Que Bueno Suerte! — Restaurant in Denver

We have (re)discovered our new neighborhood go to! My wife and I had the privilege of dining at Bueno Suerte a couple of weeks ago, and we are still talking about the evening--one of the best nights out we've had in a while.

It had been almost two years since the last time we ate there, and truthfully, it wasn't that memorable. Food was okay, service was okay, and the atmosphere was fine, pretty forgettable; but okay for an occosional cocktail while perusing the stores on South Pearl.

Fast forward to now, and you have a completely different experience. Seems that they have the same owners, but new management, a new executive chef, and a motivated and proud wait and kitchen staff. It really feels like a different place. When we met Lenny, the GM, he made us feel right at home. He made us cocktails that were out of this world. Then gave us a comprehensive lesson on Tequila, Gin and Whisky--his passion really shown through. But I think his passion for developing and serving his staff, and ensuring they succeed is one of the main reasons for the postive vibe throughout the restaurant. When he left our table, his bartenders took over without missing a beat, and our waitress was attentive, friendly and checked on us frequently (but not too much). In a time of staffing shortages resulting in overworked and stressed out workers this restaurant was a breath of fresh air.

Oh yeah...the food was phenomenal! My wife had an assortment of tacos, we shared the ceviche, and I had the fish. Everything was perfectly spaced, perfectly cooked and just the right portions. We were also able to meet Katie, the executive chef, and she was just as passionate about food as the bar staff was about the liquor. Her southern California roots comes through in the food her staff plates for you!

Overall, a great (and unexpected) experience! We can't wait to go back and get to know the people and the menu a...

Service was nonexistent. I was in a party of 2 and we were sat almost immediately at a booth just behind the hostess' stand. The booth itself was fine, just a little awkward as it left us directly facing a table of 5. The other occupants didn't make it awkward.. what did, however, was the fact that their waiter came out 4 different times (checking on their food, offering and bringing back a box, coming back to offer dessert and then ask about splitting checks). In every interaction with them, he either looked at my table briefly before handling the other table or he would completely have his back to us. It was unclear if he was meant to be our waiter, but he never checked to see if we needed to be helped.

The hostess did not give us menus when she sat us (which is 50/50 at most places these days so we didn't worry about it at first). There was a severely worn out QR sticker on one side of the table. After a few minutes of no one coming over, we attempted to scan the QR code to see if maybe we were supposed to maybe put in a order through our phones. The QR code was so worn that neither of our phones picked up anything. During this time, we saw 3 waiters/waitresses at neighboring tables bringing out food, checking on patrons, and going over physical menus with people. During this time, we were not greeted. We never even received water.

I didn't want to seem impatient, so we did not flag down anyone for about 10 minutes in hopes they just felt busy and were behind. Between 10-15 minutes later, we decided to leave after the waiter at the table less than 3 feet from us had his back to us for the 3rd time. As we left, we let the 2 hostesses sitting behind the counter at the front know that we vacated the table due to no one coming over to which they stayed seated and one said "sorry about that" as we left.

The live music was a nice...

This is a great restaurant that has a rough first impression. We came on a Friday at lunch time before a holiday. The hostess had white ear buds in and was on her phone when we walked in. We asked for a table, she left her ear buds in and took us to a table. Apparently, her job and attentiveness to guests came second to whatever she was listening to on her phone.

After that, it was much better. The tables were neatly set and the decor was bright, colorful, and inviting. Our server immediately greeted us with a smile. We advised we were new and explained that we had heard they had the best tamales in town, but they were not listed on the brunch menu. The server checked and advised they had them available. We ordered the queso fundido, a fish taco, and of course, the tamale. They were all great. We especially enjoyed the tamale, even with our high expectations. The fish taco had just the right amount of crunch with a flaky inside. Our service was quick, our food arrived promptly, at a good temperature, our lunch ran about $17 per person. As a note, there is cilantro on almost everything, so if you have an allergy or do not enjoy the taste, mention it early. This is one of the few restaurants that still actually brings you a check and let's you write in what you want to tip rather than prompting you for an exorbitant amount electronically while the server peers over your shoulder, which we appreciate and reward. We left, with the hostess still glued to her phone, but we will...