The Rock Restaurant & Bar

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  We needed a place close to the office for a Friday night come down after work.  We decided on The Rock.  I had never been here before so something new was welcome in my eyes.  
  
  It's a funky little place in my eyes.  You walk in and can go to the bar, or into a quieter area for dining/ drinking in larger groups.  There happened to be a larger birthday type party happening in the dining area which made the 4 male companions I had VERY happy.   Chicks in short skirts is apparently the cure for staring at numbers for hours.  
  
  We were presented with a menu and the specials menu.  It's their 10th anniversary so every week they have specials and charge the prices from 2003.  They have about 10 different ones a week for the next few weeks.  Pretty neat and Very Affordable.  They do show you the current prices so you can see the difference.  
  
  A variety of orders were placed, someone had a shrimp dinner, that came complete with a baked potato, salad and veggies.  Another was a Taco Platter , some onion rings and last but not least the Caramel Apple Chimichunga with Iced Cream.   Can ya guess what I had?  Well, it was actually to share amongst all of us.  The shrimp dinner was definitely ample.  Tons of veggies and the shrimp was decently breaded and fried.  The Onion Rings were not greasy but could have used a little more salt, but that's a personal taste thing and with salt on the table not an issue.  We could not get out of Buddy how the Taco's were cause he just kept eating.  I am assuming by the lack of negative reaction they were pretty good.  
  
  Now on to the Chimi.  Good Lord that thing was good.  Apple pie type filling wrapped in a tortilla and deep fried, covered in Caramel and dusted with Cinnamon served with a cinnamon vanilla iced cream.  I think I had a sugar spike when they sat it down on the table with us.  This is definitely a desert to be shared with a few people.  It's just too good not to.  The apples were not mush, they were still a bit firm in the filling.  This I personally prefer.  The iced cream was good, but a bit over powered by the massive amount to caramel.  Now don't get me wrong, I like caramel, it was just a bit too generous with it.   James had threatened to lick the plate once we were all done, but we didn't take him up on the offer.  
  
  A fun relaxed post late office night was enjoyed by all.  I am thinking we will spend more Friday nights after work here in the future.

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  Posted on 02.10.13 Jese S.

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  Pretty good drink specials during late night happy hour. Although the drinks are nothing special. Bar food is the expectation, however; the wings are big and delicious. If they had better value on their wings I would probably rate them a little higher.
  
  I would definitely go back to the Rock because it is about a mile from my house, I like that it is convenient - oh, wait, and they have some pretty good looking waitresses!

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  Posted on 11.27.12 Damion W.

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  Not a fan of the decor, drinks are typical, but the saving grace is their burritos. Last time I had the beef and bean smothered burrito and it was so good!

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  Posted on 07.16.12 Kristine Bobbie N.

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  Umm. Generally when you walk in and up to a bar someone says "hi or welcome" Yea. No. Not here. Sat down and waited and waited. We had the "magic word" of the day and since many were at a bachelorette party, and FB'ed it, we thought we'd stop by and have one. As I said, the bartender looked at us, we smiled at her, and she proceeded to completely ignore us. In fact, on our way out, she told us, snippy,  "well just get your own then!" OMG! It wasn't busy at all! They made "The List." Customer appreciation is simply becoming a thing of the past...

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  Posted on 06.10.12 Mora L.

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  First time visiting.
  
  Service was great. Our waiter kept our drinks full and got our food out quickly.
  
  We ordered the Taco Tuesday special. Between us had the shredded and ground beef and shredded chicken soft and crispy tacos.
  
  I preferred the chicken but my husband thought the beef ones were good too.
  
  The dining area was kind of empty, but we were here late and trivia was going on and that was obviously where the crowd was.
  
  We would probably come back as it was decent food and not ridiculous prices.

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  Posted on 04.25.12 Grace P.

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  I have to say I have not eaten here. BUT I did something even better, I drank here. The bar is pretty nice especially when you consider that it is in a strip mall in suburbia. I met some coworkers on a Thursday night at 8:30 and the bar was already pretty busy. The waitresses were all very sweet. As a girl who enjoys going to bars I can say I have noticed that often attractive bartenders and waitresses can be a little bitchy to girls that come in. Lets face it unlike the drooling guys I am not going to give them big tips because they are hot. The girls here are smart and while very hot they are also sweet and do a good job.
  
  I got a rockarita, they only let you have two and its a good idea because they are big and yummy and full of liquor. I had one all night and it was enough that I felt nice and warm and fuzzy most of the night but sobered up by the time I left. One of my friends ordered some kind of apitizer sampler that was full of dips and chips and such and it looked REALLY good.

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  Posted on 02.13.12 Barbi P.

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  Don't go to this place for "The Rock Restaurant' part.  Go there for the"& Bar' part.  Terrible food.  Had a mexican combo and it was not good.  Ground beef looked overcooked.  Eat somewhere else and go here for the drinks.

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  Posted on 11.13.11 Dee S.

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  The Rock is one of those places we always say, why did we come here again? Yet, we always seem to end up there. (I know it is because they are the only thing around that is not a stupid chain restaurant.)
  
  However, the Rock does have a few good things going for them. One, they seem to only hire young cute girls which my husband enjoys (I'm sure). Two they have an awesome patio and good happy hour.
  
  Aside from that the food is not good eats. Greasy, frozen, and over processed. Moreover, it really get's my goat when "traditional American joints" you know the ones that should be serving really awesome hamburgers and fries attempt to make green chili and other Mexican dishes.
  
  So let's get clear not every restaurant in Colorado needs to serve green chilli. And if they insist on serving green chilli then please take time to learn how to make it! Really learn, like take a class or something. Otherwise stick to what you know and cook good American eats.
  
  In closing, if you find yourself at the Rock and don't know how you ended up there again....it's best to just sit on the wonderful patio (make sure your husband has view of the pretty girls) and enjoy a happy hour cocktail.

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  Posted on 09.28.11 Nataleigh M.

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  The Rock is one of those places I wish I liked better.  I know, I know, what does that mean?  It means it is a hop, skip and a jump from my house and it is a non-chain restaurant in suburbia - I want to like it!  The thing is, I like the bar, however I have come to the realization I don't like the restaurant.  
  
  They actually have two doors: one to the restaurant and one to the bar.  When we eat on the restaurant side something inevitably goes wrong (wrong food, wrong bill, they don't give us happy hour prices - something).  Plus service on the this side is spotty as far as coming back for refills or checking on us during the meal.  Not to mention, I am never totally in love with whatever I order (too greasy, too plain, too something!).
  
  Now the bar is a totally different story. I have never had a problem with service - it is great! I always get billed correctly and it is a nice vibe (not to mention I have come in at 3p on a Tuesday and it has been almost full!).  Maybe it is because if I come to the bar I am usually just going for apps and beer and its pretty hard to mess up!  I don't know, its just better in the bar :)
  
  So The Rock the Bar is great.  The Rock the Restaurant....not so much.

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  Posted on 07.22.11 Jessica J.

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  I literally just realized this place was over here and I've lived here a couple years. Go figure. It's split into 2, with one side being the bar and then the other side the restaurant, with a wall separating them. There's also a patio with an excellent view.
  
  The service was good and quick. Prices were not bad at all. We went during happy hour and I think my vodka tonics were only $3 each and entrees were only $10.
  
  The food was just OK. I got the enchiladas and it was a huge plate. The enchilada sauce tasted kind of bland but overall it was all right. We also got the chips and queso and the queso was super yummy.
  
  If you follow them on facebook they post the "word of the day" which gives you their daily drink specials that you can't order if you don't know the words, and they are truly excellent deals.

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  Posted on 09.21.10 Jason J.

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  Let me set the stage...
  
  Bar/Restaurant in a strip mall, very nice and extremely attractive bar tenders, decent food, full bar.
  
  That being said I take a lot of clients here for a working lunch. The food only gets 3 stars but the service deserves 5. The girls that work the bar are beautiful and very pleasant.
  
  They have decent Mexican food but I have found that they have two lunch specials that are a little better. They offer a great streak sandwich as well as a shaved prime rib sandwich that are both pretty tasty.
  
  If I lived near by I'd be a regular!

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  Posted on 09.11.10 Adam P.

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  Terrible! Lacks any kind of personality. The bar maids were bitter! The food was the typical crappy greasy bar food.

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  Posted on 11.25.09 Kansas P.

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  My husband and I used to live right across the street from this place and we were always tempted to try it when we first moved there, but because of the smoke smell, we never did.  When they passed the law to ban smoking in certain establishments (like restaurants), we finally decided to give this place a shot.
  
  It's been almost two years since we moved (back home to Hawaii), and while I don't remember what we got everytime we went, I do remember the highlights.  My husband had the mexican steak sandwich a few times and both he and I agree that it's delish.  I'm not super knowledgeable about green chili, but I do like the stuff they have at The Rock.  You get to pick from mild, hot and extra hot.  I've only tried the hot and extra hot and they're both awesome (the extra hot is my favorite).  They also have really good potato skins.  They're almost like half baked potatos (woohoo) if you ask me and they give a few interesting toppings to choose from.  We usually went with cheese, bacon and mushrooms and would get a side of some sour cream and salsa to dip it in.  They're breakfast was pretty good from what I remember and they also have really good soup.  I've tried the clam chowder, baked potato and minestrone and they're all great.
  
  Now that we're back in Hawaii, we actually have cravings for this place (especially the green chili) and we're both a little sad we didn't start eating here earlier.  If we ever visit CO again, this will definitely be a place we stop at.  Hopefully it'll still be as good as we remembered.

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  Posted on 05.07.09 Jessica G.

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  Meh...boring.  It's so quiet in there you could hear a pin drop.  I actually leaned over to my boyfriend and whispered "why's everyone whispering"?
  Maybe there's some people that like those real quiet type of bars...

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  Posted on 02.10.09 Norah L.

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  I think Rock is a surprise in the midst of the suburbs. Its a decent bar, and big enough to watch sports. The food is average, but the location and view cant be beat in the SE aurora.
  
  Will probably frequent this..

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  Posted on 01.11.09 s n.

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  I live within a stone throw of this joint, as does a few of my buds, so we go to The Rock because it's convenient for us, not because it Rocks.
  
  The 3 Stars is for the patio....just amazing that here in A Town,  excuse me....Centennial , we have that kind of majestic view.
  Sad that it's marred by the billions of homes that have recently been built and is quickly eroding the view ( and, who's buying all these homes???) but I digress.....
  
  Yes, the other reviewers are absolutely correct.
  The Rock has absolutely inedible food....the only people who feel otherwise are vodka soaked, and the don't care what they put into their food hole.
  The burgers are frozen, straight from Costco....you know those paper thin grizzle burgers that you serve at your 5 year old's BD party, and the Tex-Mex looks like what you give to Rover.
  However the fries are good, and the sliced steak sandwich is passable, in a pinch.
  
  Oh, but that view !!!!!
  And they allow smoking on one side of the patio, so I actually get to spend time with the buds--usually when we go out,  I'm alone cause they're always off smoking in some far away place--you've heard of football widows...well, I'm a smoking widow !!!
  
  To sum it up....if you're a local, you know about this joint...if not local you have no need to know about this place.

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  Posted on 11.03.08 Sandi D.

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