La Doña Mezcaleria — Restaurant in Denver

La Doña is a Mezcal-centric cocktail bar serving Mexican street food in rustic digs behind Adelitas.

We arrived at La Doña and were seated at a table by the bar. The aesthetic was lively and there was a line out the door when we arrived (which can be attributed to La Doña's Happy Hour which also runs on Saturdays from 4pm-6pm). There was a large patio that was covered and heated. The bar was an intimate, low-lit space harboring top-shelf mezcals. Our server Julie was awesome - she was knowledgeable on the entire menu & led us through their robust selection of mezcals and recommended her favorite cocktails & food options.

You can't go to La Doña and not do a flight of Mezcal. Our flight included the Wahaka Espadín Botaniko, the Quiereme Mucho Tepextate, and the Bozal Tobala. The Wahaka Espadín Botaniko was a clean mezcal (almost reminiscent of gin) with a hint of juniper and cardamom. The Quiereme Mucho Tepextate was floral with an earthy finish. The Bozal Tobala was bright and citrus forward. This was the start to a very fun meal.

The Banana Con Clase was made with Mezcal Veras reposado, Rhum JM Volcanique, tepache, & walnut. This cocktail surprised me in the best way - not a cocktail I would regularly order but I loved it. It was a unique spirit forward drink (like a mezcal old fashioned) with a hint of banana sweetness.

The Mezcalrita was made with Madre Mezcal Espadin, fresh lime, & house-made simple syrup.

The Raices Profundas was made with La Luna Cupreata, Lejay Creme de Cassis, beet, lemon, rosemary, & egg white.

The Coco Morado was made with Tequila Ocho Blanco, coconut, guava, & lavender - lovely cocktail in looks & taste.

We started the meal off right with a Chips & Salsa flight - they had a great variety of salsas & sauces (truly something for everyone). If I had to pick, my favorite was the chipotle sauce but I really liked trying them all!

The Tartar De Atun was made with Ahi Tuna marinated in soy sauce, served on a bed of avocado, onion, tomato, topped with a balsamic drizzle and toasted sesame seeds. Beautiful, bright, & refreshing - the tuna was high quality and topped a high cylinder of avocado.

For famous dishes, we had the Molcajete De Adelitas made with marinated grilled steak, chicken & shrimp with a spicy tomato, cheddar cheese sauce, accompanied by green onions, nopales and panela cheese. Corn and flour tortillas were served on the side. The molcajete is a must order - it was piping hot, mouthwatering stew goodness that I couldn't get enough of. This dish had amazing, authentic flavor that stayed hot the whole meal due to the stone bowl.

The Mole Verde was a slow cooked chicken thigh smothered with mole pipian and served with yellow rice, refried beans, lettuce and pico de gallo. The chicken was tender and juicy and paired well with the vibrant mole.

The Enchiladas de Oaxaca was made with three corn tortillas filled with cheese & carnitas and served with refried beans, rice, lettuce, pico de gallo, and mole. The classic Oaxacan-style enchiladas were doused in sauce and stuffed with meat & melty oaxaca cheese making for...

UPDATE: I really love this place! The atmosphere and the food are so great. Especially on their Taco Tuesday menu, like today. I've come here frequently and always leave happy and satisfied until today's cringing event.

My girlfriends and I had a great waitress, who, I think in the past, has mentioned that it’s a family-run business, which I love and support. They closed at 10p tonight, and we had stayed way past our time that we were wondering when we’d get kicked out. Well, we finally did. And it was in the most awful, awkward way possible. I want to clarify that we were ready to leave by 10 pm, but because no one mentioned anything to us, including our waitress, who even asked if we wanted more water, we thought it was fine until they said something.

30 minutes later, this girl, who wasn’t our waitress but worked here: tall, blonde with pink streaks, comes up to the table and says, verbatim—while going straight for our waters on the table, in the rudest most abrupt way possible— “I am just going to take these waters because WE HAVE TO GO, we’re closed” and walks away. We were all speechless. Pretty sure her coworkers were, too, as they all stared at her.

It was so embarrassing that my girlfriends and I finally found it laughable, got up, and quickly left.

Don’t get me wrong; I empathize with long, overworked frustrating days. I’ve also worked in customer service and have had to remind people that the business I was working for was closed; However, it can be uncomfortable (especially when parties stay past the closing hours). I’ve found ways to politely do that because, ‘maybe people didn’t know, and perhaps they did but thought it was ok.’ Still, I would never NEVER passively interrupt a table conversation and say, in the most passive tone, “I am taking these because we have to go; we’re closed,” it was so cringing.

You know it’s one thing to say to us, “Hey, we closed 45 mins ago; I am sorry, we have to go”. Because that’s completely valid; however, it felt like she was too caught up in thinking that we were doing this “on purpose” and was not only aggressive but rude about it. And it showed her privilege to handle this with no courtesy or respect for the owners and her co-workers.

Adelitas/ La Dona, I love you guys and your homey environment. I hope you reconsider who you have on your staff because these are the people who represent you all. And I don’t think this employer was a good representation of the rest of your great team.

Last comment: I love this place! Everyone is always so kind, and the food...

Pros: Fantastic, knowledgeable staff Nice atmosphere Select half-price pours on Mezcal Wednesday Oaxacan menu items

Cons: No printed menus Digital menus are not phone-optimized 90-minute table limit Every sauce has chicken stock

Most importantly, the staff really knows their mezcal and can give you some suggestions from their extensive list. Unfortunately, that list is not always up-to-date, so if you want something specific, I'd recommend picking out some backup choices as well. The best bet is to go on Wednesday and enjoy the half-price pours from the day's bottles. These specials are not typically published online, so you'll need to ask what they are.

You can order from La Doña's menu, or that of Adelitas -- they share a kitchen. Reviewing all of your food and drink options means spending some time on your phone, zooming and pinching and toggling between PDF files. If you're thinking of bringing along older and/or technology-challenged folks, keep that in mind. I would love to see a printed menu or at least a digital menu optimized for phones.

The menu includes some Oaxacan items not commonly found in Denver, such as tlayudas. The quality of the food is good, and the recipes are said to come from the matriarch (La Doña) . These recipes incorporate chicken stock in a big way. If you have dietary restrictions that preclude chicken or meat in general, you may find the menu rather limited. On the plus side, the staff is also well-informed about the food, and can help you navigate your options.

They imposed a 90-minute dining limit during that period in 2020 when the number of tables was severely limited. As of my most recent visit (in 2022), they still have that policy, and it is enforced (politely) regardless of how much you're spending. I hope this will go away as things get back to normal and staffing...