"…is wonderful, and they've two sections, the club and the dining room…"
(in 6 reviews)
"They also have a very extensive wine list."
(in 5 reviews)
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The Blue Star
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
27 reviews for The Blue Star
Review Highlights
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We went here with family who were in town and we had a good time. Good food. Good atmosphere. Good drink. That's it, though - just good. I have been hearing a lot about this place and was pretty enthusiastic about going there for dinner. In retrospect, it would have been a good place to check out on our own first.
The service was a little lacking, I think mainly due to our waiter being either 1) inattentive or 2) super busy (it's hard to say which it was). They have one poor girl who's responsible for keeping water glasses full, and she was on top of her game. Go Water Girl!
A few of the entrees weren't prepared the way we asked (nothing major, just underdone) and mine was missing a side dish. The wine was excellent, but I think you need basic sommelier training to get through the list in under 15 minutes. It is DENSE. I suppose that means it's impressive, but it was a little over our heads.
The big plus - the bartender makes an excellent manhattan. Yum!
The brew their own beer here, too. Don't know much about that, but it sure seemed popular. By popular, I mean perhaps a little too cool for school, if you know what I'm saying...
I'm a recent transplant from Southern California, so I'm still trying to find my footing here in the Springs. I've been to all of the chain restaurants in town and in true franchise form they've lived up to their reputation of having impeccable consistency--chow mein tastes just like it does at the Panda Express at home. And on this night I decided to live life on the edge and by breaking out of my food chain comfort zone by checking out the Blue Star.
Papers, Yelp, and a lot of locals have raved about this place. I however, walked out with three questions resonating through my mind: What the F*ck is that smell? Why did I just put that in my mouth? and Seriously Springs?
I showed up without a reservation so the wait was nearly an hour. Forget annoying buzzers, this place breaks convention by giving guests outrageous stuffed animals as your place holder in line. Fortunately, there's a full service bar where the locals troll. I met a delightful couple who monopolized the bar stools as they did their crossword puzzles complete with a headlamp to allow for sufficient lighting at the BAR. The Winterfest, a local brew, helped ease the wait. Their Ventucci something or other had slight pumpkin flavors, but definitely not as delightful as the pie.
While waiting for a table and sipping my beer a strange odor caught my nose, maybe it was the waitress walking by, or the group of ladies enjoying their night out. Either way it was way stanky up in that bar. Luckily, a table opened up soon after.
I started with the calamari, which is usually one of my favorites, but was quickly disappointed. It was tough and overdone and the only flavors were lent from the sweet and sour sauce that bathed the calamari. The almond rosemary salmon wasn't that much better, so I left there wondering what all the hype was about.
I want to give the springs the benefit of the doubt and maybe I just haven't found that one restaurant that will blow me away. Maybe next time...
I'm a little worried that Yelpers will think I'm an easy grader because lately I've been writing a bunch of 4 star reviews. But a guy's gotta be honest, and if you've discovered a place that deserves it, then you owe it to yourself and to Yelp to give the place the rating it deserves. Accordingly, The Blue Star's gonna get its well-earned 4 stars from me.
I love the Blue Star. It's one of Colorado Springs best non-resort restaurants that's worth anything. Would I drive down from Denver just to have dinner there? No. But whenever I'm in the Springs and need to find a special place to eat that's not at the Broadmoor or The Garden of the Gods Club, you'll find me at the Blue Star.
The neat thing about TBS is that they have 2 rooms. The front room is more like your local nice hang-out place. They've got an excellent menu that doesn't change all that often, so you can get some of the local favs and keep comin' back for more.
Ah, but then there's the table-clothed finer dining room in the back where they change the menu monthly and have incredible specials. It's a treat and a half. Reminds me of Duo's or Fusion in Denver. Very cutting edge, locally grown, fresh ingredients, artfully prepared. An excellent and fairly priced wine list that's got a front section of maybe 30 wines that's especially accessible to people who don't want to pour through 20 more pages of (great) choices.
Service is always down-to-earth and excellent. Atmosphere's intimate, with an open kitchen and probably only 50 or a few more seats.
A Colo. Springs treat. Absolutely a fine date or special occasion place to go.
Can't add much more to what others have already said. What makes this place stand out (IMO) is the bar and menu variety. Their seasonal menu adds a nice touch and the atmosphere is casual chic. Bartenders are excellent and service is usually solid although sometime the efficiency of the plate clearing can make things feel rushed. Food and drinks alone would earn Blue Star 4 stars (at least by Colorado Springs standards) but the indifference, bordering on rudeness, of the hostesses knocks the experience down a notch. Management would be wise to invest in their directors of first and last impressions.
This is one of my favs in the Springs - always fresh, interesting and yummy. I usually sit in the bar area and just order off the menu there - its cozy and cute. I don't normally order drinks out, but love their martini selection here, so I will usually get a Peanut Butter Cup Martini - its perfectly sweet, but not too over the top. A great way to start or end your meal! I also love the hummus and bread starter - their hummus is so fab. Every main dish I have ordered is tasty, from the crab cakes to enchiladas to burgers. Their salads are nothing to bother with really, so be leery of those.
I came here on the recommendation of a CS local. I was not disappointed!
The range of food was decent for a place this size. The atmosphere was low key, but the rugs on the ceiling were "eh" to my aesthetics. But let me be honest, I'd eat sitting on the concrete floor of a dank, dirty basement if the food was good. Screw the atmosphere and decor!
And the food was good. We got an app, couple of entrees and drinks and even had room for dessert. They were not so familiar with dealing with food allergies, but they tried and I guess that counts for good!
The bathrooms were clean and well stocked!
Overall, if I was in the area again I would come visit this place for a good glass of wine and some tasty meals.
This was my last-night-in-Colorado dinner choice, and it was fantastic. Without question the best steak I've ever had in my life, that just melted like butter in your mouth. The complimentary hummus was wonderful, and I usually can't stand hummus. Their wine and cocktail selection is wonderful, and they've two sections, the club and the dining room.
I'm so glad we got to sit in the dining room, you can watch and listen to the chefs, and the ambiance is much nicer for a nice dinner. And they have a dessert plae sampler, so if you're like me and can't decide whic to have -- split le petite with a friend.
You can't go wrong with The Blue Star.
A restaurant that is hard to classify with the type of food they serve. It reminds me most of a fusion restaurant, borrowing from tastes from all over the world. A very contemporary and hip atmosphere with a classy bar in the back, which I really liked. My friend Brandi also told me that they also have a nice dining room, that is open in the evenings.
You know a restaurant is good when there are a lot of people dining at lunch on a weekday, even though it's a considerable way away from downtown Colorado Springs. The wait staff was very friendly and it's the kind of place that I would want to own one day.
For an appetizer, I ordered the soup of the day, which was the matzah ball soup. I have very fond memories of eating matzah ball soup with locks and bagels at my friend's house for breakfast. Though, this soup that I ordered was a bit different than the one I was used to. It tasted more like venison chili than the chicken noodle based soup from my memories. Regardless, it was simply delicious.
As for my entree, I had the salmon crusted with almonds. It was also fantastic, but I think it's pretty hard to mess up salmon. The crusted almonds had the perfect sweetness to it that really brought out the flavor of the fish.
One of my favorite restaurants in the Colorado Springs area. A great place to take a date. They also have a very extensive wine list. My only little complaint is that the parking situation is a bit awkward. I will definitely be going back to The Blue Star in the near future.
This is a place that uses a gorgeous persian rug as sound baffling - which pretty much sums up the experience.
Gorgeously elegant and rich interiors.
Playfully elegant dishes.
Especially adventurous (for mid-country) wine list.
Can I take this place back to the Bay Area? ... No? Damn! I shall simply have to visit more often.
In Colorado Springs for a conference and decided to try the Blue Star.We were very pleasantly surprised. The food was good. We both had the swordfish that they had listed as sashimi. Both of ours were pretty much cooked through. Still delicious, but not sashimi. The tasty salsa topped it off nicely. We followed with the Petite Dessert. If you can't decide, get this and share it as it is more than enough for two. On the plate is an arrangement of six of their desserts. A great shareable size.
Definitely go back when I'm next in town.
Simply awesome. A great place to hang out, wonderful drinks. (try the Ben and Frank on the beach martini)! Always good food and a great place to chill after work.
Drinks are the best mix of the springs here!!
Blue Star is one of those places where you don't know what at least one of the ingredients listed in each entree is. It's not a place to go if you are hungry. It's a place to go and savor each delicious bite of each carefully crafted dish. And your appetizer might only contain four (delicious bites, that is).
Blue Star is perfect for a special occasion. You'll want to dress up a bit, but this is still Colorado.
I recommend going on Sundays when bottles of wine are half price.
Blue Star isn't too bad, especially for Colorado Springs. If you're used to fine dining in Denver, you might be disappointed.
The restaurant is popular, so it's always hopping. The interior is modern, yet welcoming. My first visit here, though, was rife with mistakes.
I visited with a friend who lives in the area, and the host and staff knew her by name. We were a little early for our reservation, so we checked in and sat at the bar to have a drink. 45 minutes later, we still had not been shown to our table. Turns out the host forgot about us! I don't know how such a regular customer could be forgotten, but there it was. We had to wait another 15 minutes for a table.
We sat down, and throughout our meal, we had two more mistakes: the server brought us the wrong appetizers, and my friend's entree was not cooked as she had asked.
We were also surprised when the bill came, that they didn't take anything off for our troubles. Perhaps they wouldn't do this for a one-time visitor, but for my friend, who dines there weekly on business, you'd think they'd be more accomodating.
Nonetheless, despite all of this, I'm still rating three stars. The food is quite good, and very innovative for the Springs.
I end up in Colorado Springs about once a month on business. Every time we go to Blue Star, the staff now recognizes me and my business partner.
Blue Star has an innovative and exciting menu, which changes regularly. They have a great new pastry chef and a killer bartender.
On my last trip, I had an amazing venison dish.
They were also able to make me a perfectly balanced smoky martini with only a description of it from me.
Blue Star is by far the best restaurant you will find in Colorado Springs. Good food, attentive / attractive staff, good wine list, excellent drinks.
We came here with friends who live in the springs. Before going, they kept talking about their favorite restaurant, and now we know why.
We sat in the bar area, under a "space cowboy" painting that was intricately detailed down to the dust under the horse's hooves.
Instead of the trite olive oil and bread, Blue Star serves very, very tasty hummus.
Service was nothing short of excellent. Our server was knowledgeable and fun. We noticed that they had a cookbook for sale with recipes from the restaurant. We asked if the hummus was in the book, and the waitress replied, "No, but if you buy a cookbook, I'll get you the hummus recipe." We did buy the cookbook and our server came back with a food-service quantity recipe for the hummus!
All of our entrees were amazing. Including the locally-sourced, free-range, grass-fed hamburger which was out of this world. Pedro's enchelladas were another favorite at the table.
The desserts, including the parfait were all spectacular.
This was definitely the best restaurant in the springs.
My parents took me here for a birthday lunch, knowing that I try to hunt out interesting and eceltic places to eat when I travel.
This is a real gem in Colorado Springs. It's hip and urbane inside, playing soft funky acid-jazz and a waitstaff of the hipster variety.
The service was stellar, but the food is what makes me think about blue star all the time.
I ordered the crab cakes. It's a great dish, served with crispy fresh snap peas and a soy redcution of sorts. Little dots of siracchi, add some kick. The crab here was absolutely fresh and stellar. Some crabcakes hint at dingy, dry, stale....these were buttery, 100% fresh and perfectly cooked.
It's a smaller dish, so if you're hungry, order a second crab cake. But for $15 for two....you just can't beat it.
Yum.
OK, first off, I'm from the Bay Area (California). I've been to Colorado Springs a whopping 1 time. So this review comes from a Cali palette (Infer from that what you will).
I have to say that some of the dishes were unique... at least I've never seen them before. But, I think that's the only positive thing I can say about the food. Reading all the good reviews here, I tried a slew of dishes thinking I'd be wowed, unfortunately I wasn't:
1) Mama Mia - An appetizer dish, basically a meat ball wrapped in bacon. Pretty salty and not much taste otherwise.
2) ??? Soup (the soup of the day) - I don't remember what the waitress called it but if I were to name it now, I'd call it "B+S" Soup... you know "Brown and Salty Soup".
3) Organic Mixed Greens Salad - Actually not that bad, though according to my GF I tend to like bad salads ( ;-) try figuring this part of the review out!) It was very sweet and tangy though thinking about it now, that sounds more like a good description for a BBQ sauce and a bad list of characteristics for a salad dressing.
4) Grilled Shoulder Steak - This dish is a logistics nightmare. Imagine cutting steak sitting on top of noodles! But I have to say, this dish was unique. It was the first (and hopefully last) time I had to cut steak over a bed of noodles.
So where does that leave us. Well, obviously I wasn't impressed with the food. BUT, this place is "hip"... and I use that term in that "trying a little too hard to be trendy but you know what they were trying to do" kind of way. It certainly seemed unique in the neighborhood it's in though that's probably a back-handed compliment since the neighborhood was kind of a hole. With that said, I was there on a Tuesday night and the place was pretty lively with people. So if you're just looking for a lively place to be in Colorado Springs, this is the place to go... just don't expect too much food-wise.
So 2 stars (really 2.4 stars) for:
- Both waitress and hostess were friendly.
- Lively atmosphere.
- Effort ;-)
OK, I've been pretty harsh here so I think I need to offer some restaurant alternatives that I liked to show that I'm not just being some snobby CA-lian hating all that is CO. I only tried two other places on my trip and I'd recommend them both for different reasons: Le Petite Maison for the food and King's Chef Diner for the service.
The dining room is sterile as an operating room. Opt to eat/nibble in the bar area. Decent wine selection - 1/2 price on on Sunday. Food can be exciting here, although a few dishes we've tried have been a flop. Same with service.
All in all, I like the bar and the food is as good as anything you'll find in town. With the right wine, and enough of it, any food can be special.
If you are looking for horrible service and over priced food check this place out. I have visited this establishment on multiple occasions (to give them another chance) and the service is never good and is often terrible. On two occasions when I was part of a larger group my food never even came. No apologies from the wait staff or management. The place is always busy so others must have a better experience, or could it be that Colorado Springs is so void of non chain restaurants that they have no other choice. There are lots of better choices in town. If you do decide to visit, do yourself a favor and visit the brewery next door before you go in. After a couple of beers you may not mind the service.
Easy to find, a little hard to park, but a true STAR for this wonderful restaraunt. Cozy, cool feel to the bar and dining room and a very eclectic menu with a wide raneg of food with fabulous taste combinations. A business partner and I ate there for dinner. The bread for the table was small sized (4 pieces of a baguette) but the bean hummus was wonderful and garlicky and the oil used was a good quality. We had salads that were fresh, crisp, clean tastes ... his spinach based and mine mixed greens with a hummus smear and artisnal goat cheese ... dressing light and wonderful. My friend has a tofu dish that was so crisp, light, and glazed with an intense orange flavor that exploded in your mouth. Rice and steamed mixed vegetable with a wonderful sauce accompanied it. Mine was a pheasant thigh stuffed with pork cubes. and skewered through with a rosemary branch. It was a solid attempt at an very interesting taste combination and it worked although it could have been more seared and crisped on the outside for my taste. The dirty rice accompaning it was wonderful and the brocholi (vs brocholi rabe that was on the menu) was done well. A reall solid meal in a lovely location. A definite for a return visit
the dishes were hit or miss. i ordered two appetizers for dinner: the salmon apple hash and the brie "nugget" as they called it.
the hash was too heavily salted and the main ingredients did not work together at all. it was surprisingly disappointing.
the brie, which was warm and wrapped in a crispy shell accompanied by a small salad, was much better.
my friend had some steak/filet which was also good.
definitely a mixed first experience.
This innovative restaurant serves the best food in Colorado Springs. I lived in the Springs for four years and desperately searched between Outbacks and TJ(ebus)IFs for quality restaurants. The Blue Star is 5 times better than any chain and easily beats its best competitors. I think this is a restaurant that would do well in San Francisco, which says a lot. Very worth it.
I have been here many times with different types of people and everyone always seems to enjoy their food. I go a lot on the Sunday night half-off bottles of wine night and I always sit in the lounge area, I like the energy in their better than the formal dining room. Nice bar as part of the lounge. The eclectic menu has a lot of items that come and go but they have also have some classic items for the finicky eaters.
This is a nice transition spot between Cheyenne Mountain and downtown. I stop by for drinks versus dinner at a 3:1 ratio. Not that the food is not decent, it's just better to belly up. Grab a brewski and have an app. at the bar. There is a brewery next door which is pretty tight. Wine selection is decent. Lots of long-time C. Springs locals working, drinking, and dining. You have to give this place credit for the urban vibe it is trying to create in C.Springs.
Let's start with the positive...well, the restaurant it's self has beautiful decor and art work; and a pretty decent wine list, and good dessert. Other than I have nothing else really positive to say. Our service was horrible; although they have a good wine list the staff there was not very knowable about wine pairing and the wine it's self, and was not very helpful when asked about a recommendation. The service was slow our food came out cold and when asked to get the food heated up it took another 30 minutes to come out. Now I know that it's not the server's fault when the food comes out cold (I work in kitchen's) but she wasn't very empathaic at all in fact she was slightly irritated that we asked to have out food sent back. Other than having a really delicious dessert (I'm a sucker for chocolate), it wasn't a memorable dining experience, definately not worth the money!
Okay experience. Had a large birthday group. Food was so-so. Liked the artwork.
everything i have ever ordered from this restaurant has been delicious except for the iced tea. having lived in the south for a spell i worry about receiving cloudy tea. but the chicken enchiladas are so crave worthy. they also serve these deliciously buttery olives to get you started and they are one of the number one things i look forward to getting when dining there.
