Dulce Vida — Restaurant in Denver

My experience with Dulce Vida was mediocre until I asked the bartender/waitress about a couple items on my bill including a charge for chimichurri sauce, which I hadn’t ordered. The waitress became agitated, and a heavy man covered in tattoos approached me. He told me he had been authorized by a manager (Joe? I think this is what I heard) to watch the bar during the day. He was aggressive. I felt endangered enough by his demeanor and approach that I began filming in case the situation escalated.

The minute and a half video begins with this heavy tattooed man giving me the middle finger and threatening to remove me physically and ends with the bartender waitress accusing me of assault - after grabbing my arm to try to get my phone away from me, she holds up an arm full of old bruises and says that I caused them. This was within 5-10 seconds after she claimed assault. All captured on video.

I get back to my table, and the heavy tattooed man came over and took my phone without saying anything. My friend went to the bar and got it back after some discussion. The heavy tattooed man repeatedly pretended or actually did call the cops, claiming loudly that a customer assaulted a female bartender. I have one of these calls also on video. By the time I left, my friend and I were told that he was allowed back and I wasn’t. Like we ever wanted to come back.

I felt menaced and unsafe in Dulce Vida due to the behavior, threats, and flat out emotional instability of the staff. Safety is fundamental - Dulce Vida deserves less than one star. Customers are allowed to question their bill without being falsely accused of abhorrent behavior and...

So I'll start by saying I haven't been here during the day or eaten their food, so this review is not reflective of that. I generally enjoy the space and atmosphere, and I have no issues with the establishment itself, per se. My rating is with regards to the Saturday night bartender. I've been here a couple of times for karaoke on Saturday nights with my female friends. We've had consistently terrible experiences with this guy. Firstly, he's not even a decent bartender, he'll disappear for 15 minutes at a time as the only bartender on staff while people are waiting for drinks, gets drunk on shift, and I have to remind him that I've ordered a drink several times before he finally brings it to me. More importantly though, he behaves extremely inappropriately towards my female friends. He is constantly crossing personal boundaries, putting his arm on my friends' shoulders, patting them on the head. They've asked him multiple times not to touch them and his response has been to stand behind them poking them repeatedly in the shoulder for 5 minutes. He once got trashed and requested the karaoke mic so that he could tell the crowd a rape joke, despite the crowd urging him not to. It makes us all extremely uncomfortable, and he seems to be completely oblivious to the discomfort which makes it all the worse. It's a shame because we quite enjoy going to Dulce Vida for karaoke (which is why I've still given two stars), but every time we go we have to weigh the benefits against the discomfort we experience in dealing with the bartender. This would be one of my favorite spots if it...

I don’t usually leave bad reviews, but this one earned it. My husband and I live nearby and figured we’d finally check this place out. The patio was nice, the bartender was super sweet and for a second, we thought this might actually be a decent spot to frequent more. It’s not.

While I went back inside to close our tab, there were two guys at the bar with a dog. As I walked up, the dog lunged at me. No bark. No warning. Just full-on claws to the legs. I’ve got scratches and bruises to prove it. I jumped back before it actually had a chance to bite me. But here’s the real kicker, the owners of the dog laughed. Laughed. Not in horror. Not nervously. Like it was the funniest thing they’d seen all day. Then, as if to ensure no one left this situation with any etiquette intact, the bartender says, “Maybe you should put a muzzle on your dog — this isn’t the first time.”

Excuse me? Not the first time? So we’re just hosting casual near-miss dog attacks now? And then pouring another round?

We were too stunned to say anything in the moment.

Don’t come here. Unless you're into watching dogs lunge at people while their owners laugh and the staff shrugs. Some places are hidden gems. This one should...