Kazahana Telluride — Restaurant in Telluride

I booked all my dinner reservations for my entire trip to telluride thru my hotel a month in advance. It was clear - dinner for two with service dog. All was confirmed and as per concierge at my hotel even a credit card was required to book the reservation. I get to telluride and have a bad experience at the “inter” National because of the service dog so I ask hotel concierge to confirm all reservations again. I am reconfirmed for my dinner again hours before the appointment. We arrive to dinner and are greeted by a hostess who asks me if I have a reservation to which I reply yes and give my name. She looks for a few seconds and says was your stay booked thru your hotel? I say “yes why?” and she says “well I see a reservation but it’s just under hotel name and doesn’t have guest name.” Then she tells me she will be right back and leaves. About a minute later a man comes up looking like he’s going to cry and without ever looking me in the eye he tells me “we don’t accept pets we are refusing your dinner service. “ I thought about it for a second and since I am on vacation we just walk out because I refuse to let some mediocre restaurant ruin my trip. I don’t understand the issue with service dogs in this town. Telluride appears to be pet friendly but in reality they are the opposite. This shanty little hole in the wall restaurant is hiding behind a pretentious, insecure staff who doesn’t take someone’s service dog seriously. With service like this and after reconfirming reservations as many times as we did only to be told at the door they didn’t accept pets - proves the ethics, empathy, and morals of a place you are trusting to serve you raw food. Can’t just blame staff here this comes from ownership. This place gives a whole new meaning to omakase.

We ended up at La Piazza that night which is so amazing and frankly we’re relieved. The last thing anyone wants is over priced, small portions, questionable food only to have to go get a second dinner...

We had high hopes for this place but were very disappointed. First off, when we walked in the front door, the smell of fish was so awful I looked at my husband and said "I can't eat in here." He suggested we wait to see where we're going to be seated before leaving. Fortunately we were seated downstairs, which didn't smell. But it was a bit claustrophobic for me since there are no windows. But it's very pretty downstairs.

We ordered a bottle of wine from the manager but then she came back to tell us they were out of it. She then came over with two other bottles that were "in the same price range." So we picked one. Before she opened it my husband looked at it on the menu and it was $50 more than the one we originally wanted. We said we would pass on the bottle since it wasn't what we wanted in the first place, and just ordered two glasses of wine.

We were very disappointed in the menu - it wasn't very creative in our opinion. Our favorite sushi place back home has the most creative rolls, and this menu was very limited in what they offered. The triple spicy roll was amazing, but that was about it. The unagi nigiri wasn't even close to being warm like it should be. We ordered the chef's "special" roll, but there was nothing special about it. It was almost tasteless.

I realize Colorado isn't near the ocean, but neither is where we live. I just think the menu needs more creativity.

When the bill came we were charged $120 for the bottle of wine we never got, along with a 4% "employee health & housing fee." There is no mention anywhere on the menu about the fee. I disagree with those kind of fees in the first place (but pay them as long as they are disclosed up front), but for them to try and sneak it onto the menu is not right.

They corrected the bill but overall it was just a big...

I stopped in here after being referred by a few locals that stated this is the best Sushi in Telluride. I have no other sushi spot in Telluride to compare to yet but I'd say this would be hard to beat. The atmosphere when walking is nice and modern and very relaxing. I took a seat at the bar and was greeted promptly and offered a drink. I let my waitress know what I liked and had her select a wine for me. The menu is organized well and even offered a dictionary on the back page incase you are unfamiliar with styles of sushi or specific terms. A very nice touch for those too embarrassed to ask. As for myself I questioned my waitress on many items and Lauren answered all of them flawlessly. I was impressed with her knowledge and expertise when it came to all the items on the menu and was happy to take any recommendations she had to offer. The must try items I Had was the caviar over bluefin and the Spicy tuna roll. My absolute 2 favorite items that I sampled that evening. I look forward to my next Trip to Telluride and having these items again plus sampling more on the menu as well. Lauren who i was told is also a manager there was phenomenal in creating a wonderful evening for my first Sushi experience in Telluride. I would highly recommend Kazahana to anyone...