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The Briarwood Inn
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Dressy
- 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
11 reviews for The Briarwood Inn
I love the Briarwood - 70% for the cozy atmosphere, and 30% for the food. It's cozy and quiet - good for a romantic dinner, or if you just want to take your time and eat lazily for a few hours. The wait staff are all about letting you linger over your 4-course meal. However, the other Yelp reviews aren't wrong about the decor - it's on the traditional side (read - lace curtains, etc).
Also, it is an expensive Prix Fixe menu and if you're not into crackers and spreads, limited salad selection, and not being able to choose your own dessert, you may not feel you're getting what you paid for.
What I will say is, they have the best Prime Rib I've ever had, hands down. Although admittedly on the salty side, it's dry aged and perfectly cooked to order. If there's a better one out there, I just haven't found it yet.
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I'd have to say that I guess it 's OK for what it is, but, I certainly have had much better, especially in recent years. Many years ago (and I mean MANY) this was quite the spot to go to. It was romantic, right at the base of the foothills and the canyon. Kind of a little French country inn spot with very traditional European (read heavy and rich) cuisine. Except, it wasn't really so much European as an American knock off. Any real European chef would be totally mortified to be serving this food.
I used it as a first date place with much success, however. Great place to impress people who don't know any better. But, this is not how people eat anymore. The food is just too heavy and boring. I think most of their "appetizer lazy Susan" items and all of their dessert platter offerings are either Sysco or just whacked up fruit and cheese - no real cooking going on here. Plus, nobody really needs all of these courses. And, you are paying all of this money to have dinner at your grandmother's house (which could use a little dusting).
If you're looking for a restaurant with a 1980's time warp vibe - by all means check it out. But, be sure you have $100+ a head to drop and about 4000 calories to spare in butter and fat in your current diet regimen. Not my cup of tea lately. If you want to take Granny out for Christmas dinner during the holidays though, they really tart the place up with every trite holiday tchotchke known to man. Granny will love you for it but she won't even begin to touch the mound of food they serve her.
I say if you want to spend this kind of money you should be at Frasca, Z Cuisine, the Brown Palace, the Flagstaff House - well, you get the picture.
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Stodgy:
1. Dull, unimaginative, and commonplace.
2. Prim or pompous; stuffy: "Why is the middle-class so stodgy--so utterly without a sense of humor!" (Katherine Mansfield). See synonyms at dull.
3. Indigestible and starchy; heavy: stodgy food.
If you have money to burn, a JC Penney Christmas sweater, and a hankering for Grandma-food with extra garnish, then this is your place. Old fashioned and unimaginative, the Briarwood lives off a 30 year old reputation for being the place where rich WASPs dine. Beef Wellington, Chicken Rochambeau, Lobster Thermidor--do people still even eat this stuff? I had a slab of salmon, in some boring butter sauce, with a baked potato or something. Predictable. My husband had a steak. Bo-ring. None of it was terrible, and frankly, my in-laws would love this place. But if I'm going to shell out $50+ per person, I'm driving a few extra miles to Boulder and going to The Kitchen or Frasca where I can get something innovative and spectacular.
There are certain kinds of people who will probably love this place. If you're of that generation, or eat like them, you probably will too. Otherwise, save the Christmas sweater for the Christmas sweater party.
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It's hard to get much better than the Briarwood Inn, especially if you're intent on eating locally instead of driving to the city for a fancy dinner. My husband and I recently dined here for our anniversary, and weren't disappointed.
I completely agree with the reviewer who said they felt sorry for the staff having to wear those uniforms -- "hideous" is an understatement. I also agree that it's meant to cater to an older crowd; the place looks as if it were furnished entirely by the estate sales of departed octogenarians.
The appetizer and dessert spreads (which are included in the cost of your meal, along with a choice of salad) are stunningly generous. We brought home enough of the trays to feast on for the remainder of the week. The entrees were typical "fancy restaurant" fare -- filet mignon, rack of lamb, lobster -- but our food was delicious. I can recommend the beef wellington without reservation.
I'm also a stickler for lighting when I eat in a nice restaurant, and the Briarwood Inn couldn't have hit it more perfectly. (I like it pretty dark, but light enough to still see the colors in my food.)
Definitely be prepared to spend two hours and two hundred dollars there, both conservatively estimated. The staff bends over backwards to make sure you don't feel rushed (which is undoubtedly a nice change of pace from the usual restaurant experience, but I would have appreciated the menu and wine list a little sooner upon our arrival).
As a side note, I was torn between several menu items (as I usually am) and asked the server for his recommendation (which I usually do). Surprisingly, he not only took the time to describe all three dishes in a little more detail for me, but committed himself to recommending a specific one -- which rarely happens -- AND it wasn't even the most expensive of the three, which is what servers are usually told to do. So big points there.
Over all, big marks from this reviewer. It's too expensive to do very often, but then I guess that's the point... Maybe next anniversary.
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I always feel sorry for the staff for having to wear those hideous uniforms. They look like the outfits Maria made out of window curtains for the Van Trapp children in the "Sounds of Music".
Anyway, the restaurant tends to cater to older folks as demonstrated by their weak coffee (don't think they hesitate to charge you $3 for the crappy ass coffee, 'cause they don't) and astonishment that I would request milk instead of cream. That's about the only annoyance I have with them. But I guess that's why there is always a Starbucks around the corner.
The prices seem extremely high until you realize how many meals you can make out of left-overs. The appetizer and dessert for dinner and the pastry trays for brunch are almost buffet quantities. I think it's cute that they tell you not to stuff yourself upfront, 'cause that's exactly what my MIL does to get her money's worth. They'll happily box those trays up so you can take all that food home. The main dishes are more on traditional than gourmet side, but you'll never be disappointed.
Service is very upper class, though on our last visit, my milk had chunks floating in it, the Eggs Benedicts was missing advertised shrimp, and they brought us the bill for the wrong table. All was resolved, though I thought that was too many mishaps for $30/person breakfast.
Overall I like the place quite a bit, even though it's not my kind of vibe.
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Frankly, I'm amazed that this place has lasted as long as it has in Golden. Between the prices and the very stuffy atmosphere, it just doesn't seem to fit the demographic of Golden's population. I've been here a total of 4 times. Twice for lunch and twice for dinner. Each time it has been at the invitation of someone else. The service was always top-notch. The food... well, it's pretty predictable and very, um... traditional? Just not my style, I guess. The atmosphere is so stodgy that I felt uncomfortable, as if I were a poser or someone from the wrong social class that had to sneak in to see how the other half lives. Maybe I'll have a better appreciation for this type of ambience when I'm in my 70's and in a much higher tax bracket.
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The Briarwood Inn is a Golden classic. In fact, my parents still talk about dining here on Valentine's day when I was six months old, and my impeccable aim in beaning our waiter with a gob of cocktail sauce, hurled with the force and accuracy of which only a tantrum-throwing infant is capable. They pull that story out every time I mention a fancy dinner with my guy- "Why don't you go to the Briarwood and smash sauce in the waiter's lapels again?"
These days, however, I tend to prefer to generously tip the extremely courteous waiters at the Briarwood. They are among the most consistently prompt and friendly servers in Colorado. However, the prices you'll expect at the Briarwood make it a very special occasions or high-limit expense account restaurant.
If you are lucky enough to have an occasion and wallet meriting a visit to the Briarwood, you'll be especially thrilled with the enormous appetizer platter- it includes all sorts of delicacies, including shrimp which some of my friends swear are the best in our landlocked state. I staunchly refuse to eat aquatic bugs, so I wouldn't know. After you chow on the appetizers- plenty even for large parties- I recommend a steak, cooked medium rare. You'll be quite full afterward, but probably not too full to sample a delectable brownie to finish your meal.
Look ye not for innovation here- the menu is composed of classic and expensive dishes, and does not change seasonally. The benefit of this is that you can go, say, every Valentine's day and know that you can still order your favorite- but it would get dull to eat here often, even with deep enough pockets.
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While every other restaurant in town alters its menu to suit the fickle appetites of diners, the elegant, antique-appointed Briarwood Inn has stayed true to the times. The prix fixe menu includes the legendary Lazy Susan heaped high with peeled gulf shrimp and cocktail sauce, a mousseline of spinach and water chestnuts, cheeses and crackers, duck and chicken liver pate, and smoked salmon butter and marinated vegetables. And that's just the beginning.
Salad -- either a Caesar, spinach, or mixed green -- follows, and then it's on to main dishes, including rack of lamb and Dover sole prepared tableside. Did I mention the decadent dessert platter? Talk about a sugar high.
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While the prices at the Briarwood are an issue, they do include four courses at dinner time. The lunch menu is very reasonable for an upscale establishment. It packs some signature salads as well as comfort foods, and the desserts are well thought out and melt in your mouth. I recommend the steaks and the chocolate mousse. If you're going for dinner they won't offer desserts, but instead they bring a tray of fresh fruit and brownies. The atmosphere is very comforting, and the drinks are excellent. The waitstaff is very helpful in recommendations and accomodations. Don't hesitate to ask questions, everyone is very cordial and welcoming.
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Really one of the great restaurants in Colorado. If you're concerned about the price, go to Denny's; if you're looking for some truly gourmet food, then come to the Briarwood. The atmosphere feels a bit like they are trying too hard for the cozy mountain town feel. But again, the food is really something.
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I am so torn between a 4 and a 5 for the Briarwood's Afternoon High Tea. The Briarwood Inn is very elegant and the tea is served in a 5 star manner with 5 star food. The waiters are so nice and after several champagne cocktails served pastries and tea as proper as the British. They even serve soup and sorbet with tea. So, why 4 stars? OK, let's be blunt, my first concert was the Iron Butterfly and my friend saw Michael Jackson as her first concert...do you understand our ages? So I was at least 20 years younger than most of the people in the dining room making Alison another 20 or so years younger. And most groups were mixed couples!!!! My husband would rather fish, ski, hike, or die before going to high tea (although he craves high tea leftovers). One of the ladies came up and told us how nice it was to see the youth wearing hats again. My vanity says 5 stars but my logic says 4 stars for stuffiness. I will go back in 20 years and give it a 5 star rating.
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