BRUTO — Restaurant in Denver

We went here for my fiancé's birthday recently. While none of the dishes were particularly transcendent experiences, there were a lot of highlights that I thought deserved to be talk about here.

I know of the change in the head chef, and speaking to one of the chefs, it seems they're going in less of a sole focus on Latin American flavors and into a bit more global (Asian fusion-y) with a focus on locality and in-house fermentation programs. One of the surprises I took away from the menu was how much culinary gems Colorado had to offer--ciders, grains, pears, and obvious things like lamb and peaches, some right around the neighborhood too.

We got the tasting menu and the mixed beverage pairing. My fiancé loved every pairing but I personally don't think all the drinks paired that well. They were all interesting nonetheless. I wanted to highlight the scallop dish with THE absolute freshest scallops I've ever had--it was sweet and buttery-- and along with the chamomile tea infused sauce, the subtle tartness and crunch from the jicama and apple slices, it was such a marvelous bite of food. But the MVP of that dish was the crabapple gelée which was the most perfect sour for me and tied the whole dish together. Loved it. The apple martini was a great pairing with it and I am NOT a martini person.

The second dish to highlight was the celery root course with spinach capelletto stuffed with this supremely juicy and tender bison filling that tasted like most fatty and delicious barbacoa. There were 3 different preparation of celery root and scraping the pasta, the bison, the chestnut, and the celery root puree was a perfect bite. This was made with celery-root soda (it tastes amazing trust)

Finally, the desserts. The pear and tulsi tea that utilized the Colorado pear in several different ways including that delicious "stem" made from the peels. Best of all, the chile chocolate jicama mousse that teetered between the savory and the sweet; it was confounding in the most wonderful way because it kinda breaks the rule of what's "supposed" to be sweet or savory.

This was also my first time having duck heart and I would like to have duck heart every day from now on as well as the house baked sourdough bread that was absolutely divine.

Less successful for me was the lamb dish. It was paired with a confit eggplant and glazed with a sweet squid ink sauce, which I originally thought it was mole. Lamb is gamey to me no matter what, but a successful dish can really eliminate that lingering sweaty taste. I don't think neither the glaze nor the eggplant was particularly successful in doing that or adding anything else to the dish. That said, the paired Old Fashion "washed" with lamb fat and Abruzzo was so good.

Overall, I loved BRUTØ. Not everything worked for me--some were a bit more technique focused than flavor I felt. However, I was never bored any of these dishes. They were inventive, playful, and it was obvious a lot of labor went into constructing these dishes, and I took a lot away from having this experience. I'd be more than happy to come back.

Thank you BRUTØ for an...

I was so excited to go to Bruto, one of the Michelin star rated restaurants in Denver, and I had built the experience up in my head…and rightfully so after pre-paying $600+ dollars for two just to reserve our place.

The service is definitely top notch. We were greeted by several hosts and assured we’d be seated shortly, they took our coats, and offered us a welcome drink, and the whole meal service was elegantly orchestrated. Although, because it was a batched experience, it felt like our dishes sat assembled a bit too long sometimes - making crispier parts of it soggy by the time it came to us.

The overall layout is unique/open concept with the kitchen in the center and the bar-style seating facing into it with a couple satellite tables off to the side for the lucky few that weren’t squeezed into these high chairs. Despite the layout’s uniqueness, it didn’t hit the mark because it sacrificed comfort significantly. My back was literally aching (I’m a young/healthy woman with no prior back issues) on the high chairs for hours. My chair was even rickety/rocking slightly with any movements I made, which in my mind does not seem appropriate for the amount we’re spending on this experience.

I appreciated being able to watch the chefs/staff at work preparing our courses. It was fun to be able to interact with them and ask occasional questions. However, it wasn’t an atmosphere that allowed for privacy within your own party. My party of two just so happened to be sandwiched between two couples - honestly not a super good vibe at all. As another reviewer mentioned - literally bumping elbows with strangers while also fine dining - it just didn’t add up.

Finally, the food…

The first 3 courses (aka canapés) are bundled…very small portions and only 1/3 really blew me away.

Biggest food flop: dessert Squash + Honey, which was hard squash with sour/tangy cream with lemony ice cream (looked beautiful but taste was lacking severely), which also didn’t pair well with coffee and this wasn’t brought up to us when we ordered it…we were so disappointed :(

Potential but “missed the mark” dishes: Caviar + Sunchoke had delicious components and a cool concept but the base was soggy and the whole dish lacked structure after sitting around after assembly (nori got wet/soggy) - so it kind became mess while eating which meant you lost the taste of expensive caviar somewhere in it. I honestly completely forgot the Bison + Roots, which I think speaks for itself.

A few truly standout delicious dishes imo: scallop + chamomile dish, THE BREAD (aka Grain + Harvest), cabbage and quail (Quail + Vadouvan)

All drinks were paired very well. Their cider was delightful (and I’m not usually a cider person). Unfortunately, none of the mixed drinks blew me away in and of themselves.

Overall, glad I went to know what Bruto is. Unfortunately, I won’t likely be coming back here - not worth the very high cost as it stands...

Great tasting menu with a fun & unique dining experience. Minor negatives drop it from 5 to 4 stars for me. We did the chef's counter dinner for 2 with a non alcoholic & a cocktail flight.

Pro's: 1- Cocktail flights were inventive and delicious! Even the alcoholic flight was great..minus the kombucha but we just naturally dislike kombucha so cant blame the bartender for that one

2- The majority of our meal was fantastic and memorable. Loved the bread, tostadas, and the pasta the most. Really cool presentation and everything was delectable. Didn't want to eat it too fast! Every dish made my wife want to take a picture lol

3- Service was solid - fast to pour more water, get us our drinks, switch out silverware etc. They probably need a hostess though.

4- Pretty ambiance and romantic setting. Also really fun to watch the staff at work. Enjoyed learning about where they sourced ingredients and thought up the meals - when I could hear what was being said.

Con's: 1- Had a 7:45 reservation and got seated at 820. With a grumpy pregnant wife this was not ideal. No body really said anything to us besides 'the other groups are finishing up'...

2- I really enjoy learning the back story and ideas behind each meal but really could only hear our server 50% of the time. They were blasting music + the server had to give the spiel to 6 people at once so I was often left guessing what was being said when she turned her head away from me. Maybe lower the music a tad or have the servers speak up alot.

3- We had two Mole dishes back to back. The pasta dish was amazing but we didnt love the first one...i would have liked to see a different flavor instead of a somewhat repetitive main course...this one is just my personal taste though since I imagine if you love Mole this would be a pro!

Overall it was a really great experience (even though its super pricey) -- if you are looking for a unique multi-course meal in Denver, not sure you could do much better. Ill come back when I have a big foodie...