Waldschänke Ciders & Coffee — Restaurant in Denver

If you love craft hard cider (or you haven’t yet discovered that you love it), get thee to Waldschanke Ciders! I was in town visiting my brother and sis-in-law for Christmas, and we stopped in for a flight on a drizzly Christmas Eve afternoon. Walking inside is like stepping into a warm and cozy European pub, with wood tables and benches. My brother suggests ordering a flight (you can also order pints) so we all chose several ciders and shared. Let me just say, this cider is the real deal. The Base Kamp OG cider is made from the recipe used by the family’s grandparents in Switzerland.

In addition to the traditional ciders made to the family recipe, that have several creative renditions. They may sound odd — Thai, coffee, wine-barrel fermented, guava, plum, a warm mulled cider, and more — and they all are very very good! Don’t let the “off dry” descriptions make you think the ciders are sweet (like some big production cideries). Each one was crisp, delicious. I enjoyed them all! If you want to take your favorite ciders home, they have a nifty canning machine and will fill and seal your cans while you watch. I can’t wait to go back! Next time, I also want to try their coffee house. What a great idea—coffee and cider in the same...

I am quite shocked at the positive reviews. The ciders were simply not good. They were watery and had a vinegary quality that I did not enjoy. I tried a flight of all the ciders and found them all to be this way. The addition of cherry made for the best tasting one that I had. I didn’t try all the other versions with other flavors but given the weakness of the base I could see trying to add other flavors to make it better. All the positive reviews make me wonder if they had a bad batch and poor quality control.

The atmosphere seemed set up for the staff not the customers even though my friend was having a birthday party. They were playing loud grating music though they were willing to turn it down when asked. The customer service seemed like they were doing us a favor by serving us. The chairs were very uncomfortable for any length of time.

The food was pretty good but the potato pancake was overcooked and it took about 35 minutes though it did not seem that busy. I’d prefer not to have to walk out to a food truck and then carry in my food on a paper plate.

I wanted to love this place as I enjoy cider and can’t drink beer due to gluten sensitivity. But it was simply not an...

Stop reading this if you love ciders and just stop by. Waldschanke has the best ciders I have had in Denver. Great atmosphere and a fun backstory to their opening here. I rarely post reviews and this place made me feel compelled to write it based off the beer. Cheers Sunnyside!

Fall 2022 update: after 2.5 years, all comments in my original review still stand. Our family stops by at least once a month and it's a fantastic place to bring friends or clients. The variety of ciders/cider shots have only grown and matured over time. Their patio is a pleasant area year-round with the addition of fire pits/shade cover, and they have added a plethora of events like movie nights. They have also installed a full service coffee bar with fresh roasted beans and local breakfast burritos; a much needed offering on the east border of the Sunnyside community.

Friendly atmosphere, a family run business with tangible attention to detail, and a great rolling selection of drinks/food-truck menus. This is at the top of our list when recommending breweries anywhere in the Greater...