Ajax Downtown — Restaurant in Denver

Update October 2019: As can be seen in my original review, my wife and I left a little discouraged and planning to try other places for our next night out. However after some encouragement from others we decided to go back and give Citizen Rail another try, and I am glad we did.

This time we started with cocktails, I had the Improved Whiskey Cocktail, my wife had the Mexican Firing Squad. If you like whiskey and really enjoy a manhattan or old fashioned, the Improved Whiskey Cocktail is for you, it is perfection in a glass, Bravo, Citizen Rail! My wife loved the Mexican Firing Squad.

For apps we went with the Potato Cake + Alder Smoked Sturgeon as well as the Charcuterie, both were fantastic and just as good if not better than our first visit. Additionally the chef surprised us with another appetizers that I honesty couldn't say what it was, think root chips and dip, but farm to table, it was a great treat and left us wondering how we would ever eat our main course.

For our main course, I had the bone-in smoked short rib, with green beans and horseradish mashed potatoes. This bar far was the cherry on top. The meat was incredible tender and full of flavor, the horseradish mashed potatoes was a unique and wonderfully paired side, both pouring over the palate with flavor with every bite, exceptional! This along with the Cabernet (Justin) left me silent as I worked over the plate, savoring every bite. For my wife, she just wanted to go with a hamburger, a choice she didn't regret, until I let her try a bite of the short rib.

Being stuffed, we passed on dessert and decided to stroll around union station then catch an uber home.

In a city with a lot of options, I don't usually give a restaurant a second chance. In this case I am grateful that I did. Jason, thank you for encouraging me to come back. Citizen Rail outdid themselves!

Old Review August 2019: We were at Citizen Rail for out 10th anniversary. When we arrived we were quickly seated and introduced to our waitress Lauren. She was fantastic. We started out with drinks and appetizers. The drinks were exceptional. For appetizers we got the potato cake/sturgeon (fantastic) and the oysters (great but over priced for 3 tiny oysters). The next course was the Charcuterie board, it was great. For our main course we ordered the 48oz Tomahawk with Potatoes, Asparagus, and mushrooms on the side as well as 3 steak sauces. The first slight frustration was that the website listed the Tomahawk at ~$98 but once at the restaurant it was listed at $129. It was our anniversary so we figured why now go ahead and spend the extra, we love a good tomahawk steak. When the food arrived we only got the steak. After a couple minutes of waiting for the sides and sauces, I decided to go ahead and start cutting the steak to share with my wife, usually we have had our tomahawk steaks delivered pre cut, I was very surprise as this is what I saw in the pictures from previous guest. When I was done cutting, a lady shows up to the take to let me know they could cut the rest of it for us. This was a big miss. She asked if I needed anything else. I let her know we were still waiting on sides and sauces. About 3 minutes later they all arrived. The potatoes and asparagus were fantastic, the mushrooms were burnt charred. Thankfully as soon as I let lauren know, she took the dish and had a new dish ready for me in less than a minutes. The steak itself was good, but didn't stand out from other steaks I have enjoyed. For dessert we had the decadence cake with ice cream, it was good, but not memorable. Over all, we really did enjoy ourselves. The drinks/apps definitely made up for other areas of the meal. Lauren was fantastic. And they covered the cost of our sides and dessert as an anniversary gift. Our bill was $260 pre tip. For a nice date night where we plan to spend that amount of money we will probably search elsewhere next time, however this is still a great place. We will likely be back in for a drink or apps...

Zero stars overall. A week ago I went out with a family member to Ajax for the first time. It was also the first time going to a restaurant instead of choosing entertainment as a treat to go out. We wanted somewhere downtown with a great view and a unique atmosphere. Something to make solely dining a worthwhile experience. Just going out to eat has never seemed worthwhile or appealing. But the family member who was with me is a minor and had asked me for something more adult to try and wanted to see what a more formal dining experience was like. The first disappointment was finding out Ajax isn't on a rooftop or upper floor. It's on the ground floor. I didn't see any outdoor seating area either. The google result is misleading about amazing views of the city, from what I read anyway. I'd gone through the trouble to reserve a table so we didn't walk out just because it was on the ground floor when we arrived. After we arrived it honestly didn't look like making a reservation was necessary. I ended up ordering a lot but not getting to eat my meal. My family member ordered a side and 2 main courses, requesting my original main course when it was served. I ended up agreeing to order a different main dish for myself and to also split my 2nd choice with my family member, too. The servers pretty much left us alone once we had our orders. The bizarre and baffling thing was that when I went to the restroom right after my 2nd attempt at a main course was served, I came back and found my main course suddenly cleared from the table without my knowledge or permission, without getting to eat it. My family member had eaten enough to be full by then and hadn't touched their half of my 2nd choice main course either. I'd only left the table in the normal amount of time anyone needs to briefly use the restroom. I ended up going to a restaurant and leaving hungry. All I had a chance to eat was my side of fries. Given the tab came to $175 for 2 people I was upset but left after paying. I didn't know how to handle the situation in the moment so I paid and we left.  I tried to let it go because when the food was removed I thought it was too late to do anything about it and I didn't want to risk embarrassing us not knowing what to do then and there. I'm slow to respond to my anger or frustration. I think it's how I was raised. I did call back the next day because I was still upset. I felt the whole experience was a waste of money and leisure time. I wanted to talk to management and see if they were willing to do anything to heal the upsetting experience. Someone polite answered and took my number saying I would get a call back. I've waited about a week and no call back. It's the first time it feels like being snubbed deliberately since moving to Denver. I've lived in different cities and countries. I work hard as a single parent and I resent being ignored when the service is negligent or upsetting. I'm not one of those people who makes a fuss just to see what they can get away with. Among other things it was a waste because it wasn't fine dining. I'd called ahead to confirm our reservation and check the dress requirements; if it was black tie or semi formal. Its just a small ordinary looking hotel restaurant. So we dressed semi formally for nothing, since we wanted an elegant unique experience worthy of being downtown. The wagyu as an added menu ingredient or truffle fries are absolutely not enough to make going out of your way to this place worth it. If you're looking to experience downtown Denver and give yourself a treat there's no point going here. The Google results giving this place high praise are misleading. Spending a lot needs to be worth it. I wish we'd never gone here. I should have bought groceries and gone out for...

This was our second visit to Citizen Rail. Our first visit was on opening night and quite disappointing. To be fair they did everything they could to make it right. They comped the meal and promised that if we tried them again, things would be different. My original review gave them 2 stars and concluded that they were not quite ready for prime time. But...

This time they absolutely NAILED it! I don’t think I have ever seen a restaurant redeem itself like this one did. And not just with the quality of the food or the spot-on service. Not by a long shot. They went so far above and beyond, by the end of the evening we had already planned what we’d get on the next two or three visits!

The evening progressed something like this…

Round 0: Amuse-bouche of grilled octopus with watermelon and a tangy sauce. GREAT start to the meal!

Round 1: The Crispy Artichokes + Dungeness Crab app. The crab was delicious and paired well with the fresh herbs in the mix. The artichokes were a really nice vehicle for the crab and had a wonderfully light, crispy exterior – almost like filo dough. Yum!

Round 2: Wood-grilled oysters. OK, this one blew my mind. I expected something along the lines of char grilled oysters, like what you’d get in New Orleans (Think Drago’s). Soooo different. Instead, you have this warm (not hot) oyster on the half shell with a super light sauce comprised of butter, garlic and fresh cilantro – at least that’s what I tasted. The flavor wasn’t overpowered in any way by the butter or garlic. The texture of the oyster was nearly the same as a raw oyster, so not cooked firm at all. Perhaps my favorite bite of the evening!

Round 3: We shared the Grilled Swordfish and the dry-aged Bone-in Ribeye. The steak was cooked just right, very tender and extremely flavorful. Just what you look for in a good steak. The swordfish was a totally unexpected treat for me though as I am typically not a fan. This was easily the best I’ve ever had! Incredibly moist and so flavorful. I’d recommend pairing it with the chimichurri and/or the salsa verde. We also munched on the Blistered Root Vegetables and Cast Iron Duckfat Roasted Potatoes both of which were also delicious.

Round 4: A lovely Ruby port for me and a Muscat for my wife.

In the category of “WAY above and beyond”, a couple things stand out. First, the oysters come 3 to an order and they threw in an extra so my wife and I wouldn’t “argue” about who got the last one. Then, a bit before our round 3 entrées, a miniature portion of their Bone-in Smoked Shortrib made its way to our table! They knew we were debating between that and the steak and they wanted to make sure we had a chance to try it! Wow, who does that?!?!? And WOW was it AMAZING. Really rich sauce without being over spiced, the meat melted in your mouth and it had the nicest kiss of smoke you could ask for. Awesome, awesome dish.

I haven’t even mentioned the great cocktails, wine list and perfect service. Everyone was just so warm and friendly and I can’t thank them enough Chef Christian even came by to check on us a couple of times. An absolutely perfect evening.

So are they ready for prime time now? You...