Westbound &Down Brewery/The Buffalo
| Address: | 1617 Miner St, Idaho Springs, CO 80452, USA |
| Phone: | +1 720-502-3121 |
| Site: | westboundanddown.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 11AM–10:01PM 11AM–10:01PM 11AM–10:01PM 11AM–10:01PM 11AM–10:01PM 11AM–10:01PM 11AM–10:01PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
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A Private User
The food is great, the wait staff is casual and the atmosphere is very "down home" with old western style charm. Its not an upscale restaurant by any means and Ive never received either poor service OR 5 star service. But I have no complaints. You dont go to Idaho Springs for fancy meals, period. Its just not that kind of town. Vail is about an hour west if thats what you really care about. That said, the first thing you notice when you walk in the door is the smell of the BBQ sauce (if you werent already hungry, you would be then) and second is the interesting architecture and wall hangings. Im not familiar with the history of the building, but like most things in Idaho Springs, its from the days of the Gold Rush so you make do with what youve got while still maintaining the integrity of the history in the town. But since its not a museum and no one visits there to take in history, architecture or decorations, Ill get to the main topic: FOOD. Over time I have tried their burgers, BBQ sandwiches, burritos, chili, and some appetizers and Ive yet to be disappointed. Their BBQ sauce is thick and very rich. I can only handle a small amount of it with my sensitive stomach. But if it werent for that, Id probably order a bucket of it to take home. The prices are reasonable and rather average, as most entrées are between $8 and $20. Portion sizes are huge. I always take home half the meal. They have notations on their menu indicating which foods arrive quicker (for the benefit of travelers) and which are most popular. In sum; the food is great, the atmosphere is casual, the cost is a good value for the portions they provide, and and the service is about average. As a new local, its one of my favorite places to go for a late lunch on a quiet weekend and occasionally dinner and drinks at night.
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A Private User
The bison was good, but the soup was salty, I mean REALLY salty. Our main waitress was nice, but a waiter from another table literally came through and grabbed one of our chairs while we were eating. Even though we were not using it, it was bad manner for a waiter to do that mid-meal to a patron! The menu needs more clarification on the ingredients. They no longer have just steak, all their steaks are now marinated with worcestershire sauce, which contains soy that my friend is highly allergic to. In addition, they do not have olive oil in stock. Instead, they only use vegetable oil that also contains soy. When trying to figure out what my friend actually can eat, the waiter (not our main waitress, probably a supervisor) expressed very minimal knowledge of the ingredients or the kitchen or the source of their food (Do you know their trouts are not local?). Our experience at that place just went downhill from there... My friend ended up just sitting there without food while I try to eat as fast as I can. Did I mention the trough in the back mens bathroom? Far from charming, shall I say... Seek elsewhere for a truly local and unique experience. Finally, after looking through several of the 5-star reviews below, it appears that the current management, together with that of a nearby restaurant (2 Brothers Deli), have been reviewing themselves using multiple accounts! To name a few: john from LA, eatoutmoreoftenplease, newyorkfan, skibunny, thefamilycolorado, buffalorestaurant. Was going to give a 2-star for the acceptable food quality of my bison stroganoff, but I have to lower it to 1 for deceptive business practice
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Rob Grevious
been coming here sense I was a kid , an avid hiker I stop here after every hike or anything I do that takes me up i70. Had my son this time and wanted to bring him in and keep it a tradition. Much to my surprize they lost everything that mad this place historic. remodeled to look like every-other place around ,ordered my food (buffalo burger , and kids chicken fingers right when the server brought out the water. After baby sitting my beer for 50minutes , and no one coming over to assure me my food would be out soon , I drank the last warm sip and began to get up right as a waiter was coming to refill (4th time) my water. I didnt even have time to talk with the manager i just had to tell her to cancel my order . nothing worse then sitting in traffic for an hour hungry , just to get out of traffic to sit for another hour , hungry, just to get up and sit in traffic again hungry , and thats me , not the 6 year old I had with me that had been repeating "eat" for an hour or so before we even sat down . bad service , and no more authentic historic appeal makes this place pointless to ever stop at again ! guess it will only be a childhood memory for me and not my son ,
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Shanker Wiegel
The best thing about this restaurant was the first time in a long time of dining where I felt valued and cared for. From the beginning Marcel, the young handsome manager, noticed the our kids and suggested a table with Nintendo Wii and brought some remotes. Kitto, our fabulous waitress was awesome (or rather should I say AMAZING!!). The food was great, I definitely recommend the wedge salad, there is an unexpected piece of bacon that came down from heaven itself that was blessed by all the angels that you absolutely must try - believe me, you have never had bacon like this before. Marcel was back to check on us and chit chat, Kitto provided excellent service, and Kile, one of the chefs came out to chat it up a bit. You get the distinct impression they are glad to see you and happy to serve - now when was the last time you felt that at a restaurant. We will definitely be back. I have always driven past Idaho Springs in search of a decent restaurant in Denver. Now theres a reason to stop!! And I dont mean Beaujos - No! Walk right past Beaujos and down to the Westbound & Down/The Buffalo - you will not regret this!
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Linda Feidler
A Mgr took care of my complaint with generosity but dont think Ill return. Bartender Scott was not friendly, waited on the two of us separately, meaning he asked my friend what she wanted to sample and went to get it before he asked what I wanted to sample. Efficiency at its best. Yes, he knew that we were together when we sat down. He did not offer the condiment caddy or asked if we were "all set", he asked once whether things were ok to never return again. We flagged another bartender to get my friend another drink. The Falafel was extremely grainy as if the fava beans werent peeled, the red peppers had a funky vinaigrette taste, and the whole thing was slathered in too much mayonnaise. In other words, the ingredients did not meld well. When it was left on my plate and taken away, I was not even asked about it!!!! The experience leads me to think I would not return and I am a local of 45 years. The Angry Dan Brown Ale was perfect!
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Jan Mayer
The venue is beautiful, modern, and nicely decorated. But our waitress was rude and unwelcoming. We had received a coupon for free beer and wanted to use it. The waitress that took our order told us we had to buy an entre (any meal over $10 according to her) to get the free beers. We ordered the $14 plate of hot wings. When we tried to pay for the meal we were charged for the beers as well as the wings and the waitress repeatedly argued with us and wanted us to either buy another entre or she would only give us a 10% discount. I refused since we were not told to do so before we put in our order. She then went through and applied the discount and rudely slapped the receipt in front of us and said "Merry Christmas" in a very sarcastic tone of voice. 0 stars for customer service. 1 star for the nice venue.
