La Chiva Colombian Cuisine — Restaurant in Denver

If I could give this place zero stars I would. I thought this place would be good and was excited to eat here but was surely disappointed. Cute authentic ambience but everything else wasn’t so good. I had ordered a lemonade and was told it would be an actual lemonade, but in reality it was just the juice of the lemon, was extremely bitter and was told something different by the waitress. On first sip it wasn’t what the waitress had described. When I asked if I could exchange it because it definitely was not a lemonade. The waitress told me she couldn’t, but they would charge me for another drink if I wanted. if you order a soda here it is $.50 refills and 18% mandatory gratuity. We came here with our daughter and when placing the order for her the plate had came with a salad. I had asked to exchange the salad for something else before placing the order because my toddler CAN NOT eat salad. The waitress said unfortunately nothing can be changed. Which was extremely disappointing because this was for a toddler and they don’t even have a kids menu. once the food had arrived it looked really good but once we tasted the food, we were again extremely disappointed my husband is Colombian raised in Colombia, so we have Colombian food all the time there was nothing about this food that was authentic or delicious. The meat was extremely dry, and had no flavor. The beans were plain and also no flavor the rice was hard the tostones were burnt and hard and were not edible . This place is neither accommodating nor understanding and they don’t even have a baby changing station in the restroom which would’ve been extremely helpful because it was really cold outside. I had to change my kid in the car. Definitely would not recommend this place . I wish I could give a different review, don’t even waste your money...

La Chiva, I went twice in a week just to be sure the quality was consistent. And I can say, with absolute certainty, that it is. If you’ve never had Colombian food try it...and try it here. This is as good, if not better, than anything I had when I visited Colombia. Service was friendly and the food was fantastic.

The juices are great...I’m a lulo fan from my visit to Cali. The empanadas...flavorful, a crunchy exterior, but without any feeling of oil or grease. You can eat them with you hands and not have to wipe them with a napkin...that takes skill. The same goes for the patacones (fried plantains)...no greasy mess and dusted lightly with salt...feel free to eat these delicious discs by themselves.

The ajiaco, you may think it needs a little bit of salt...but...that’s what the capers are for. Add some of those and a little bit of cream; it completely transforms the dish and elevates it to a luxurious soup that’s bursting with flavor. Even the rice was seasoned and went well with the avocado that is on the side.

The Bandeja Montañera gives just enough food but not too much...bring you cholesterol pills and enjoy. Fried egg, fried plantains, arepa, beans, beef rib, sausage, chicharron, rice, and avocado. All were done to perfection...tender meat, crispy chicharron and patacon, and every single morsel properly seasoned.

I can’t say enough good things about this place. They do the basics well, take that’s what makes the food so great. It’s a place to hangout with friends and have great food...all at a very...

Left a review yesterday that was clearly hurtful to the owners (should’ve left their response up, yikes) so I’ll rephrase and add more detail:

the empanadas are pretty expensive and I thought it needed more flavor. Granted, I was absolutely spoiled with empanadas where I come from.

-the meat was dry, not very flavorful either

-being from Miami/Venezuela does not make me the ultimate authority, as the owner claimed I was attempting to state in my original review. But naturally, I’m going to mention here as it’s relevant. Maybe people who haven’t lived in places where there’s an abundance of colombian food will have different expectations (although I’m seeing a few Colombians in the reviews echo my thoughts, and that didn’t seem to bother the owners)

-it is quite pricey. Everyone, not just myself, seems to note this. Ask for itemized, we were charged an extra drink we didn’t order. Wasn’t a big deal, do not want to bash on the server, but I read more reviews to see why my comment was received particularly poorly lol and noticed it happened to others.

-service was a little slow, despite it not being busy.

-I did enjoy my soup, though I felt portion was on the smaller side.

-Owner said I’m full of myself in their response to me, and stated it is a matter of preference. Of course all reviews, negative or positive, are a matter of preference - didn’t think I needed to state the obvious. So (unnecessary) disclaimer: this review is solely my opinion lol. I encourage you to try it...