Wildflower — Restaurant in Denver

I went here a few months ago to celebrate a friend's birthday. We were a party of 13 so we reserved several weeks in advance and did the chef's testing since that was our only option being a large party (which makes sense). Moving here from NYC, I am very used to fine dining experiences, chef tastings, and dropping a lot of money on a good meal. I'm a bit of a foodie. And I was expecting something very similar here at Wildflower. Unfortunately, I did not get that experience. The aesthetic and atmosphere of the restaurant was lovely and the overall service was decent. The cocktails, though pricey (which is standard for an upscale restaurant) were very good. However, the food was very mid. The chef's tasting was like 7 or 8 courses. And honestly, only about half of them tasted good. There were about 3 of them that I didn't even want to finish my tiny portions and I am certainly by no means a picky eater. Going into this, it was clear that the chef tasting would be ~$70/person. And after 1 cocktail, I was expecting to pay a bit over $100. However, I needed to leave a bit earlier and asked my server if I could pay my portion. The server seemed very annoyed at my question and told me that they do not split checks. Now I understand that many restaurants do not split check, especially for a large party. But WHY DID YOU NOT TELL US THIS IN THE BEGINNING?? The bill was over $3000. And you can only take one payment for that?? Seriously?? We received this like 15 minute long introduction speech by our main server but he did not mention that at all? That should almost be illegal to not inform your table of your check policy at the BEGINNING of the service. If we had been informed of that at the beginning of our dining experience, perhaps we would have tried to order at equal levels. Instead, a few people at the table were ordering several bottles of wine. I don't even drink wine. So at the end, the birthday girl had to put the whole check on her credit card and she then split the check up equally among all 13 of us and sent venmo requests. Therefore, I was stuck paying for bottles of wine that I did not even drink and my portion was over $250. I'm not petty enough to bother the birthday girl with demanding an itemized portion. And I shouldn't have to. The reality is that the restaurant created this very uncomfortable situation for us. As a fine dining establishment that charges an auto 20% gratuity (fair), that should be part of the service that we are paying for--you to split our check when it is over $3000. And if that is your policy, you should be responsible for telling us that in the very beginning. And even so, it is 2024, there is no reason for you to not have a modernized payment system. Honestly, I wouldn't even be writing this review if the food had been at the quality in which I paid. I can handle the whole check inconvenience if the food was great. But it wasn't. Maybe we just went on a bad night. Maybe the chef tasting menu just wasn't that great that night. Who knows. But I won't go back to find out. Big miss for me. I really wanted to love this place but I was left wanting sooo much more. Perhaps I just have high standards from going to fine dining establishments all over the world, but I would not recommend...

This place is fabulous. I mean, it just is. The food is delectable & both times my husband and I have had the pleasure of dining here the staff, both Alec (spelling?) and Andrea have been honest, knowledgeable & professional while also being playful. This is the best!

What was NOT the best was that the last time we dined here, on July 16th. Upon being seated we were immediately told we had 1 hour and 45 minutes for our meal. Cue: feelings of being rushed, which not only disables the ability to drop into the sensual delights of an indulgent meal, but also changes the entire way one interacts with the menu, not to mention digestion. To me, giving your patrons a time limit is not acceptable at a high-end restaurant such as this. Rushed eating & fine dining do not belong in the same sentence. Now, this may sound a bit stuck up, but context is everything, so here we go: I've eaten in Italy, Mexico, Israel, Greece, and some of the finest places in NYC and never have I been given a time limit on my dining experience. Never. When people who respect food eat, and/or serve you, they never rush you. How can you tumble food around your mouth, feeling all the nuanced of the dish, when you feel the pressure to hurry up and finish so that your table can be cleared. In fact, I would say that the moment a time limit is given, is the moment all pleasure drains out of the experience, despite how delectable the food is.

Imagine what would happen in your body if you were ready for a beautiful love-making experience, except after laying down with your lover, they tell you that you have 15 minutes and then you must leave. You would be disappointed & turned off. That is how I felt in this experience. Eating is an intimate experience and should be treated as one. This is something I would expect a place as fine as Wildflower to know, but maybe a reminder is required. Yes, I know COVID has an impact. But, here in Colorado, most of the restrictions have loosened up. If you commit to a small, intimate restaurant, do not make your guests rush so you can turn over more tables to make more money. That is what run of the mill restaurants are for: In & Out. Your restaurant screams luxury. So, please follow through on that unspoken knowing. Charge more for your food, or charge a table fee, but do not ever rush your guests. The luxury of time, is one of the most precious, and once we lose that in fine dining, we are doomed. Dramatic, yes. But, also...

Ambiance is great in the front room and bar with a dark moody MCM feel, the back room leaves more to be desired as it feels like a bedroom trying to mimic the rest of the restaurant and failing to do so.

The food is complex and shows a lot of effort but does not deliver tastes and texture that is balanced. I’ll go over each dish individually starting with the disappointments.

The halibut: instead of getting a fresh filet you receive a filet that has been sliced and amalgamated into a hockey puck shape and placed on top of a truly delicious sauce. The problem is when you cook it this way each bite of the fish is dry and lacks all of the great juicy and buttery textures that halibut is so good at presenting. This was an example of over complication that ruins the dish.

The octopus: this was a confusing disappointment. The octopus comes basically as a grinded up carpaccio style losing all of the natural bouncy and buttery qualities of a typical octopus dish. I understand many restaurants will do this to ensure a proper cook on every dish that is sent but a restaurant praising of this quality and price point should not have this issue. The sauce was two part, one part laid over a powerful and delicious adobe style seasoning that completely overpowers the taste of the animal and makes you forget what you’re even eating. Delicious sauce on the wrong meat. And then second part is some sort of sweet passion fruit marmalade that would probably be amazing with a vanilla ice cream, and instead of introducing contrast it gives me confusion.

Croquetas: were pretty damn good

Gnocchi: a freaking banger, takes serious talent to make those little potato balls with that texture perfectly cooked. Sauce was great.

Artichoke salad: decent simple refreshing but the ratios were off, heavy on the artichokes and beans and lacking on the greens. Looks great in a picture but doesn’t balance well on the palate.

Dessert was great but my mind was fumbled by that point, drinks were also great and I loved the wine options, included some gems.

Service was pretty cold and inattentive but we got our food in a timely so I can live with it, but did not improve the experience in anyway.

Great restaurant most likely run by people that need to step back and think a little harder about the customer experience rather than trying to win a star.

Worth another visit, but a place that needs some critical...