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Category: American (New)
Neighborhoods: Northwest, LodoMon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"My mom is in town for the week, visiting from the Bay Area, so I knew I needed to treat her to at least one really good, fancy meal. Oh,…" read more »
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This is my favorite place in Denver! Do yourself a favor and check it out...you wont regret it. I've been coming for the last 4 years and have never been disappointed...
Food: The food here is truly epic! I've tired about half of the menu but always find myself gravitating back to the Seared Hamachi which, when combined with the proper dipping sauces, is to die for! The duck is equally delicious also...
The bar has a great selection of wines as well as a slew of fun and creative drinks. I'm partial to simpler drinks but my girlfriend and her friends loves some of their special drinks made by the bar. Although, I will make the exception to drink the house "Vesper" (inspired by Casino Royal & James Bond) every once in a while.
Ambiance: This is my girlfriend and my favorite place to come for fun nights downtown. The lighting is dim, but not so dim that you can't see. The table arrangement is cozy, but not so tight that you feel you're sitting at the same table as everyone around you. The noise level is a little loud when the bar fills up, but not too lout for an intimate date. I've also come here with big groups of 10+ and it's a blast sitting in the big round "hot tub" tables. They're really intimate and you feel like you've got your own private room...
Service: The service has always been fantastic! Make sure you ask for the server's recommendations on dipping sauces b/c they've tried a lot of them and often times will bring you more than the 3 allotted to you w/ each order.
Decor: Very nice, intimate setting. The exposed brick, dim lighting, and interesting table and booth arrangements make for an extremely fun and tasteful environment. My only complaint....they can't accommodate groups larger than 10 (w/o some major squeezing).
We were given this as a recommendation from a local friend and we were not disappointed! This is a unique concept with great food and good atmosphere. Basically, the schtick here is that you order an entry and you order three dipping sauces. The menu has chef recommended sauces, but you can choose any others if you want. My co-diners said the asian spicy sauce was VERY HOT.
It is a relatively big place (there might be an upstairs), and the bar area was plenty big.
I had the duck, which was awesome except for the beans that came with it. Others with me had the scallops - which were awesome when I tasted them - and one person has the tuna (also very good). The only disappointing meal was the steak, which was small and really did not go well with the sauces. It was served on a mess of mashed potatoes or something...
I had a cucumber saketini, which I enjoyed so much I ordered another. I did not enjoy being made fun of by my coworkers for ordering it! :)
I ordered the duck, with the chef's
+1 vote for "overrated"
Food was ok, sauces were a unique touch but do not justify paying more than $100 for dinner, music too loud to have an intimate dinner with my husband, the atmosphere is cool but again this does not justify the price.. I dined here a year ago and haven't been back since.
Pretty amazing experience ! (Thank You YELP). Not sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised from the appetizers to the main meal. I love spice so I erred to the habanero dipping sauces whenever I could. I came on a Monday and although I called ahead, we did not need to . Service was attentive, but not overbearing. Price was right for the quality of food, atmosphere and service. I had a beef entree, my guest had a salmon entree. Both exceptional.
By far my best dining experience in Denver.
I took my girlfriend there for her birthday tonight. It's a Monday night, there was no wait (i had reservations just in case). As we walked in the host was great, very warm and friendly.
Our server was so pleasant. I'm no critic, but she made us happy. I dont need a server to be my best friend, i just want my orders correct. The wine was perfect, and the Vesta Roll was incredible!!!
For entrees I had the steak and it was absolutely incredible. The sauces were fine, but it didn't even need them! My girlfriend had the scallops and the bacon sauce was great (up the servers recommendation).
We were always taken care of and our drinks were full and we were served with a smile the entire time. I couldn't have been more pleased spending that money. It's wasn't just about the food, the ENTIRE experience was perfect.
Wow, super tasty.
We did Salmon and the vegetarian option and split both to keep the cost down. It is pricey for entrees, but the price varies considerably by meat choice- chicken and vegetarian are waay less than duck and seafood, which I appreciate-- I hate paying the same price for veggies as for seafood- they can't ever give you enuf veggies to justify that!
We also started with the salsa sampler, chips were a little salty, but tasty, and that gave us several more dips to try. If you want to try the dip experience and stay cheap get the salsa and another appetizer, or the salsa plus an entree to split. Frequent chip refills made it plenty filling.
We went here on Halloween without knowing how festive the place would be and were happily surprised. Pumpkins everywhere, costumed staff, and even some trick or treat candy!
Staff was professional and cool without being snobby, neat design of the space- not too bright or too dark- overall we enjoyed both our food and the restaurant in general.
Vesta is hands down one of my favorite places to go in Denver. The title of "Dipping Grill" is ironic, since you almost hate to dip your food in any of their tasty sauces for fear of lessening the flavor combinations of their already incredible dishes. The food is delicious, the atmosphere is fun and hip and attracts a great clientele, and the staff is well-trained and courteous (and attractive to boot!)
I will admit that it is a little pricier than the average fare, but it is well worth the price. I don't mind paying a little more for a great experience, and that's what awaits you at Vesta. Over the years, I've sampled nearly everything on the menu and am rarely disappointed. In particular, the beef tenderloin is without equal; fall off the fork tender and bursting with flavor.
But if you're not sure if you want to commit a full evening or the price of a full dinner, try this. Sit at the bar, order their sauce sampler (five of their sauces served with soft, warm pita bread) and have a couple beers or a glass of wine. It's a great way to sample the atmosphere as well as a hint of the cuisine and get out the door for under $25 bucks for you and a date.
Once you do that, I can almost guarantee you'll be back. And if you're not, well, that's one less person I need to compete with to get a reservation.
Awesome space, great concept and variety, a little too much going on in the plates. The concept here is great but I think dishes with a little less flare would be better suited for various dips. I ordered a special, hanger steak over pulled pork over lobster, great on their own, not so together, add to that 3 various dips and it was not good at all.
Summary: Interesting dining experience, but that doesn't justify the price.
We had: Vesta Roll (Wasabi Cream), Samosas (Roasted Corn, Red Curry)
Beef Tenderloin, mashed potatoes, (rosemary ginger - couldn't taste rosemary, green chili gastrique, black pepper aioli)
Bread with roasted garlic (no dipping sauce?! did you check the name of your restaurant?)
While the food was between good and great, at about $60 per person, I expected better.
Very cool decor and ambience, however the trendy urban crowd was not a plus for me a--at the very minimum-- quasi-hippy. While eating, I was forced to overhear some really annoying conversations.
I came to Vesta really wanting to like it. I did.
I had guests in town and I wanted to take them somewhere interesting, and so I made a reservation at Vesta (I had heard it was good, and due to the fact that there is something of a connection to Steuben's--one of my favorite Denver restaurants--I figured it would be a solid place).
We showed up on time, but we weren't seated on time. I think we ended up waiting about 10-15 minutes. I don't particularly love having to wait for a table when I've made a reservation well ahead of time. They also didn't offer to "make things right"; no free drink, app, or anything like that. Not that I expected the royal treatment--I understand that restaurants get busy (although, I must say, when this happened to me at Rioja, they hooked it UP)--but they didn't even acknowledge it. Not a good sign.
My main beef with Vesta wasn't the food. I had the scallops, which were tasty. The sauces were nice. The food was definitely well-prepared and I enjoyed eating it. But it's definitely over-priced. I'm pretty sure that everyone at my table had an entree in the $26-$35 range, and none of it should have cost that much (not in Denver, at least). I felt like we were over-paying because of the ambience and the fact that there were dipping sauces. And--frankly--I've been all over this dipping sauce concept since my early days. Ketchup. BBQ. Ranch. It's nothing that a two-year-old hasn't figured out, so I don't see how it's somehow "unique." I guess because it's not.
The real reason why I didn't like my experience at Vesta was the service. As I mentioned before, it took us a while to get seated despite our reservation. Also, our waiter was extremely inattentive. I think that at one point I just completely gave up on having my water re-filled, which should NEVER happen at a restaurant with entrees in the $25-$35 range. Seriously. From what I remember, he checked in on us a couple of times, and that was it. Not at all acceptable when you're spending that kind of $ on dinner.
My last gripe: the music was far too loud. And this is coming from someone who likes loud music. I just couldn't enjoy conversation with the person across from me, so we ended up not really having much of a conversation.
The space they've put together is nice; the round booths looked pretty cool. Like I said, the food was pretty good (albeit over-priced). I think that if I would have received better service, I would have been much, much happier. I'm sure that with a quieter environment and a better waiter/waitress, I could be perfectly happy at Vesta. But I don't expect to go back. Too many other places in Denver with superior food at better prices (and in a better, more attentive setting)
I've been a Vesta fan for going on ten years. I don't think it's over rated and I don't think it's over priced. It doesn't have to make it in NYC (dumbest comment I have read so far) because it's a Denver institution.
I ate at Vesta last night and had a great meal. I had the pork chop done medium rare (yes, you can eat good pork mid rare) and it was amazing. Done with brown sugar and cam with bacon potatoes. I always sit at the bar and have always had great service.
I would go back (and will next week) and have something else and there is no doubt in my mind that I will get what I pay for.
Sauce choices were overwhelming, but sticking to the suggested sauces with each dish is fine. I went with a friend and had the duck rolls, the venison, and the lamb. For the price I was expecting more subtle flavors than just grilled meats with unusual sauces, but it was definitely something to check out while in Denver.
Another one of my go-to spots in town - it happens to be next to 9th door, so swing by there afterwards for some music and cocktails.
Vesta is awesome - I'm in a list mood, so here's why:
1. great service - great staff suggestions
2. cool, old school decor with exposed brick
3. has a few vegetarian selections
4. very consistent food quality
5. you get 3 dipping sauces for every dish - if unsure, the staff is super helpful in this department. side note: if you're nice, they'll give you a 4th sauce with your entree.
6. Their desserts are awesome - even though they took away the homemade candy bar, which of course, in my opinion was a mistake. Get the toffee dessert - you won't be dissappointed.
make sure you catch them during restaurant week as well.
The sauces here are much more of a gimmick, but the food itself is well worth the price.
My wife savored a gorgeous and well prepared duck breast (medium rare, and closer to rare), while I went gaga over my flat iron steak (medium rare). The steak came on a bed of french fried potatoes with charred tomatoes and clams in a somewhat briny sauce that tied it all together. I barely touched the side sauces, and only because I was curious.
This is not a cheap place, but the quality of the food and the fairly unique combination of the primary ingredient with others on the plate make it all worth it. We enjoyed exceptional service on top of the great food.
I took my visiting parents and girlfriend here for dinner as a special treat. Being a designer myself, I appreciated the atmosphere, unique interior design as well as the unique dining experience.
We ordered almost everything on the menu. We started out with a pitcher of Sangria...yummm....as we tried the salsa dipping sampler and the pita sauce sampler as appetizers.
Everyone ordered different main courses with all different types of dipping sauces. The table was nothing but oohs and ahhs. Our table was covered in little metal sauce containers with not much room for anything else after we all wanted to try new flavors.
For dessert we order 2 items to share. A chocolate dessert and an ice cream dessert with much fancier names than that. These even had 3 types of sweet sauces to choose from. Yumm Yumm extra YUM!
The waiter was very good, the "I'm really cool attitude" kinda cool. The prices were a bit higher than I thought they ought to be, but it was something special and I expected it. I do highly recommend it.
I actually heard about Vesta before I even moved to Denver. I read about it in a visitor's magazine and was told great things by a coworker from my company's Denver office. So it was at the top of my list upon moving here early last year. Unfortunately it was my first major disappoint here too. I sat at the bar on a Friday afternoon with friends and got adequate but fairly impersonal service. The place did fill up and get busy but I left before 7pm so I don't think the dinner crowd was in full effect. We ordered a bunch of appetizers and a few larger dishes. I know people rave about the sauces here but I just didn't get the hoopla. I like the variety but didn't feel like I always made the best match with what I was dipping. Their recommendations and pairings were ok but not a slam dunk for me. I just expected a lot more for the price and the raves I'd heard. The interior is really cool, somewhat dimly lit and both romantic yet good for groups at the same time, if that's possible. Wish I could put my finger on something more concrete but I just didn't go crazy for this place! Denver has much better to offer in my opinion.
Once again, Vesta delivers. 3 pepper iron steak was amazing. The decor is inviting and warm. The sauce specialties were amazing. The staff was helpful and cordial. I will probably eat here every time I'm in Denver.
I absolutely love the feel of Vesta. Exposed brick walls, muted red lights, a sexy curvy bar, and uber friendly service all contributed to my feelings for this downtown restaurant. Sir Nicholas and I stopped in for dinner on a weekend night and we left extremely full and happy without spending a ton of money.
We started with a dipping sauce plate that was accompanied by slices of pita bread. We choose this so we could try more of the sauces than what would come with our main dishes. We had the Asian Pear Chutney, Black Pepper Aioli, Roasted Corn, Jalapeno Ponzu, and Smoked Habanero Salsa. While all of them were excellent my two favorites were the habanero salsa and the pear chutney.
For dinner I tried the Moroccan spice grilled salmon and Nick had the brown sugar grilled pork chop. Again, both dishes were delicious. This time I really loved the miso sauce that came with Nick's pork and the salsa roja that came with mine.
We sat at the bar for dinner and I mention this only because all 3 of the bartenders that served us were awesome, easy to talk to, and efficient in serving their patrons. And, when you sit at the curvy parts of the bar it almost feels like Vesta is hugging you. It's a little cocoon of metal for you and the person you're there with. And who doesn't like cocoons and hugs?
I do like Vesta but I agree with some of the other reviewers that it's overrated and overpriced. For the most part, you are getting nicely grilled meat and fish dishes with sauces -- definitely tasty, but nothing super complicated. I think Vesta is cashing in on their hype, which is within their rights but makes it a bit pricey.
It's always crowded so call ahead for a reservation or make one online (they use Open Table). We were seated promptly.
Two non-food things in Vesta's favor: absolutely lovely, friendly service and a cool urban decor. I was all the more impressed with the service considering how busy they were. The service was very attentive without being intrusive.
Do not plan to go to Vesta when there's a ball game unless you are then going to the game. It's just a parking nightmare down there.
We really love this restaurant. The name is kind of ambiguous and confusing to someone who hasn't been before but it refers to the fact that you can choose three of the listed sauces to accompany your entree. They offer sauce recommendations under each of the menu selections but sometimes it is fun to pick something else to mix it up. The atmosphere is dark and trendy, a bit loud for a romantic dinner but fun for a group or to take out-of-towners. We have had fantastic service there and only once, very mediocre service. It is too expensive a place to get mediocre service. The cocktail menu is fun. The Vesta (tuna) Roll is a great appetizer, as is the House Cured Meats platter. We have had delicious Samosas, and also greasy Samosas there, on different occasions. Overall, everything I have tasted on the Entree menu has been delicious. I have gone there with large groups so I have tasted most everything. For dessert, the Sticky Toffee Pudding is delicious.
I'm sorry to say that we only stopped in here for drinks on our alky-tour of NE/Downtown Denver since the other Yelpers' descriptions of the food are making my mouth water like crazy and I just ate a huge lunch.
The drinks were good though! Our bartendress suggested the bijou cocktail, which we ordered, but I also ventured out for the blackberry cosmo. Both were tangy and tasty. A later drink was spilled all over the counter and replaced no charge, so points for that.
The restaurant has an awesome ambiance to it and beautiful curved benches and nooks for plenty of privacy. The bar was gorgeous as well and if I remember correctly (this is a few drinks in, mind you), had street lamps coming out of it. Basically a really pretty place, and totally empty on a Thursday around 9pm. What's up with that, Denver?
Next time I'm in the Mile High I'm definitely coming back to check out the food. NOM.
My love affair with dipping sauces started with my first taste of that Filipino food crack item known as lumpia dipped in a bit of La Choy sweet and sour and developed, I'm a bit sad to say, with the variety of sauces immediately available when McD's released the chicken mcnugget into the wild in 1983. I've always loved taking food and dipping it into something. Mayo on fries? Gimme more. Garlic aioli on my calamari? Yes, please. Curry ketchup on my wurst? Indeed. Siracha on anything? Hell yes.
When SV and I lived in Europe we found this toothpaste tube of ketchup and mayo appropriately called "rot und weiss." The two sauces were mixed in a freakish aqua-fresh like way and you couldn't help but dip your fries enthusiastically into that unholy mess.
And it seems that every culture likes to dip with accompanying sauces; sushi is a perfect example.
Luscious fish on rice
Carefully dipped in soy
A-effing-mazing
So Vesta is a study in what I love. Good food with a plethora of sauces ranging from the sublime to the normal to the somewhat strange. The servers are perfectly willing to share their favorites and the menu does recommend certain sauces with appetizers/entrees but that's not to say you can go crazy and try something a bit oddball with your dish. Sauces you shouldn't miss are the bacon aioli, the peanut sauce, the pineapple pedy marmalade, the wasabi cream and the miso. Have fun with your selection and remember that while the food is delicious on its own, the sauces enhance what is already on your plate. Do yourself a favor and get a few more than you think you need. If you're a dipping guy like me, you'll try all of them and go back for more.
And don't miss dessert. Epic fail if you miss the ice cream sandwiches with the dipping...
A disappointment.
I had been looking forward to Vesta for a long time and honestly wanted to like it, despite the gimmicky sauce-dipping thing, as I do enjoy Steuben's.
Yes, this is just a one visit, Restaurant Wk. review, so keep that in mind if you want...but nothing went terribly wrong with dinner, and I feel I can provide a legitimate review of this place.
The "highly-acclaimed" venue? I was not impressed. A big, high-ceiling, noisy, exposed brick room with showy modern lighting fixtures and curved banquettes - sooo 90's. Oh, Vesta was opened in the 90's? Sorry, that's why it feels dated, and reminds me of NYC places from the 80's. This was not the romantic spot everyone's been raving about. (Sure, I am a design snob.) Maybe ok for a first date, as all the noise and servers zooming around keeps things distracted?
We were seated near the back of the room, not particularly pleasant, though a bit less noisy. An annoyance was being in the general area of the open grill, which meant we left smelling like BBQ, and the rustic wood floors were greasy and slippery. Not to mention the exposed grill was again a dated element, also serving to remind us dinner was not being prepared by chefs or sous chefs, but some kind of grill-master.
Maybe my fault - Rest. Wk., busy Friday night, but the crowd? As bland homogeneous Lodo as you can get. Sorry, I just couldn't resist. Why hasn't Vesta or someone else opened chain locations across malls in America, cause I think the dipping concept has a lotta appeal to the masses. Vesta's crowd that night could be in any Chili's, Outback, TGI's or Old Chicago, just minus the kiddos.
With apps $10 and up, entrees $20 to way north of $30, I'm expecting a lot, considering Denver's booming restaurant scene. Luckily, I was paying $52.80 prices. So the food was perfectly fine grilled food. But if you want a restaurant's chef, cuisine, or menu to have some focus, it's not here. Off the 52.80 menu, Yuca shrimp fine, duck rolls tasty, big piece of salmon grilled nicely rare, chicken satisfactory, and deserts sweet and filling. I give them credit for serving full size servings on the prix fixe, and we left full. The service was ok and friendly, but definitely not on a par with other joints in their price range.
Hey, I'm fine, out the door at 52.80 prices, but disappointed in myself for having chosen this safe, boring, and unadventurous Rest. Wk. stop. So now I've done Vesta, don't need to again, and maybe you don't need to.
I was pretty skeptical about this place before going in and having dinner with LadyHawke. I was pretty sure I'd balk at the large variety of sauces and it was just a mask to cover up not-so-good food. I was WRONG.
Everything I ate here was great! We had a dipping sauce sampler appetizer and I loved all of the spicy sauces. None were too hot and all had a great flavor. As for the main course, I had a brown sugar grilled pork chop and it was very juicy and tender. It wasn't over-cooked and it paired well with the miso sauce as well as the habanero salsa and the asian pear chutney. Tiffany had salmon, which I really don't like, but was pleasantly suprised to find wasn't bad at all.
I would totally go back and I recommend that you do too!
The decor and ambiance: Really cool. A little dark for a girl who likes to fall asleep in public places but still nice.
The service: Pretty good. I think we only saw our waiter 3 times. The other times, there were runners and other people cleaning up and bringing food to us.
The food: Delicious! Love the duck egg rolls and the shrimp were wonderful! The duck egg rolls were, by far, my favorite. And let me tell you something about a place that allows you to choose how you want your salmon cooked. Hello? Medium! My salmon was perfection! It was a crazy combination, salmon on a bed of black beans with chunks of avocado on top. Love the creativity of the chef and I'm anxious to try the other dishes.
The sauces: No, to the spicy jerk (I really do mean the sauce, my date was not spicy nor jerky). Yes, to the sweet ginger chili, B2 steak sauce, and the salsa roja.
The dessert: Wacky Tacky Apple. How can you go wrong with a caramel apple with dipping sauces? And I have something to share with the chef...your "secret ingredient" on the outside? I'm on to you, it's frosted flakes! At least *I think* it is??
I had a great experience here and can't wait for my next visit!
This is going to sound stupidly pretentious, but I'll say it anyway. For me, Vesta epitomizes New American food. The whole concept of the restaurant is shifting the focus from the quality of the meat, which has become something of a prerequisite in modern restaurants, to sauces. Vesta shifts the paradigm of a good restaurant from the uncreative, jacket-required steakhouse to this much more creative gastronomical venture.
I can't think of a single bad dish I've had here. There are influences from a variety of international foods here, and they're all incorporated with each other quite well. The fact that they have so many sauces doesn't mean they've forgotten how to cook their meats properly, either. The grillers at Vesta cook meat better than most of other restaurants in this price-range. I would recommend going with a meat you tend to like, and I think a good meal will follow. Don't worry too much about the descriptions of each dish -- the chefs here know how to mix flavors, and even things that sounds entirely weird tend to taste delicious. As for dessert, the Sticky Toffee Pudding is exceptional -- beyond the fact that it's not like any other pudding I've ever eaten, I really can't even begin to describe it.
The atmosphere is pretty laid back. The waiters are very knowledgeable and attentive, yet entirely unpretentious. There's a dim lighting here and a number of very modern design features, which gives this place a very cool feel. This is a great restaurant -- I would highly recommend it!
My husband and I had a really nice dinner this evening at Vesta for Denver Restaurant Week. Here's what we thought of what we had:
Chef taste -- pear with gorgonzola and fresh thyme -- very tasty. The thyme accented the traditional combination of pears and blue cheese very well.
Yucatan grilled shrimp with coconut milk, refried black beans, salsa verde and queso fresco -- my husband loved this; it was his favorite thing all evening. He said the beans were wonderfully smokey and the shrimp nicely grilled.
Hoisin duck spring rolls with spicy green papaya slaw and Vietnamese dipping sauce -- the spring rolls were fabulous, especially with the dipping sauce.
Roasted garlic chicken breast with confit red onions, butternut squash and smoked apple chutney -- the waiter was right to recommend this. The chicken was perfectly grilled and the apple chutney was delicious. It didn't need any of the dipping sauces that came with it.
Grilled hanger steak with bacon roasted mushrooms, olive oil whipped potatoes and preserved tomato butter sauce -- my husband thought this was great, particularly with the corn dipping sauce (one of the three dipping sauces that came with it).
Matty's wacky apple (caramel dipped apple rolled in sweet crunch, served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup) -- neither of us liked this as much as the whoopie pie.
Chocolate whoopie pie -- delicious, especially with the chocolate dipping sauce.
The atmosphere is very cool, and the service was excellent.
I was at a charity event last night where two of the chefs from Vesta served their sticky toffee… Read more »
They know how to grill their meats and seafood. Perfect every time.
I split a duck breast and scallops with my friend. We also had the beet salad. The food was perfect. Not too salty.
We had a booth where eight of us sat. The lights were a little to dim and we had trouble reading the menu.
Staff was very friendly and helpful.
Came back for Restaurant Week and now after this visit I am upping my review to 5 stars. Started the night with the chef taste of a slice of pear with gorgonzola cheese. Absolutely delicious and a great flavor combination.
My roommate and I both decided on the duck hoisin spring rolls for the appetizer. I am not normally a duck fan, but these were done right! They were hot, crispy, fresh and served with a chili lime sweet and sour sauce. I chose to get the chicken breast with butternut squash, red onion and apple chutney. I chose red curry, berry chutney, and roasted corn for my dipping sauces. I wouldn't recommend the corn sauce for the chicken dish, however, it is still my favorite dipping sauce so I was literally drinking it from the dish! As my chicken dwindled down to the bone I started feeling sad...and because I didn't want this meal to end!
We both decided on the wacky apple for the dessert and what a great choice that was! This dessert brought me back to my childhood days of eating taffy apples. It was fresh, crisp, and topped with ice cream and served with a chocolate, strawberry, and a creamy sauce (I really don't remember what that one was called). It was a wonderful end to such a delicious meal!
Great job Vesta, and I will definitely be back soon.
Vesta makes for an interesting dining concept. I love to dip food in sauces so I knew that I would… Read more »
HYPE...HYPE...HYPE!!
This place is so overpriced for what it is. I mean my wife and I got a little tiny tiny appetizer and two under portioned meals with some wine for like $150. The food was average. I felt like I could've cooked most of it at home.
The setting and ambiance of the place is nice and the service was good but for the money I would go anywhere else but here. I really wanted to like this place because I had heard so much about it but I'm sad to say I didn't.
Ok everyone, let's start the cheer: OVER-RATED... *clap clap, clap-clap-clap*
To be fair, let me start by saying that they have REALLY good food.
The Good: The grilled entrees. The food has always been very good here. Not nearly the best in LoDo, and slightly overpriced, but worth a taste. Nice location with a very cool interior.
The Fair: The wait staff was ok, although I could tell their knowledge of the food they served was minimal at best. The quality of the tables/chairs. Both times we have eaten here our table and booth were rather rickety. I don't like to rock when I eat, and when the table behind me gets in and out of their booth, I don't like the feeling like I may get bucked out of my bench.
The Bad: Most of the sauces. Many of these were over-the-top with such powerful flavors that totally trumped the fine flavor of the entree. The price. I won't find myself paying $20-$35 per entree for this quality of food.
RECAP: Worth a visit, but it's really not all "THAT".
Vesta Dipping Grill was an interesting restaurant. I liked the concept, but the lack of meat selections left a lot to be desired. I had the hanger steak with 3 different sauces.
I probably will not return but everyone should give it a shot.
Like I said, its an interesting concept to dip your meat in your choice of sauces but for the price, you should get a larger portion and more sauces (you only get 3 small portions).
Now that I think of it, you should have more options in terms of your meat selections. There were only 5 different choices, one of each type of meat. You should be able to choose whether you want a hanger steak, new york strip, or a rib-eye.....not just "steak" or "fish."
This is one of those places where you come for the ambiance as much as the food. Both were pretty cool too, but not 5-Star worthy. It's a great experience, but one not worthy of repeating. Good food, great ambiance, amicable staff; all good things. The prices were a bit high for what you get--not outrageous, but I think they overestimate the level of 'gourmet' they're really offering.
Overall, they get a 4 for the experience, but I'd never become a regular.
I am on a crusade to stop the over use of 4 and 5s for average places. Bell curve - most places should be a 3 - only those that stand out or really stand out should be more than that.
Vesta was a 3. If they had .5 points I would say 3.5.
Starter dishes were good - especially the shrimp.
I had the beef tenderloin with chimchurri, pepper sauce and chipo;te sauce. Sauces were interesting, with the chipolte being my favorite. The meat was good, but not great. Part of the problem was they didn't even ask how I wanted it cooked - it was medium+ & I like med rare. The mashed potatoes were standard. THus nothing really stood out.
High point overall was the butterscotch pudding.
My one negative was that the service was so-so. Nothing in particular, just not very attentive.
Worth trying, good atmosphere, decent food.
Too expensive and the sauces aren't all that good.
Are you looking for a unique dining experience without the risk of getting served something really weird? Go to Vesta. You'll try new things and you'll LOVE them all. This place is delicious!
From the creative menu, to the elegant but not too fancy atmosphere to the great service, this is the perfect place to take a date, celebrate a special occasion or meet up with friends for a casual evening out.
I had another great night at Vesta.
I thought I would update to alert my fellow Yelpers that the menu has been completely revamped- new items and new sauces- go check it out. You'll thank me.
Party of 10, we let Josh (the bad ass server, not the owner) choose the wines, the apps and a bunch of our entrees- the food was fantastic, (The Pork Chop was particularly delicious) the service was flawless.
I know people have mixed feelings about this place, but I surely enjoy myself every time I walk in there. Thanks, Vesta. Thanks for letting me dip there.
This a fantastic restaurant. It's not for everyone, I understand that- if you want huge portions,… Read more »
Great restaurant. Was in Denver for the weekend and was glad we decided to go here for dinner. Unique concept with the dipping sauces, which were very good. The food itself was excellent, I had the Salmon which was very good and my boyfriend had the Ahi Tuna which he loved as well.
I highly recommend the Wacky Apple dessert. It was a carmel apple cut up in slices with oatmeal/carmel on the outside....FABULOUS!
I wish we had this place in the Bay Area.
I love Vesta. I went there as much as I could afford when I lived in Denver and now let everyone I know to check it out.
The idea is to pair regular food (i.e. steak, fish, chicken) with a bunch of different sauces. Each meal can have a completely different taste depending on what it is paired with. I usually try to get a few outrageous sauces to really test the limits. And I love all their spicy flavors.
Can't wait to go back!
Note: don't come here after happy hour. You've already ruined your appetite. This place is too good not to come on an empty stomach.
Duh, Rachael Ray came here. And not on her $40/day show. So I expected something spectacular.
+ Smoked and grilled duck breast with parmesan risotto and sweet and sour apples.
+ Ginger chili seared tuna spicy yuzu udon noodles and pickled vegetable bok choy.
+ Garlic grilled scallops with cherry tomato-fennel salad, fingerling potatoes and bacon aioli.
+ Brown sugar grilled pork chop with pancetta walnut stuffing, riesling cabbage and camembert cheese.
Everything comes with three dipping sauces. You can go with the ones on the recommended menu, ask your server, or just go wild. Personally, I thought all the dishes stood on their own without any sauce at all since they were all flavorful in itself, but to each their own.
+ a bottle of bubbly for the table, and we had the most fantastic experience.
3-course Prix Fixe continued!
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