Zocalito Latin Bistro — Restaurant in Denver

First and foremost, this establishment falls very short of expectations for the prices they are charging. I think they are trying to be upscale, but don't even make the scale in any of my parties books. I chose this place for my Birthday Celebration tonight based on the reviews. Sad to say, I'll never return or recommend to others. Two of my friends are form Oaxaca and were sorely disappointed.

The one exception would be they know how to perfectly cook a steak. That is particularly hard to find at most restaurants in this city unless it's the chophouse. This particular dish was the Grilled Beef Tenderloin. However, it was not anywhere near worthy of being $29.

With the portions being sized like tapas. With such miniscule amounts of food on the plates and beautiful presentation, one would expect to be blown out of this world. Instead it was mediocre at best. In fact, we left to a much cheaper restaurant after our meals to actually have flavorful filling meals at more than half the price.

The $15 Shrimp Ceviche was extremely bland. Our first appetizer out. Less than impressed with the "flavor" and world's smallest portion.

Next was another bland appetizer with few bites available, the Manchego Potatoes Gratin for $14. We should have left at this point.

Finally something worthy came out, the Chorizo & Poblano cheese dip... Still not worth $14 for the thin layer on the small plate and tiny chip basket that is $2 to refill. The chips were good but seriously you could compare them to your run of the mill chips from Chili's Restaurant for triple the cost.

Our undistiguished margaritas were a joke at $16 bucks each. I've had better at dive bars with the well tequila for less than half the cost and double the size. Mind you this was the waiters recommendation... Try again.

$19 Shrimp and octopus salad; small, bland ... You get the point. My poor friend didn't even eat much of it because it was so terrible. The "dressing" on this dish was suppose to be a lemon chicosle but lacked any flavor of either and instead seemed to be primarily an oil. Sad, because chicosle is a rare chile that usually has so much more taste to offer.

The other two dishes ordered were the from from worth $29 Skirt Steak. The Mole that came on this dish was nothing exciting and had an okay tatse but it did have an "off" tatse if some spice that was in it. We couldn't quite determine what it was, but all agreed it could have tasted much better. Again, this dish leaves you hungry and desiring an alternative and more lively flavor profile. It doesn't live up to it's price by a long shot.

Mid way through our unsatisfying meals, I asked for a whiskey that never arrived by the time we were leaving. Thankfully it didn't seem to make it onto our tab so clearly the waiter forgot to notify the bar.

Our waiter was interesting. Apparently his wife and best friend are the owners and chefs. He was nice and fun I suppose but definitely not what I would expect for the price point.nkt to mention our table was one of 3 at the establishment tonight, he could have been more attentive to our table and been more professional. I've received better service at a chain restaurant, think Texas Roadhouse.

Our table of 4 received our $225 check and all agreed as you've now determined by this review,this establishment was not deserving. However the kind of people we are, still tipped and closed out the tab before heading out.

Spend your money elsewhere, anywhere. Go to restaurant Barcelona in RiNo. A short 8 minute drive away. Go to La Loma and receive better portions and pricing... Go anywhere but here. Save your money and valuable time until this place improves or lowers their prices to match the food truck experience...

Chef Michael Beary has been running Zocalito in Aspen for the past 15 years, but has just (December 28, 2018) relocated to the Denver Place complex in downtown Denver. The new space is very pretty with large windows facing 18th Street, a large bar, and multiple seating areas. Alebrijes, Mexican folk-art sculptures, by Pedro Linares are everywhere and bring an authentic charm to the space.

We arrived for lunch on the fourth day that the restaurant has been open. There were a few minor glitches in service (the chicken wings arrived after the rest of the meal, the check took a long time to return after payment), but everything ran pretty smoothly. The server was charming and helpful.

The chef is fascinated by heirloom peppers from the Oaxaca region of Mexico and has been instrumental in creating a market in the wider world for them so that they don't die out. These are not particularly hot peppers, but they are very unusual and all of the items we tried had unique and interesting flavors.

We started with the salsa and guacamole. The presentation of this dish was very different. We received a soup bowl of pico de gallo with a little mountain of guacamole in its center. The unusual peppers gave the salsa a wonderful, smoky taste while the guacamole and fresh chips were both fantastic. We made short work of this beautiful dish.

My friend and I both ordered soups, I had the tortilla while he had the pozole. I've had a lot of really bad pozole around Denver. I don't understand why. This pozole was amazing. A wonderful flavor from the special peppers, rich and delicious. My chicken soup was just OK in comparison. The ingredients were good individually, but the depth of flavor I wanted in the broth was lacking.

The menu interestingly offers four versions of chicken wings with varying combinations of spice blends and heat levels. We tried one of these at the medium heat level and received a generous eight pieces of legs and wings with a nice crema for dipping. Again, the spice blend was unusual and delicious, but not too hot, and the chicken was very tasty.

The chef was trained in the French tradition and combines these techniques with Oaxacan ingredients and traditional Oaxacan recipes along with other regional Mexican dishes. The results are very special. Zocalito is a wonderful addition to the Denver...

I’m not sure where to start with this restaurant. It’s one of those places where they try to pack as many tables in as possible, so you’re basically sitting on the laps of the people at the table next to you.

Service was terrible. The staff were not friendly or excited to be sharing a dining experience with you. Everyone was flat and you were on their timeframe, not the other way around. We sat for 10 minutes before our server introduced herself. Bar service was agonizing as well.

The price of the food was ridiculous. I’ve included a picture of the $13 guacamole order below. For that price, you get a few tablespoons of guac. We had only used about 1/3 of the chips present before it was completely gone. And it was strictly average. No better than Chipotle or any other casual dining experience establishment.

We got two entrees, pork tenderloin and chicken, both around $30. I think they should have cost half that at the very most. For the pork, the chefs obviously confuse spice with flavor. It had a good kick but was totally bland otherwise and a low quality piece of meat. The chicken was flavorless as well and tasted like it had freezer burn. Very stringy from being too dry as well.

Overall, this restaurant was a massive disappointment. There were no redeeming aspects to...