@cheftysoncole Delivers with outstanding Asian cuisine in a beautiful setting, delighting Denver diners with excellent quality flavors and fish. @uchidenver rules
Photo from @uchidenver Instagram
Food | 5 Dishes
The Food @uchidenver is a full taste bud explosion. Each dish provides a wonderful mix of flavors, textures and spice to allow the diner's palate to smile instantly. On this particular Friday night, our group of 4 decided to go with their Omakase (translates to "I leave it up to you") tasting menu to experience all the greatest hits they had to offer. The menu consisted of 10 courses that had a great mixture of sashimi & sushi , vegetables, meat and fish and finally dessert. Our favorites included Salmon belly with a cilantro chili oiI, seared pork belly with pepper sauce, Yellowtail with soy ginger chili sauce, trout sashimi and tempura Japanese pumpkin. Each course brings a different array of colors and spice to quench your appetite for Japanese fusion.
Yellowtail sashimi, Sake Toro, Escolar, Ahi Tuna Roll, Pork Belly and Trout &
Japanese Pumpkin
The Food is unbelievable and worth the price of admission. There was almost too much food on the table. At the end of the meal we were actually shocked to be getting a wagyu beef course following the Pork belly.
Special Surprise: Dessert was outstanding. A Chocolate ganache with bombolone doughnuts and house made vanilla gelato. The dish completed the meal and in Uchi form included texture with crunch, sweetness and salty goodness.
Drinks | 3.9 Dishes
@uchidenver features a drink menu with creative asian inspired cocktails, an abundance of Japanese Whiskys, Sake, Local beers and wine. This list is a beast. I'll be honest, it was difficult to choose a cocktail because each of the drinks includes some pretty exotic flavors. My advice is just take a deep breath and order the alcohol type you usually drink and you will be pleasantly surprised. We asked the server to help us select a bottle of sake, and we started with Amanoto, Heaven's Door Sake, which paired well with the first course of salad wraps.
Following a glass of sake, I enjoyed the Yama Yake - a Mezcal drink that was bright, floral and easy to drink. Our meal concluded with some traditional sake by glass, that came with is own wooden box with "overflow sake" to signify abundance, welcoming you to indulge in the drink for their higher end sake glass pours (pictured above). Our server was excellent in recommending great sake to drink, I would just ask your waiter for what type of sake you should drink if you please. Definitely don't pass on trying sake if you have the chance.
Service | 3.2 Dishes
Service was a tale of 2 dinners. We started our evening around 6pm on the patio and our server made excellent recommendations on Sake and properly led us to the Omakase Menu. When a runner accidentally spilled the end of our bottle of sake, we were all given a complimentary glass (nice touch)!
We really enjoyed our first hour and a half at the restaurant. Problems came once our waiter got busy around the 7:30 time frame. Our first 7 courses came out with precision and we were extremely full by the time we got to our fish course around 7:45pm. we then waited around 45 minutes to get a Wagyu Beef course following our server and in total, around 35 minutes more for Dessert. Our entire experience lasted from 6pm to 9:55 - Needless to say, we were disappointed with the last hour and fifteen minutes where we basically didn't see anyone and we were unable to order more drinks or even ask for the bill. I ended up having to go to the host stand and ask for the check because our friends had to get back to their babysitter.
While we were all a little upset at this point, it was how they made it right that will keep me coming back to @uchidenver. Being a former restaurant operator, I had to tell the manager Nathan about our experience. He could not have been more apologetic and sympathetic to what had happened. He listened and offered his card and gift card to return, that was more than generous due to the sour taste in our mouth. It is service like this that keeps their rating from 0 to 3.2! I wish more managers knew how to properly do the job and this staff is well trained. I would always give a restaurant another chance if they make things right and if you have good food, and care, don't let a mistake ruin a place for you.
Dish's Tips: I would recommend updating their tasting menu process to ensure that a busy server does not derail a wonderfully coursed experience at the finish line.
Ambiance | 4.0 Dishes
@Uchidenver is just a cool restaurant. From the modern design which includes touches of wood and wonderful lighting to the clear bricks that allow light to peer into the west facing windows or the open kitchen, this place is gorgeous. As you walk up to the property you can't help but notice their greenhouse that helps to support fresh, local ingredients that they use in their food. The one thing I would recommend is that their patio could use some music to lighten up the experience and create more of a vibe outside to match the inside.
Overall | 4.0 Dishes
Uchi, which means "House" deserves a visit from you. I would recommend this restaurant for a special occasion or just a night out with friends. It is a wonderful restaurant with staff members who care that you have a good experience. Their food is top notch in Denver, redefining Sushi and giving Sushi Den a run for their money. You will not regret coming in. They offer happy hour from 4-6:30 if you're interested in an early dinner and want to save some dough and they also have a fully vegetarian tasting menu with some outstanding options. Free Valet is offered which is a nice touch and their staff would love to have you!
Reserve a table here or on OpenTable.
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