02/15/09

What an overpriced Joke!

by boulderlocal

We're from Boulder and dine regularly at Frasca, Brasserie Ten Ten, The Kitchen, etc. We recently went to the Flagstaff House for the first time and it couldn't have been a bigger let down. The service is clumsy, the decor is dated and tacky and the food is child's play compared to the three restaurants I mentioned above. In fact, we actually left lots of food on our plate after each course. More specifically, the duck was overcooked, the steak was served with what must have been Ore Ida cheddar cheese potatoes, the bread was really boring, burnt and stale, and the scallops were probably from the freezer section of a local grocery. In fairness, the cup of black coffee was pretty good at the end. The wine "pairing" was a joke - the server simply recommends the most expensive item on the menu and has no relevant knowledge. What's more, by the time we got done this place was probably 2x as expensive as the other restaurants I've mentioned. Bottom line: if you're going to prom then put on your best pair of jeans and have mom and dad drop you off at Flagstaff (aka Applebee's on the Hill), but if you're interested in fine dining, real service and a bit of ambiance go anywhere else.

11/23/08

Wonderful food and wait staff

by andriall

I've been here a handful of times and only once had a problem with the wait. I think it was maybe 30 minutes to get our food that time? The wait staff kept bringing us appetizers that the chef was whipping up in the mean time and we therefore enjoyed the wait. My children weren't behaving especially well that time, either, which may have only made it seem like a longer wait. Fortunately the wait staff brought them out to the deck and showed them some deer laying in the grass out there which helped alot. The food has always been excellent, my favorite being the butternut squash tortellini. I have never been disappointed and highly recommend this restaurant.

09/06/08

Overrated

by NataliaFood

I am from L.A. so I regularly experience superb restaurant experiences, and I can confidently say this was not one of them. I will admit the view from the dining room is gorgeous and the food (when it finally arrived) was delicious. The service was astonishingly sub-par - after being seated it took the staff FORTY minutes just to bring us some bread! I had to ask them twice for it, finally getting a little pushy and pointing out our waiting time. They did not seem apologetic or gave any hint that they cared. The food took even longer, and my boyfriend and I were two seconds away from getting up and leaving (they brought the food out finally - nearly TWO HOURS after we walked in). The decor and ambience is stiff and stuffy, like an old country club that desperately needs to be refurbished. At the end of a disappointing night, my poor boyfriend spent way too much money for the total poor experience ($150+). If you want a nice restaurant for a special occasion, make the trip to Denver!

• Pros: tasty food, amazing view
• Cons: stuffy, LONG waits, poor service

01/30/08

Truly excellent

by AnotherAnais

I'm a travel and food writer who's lucky enough to have eaten at some very fine restaurants around the world. My boyfriend brought me to Flagstaff House. The food, the service and the view were all incredible and absolutely unpretentious. It's lovely that they have a dress code - so nice to enjoy an elegant atmosphere! It is not an inexpensive restaurant by any means, but you get what you pay for.

Perfect place for a special evening!

08/30/07

Best of the Best!

by heatherfranklin

My husband and I go here for special occasions, and each time we have a lovely evening. It is annoying that some people come hoping to feel "okay" in jeans or shorts. This is not that kind of place, and that is the end of the story. This is a nice, elegant restaurant. Please do not come dressed in sweatpants and get upset if you are not welcomed with open arms. Great food, and plenty of it; the servings are quite generous; the wine sommelier who looks exactly like Art Garfunkel is amazing! I do not know his name but each time we go, he is kind and never condescending; he really enjoys taking his time and educating. He is someone I would love to hire for our next party! The food is always interesting; we have only gone for dinner, so I cannot speak for lunches, but the view, the atmosphere, and my husband are quite enough to put me over the moon! We will keep going as long as we live in the area! Thanks to this place for holding true to their standards of service, quality, and atmosphere.

• Pros: Atmosphere, service, food, drinks, view
• Cons: not the place to go if you are in cutoffs or jeans...dress as if you are going someplace nice!

08/23/07

Absolutely Horrible - Worm in our Food

by bmc98

Just went with my girlfriend and parents. We found a worm, that's right a small, white WORM in our "compliments of the chef appetizer". It caught my eye as it was still alive and was actually moving around on the melba toast. We alerted our waitress to the worm, and the manager came over and merely apologized and brought us a different dish. Needless to say, after this we all inspected our food extremely closely before eating. My girlfriend and I both had fish, which was totally nondescript and borderline bad. My mom's salad was full of moldy lettuce. I don't remember what my parents had for their main course, I was too traumatized at this point. Our meals were all mediocre at best, and the whole experience was tarnished by the worm. We skipped desert but the bill still came to close to $400; we were offered nothing other than an apology for the worm. We called back a day later to talk to the manager, who at first agreed to refund our money, but later changed his mind and decided that a $100 refund would be sufficient. Not only that, he actually hung up on us during one telephone conversation. I was so appalled at the way this supposed high end restaurant handled this situation I felt compelled to write my first ever negative review on Citysearch. As for the environment, the view is definitely nice, but the vibe of the place is cheesy, think prom date in one corner and table of investment bankers at closing dinner in another. Despite the horrible service we received, there seem to be about 300 random bus boys and waiters, ready to do I'm not sure what. My advice, if you want to see the view, go for a drink only - the alcohol should take care of anything alive that manages to find its way into your glass!

• Pros: View, atmosphere, if you like cheesy places with lots of investment bankers
• Cons: living things in the food, service, management, extremely expensive

07/10/07

awesome view!

by mellaj

My husband and I chose this restaurant for our first date in a long time a got a sitter. There are so many restaurants in Boulder, but based on this city review, and friends suggestions, and their website; and our wanting a classy, upscale feast for all our senses- we chose Flagstaff House. Yes, it was very expensive. We went into knowing, and so weren't bothered by that. We originally were seated at a table inside, along the wall window, overlooking the city. Awesome. But we were early, and asked if we could sit outside and have a drink, they graciously moved us, and our flowers Ide ordered online, and my purse, outside and we picked our table. The wine book is fun to look at, but we chose signature martinis which were poured and served to us outside. We were served breads, appetizers, and desserts compliments of the chef and they were all fantastic. Our waiter surprised us on our ordered appetizer since we couldnt decide and we were both thrilled. Our main entrees were both full of flavor, as well as beautiful. I wouldn't say we are picky people, but we do appreciate getting what we pay for, and this establishment succeeded, and then some. My husband is not a small man, and he did not leave unsatisfied. They even gave us a wrapped personal loaf of blueberry bread to take home. Sitting there, enjoying the spectacular view, food, and service made our date something we will cherish. We will definately go back, and bring friends and family so they can also be as impressed as we were.

• Pros: parking attendants were top notch
• Cons: lady talking really loudly at the table next to us. oh well.

06/03/07

Forget Flagstaff House

by bdunne114

VERY disappointing. Flagstaff is so unjustifiably over priced, that our evening was as bad as much as the lamb dish they served us. Had just horrible service, especially the time to get drinks. 15 minutes to get a server on the patio and another 15 to get our first drink. Decided to order the next drink when they served the current one. They try to be cool with these crappy pre-dinner apps (compliments of the chef-yeah, right). Soggy, no distinctive flavor. Advice: Just pop 'em in to get them off an already crowded table. Place was jammed and tables tight. I think it was graduation night., so there were big family tables. They have staff everywhere, mostly CU students and no real "pros" as main servers, and no one seemed to know what the other was doing. We must have had 10-12 different people serving us throughout the dinner--kept getting differing messages from differing front desk people about the readiness of our table. We went out on the patio- for a drink---had 3 different servers. Inside we had 4 or 6 different people. Weird--no continuity. Overcooked our lamb, significantly (they took one entree off the bill, which was $52!). The "lambrack" of lamb was 1 chop. Lamb shank was drowned in a sauce killing any flavor, and the loin was way overdone. Found a "visitor" in my $15 arugula whatever salad. Salad was actually very tasty )--but for $15 it ought to be, eh? Wine list was way out of line, too. I am confident in my wine expertise. They have a very extensive list, but too pricey. I noticed very few bottles around the tables, which is highly unusual for a supposed high-end restaurant. Usually, wine is priced aroound 2 to 2.5x what you can buy it in the store for. These wines were at least 3.5 to 4x and I noticed 5x in some cases... No bottles for us, either. We had $7 glasses of a decent Tuscan red wine (although they cost $14) :-) Oh, yeah-- nice view...

04/05/07

excessive dress code

by miko13

We visited this restaurant on the warmest recorded day in Boulder, 105 degrees. We were attending a show at Chautauqua Ampitheatre at 7pm. We thought we would slip in when they began service. We offered to sit in the bar area, or anywhere that shorts may be less offensive to the other patrons that enjoyed suffering in record Boulder heat. Even though, we were among the only, less than 10, patrons, we were denied service. To the credit of the staff, they did envite us to try on some trousers that had been used by other guests.

I don't care how good the food may be, or the view might look, pretentious attitude will always send me in search of the great food and people that truly want you there, not your wardrobe. Enjoy all the great shows and performances at Chautauqua, the summer season is beautiful. Just enjoy one of the other great restaurants, and there are many, that respect the beauty of the mountains. I will send all my friends, and clients to the other great eateries in Boulder. But do drive up to see the view of the Flagstaff. There is a better view than the restaurant provides just before you reach the restaurant. No Charge. Also see a show at Chautauqua, or take a beautiful hike. Shorts allowed.

• Pros: view
• Cons: unproffessional service, trashy dress code

02/20/07

Wow, wow and wow

by puffy71

My wife and I are normal people. We go out to nice dinners two or three times a year (birthdays, anniversary). We both agreed that our dinner at the Flagstaff was the best dining experience either of us has ever had. I have no idea how anyone could be any less than blown away by this place, the service especially. Our waiter (a really tall guy named Zach) could not have been more helpful or accomodating, and our sommelier recommended a wine that was both very affordable (at least by Flagstaff standards) and delicious. The attentiveness of the enture waitstaff makes you feel like you are a member of high society. The food quality was superb. The lobster soup was the best bowl of soup I've ever eaten. The only mistake we made was ordering too much food, because they are constantly bringing you complimentary samples from the chef. We wanted so badly to order dessert, but our stomachs couldn't take any more...until they brought us out a small complimentary portion of mango panna cotta, which we gobbled up. Do yourself a favor and for your next special occasion reserve a table at the Flagstaff...you'll be glad you did.

• Pros: Food, wine list, service
• Cons: Price