Tower Tap & Grill — Restaurant in Denver

This place is a warm beacon amidst a frozen plaza.

I didn't want to be here. I'm not prepared for Denver. My coat was in my carry on which the airline gate checked and then did not return to me on the other side. They then proceeded to strand me here, claim weather conditions so they didn't have to feed or house me, and turned me loose into the wild whipping winds. All this to say, I wasn't expecting much. A hotel bar and grill, it'll do. I wasn't expecting what I found. From the hostess, to the barkeep, to the floor manager, the staff here rose to the occasion of feeding a mass of hungry, cranky, and stranded travelers.

When I first clawed my way through the front door - suede boots ruined from the snowdrifts and almost frozen solid - the hostess greeted me warmly, and let me thaw in front of her thoughtfully placed space heater. I wish I remembered her name, it was something with a T that my stout-soaked brain has utterly failed to retain. I know that reviews mentioning employees by name are the best, and I hope the date (2/15/2025) and what information I do have is enough to identify and provide her with the accolades she justly deserves.

I made my way to the bar and the barkeep (Ben with his blissfully short and easy-to-remember name) poured me some churro stout. This is a fantastic invention it turns out. While the churro flavor is... aspirational at best, it's an incredibly solid(stout?) stout and I'd happily drink a barrel of it. I paired it with their lemon Tres-leches cake and felt alive again. I followed it up with their Beet and Pear salad, with a nut allergy warning which was brought out by the floor manager with his personal assurance that no walnut had touched the plate.

It was absolutely delicious. Honestly, I wish I lived closer to here so I could have it again. Only problem: found a walnut in the salad. Anyone who is still actually reading this too-long review (Hi!) is probably now wondering: "Kody, why are you rating them 5 stars if they literally fed you your allergen?"

Firstly, it's relatively low stakes. I have an itchy rash, and that's it. I'm not dead or in the hospital. So no long term damage. Secondly, I get how a stray walnut might fall into the lettuce bin and accidentally be included in a nut-free salad. We're all human and shit happens. Clearly they need to update kitchen protocols, but they seemed to take it to heart and i have no doubt that they will fix things so it doesn't happen again. Thirdly, I was really surprised by their response to the incident. I've had nut allergies my entire life and this is not my first time being fed allergens. I've had all sorts of responses in my life and they did it right. They went above and beyond to make things right, to the point that I feel slightly bad given that I'm not seriously hurt. They took ownership of the mistake, made things right, and honestly that speaks volumes.

Even with the walnut, I'd happily be...

Pleasantly Surprised

I stopped into the Tower during a stay in Denver back in February earlier this year. I had an early flight the next day and had just driven into the airport area from business meetings in nearby Golden. I checked into my hotel and spent a couple of hours on my laptop finishing off work-related activities. A few hours later I was starving, so I Googled local places to eat, and since I wasn't in the mood for anything too expensive and didn't want to drive all the way into Denver on a snowy night during rush hour. I found the Tower Tap and Grill and it, for the most part, had positive reviews, and since it was still a little early, I knew it probably wouldn't be too busy.

The Tower is a typical sports bar with plenty of seating at the bar and with tables surrounding the bar. It was quiet even though it was starting to fill up with people mostly from the local hotels. The evening sports hadn't started yet so the crowd noise was average. My server came over and noticed I was struggling with the menu, and I told her that I didn't want anything out of a can or out of a box. She laughed and said, "give me a minute, let me see what I can do". She came back a few minutes later and offered to have the kitchen whip some chicken taco's for me. How could I say no? In the meantime, I ordered an Easy Street American Pale Wheat Ale from the bar.

The Chicken Tacos came out and they were very good, I could taste the background flavours and could taste that the chicken was fresh and grilled to perfection. Yes, the Tacos were very good, and I can see why Taco Night on Tuesdays is a popular night at the Tower. My server came back to my table and helped me through the menu again, and noted that I was looking for something on the lighter side. A few seconds went by and she suggested the Shrimp Scampi to me. I was a little curious as I have had heavy Shrimp Scampi in the past loaded with cream and butter and other fats, so I asked if she was sure it a 'light' dish. It turns out that is wasn't as heavy as I thought. The shrimp was not too buttery, yet plump and fresh, the kitchen staff made a wonderful light sauce for the pasta, and my pasta was cooked to a La Dente, and topped with freshly grated parmesan, which yes, I indulged in a little. I've added 3 pics for you to see for yourself.

It turns out that Tower Tap and Grill was a good choice, it was close to my hotel, the service was very good and the food was pretty good. If you're staying in the hotels on or near Tower Road, I would check out the Tower Tap and Grill for a cold beer and...

My kids and I were pleasantly surprised by this place. I was skeptical due to their low rating of 3.7 stars, but their food turned out being delicious. It was convenient since we stayed at the holiday day inn express across the street and we could easily walk there just walking through a parking lot. We ended up ordering what other reviewers said were good which were the bison burger, street tacos, and brownie a la mode. I would ask for extra sauce next time on the bison burger, but even a well done burger was juicy & flavorful. The street tacos was ordered by my 11 year old daughter who can’t handle spicy. If you can’t handle the spice, ask for the red onions and salsa on the side. My daughter however kept eating it while drinking water saying it was too good to stop eating it even though it was somewhat spicy. If your not a fan of pork carnitas, this dish is not for you. My daughter always gets pork carnitas from chipotle and she said the street tacos were better. I took a bite (I love spicy food), and I have to admit, it was a tad bit spicy but tolerable (was probably the red onions or salsa). And even though you are sooo full, you won’t be able to leave a single bite left of the brownie a la mode. My son said he was full and didn’t want it, but once he tried a bite, he finished it off. I am not a fan of brownies, but this was definitely yummy. Both my children said they would come back. Don’t over look this place because of their rating. We loved...