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Kelly Liken
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
10 reviews for Kelly Liken
My first and last stop whenever I am lucky enough to make it to Vail.
Yes the elk carpaccio is ROCKIN but there is so much more fun on the menu. We always try and piece mail together entrees and apps(sorry Kelly) great fun. Start with Bubbles and let Rick or whomever is behind the bar lead the way. Funny we have never sat at a table always at the bar. Handles on the backs of the dining room chairs
beautiful hand blown glass and the whole wine ring concept for the fabric. It is little things like this that seperate Kelly Liken from the everyday. Can't wait to visit again and try the new Bistro I think it's in Avon? Damn now I'm hungry!
If you come here, there is one thing you have to order: the elk carpaccio. that's it. just order plates and plates of that. no, just kidding. at least order one though. it is divine. although the chef can lighten up on the amount of pepper the dish gets.
The cocktails here are also pretty good - if not interesting. There are several choices featuring Stranahan's Colorado whiskey, which straight up is pretty sweet and smooth. There is an antipasti cocktail, featuring vodka, salt, pepper, proscuitto and cheese. I really have no idea how you're supposed to drink that... or eat it?
Other than that, I thought the food was just ok. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best I've ever had either. So I guess my suggestion is just to come here for drinks and appetizers.
So I lived in Vail for 5 years, and never stopped in til this past winter, when i decided to take an extended vacation (6 months) and head up to Vail for another season.
Being a "local", I don't necessarily have millions in the bank, but i will say, sometimes you have to treat yourself.
I've been to all the other places, Sweet Basil, la tour, Campo Di Fiure, Mezzaluna, Juniper, Sapphire, etc... And I would have to say that Kelly Liken is my favorite spot in town for this style of food. Contemporary American.
Now I say treat yourself, because you are unlikely to leave this spot for under $120 a head.
I was recommended to this place by one of their bartenders when we were shooting some pool at The George (locals bar). He said we should stop by some time and he'd buy us a drink. I took him up on his offer.
After enjoying their drinks, I decided I'd have to come back for the food.
I've eaten 5 times at this place. Every time, I've been treated like a king by their wait staff, which is remarkable in a place like Vail where customer service is practically a miracle to come by. Anyway, the staff is very prepared for any question you might have about the menu.
Everything, no, EVERYTHING is delicious here. I can't single anything out. Their deserts are delicious and the little take home gift bags at the end of dinner give you that little extra surprise.
Now by no means am I saying this place is a "Value". it isn't. it's expensive. But if you know what you're getting into, hey, pay up.
The last meal i had there was the Chefs tasting menu. 6 courses including Salad, appetizer, soup, entry, cheese, desert, for the "bargain" price of $300 - Before drinks!!! Ridiculous expensive, but the most memorable meal I've ever had. And I'm from L.A.!
Recap, Awesome food hands down. not cheap - don't act surprised when the check comes.
My second fave, La Tour.
For Steak, you can't beat Russells!
This was one of my favorite places in Vail, and food-wise, it still is. Prices are about average for the village. The space feels warm and intimate, but it does get pretty noisy.
There is valet available out front.
There are interesting cocktails, of which my favorite is the pomegranate sparkler (pomegranate liqueur and sparkling wine.) They also have some choices that feature Stranahan's Colorado whiskey, which is very smooth. There's also an interesting antipasto one with prosciutto and parmigiano reggiano, but we didn't order that. The wine list has a large selection from Burgandy, and we had a very smooth and fragrant bottle of red wine.
We started with an amuse bouche of pureed butternut squash, which was sweet and creamy, not overly salted. Bread is ordinary. I started with a beet salad, which was paired with a goat cheese like cheesecake, which was really smooth, creamy, slightly sweet, then hits you with the light pungency of the cheese later on. It was perfect with the beets and a very creative way to accent them - much more interesting than the standard goat cheese. The special soup was pureed nettle with rock shrimp - it reminded me of a green Chinese soup with shrimp in it - it was very light and not heavily seasoned. The elk carpaccio was probably my favorite appetizer - it was fresh and seasoned well and seared perfectly on the outside, sliced thinly. My major complaint is the scallop. In past visits, the appetizer included 3 scallops, but this time, it was one scallop served with overly dressed greens for $18, which I thought was unreasonable.
There was also a lemon fennel popsicle atop a shaved fennel salad, which was a cooling combination to cleanse the palate. The menu offers a couple of choices for "in the middle," to cleanse the palate, most of which feature some chilled fruit concoction.
For mains, the signature dish is the trout crusted with a thin layer of potatoes. The crust is the best part of it, in my opinion. The steak was also cooked well, but steak is steak. My favorite side of the night was the mushroom bread pudding, which wasn't too buttery or heavy and had a strong mushroom flavor to it. The short rib was also extremely tender and seasoned well, but it wasn't outstanding compared to some other ones I've had.
Service isn't bad - many members of the team coordinate together to get dishes out and also cleared in a very timely manner. The staff are all obviously very busy, but they get their jobs done for the most part. We had some forgotten drinks and espressos, and my salad came out much later than everyone else's dishes. Certain servers are more charming than others and know how to work the customers. However, I don't think the level of service justified the automatic 20% gratuity for groups.
We were hoping to bring a cake for a birthday, but we found out the charge for bringing your own cake was $10 per person. I think that's outrageous and totally unreasonable. Thus, we stuck to their desserts. The waitress was selling the sticky bun sundae, which was very sweet and rich. I personally really liked the chocolate earl gray torte with candied kumquats - it was bittersweet chocolate with a dark chocolate cookie crust, and there were subtle hints of tea and the fragrance of bitter sweet orange in it. There's a good selection of dessert wines and some interesting flights. The "nectar of the gods" flight is very fragrant.
The meal concludes with a plate of mini desserts for each person, with a snicker doodle, a shortbread, a mini oreo, a candied orange peel, and a bitter fruit lollipop. For the ladies, there are mini muffins for "breakfast" as a parting gift, but not all members of our party got it on the way out.
For the price you pay, the quality of the food is good; however, I expect a much higher quality of service when dining at a place like this, especially when gratuity is automatically included. The wait staff is hit or miss, and if not for them, I would've given Kelly Liken more stars and been more apt to come back on future visits.
When do you officially recognize that your ego has officially outgrown the walls of your restaurant? I guess that point hasn't been reached yet at Kelly Liken as they continue their annual trend of offering "less for more".
Sure, you never expect value in fine dining in Vail, but Kelly Liken insults you with their pricing. In addition to sky-high menu prices, I recall being charged $7 (maybe more?) for a double espresso. People complain about Starbucks pricing, and I can hand them $2 and get change with my double espresso.....even in Vail.
The wine list is full of trophies all over it, but please don't insult my intelligence by charging me over the wholesale cost of a bottle for a glass or marking up wines by the bottle 300%+
The Vail Valley offers a lot of fine dining choices, and while the kitchen can turn out tasty food, the proprietors should work on counting repeat customers rather than counting the money from all their "one and done" customers.
sweetbreads and shortribs and pork belly, oh my!
like meat? if so, this is probably one of the best restaurants in vail.
looking for something on the lighter side, or something from the sea? not so much at kelly liken.
i had been hearing my family's rave reviews of kelly liken for two years now and had been really looking forward to my first visit. this place, on the surface, does everything right. great service, great atmosphere, interesting sounding menu. interesting "sounding" is the key.
i didn't want to eat my body weight in various elements from another animal's body. i'm not a vegetarian, but i was hoping to be able to hoist myself up the hill to the house at the end of the dinner, and not tumble headlong into a food coma on my first night in the mountains. i ordered the fish. it was just sort of weird. interesting idea, with chestnuts, squash and sweet potato latkes, and a roasty-toasty pumpkin-y oil sauce... but those flavors to not go with fish. i was also extremely disappointed with the oysters as my started.
this place is not cheap. if you're going for top restaurant in a foody touristy region, you better deliver. unfortunately, kelly liken let me down. my family was happy with their carnivorous choices, so go forth to kelly liken with abandon if that's what you're looking for. otherwise, hit sweet basil or sapphire or larkspur for some more variety of choices.
The Service is awesome!!! The whole crew seems to work together to take good care of you from start to finish. I really appreciated my waiter getting me a potato pancake substitution for my short ribs! The sommelier was impeccable and helped us choose a wine in our price range that went wonderfully with all of our meals! The complimentary starter pear and squash soup was perfect fall food. All three of our entrees were just OK. the Short ribs, seafood cioppino and the potato crusted trout. Our Dessert was a experience of it's own. My dessert was the Sticky Bun Sundae that was the 3rd best dessert I have had in my life! ( the first two were at Thomas Keller establishments). The Sundae had a spun sugar web that was so beautiful I had to take a picture of it, and the whole thing tasted amazing. My friends got the fresh fruit tart, and the dueling pumpkin which were a joy to the taste buds. Go here for apps and dessert...skip the main course and you won't be disappointed!
I have only been to Kelly Liken once, but I am hesitant to go back. The wait staff is EXTREMELY pushy. If you want a glass of wine, they push you to get a bottle, if you want to order one appetizer for the table, they push everyone at the table to order one individually. Salads, entrees, dessert... after they push everyone to get their own dessert, they also push some sort of after dinner scotch or a port. It's insane, and after a while you just start ordering extra things becase you feel like a cheapskate if you don't order an appetizer, salad, entree, dessert, and a couple bottles of wine. Honestly, the entree food isn't worth the price tag, mainly due to the fact that there's about 3 bites on each plate. I do give a nod to the pastry chef because the desserts are fantstic.
I went to Kelly Liken this past Friday night and it was amazing. The foie gras appetizer special was amazing and the lamb was amazing. It was so much food I couldn't even finish my entree. Dessert was not an option because my food coma started at the table. I love this restaurant!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/19/2008
I loved the dining experience at Kelly Liken. Great presentaion of food. Great tasting food. The… Read more »
Kelly Liken Restaurant serves the most creative food in Vail. Rather than typical antler/ mountain decor and 'mountain' comfort food, the chef, Kelly Liken, uses local ingredients when available (I've seen her at Farmers' Markets) to create unique tastes. Steak Tartare was melt in your mouth delicious, and there was a radish sorbet wrapped in a caraway seed savory 'cone'. BBQ short ribs and halibut were perfectly cooked. Non alcoholic drinks were creatively prepared and delicious, and there was an outstanding wine selection. This is expensive, but if you are looking for a special meal, I think this is IT!
