The first day of Denver was pretty eventful despite the fact that all of us didn’t arrive to Denver until at least after noon! There was a total of 9 of us!! The first place we explored was the Union Station, which was recently revamped to look so so nice. There were sooo many restaurants and little shops! In the inside and outside! All along the streets for the next few blocks 360 all around. There was even an Amtrak stop! I didn’t know that a train station stop could look so nice?!
The first little Portuguese indoor and outdoor tapa bar we went to was called Ultreia. They have a happy hour menu from 3-6pm everyday! We came just in time for happy hour and it felt so nice to be free on a Thursday afternoon. This place was so cute! There was a cute fountain by our table and a plant of peppers. I wish I took a picture! 🙁
We opted to eat outdoors. I like the alternating baby pink and baby gray tablecloths. The menu was on a slab of wood and rubber banded with the board. So cute!
Adventureland. Elevation Timber Ridge gin, lime, Fee Brothers Cherry bitters, Fever-Tree Indian tonic. I was so amused by the goblet! It looked like a white lemonade! This drink tastes like it looks: very refreshing and light.
Summer of Sherry. Aurora Manzanilla, beet, cucumber, lemon. This was my drink!! This was so refreshing and lightly sweet and sour.
House Sangria White. This was only $3 from the happy hour menu!
Wendy Peppercorn. Leopold’s Summer Gin, watermelon, cucumber, pink peppercorn, Fever-Tree Mediterranean tonic. This drink was also refreshing! I liked the peppercorn.
Pan Con Tomate. Ciabatta, garlic tomato, olive oil. This ciabatta bread was so good! So buttery and oiled and crisped. The tomato sauce was slightly spicy! I like the surprising kick!!
Berenjenas. Crispy eggplant, rosemary, honey, sesame. I’m personally not a fan of eggplant so I barely tried a small bite of this. Too small to give an honest opinion.
Pulpo a la Pancha, iamon xo. This octopus was sooo good! The octopus was nicely soft and cooked with a lightly breaded twist.
Selection de Quesos, each served with toasted Marcana almonds, membrillo.
Sao George, Portuguese, cow.
Tetilla, Galicia, cow.
Leonara, Spanish, goat.
Marquese Castillo, Spanish, sheep.
Mitibleu, Spanish, sheep.
Manchego, Spanish, sheep.
The creamy goat cheese in the middle was my favorite! The almonds were coated with olive oil and salt. The fig cubes were gelatinous.
Another view of the octopus.
Chef’s Choice Pintxo Platter. I only liked one of these samplers, which was the fried potato on the front left corner. Crispy and potato-y with the tomato spread.
Aceitunas Marinadas. Marinated olives, Mariana almonds. The almonds are delicious! I need to buy myself a bag of these almonds. It’s so cute when they put a cone in a wooden box with rocks.
Setas, cedar plank mushrooms, black garlic espuma, dill. I love, love these mushrooms! The black garlic sauce was seriously savory and creamy and garlic-y. When it was first brought out, the paper was still smoking and burning like an incense. Love the presentation!
Setas Con Romesco. Mushrooms a la piancha, romesco sauce. THIS WAS AMAZING TOO! I’m loving all the mushroom dishes!! Omg so good..
Trucha Curada, cures trout, olive-orange salad, potato chips. Hmm, this isn’t really a favorite of mine but it was interesting to eat.
Patatas Bravas. Yukon Gold potatoes, Jamon salsa barva, aioli, sunflower seeds. You can never go wrong with the Yukon gold potatoes. Very well crisp and seasoned for the salty lover. There is salsa at the bottom with sunflower seeds for that added texture.
Pimientos de Shishito. Fried shishito peppers, olive oil, salt. Love, love.
Trio de Jamon. Fermin Jamon Serrano (aged 2 years), Mangalica (aged 3 years), Cinco Jotas Jamon Iberico de Bellota (acorn fed, aged 4 years). Aged salami is seriously so savory and packed full of salty depthness.
Mexihoes portugueses. Mussels, linguica, pickled carrot, vinho verde, cilantro, griddles bread. Love the mussels and the broth it was cooked in. The sausages was a delight surprise too!
A cone of salami!
Look, it’s shaped like a sausage!
Here is a picture of most of us enjoying cocktails at a second bar in Union Station called Terminal Bar. It was also happy hour too! I loved this station. I wish I took a picture but there was plenty of seating in this middle Center square where you can walk around or relax with your drinks. The tables were of standing and sitting heights. There were even two long shuffle board tables right in the center with long bench seats. The decor of all the furniture was a lot of brown and a lot of wood. It gave it an almost an old school feel for me.
Alright, night time we went to a fancy dinner called Rioja. For a party of 9, we definitely planned ahead for a reservation. It’s a Spanish bar and restaurant in that classy way possible.
Here is the outside of the restaurant. The outside looks romantic and open to dine at. The inside was very nice as well! The dim low lights gave such a romantic and classy feel.
Sourdough bread, raisin bread, wheat bread, house bread. Here is the platter of bread they occasionally bring by to ask if you want more bread. You can choose as many as you want! My favorite is the biscuit looking bread in the middle that is their house bread!
Butter with pink Himalayan rock salt.
Cucumber spritz. Cucumber, mint, lime, ginger beer. A very refreshing non-alcoholic drink. It was like a cucumber soda.
Spanish Sour. Benchmark bourbon, yellow chartreuse, licor 43, lemon, Tempranillo ice cube. Wow! Can’t believe I loved this bourbon drink. The taste was still there but it was turned into a sweet and sour cocktail. Love, love, love!
Red sangria red wine. Red wine, brandy, creme de cassis, assorted fruit. The ice cube is infused with red wine!
Rioja picnic. Artisan meats, warm pine nuts crusted goat cheese, Gorgonzola, olives, fennel salad, orange confit, almonds. The charcuterie display is always a fun and delightful dish anyone can enjoy picking at! See those two little fried cheese balls on the front right corner? I fell in love with its creaminess.
More house bread please!
Serrano ham wrapped octopus. Olive oil cake, marrow beans, olive puree, mint. To be honest, I think I enjoyed the display of the octopus more than the taste. Don’t get me wrong, it was very good! But I think I was expecting it to WOW me and it didn’t. The olive oil cake was very soft and fluffy. The olive puree was delicious and he flavor profile of olive was there but not too strong or overwhelming. The marrow beans are chewy and soft.
Wild mushroom pizza. Tomato olive ragu, mozzarella di bufala, basil, porcini salume, fermented garlic honey. This small little pizza was good too but nothing too special.
Artichoke tortellini. Artichoke mousse, white truffle brodo, queso de Mano, chervil. THIS WAS THE BEST DISH OUT OF ALL THE DISHES. Everyone highly recommended it on Yelp and even in person. This dish did not disappoint to all the hype. It was delicious and creamy. The white truffle smells radiated into everyone’s noses. The artichoke was so creamy. The girls all around loved the dish but the boys not so much. I guess the truffle makes or break it for this dish.
The broth was also very comforting to drink. At the end, we couldn’t help but use our bread to soak into the juices.
Vegetarian four squares. A tasting of four seasonal dishes. If you’re a vegetarian, here is a fun taster for you. What a cute and fun display!
Pan seared grouper. Japanese eggplant, figs, pine nut butter, blistered shishitos, charred leek aioli, basil. Wow! The fish was out of this world: full of soft, tender and flaky. The eggplant was done in a way that tricked everyone thinking it wasn’t eggplant! Impressive! The aioli sauce made me fall in love with leek.
Sugared mint leaves. Some complimentary mint leaves for all around. Thank you for the unique after candy.
Today was so incredibly fun. Traveling in a big group gives rise to more opportunities to try more things! I can’t wait for tomorrow!!
