 with tip for less than $6 worth of food. We did not have beverages; which they probably hated.

This isn't the only restaurant that seems to be shrink-flating their portions, and raising prices to retain profit margins. It's definitely got me eating my favorite culinary delights at home more, and learning which establishments will stay in business by balancing value and experience, and which will not.

So, to all the good reviewers-- enjoy! I guess I have old-school references for quality, value, and experience. It is what it is and MMG has found a way to make it work for...

My husband & I went up to Evergreen for a late afternoon hike & decided to eat at Murphy’s on the way home to N Lakewood. We’ve eaten there before & never had an issue until this evening. We walked in at around 7:30ish & were seated by the hostess at a corner table near the patio. We waited….and waited….over 30 minutes as several servers walked past us repeatedly (including the hostess) never making eye contact with us, no one saying “I’ll be with you shortly” - Nothing - As if we were invisible. We watched as others who came in after us were promptly waited on. It appeared that all the servers were playing the “that’s not my table” game. We finally said something to the hostess who seated us & she apologized, stating that she had forgotten to tell a server to wait on us - Ok - So we waited…:.and waited - Still, we were ignored and avoided by every server who walked by. Finally, I asked the hostess if we should just leave. That caught a server’s attention & he said he’d be with us in a moment. He finally took our order (2 drinks, 2 appetizers & 2 entrees). We ordered right away because we didn’t know how long we’d have to wait after getting our drinks to order food. Thankfully, our food came out at a reasonable time. However, the girl running the food was very rude & just slapped the appetizers on the table. Acting as if we were the problem! She did the same thing with our entrees. She was very rude. The bill was delivered promptly without one word about “sorry for the long delay before you were waited on, we’ve comped your appetizers, or we comped your husband’s drink” (which he personally complemented the bar tender on) - Nothing! Not even a “sorry for your wait, we’re short staffed” (which didn’t appear to be the case in the least). I doubt we’ll be customers there again. There are other options in the area that are just as nice, if not nicer. We gave the atmosphere a lower rating because the garbage cans in the employee parking area are clearly visible to restaurant patrons while they’re eating. How hard would it be to enclose them like most other restaurants do? Not very appetizing or appealing to have to look at garbage receptacles when you’re spending over $30 for an entree. My husband still tipped the server since we ate our meals, but he didn’t tip the customary 20%. He was more than generous to have...

Update: 10/1/2022 Went back and set and the bar. Alex, the bar tender was awesome and we had a great time drinking margaritas and talking with her. We got another burger and order it medium well. It was medium this time which was acceptable. I got the fries again as a side item and they were pretty good. Can't give it 5 stars but a much improved experiance.

My wife and I just moved to Evergreen. We saw the great reviews and decided to give Murphy's a try. I wish we would have had a better experience. Maybe just bad timing. We realize how hard it is to find good help, especially in an area that is not affordable. Quick breakdown on the 2 stars.

The Good: Atmosphere - 5 - Loved the interior and Creekside setting. Also love all the surf videos playing on the TVs in lieu of the usual sports. Good selection of local drafts, albeit not very cold. I realize this is subjective as some folks don't like it ice cold.

The Bad: Service - 1 - Waitress (don't remember her name) spent her time with larger tables while ignoring us.

Food - 2 -

1. Waitress told us the French Fries where one of their best items. They came out as what I would call "burnt ends". They were inedible.

2. My wife ordered a burger medium. It came out absolutely raw in the middle.

After mentioning the above to our waitress she did not see it fit to offer any accommodations to make things right. We got the feeling she was done with us. We still left an 18% tip but were obviously disappointed. Regardless, we plan to give Murphy's another shot in the...