If you like iconoclastic local diners, this place is for you. As an added bonus, the food is very tasty!
Vern's is decorated with more taxidermied animals than you can possibly imagine. The waitresses are friendly and fast, and the food is the stuff farmers and cowboys like: burritos, chicken fried steak, hot sandwiches, homemade pie and lots more. Sit at the front of the restaurant for a scenic view of the Rocky mountains and a local hay field.
It's almost always somewhat busy here, but the hustling waitstaff keeps things moving along. Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Edited to add: I strongly disagree with Jim S.'s assessment of their chicken fried steak. I'm always on the lookout for good CFS, and Vern's is fabulous. Tender and juicy on the inside with a thin super crisp batter, topped with homemade redeye gravy. Yum.
Bought two friends who have been to Ft Collins SEVERAL time and have never been to Vern's. Â They were impressed by the funky animals hung about the walls and the great service!
Food: Â Last time I have Rock Mountain Oysters with my kids...they loved them. Â For breakfast today we had Huevos Rancheros, cinnamon role and my friend just had the one egg combo. Â We were stuffed all day even after a hike! Â What a treasure this place is!
You want the best breakfast in the area? Â This, as far as I've experienced in three years living in Fort Collins, is the example to which all other breakfast places around get compared. Â Delicious, busy, with a pleasant view of the nearby foothills, Vern's is excellent. Â Johnson's Corner may be famous for its cinnamon rolls, but once you have one here, you'll never even consider JC again. Â At least, I haven't. Â If you're ever in Laporte one morning, I can't recommend this place enough.
Review Source:Breakfast at Vern's on a Sunday morning...prompt, friendly service and nice size portions. The bacon moved it from 3.5 stars to 4 as it was thicker than the paper thin bacon found at other diners close by. The decor is interesting with stuffed trophy heads and other animals after a visit to the taxidermist....including one very surprised looking mountain lion.
I recommend a visit...worth the trip.
I generally like Vern's. Cinnamon roll - check. It is pretty good, and big.
Try the krautburger for lunch... awesome, giant, and delicious.
I had huevos rancheros this weekend and the problem was it wasn't hot. I mean temperature-wise. Tepid food is ick. Also, the over medium eggs were not over medium, way more on the easy side. If they hadn't been under the green chili I certainly would have sent them back.
The service is very basic. We were offered plenty of coffee refills, which was nice, but you don't get a really personal touch from the waitstaff. I am fine with that, some people may not like it.
I have never been treated rudely over the many (18+) years I have been going there, but perception of service does vary for the individual.
I have never been there for dinner, only breakfast or lunch, and it is always busy and not just because of it's location. I purposefully drive from my home in Fort Collins, as do many many people I know.
No it isn't fancy, it isn't high-class, but I would rather take my chances here than at Perkins or IHOP or Denny's. At least it has character.
My friend invited me out to Vern's for dinner the other evening. My initial though was that it would be a decent diner type place. The afterthought is much different.
To begin, the lunch/dinner menu has the usual items from sandwiches, steaks, burgers, pies, etc. I went with the no-fail option of chicken fried steak. When it came out, I was amazed at the ginormous portion sizes. The CFS was served with mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, and a dinner roll, all topped with creamy country sausage gravy.
It's not that the food was terrible- well, actually it was, I just have mixed feelings about it. For the demographics of Laporte I would say it was decent. Put this restaurant in a larger city and it would have an empty dining room during dinner rush. Vern's is a keep-warm-n--serve type of place. Meaning, everything seems frozen or warmer held until needed. I was imagining that this place could be on Restaurant Impossible. Chef Robert Irvine would be going nuts at Vern's.
Two stars for that reason. Not fresh food. The CFS tasted like a huge frozen/processed chicken nugget, it was not a fresh cube steak by anyones standards. Unnecessary portion sizes seem to drive up the prices and is a huge red-flag in my mind. Odd menu with little done right and too much done wrong. Â I will never go back, and neither should you!
Great local place for old fashioned chicken fried steak. Â When you order you get chicken fried steak, hash browns, 3 eggs (the way you like), pancakes or toast.. trust me when you get done you are FULL. Â Great pecan rolls.. I know everyone raves about the cinnamon rolls, but the pecan rolls are AWESOME!
Review Source:I love me some Vern's cinamon rolls! Â If you come to Vern's and don't try one, you haven't really eaten here. Â Forget Johnson's Corner and Silver Grill, this place has the best. Â They're hot, they're gooey, and oh so delicious!
Oh yeah, they do serve other food, and the quality of that food is fine. Â Not great, not bad, just fine. Â But who cares...the rest of the menu is really just fluff to prepare your stomach for the awesome sweet gooeyness of their cinnamon rolls! Â (Actually, their breakfasts are pretty good too.)
Service was good. Â Clientele was friendly. Â (Can you really review a restaurant for its clientele? Â I dunno, but we struck up a conversation with a friendly lady who lives up Rist Canyon and it only added to my enjoyment of the place.)
Also, Vern's no longer serves breakfast all day, only until 2:00 pm. Â Treat yourself to Vern's either before or after a day of playing in the Poudre Canyon. Â You won't be sorry.
3.5 stars. An old-time convenience store and diner-like place with stuffed animals (taxidermy lovers should come here!) hanging from the walls and ceiling: bears, raccoons, cats. You name it, they've stuffed it and tacked it to the walls!
We got the cinnamon rolls. They were yummy and gooey and so very sweet and rich! I could barely eat a whole one. Man oh man.
Vern's is AMAZING. Â The service is always friendly and it's just a fun place to eat. Â I used to love drivng up to Vern's for a DELICIOUS cinnamon roll when I was a student at CSU. Â It is well worth the visit just for the the cinnamon rolls.
If you're a student at CSU and you haven't been to Vern's at least once you need to go for a drive and have a nice cinnamon roll -- you won't be disappointed!
3.5 stars
Vern's Place is located on the site of a stage coach stop in Laporte, Colorado. Â It is a restaurant, gift shop, gas station and fishing/hunting license buying kind o'place. Â It is next door to Vern's Liquors and Vern's Trailer Park. Â I'm pretty sure there is no more "Vern", but his/her name lives on.
The building is wood outside with inside wood paneling in that comforting roadside diner way. Â Outside there are bears carved into the front pillars and inside there are stuffed birds, fish and other critters lining a shelf near the ceiling and a mounted fish with a tail that waves around when you clap that superseded the drug store version that always shows up around Christmas by many years.
They are known for their plate-sized cinnamon rolls and breakfast is served all day -- all manner of eggs, porky goodness, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, etc. Â Hikers, bikers (both kinds), campers, skiers and wanderers all find their way into Vern's and it can get quite crowded.
Even completely full, the service was friendly and pretty fast. Â I'm not sure you have many other choices for breakfast in Laporte, but as long as Vern's is there, you will be well fed.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,608 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,309 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,906 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,985 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
