Mezcaleria Alma — Restaurant in Denver

I had one of the worst experiences at this restaurant. Upon walking into the restaurant, my boyfriend and I were "greeted" by a white woman at the front door. However, throughout the entire interaction, she only greeted my white boyfriend. As the only Asian person in the entire restaurant, the white hostess never once acknowledged my presence and only gave flattering pleasantries to my white boyfriend. After several minutes of being ignored, I finally interjected and asked the white hostess if one of the empty tables was available. In response, the white hostess looked right past me - as if I wasn't even in the room - and answered my question by ignoring me and, instead, addressing my white boyfriend. The hostess was incredibly ignorant of how her behaviors made me -- the only Person of Color in the entire room -- feel dehumanized and invisible. She was completely ignorant and blind to the fact that her belittling treatment is a "subtle act of exclusion" that gives preferential treatment to white customers while slapping non-white customers in the face. The white hostess' words and behaviors were incredibly upsetting and soul-crushing that we left the restaurant. I left because I do not want to give money to restaurants that greet Asian guests with racist micro aggressions.

Please educate your staff on how to welcome people of color, not just your white customers. I will always remember the way I was treated at your establishment and the inequitable treatment that your staff gives to people of color versus your white customers. And the white hostess, and the entire staff at this restaurant, will never understand the larger soul-crushing harm that was done when we walked out the doors. Racist acts of exclusion like the one I experienced at Mezcaleria Alma are not rogue and isolated. They are a daily reality for non-white customers, which can be severely intensified for people in interracial relationships, that white customers will be treated much better because of their skin color. I walked away from this restaurant feeling dehumanized and invisible because of the color of my skin -- a feeling that still lingers days later.

I will note that the hostess was bubbly and smiling throughout the entire interaction. But it is important to note that it is still very possible to exclude customers of color -- all the while doing it with a bubbly smile. I did not feel welcome in your pre-dominantly white establishment and the aftermath of the belittling treatment continues to reverberate days after.

I will never go to this restaurant again because I do not want to tip white staff members who do not know how to treat non-white customers with basic dignity, respect,...

TLDR: Went with my Fiancé, we thought the food was very tasty though I had a couple notes and as a Mezcal aficionado I can affirm that their selection is top notch.

Food: I thought the food was extremely tasty, my only complaint or disagreement with it is the following: The Mezcaleria bills itself as showcasing the international gastronomic fusion that one could find in Mexico City and looking at the menu you can see that this fusion is maybe most specifically influenced by Japanese cuisine. However, I felt that whereas Japanese cuisine is perhaps philosophically focused on using simplicity to highlight and elevate the main components of a dish (take the humble nigiri as an example) the composition of the dishes at Alma sometimes goes too far in the opposite direction. The "Tostada de Toro" is perhaps the perfect example of this, because even though the dish was delicious, the sesami chili oil and other strong ingredients completely overpowered the flavors of the dry aged Tuna instead of elevating and highlighting them. I didn't feel like they ran into this issue with all of their dishes, but it definitely seemed to be there with some of them.

Drinks: The Mezcal selection was amazing and the chef was extremely knowledgeable and did a great job suggesting a couple of new Mezcals which I had not tried before. My Fiancé ordered a Paloma which I thought was easily one the best I have ever tried.

Service: We sat at the bar overlooking the kitchen and watching the chefs put things together, I thought that the service was great and very attentive.

Vibe: We thought that the decor and lighting did a great job to set the mood, it was artistic but not overdone, the perfect place for a casual but...

This small restaurant has a sleek, modern vibe with cozy tables on one side and bar seating on the other. A cool feature is that the chefs double as servers, cooking right behind the bar while taking orders. Our server suggested ordering five or six dishes since some were on the smaller side, so we went with five.

We started with the ceviche, which was a unique take—just pieces of fish with sauces and spices instead of the usual chips-and-dip presentation. It was fresh, light, and really well-balanced. But from there, the dishes got progressively heavier, to the point where everything started feeling overly rich. By the end, our mouths were so greasy it distracted from how good the food actually was.

The Burrita, for example, was basically a full-sized burrito. It was great, but it could’ve been a full meal on its own. Now imagine four more dishes that filling in one sitting. The Burrata was another standout, though the thick sourdough from Bakery Four (which I love) wasn’t the right choice here—it got too soggy, and something thinner would’ve worked better.

Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend more than three or four dishes for two people. We left feeling way too full. For dessert, we tried the tres leches cake, but it didn’t work for us—it was just too oily. Even the cocktails had oil in them, which normally I’d like, but with such a heavy meal, it was overkill.

That said, I’d still recommend this place. The food was delicious, and the concept is cool—just go easy on the number of dishes. Trust me, you...