The Bindery - Denver Highlands
We braved the frigid temperatures this Tuesday and I am so glad we did. It resulted in a romantic evening for us. We made our way to The Bindery in the Highlands. I was glad see they had free covered parking, something you rarely get downtown. We walked into the warm inviting space that was romantically lit by dim pendent lights and oil candles. We could see that we didn’t need a reservation, there were plenty of tables. That was probably due to the weather and also being a Tuesday.
We were sat at a table next to the window, our favorite. The menu was via QR code, so the waitress poured our water and then gave us a moment to look at the menu. There was a lot to be excited about. The menu consisted of about half shareable plates and the other half entrees. We decided to try three sharable and two entrees.
Before we get into the food we can’t forget about drinks. The restaurant has two large wine racks and very large bar. I’m sure their happy hour is great with all their options. We don’t drink though, so we opted for surprise bartender mock tails. We were given the option to pick citrusy, sweet or herbal. We asked just to be surprised with two different drinks. One was like a grapefruit Paloma and the other was an orange and ginger soda. I thought I would like the Paloma more but it was very mild which Aaron liked more and I liked the punch of the ginger in the other drink.
We ordered the Winter Ceviche, Warm Jerusalem Salad and of course the Burrata. All of them arrived at the table at the same time, so we decided to start with the warm salad.
The salad was made of roasted potatoes, smoked beets, brown butter hazelnuts and charred trevisiano over a fonduta. I had to look up a few definitions here so I could give a good description, trevisiano is a special variety of radicchio that really shines once it is charred over the grill. I didn’t realize it in the moment that the trevisiano was something I had never had before, it just looked like purple romaine lettuce but the flavor was sweet and mild and went beautifully with all the elements. Fonduta is another word for fondue, and thinking back to the meal it was exactly a fondue texture, just not served in a pot like I have had before. The skin on the potatoes was crisp and the beets were juicy. The fonduta was at the base of the plate with all the elements sitting on top waiting to be eaten in one delicious bite. A bite with all the elements of the dish left a sweet and toasty flavor with a little bit of crunch from the hazelnuts. This dish was delicious, and warmed me up on such a cold night.
Next we dug into the Burrata. The ball of cheese was large and sat atop a kale, chard and spinach salad with golden raisins, pistachios, chili flakes and a little anchovy with a few kumquats. We have always get Burrata when it is offered and I am so glad this night was no exception because it was one of my favorite parts of the meal. It was a beautiful ball of cheese but the bright salad with the salt from the anchovy, sweet from the raisins and heat from the chili flakes was really the star. It complemented the creaminess of the cheese and once it was all on-top of the sourdough I couldn’t ask for anything else. My mouth enjoyed the journey through the flavors and was excited for each bite. Then I took a bite with a piece of kumquat on top and there was a citrus explosion that made me say “wow!” out loud, which made my husband curious, so I had him stack a bite up just the same and he too said “wow!” The salad was really the star of the dish. The toast was delicious and the char really added flavor and aroma, it was very thick though. This made it challenging for me to bite into and once I stacked it high with salad and cheese I made a little bit of a mess. Next time I might use my knife and fork to enjoy it.
Lastly we enjoyed the citrusy cool Winter Ceviche. The bright colors of the citrus were beautiful to see on the grey evening it was outside, it made me miss the beach in Mexico. The halibut and scallops were prepared well, they were smooth and soaked up the juice of all the citrus. I will say that while it was tasty, after having our citrus forward beverages and sour kumquats from the previous dish my mouth was starting to get a little raw from all the citrus. I think if my mock tail had been herbal instead I would have been okay, but just keep that in mind when ordering. Also if you want to be wowed by scallops I would still recommend the scallops at Basta first.
We had time to enjoy the romantic mood of the restaurant while we waited for our entrees. I really loved the large pendants they had throughout the space. They balanced them with a mix of medium and small globe pendants also, but I like the large ones because they had a soft look to them with their smoked class and frosted bulb cover. I think I might even look for something similar to go over my own kitchen island. The restaurant was open to the kitchen, simply separated by the long under lit bar. It was a quiet evening but the kitchen and bar never got too loud, we could always hear the soft jazzy music. The space was a little larger then some of the places we have been going to, there was a mix probably about 30 tables maybe. I found it interesting their was only one high top in the middle of the restaurant that sat 6-8 and the rest were low tables. There was room for about 14 at the bar too. It felt comfortable but again a little hard to tell considering we were one of two tables for most of the evening.
The décor was mostly their wine and liquor selection, a few terrariums and a couple of pieces of art. The oil candles on every table really kept your eye low though and created a moody romantic vibe. Candles are really the best accessory for dinner in my opinion. The east wall was all windows and faces the city, we couldn’t see anything because the thick clouds from the storm were settled in but I would love to go back and see it in the light.
I used the restroom while we waited for our entrees. There were three individual gender neutral bathrooms available. The one I used was clean and simple. A little brighter then it was out in the restaurant but not so bright that it was jarring. They kept it simple by carrying the floor tile in from the rest of the restaurant and then a grey double glazed tile that went half way up the wall. The matte and high glass contrasted each other well. They did have a changing table if needed. The downsides were the confusing lock. It was a small button under the handle that didn’t really click or give reassurance that it was locked. My husband mentioned after his trip having the same concern. That is a change they should consider. Finally to be nit picky the faucet was short and too close to the wall and back of the sink, it did the job but not comfortably.
Dinner had arrived right after I sat back down in my seat, I would say it took a little longer then some people may like but we figure if they are cooking something from scratch like risotto it takes some time. My husband had the carbonara risotto, a combination of things he had been very into lately. I had the mustard seed crusted Scottish salmon over lentils which our server had mentioned was a great choice. We dug in and gave the food a chance to surprise us, I think though we were simply surprised that is wasn’t amazing.
The risotto was a little under cooked, leaving some bite instead of being creamy smooth. The egg on top was a good idea and the runny yolk added flavor but the cooked whites added more texture to the risotto, we just wanted it to be more creamy. My husband did eat most of it, and we brought the little leftover home for breakfast but he wouldn’t recommend it.
My salmon came out looking beautiful. A few pieces of bright green broccolini on top of dark yellow mustard seeds that evenly covered the pink salmon. I was expecting a kick from the mustard when I tasted my first bite. Instead I found the beautifully cooked salmon to be missing any flavor really, I got lots of texture from the mustard seeds but no flavor. I’m not sure if that is common of mustard seed to be so bland but it was not what I thought it would be. The lentils the salmon rested on were full of flavor and cooked to be very very soft. Thinking of it now, maybe they got my lentils and the risotto mixed up and over cooked the lentils and undercooked the risotto on accident. Anyways, I enjoyed mixing the salmon in with the lentils but the mustard seeds just continued to feel like chia seeds, getting stuck in my teeth and adding nothing to the dish. I also would not recommend this dish, I would say get yourself another starter instead and a full dessert for yourself.
They offered us three desserts and I wasn’t too excited until the server mentioned the last option, her favorite, the Dulce de leche cake with molasses crumble and house made banana ice cream. It took a few extra minutes because the cake has to be put in the oven but it was worth the wait. The smell was delightful, warm and nutty. I love banana flavor so I tried the ice cream solo first. It was creamy and a nice balance of real banana flavor, it didn’t taste artificial at all. The cake was so soft it didn’t fight getting cut with the spoon at all. Once I put all the element on my spoon and took a bite I started to dance in my chair. The the caramel flavor from the Dulce wrapped itself around the sweet banana flavor and just shined in my mouth. The molasses crumple gave a little toasty crunch, I think with a sprinkle of flaky salt it could have been almost perfect. It was so delicious though that I would totally recommend it!
It was a romantic Tuesday night for us which was incredible, the chill atmosphere and friendly service are all reasons to check out the Bindery. Besides dinner Tuesday through Saturday they also do a happy hour from 3-5pm, a weekday breakfast/lunch menu from 8am-3pm and brunch on the weekends from 9am-3pm. So there are some options to look at, with different menus if you are interested in check it out.
I think for me, would I go back? Yes, I would go back for starters and desserts and to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere on a week day, I would also go back for brunch to try the carrot ginger waffles and bad baby pancakes.
Would I recommend it? I would recommend going for drinks and starters. So if you love to share just get like 4 starters and some drinks, skip the entrées and don’t forget dessert!
Thanks so much for being here. I hope to be able to write more this week about a few places we have gone on past Tuesdays before I started this newsletter, some places were so good you have to hear about them. If you have any questions or comments please email me at newfoodtuesday@gmail.com, I hope you are warm and have a beautiful week.