We went to Vita last night for restaurant week. The night started on a slightly sour note (they were running behind so our 7:30 reservation ended up with an 8:00 seating) but the rest of the night was pretty great. Our server was very knowledgeable and had recommendations on hand, but didn't push menu items. Our table ordered several different options of the 5280 menu, the hits were the salmon tartar, the soup, the kale salad, the salmon and the mahi mahi. This place does it's fish well. My fiance and another friend ordered the steak and frites, I would say that was the only mediocre dish of the night, the ratio of steak to frites was disappointing. Over all a positive experience. I somehow always forget about Vita, but I will try to make it back sometime soon!
Review Source:Vita is a great place and its been a few years since I last went there. The food is great, but unfortunatly it took me flagging down someone to order a drink. They forgot to bring it twice and finally (45 min later) the drink was in my hand. If I rated on the food it would be a much higher rating but service means everything.
Review Source:I've been meaning to write a review for this place, but just now getting around to it.
I live in this neighborhood, so many amazing restaurants.......then there is Vita.
Worst service, waitress came and went she saw fit. Drinks were so overpriced and weak. And the food was terrible. I ordered some kind of fried chicken dish and all i tasted was a fist-full of salt. Patio on sunny summer days used to be enough to get me here for drinks at least, but now with the new structures going up in the neighborhood blocking the view of Denver, i give this place another 6-12 months. They need to turn it around, or they will die in this neighborhood. Too many other (better) options.
Overall, very average food. Our waitress was great, as was the bar tender while we waited for a table, but nothing to get excited about food-wise, especially considering how much you're paying. We had the croquettes as an appetizer (bland and cold), and the Mahi and Lamb Shank for our entrees. The Mahi was probably the dish that was done the best, but the lamb was undercooked and not at all lean (I cut around maybe a third of it!). You're essentially paying to be in the highlands and eat mediocre food. I have to mention, however, that the service was really outstanding and I was passive about the poor quality because I was on a date and didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. So in all fairness, they were not given a chance to redeem themselves in that sense. I wouldn't recommend this place, especially considering all the better options in the area.
Review Source:If I could give this place zero stars I would. I recently moved to the neighborhood and all the restaurants around here have been great to locals EXCEPT this one. The manager is a total jerk. The food was cold and slow to come out - even though the place was dead. I was shocked that a locally owned restaurant can treat local guests so badly. I will be telling every one I know to boycott this awful place. Too bad Vita. Coulda had some loyal customers.
Review Source:I took my dad out for for his birthday and I had not gone to Vita before. We went during happy hour and were offered our choice of sitting so we went up to the open air sitting on top of the building and got to sit whatever we wanted. The waiters were really attentive, explained to use the happy hour specials and even got me a dinner item even though it was not the in happy hour menu. When I asked if they had Stranahan's whiskey for my dad, the waiter was very gracious in explaining how best to drink it and suggested a mixed drink that my dad would enjoy for the price of the drink.
I ordered the Chef's antipasto platter which includes charcuterie meats and a selection of cheeses, with pickled onions and cauliflower and a chicken liver pate that I have to say, it must be an acquired taste as it has a very mineral-y taste (duh, it's liver), but regardless I finished my plate. My father ordered 2 appetizers off the happy hour menu (you get 2 for 1 during that time). The pork belly with veggie succotash was delish and the calamari were really good as well. We also ordered drinks and despite the bottled Budlight, I got a moscato that was also wonderful with my dinner.
Service was great, the ambiance was great as we got lucky that it was not too crowded and for a first time trip there, it was wonderful. Will definitively be going back to take the hubby and some more family members.
Not sure why this place only has three stars. It was a solid four for me, in terms of what you get for your money.
The service was five stars! We had a reservation and were placed at kind of a shitty table, and we asked to be moved to a window seat which was fine, though we weren't sure why we were not just sat there in the first place. Aside from that, we had  a really attentive and amiable waitress.
The bruschetta was really delicious, with capers mixed in to the tomato and onion mix. They offered extra grilled bread for the rest of the tomato mixture, without us having to ask. We shared two small portions of entrees; my boyfriend really likes to eat a lot (though I have no idea where he puts it), and I had a difficult time convincing him to sharesies with me. However, the portions were large of both the steak-frites and the pork tenderloin. I like a chef that knows the dangers of trichinosis in pork have been almost non-existant from the late fifties and that pork DOES NOT have to be well done to be safe to eat. We were allowed to order it cooked medium and it was delicious. The potatoes on both dishes were really fantastic, and my boyfriend left full.
The moscow mules are always good here, though I really hate paying $9 for a drink. I might not order those next time to keep down on the tab.
If you're hungry, don't go here to eat. Ordered the pork tenderloin, the small plate. When they brought it out I almost asked if this was the kids menu. Way over priced for the amount of food they give you. They are building apartments right next door so the view of the city no longer exists. Pick somewhere else...
Review Source:We met up with a couple that moved to Denver from Austin and they suggested we meet at Vita. We had reservations and thought we would be seated rooftop but were seated downstairs. The plus was the live music indoors made for a great atmosphere.
They have an extensive wine list and I easily found a couple I liked to accompany both the appetizer and dinner. We shared the pork belly appetizer which was tender and not too rich or greasy. For dinner I had the small plate size of blackened sea bass. The sea bass was served with sweet potato and crawfish hash, grilled onion and dill cream sauce. The flavors completely complimented each other and the slightly sweet sea bass melted in your mouth. The sea bass dish was easily one of  the best dishes I had while in Denver. The small plate was not your tapa style small plate easily satisfied my appetite. I also tried a bite of the pork tenderloin served with confit potatoes, spinach, roasted red peppers, shallots with a port wine glaze. This was also an exceptional dish.
Everything was perfect from the service, food and atmosphere.
I have always been satisfied with service and the food at Vita. The salads for dinner, and the beef/seafood for dinner have always left my taste buds content and satisfied. I was disappointed to see that the view is now blocked by the ugly building across the street. At no fault of Vita's of course. I will keep coming back in spite of the new surroundings, and will continue to support this locally owned business. I can't help but be saddened by the new building development.
Review Source:TL; DR: Food fine, service abysmal, paying took almost as long as the meal itself.
I went to Vita with a large group. We were all on a fixed course meal and on one tab, except for drinks. You would think this would make it super easy for the waitstaff, but it took us nearly 45 minutes at the end of the meal to pay our drink bills. There was no explanation of why I had to repeat my entire drink order to both waiters and then again to the cashier (Vita is very lucky I am an honest person).
In addition, our carafe of sangria was tiny and full of ice, resulting in us paying twice as much as we would have had we just ordered two glasses. On top of all that, the sangria on the menu was not what was brought to the table; instead, we were given sangria (NOT on the menu) that cost 3 dollars more per glass, without any notification of said price increase until we finally paid.
The food was fine, the drinks were boozy, but I have never had such an infuriating time paying my bill.
We stopped in here for drinks (we just missed happy hour) prior to going to Linger. Â The service was really good. Â The manager, who stopped by the table was very personable. Â The drinks were excellent. Â I continued my obsession with Moscow Mules, and was not disappointed by my libation. Â These potent concoctions seem to have caused me to have some short term memory loss as to whether I actually ate anything while at Vita. Â But, since there are no pictures on my phone . . . Â I will assume I did not.
Review Source:Honestly I'd say 3.5, but with no half stars, I'll go with 3.
Been to Vita twice, once on half price wine night. Â And once for happy hour. Â Love the location and we've had good service both times. Â The happy hour sliders and chips were awesome. Â The cherry BBQ sauce on the sliders was super tasty. Â As was the full priced Chef's Selection Antipasto - $25 was a bit much for what we got, but I think that's usually the case with charcuterie.
I do wonder what the view will be like when the condos across the street are completed, but I'm hopeful it won't totally ruin it.
My review from 6/10/2012 has disappeared from Yelp. Â Hmmm...censorship perhaps? Â
To summarize, and disappointed that I cannot give a negative star rating:
Went there to celebrate wedding anniversary
No acknowledgment from anyone at the restaurant
Wait 30 minutes plus for food
Food was not prepared as requested
Wait 30 minutes for waiter to appear
Ask for wine list for my wife
Wine list appears but waiter never comes back to take order
Too late to send food back, looking for exit
Not a place to go for a romantic dinner with your loved one
Food is less than average, service leaves much to be desired, and this restaurant is obviously very poorly run
Worst experience at a restaurant ever!
Rooftop happy hour with some friends. Â They have happy hour on the weekends from 3-7 (I think). Â The waiter forgot my gf's drink and I overheard another table ask him if he was having a rough day. ha. Â
We had some sliders, fries, calamari, antipasto plate, and everything was ok.
$5 Appetizers
$3 Sliders
2-For-1 Wines by the Glass
$5 well drinks
Yes. This place is still getting 5 stars from me. But I wanted to update my review to commend the staff on some of the best customer service I've ever experienced at a restaurant.
So, there I was, albeit 5 minutes late for the 8:30 reservation I had made for my party of 14, but I was standing in the waiting area of Vita waiting for the rest of my party to arrive. Luckily, the hostess had informed me that they were just waiting for a party of 6 to leave before our table was ready, so I wasn't too upset that no one (except my BFF, who knows better than to be late for things that I plan) was there yet.
Cut to half an hour later. It's 9 PM. All 14 people are there. Our table is still not ready because this 6 top (even though they paid the bill 30 minutes ago) will not leave. This is NOT Vita's fault. Apparently, this party arrived 45 minutes late for their reservation and then they just stopped paying attention to the world around them.
So, I kindly walked over and informed the table that we were, in fact, waiting for them to leave. We had 8:30 reservations and we'd been waiting on them for 45 minutes now. Would they mind going to the bar or somewhere else so that we could eat?
Now, this is where the staff stepped in and really won me over. The hostess kindly, but firmly backed my request when this party complained and when they finally did leave (only to complain about me for another 10 minutes to the manager), the staff swooped into action and the tables were cleared and ready to go in 30 seconds. We sat down and they gave us a complimentary round of champagne as well as 3 complimentary apps almost immediately. The hostess said she was sure we were all starving by this point and she didn't want us to have to wait.
The rest of the evening was spectacular and our servers were great. Also, my tuna tartar was delish! I really don't like cucumbers, but I devoured them on this dish. Also, they split the tabs on dinner without us even having to ask! It made paying a total breeze.
Also, I'd like to include a personal message to all you entitled rich, white 50 somethings:
Just because you have everything doesn't mean that you get to treat everyone else in a restaurant, including the hosts, servers and patrons like crap. Be respectful and you'll get respect back. Age does NOT automatically earn my respect.
2 stars for the food. Â Sorry. Â The menu looks like it has a lot of potential, but the food is, well, bland and generic. Â We got excited for the pork tenderloin and the sea bass. Â The pork tenderloin was overcooked and under-seasoned. Â The blue cheese polenta it was served with was mushy and cold when it came. Â And not actually blue cheese polenta - there's just a drizzle of blue cheese dressing on top of the polenta. Â The sea bass was soaked in some oily sauce that ruined it, and the crawfish/sweet potato hash was also oily. Gross.
But the 7 hour pulled pork appetizer was decent, so maybe small plates and apps at HH are ok?
The atmosphere *outside* is awesome though. Â Would not want to sit inside, but if you get a table on the rooftop or front patio - awesome people watching, b.e.a.uuuutiful view of the city, and fun atmosphere.
Bottom line: Go for drinks outside, not for food.
I am not a hater, I swear! Check my reviews, I use yelp to let people know about good places they should go, not to bash places.... But this place....
We went on a Friday night, the place was packed, the patio is fantastic and I didn't mind hanging for an hour at the bar until our table was ready. Our server was nice, took our order, made recommendations, remembered waters,etc. But it went downhill fast. After placing our order, our server returned to our table and apologetically announced they were backed up in the kitchen and the food would probably take about 2-2.5 hours. Apparantly the owner had pushed the opening of the patio for the season at the same time he had hired new kitchen staff. Way to go, bro.
So we politely informed her we would not stay and to cancel our order. She continued to be professional and went back to the kitchen. By this time, it's about 9:30 and we are BEYOND starving, so when she brought us out the calamari we had canceled (in a to go box?) we literally fought each other for it. Worst calamari ever, by the way, and that's coming from a group of people who would have eaten the leftover food off the table next to us at that point.
By now we are CHUGGING our wine, trying our best to get out of there to find a Subway, and the BF goes to look for the manager to talk to him. I went downstairs to watch some March Madness while I waited and I hear an argument behind me, escalating to the point of absurdity. Oh yeah-it's the BF and the manager, keeping it classy. Turns out the manager got pretty heated about hearing a patron explain to him why a table of 5 was departing due to the restaurant's poor planning. Manager, being the professional he was, decided to throw a tantrum instead of a) offering us any incentive to come back (like a free glass of wine?) or b) calmly apologizing for the situation at hand. What a guy.
So I get that maybe it was just a really bad night, but that Calamari (and the you-know-what manager) is seared into my brain. Gross. There are tons of places around there to eat, this place does not deserve your business.
Horrible! Â My friend and I went there over the past weekend as the patio is very enticing, ordered 2 Proseccos, drank them and our waiter seemed to have vanished? Â We had to hunt another server down so we could figure out who to pay or whatever... the little buggers charged us $10 for each glass.... um that really makes no sense to me as you can get an entire bottle for less than $15 retail.
I think what may be going on here is a SERIOUS management issue, the dude needs to move on to Olive Garden or something. Â Whoever owns this place needs to re-think staffing cause it was great back in the day... actually really great.
Sad to see another Denver gem bite the dust. Â I really hope they get it together. Â It just keeps getting worse and worse.
Sorry Vita.
2012 Review #86:
We came here for happy hour a week ago, and those people who have mentioned how hyped this place is are right, in my opinion. I hadn't heard that much about Vita but I knew about it and when we thought we needed a new happy hour, we checked it out.
The happy hour is OK in my opinion, but not much better than that. The cheapest beer on happy hour is $3, which for beer, is not that cheap for an arguable micro-brew. That's also their only beer offering. Wines are 2-for-1, which is nice but you cannot split the 2 glasses across 2 people, which to me, defeats the purpose of 2-for-1. Anyway, the food options are about $3 for sliders, $5-7 for "plates" like pulled pork, bruchetta, etc. The pork on the plate is exactly the same as the pork on the slider, so that seems redundant to me. I ordered the portabello slider, my husband got the pork plate, and we got a side of fries.
Our server was sort of a Bro, who came to our table a little late, was a little out of it, and was a little slow. He also favored other tables over ours. He brought out bread, which was beyond unremarkable. No way they make it there. Dry, chewy, bland, blech. It came with butter, which clearly does not sit at room temperature and had just come from the fridge because it was rock hard. It also wasn't salted. When our food arrived, my slider was definitely solid, but the bun is obviously not housemade. I liked the portabello flavor, and the pesto, but the bun wasn't worth eating. My husband's pork was good but didn't blow me away. We also had fries, which were good but they were covered in a strong herb mixture. Also, serving fries with aioli is basically serving them with mayonnaise, and that's a bit too rich for me.
Our server kind of disappeared after this, didn't really ask how food was or if we needed anything, etc. My other issue with this place is that it's just not well-constructed. Seriously, look around next time. The trim around our table had exposed wood and screws that hadn't even been painted over. The area with an expandable screen, to help split the room in half, had been finished with a nail gun and they didn't bother to cover up those nails either. The flooring was so worn that the floor was 2 distinct different finishes. The tables and walls were scuffed, paint was chipping, etc. That lent an extremely cheap feel to this place. Certainly not somewhere I would return for $20-30 entrees.
I can't believe how long it took me to get to Vita for dinner. And I can guarantee it won't take as long to get back. I went here just after 5280 had ended only to find out they were still doing the 5280 menu. Normally I'm not a huge fan of this menu because it excludes so many things from the regular menu, but much to my delight almost everything from Vita's regular menu was also on the special menu so we ordered from that.
But, before we started our three-course feast we had to order a baked brie that came with walnuts and apples and was quite delightful.
For my three courses I started with the tuna tartare. This had a great flavor and texture and was two rather large chip-like wontons topped with the tuna mixture. I then moved on to a spinach salad - fairly basic, but with lovely seasonal ingredients and a nice dressing. And for dinner I had a perfectly cooked steak with frites. My favorite part of this was that I was allowed to pick two sauces to go with my steak and frites and I chose a horseradish cream sauce and a jalapeno sauce. I wasn't really a fan of the jalapeno (it was red which surprise me and I didn't really enjoy the flavor), but I ate the heck out of the horseradish one.
Our server was great and the view of downtown is awesome. But, even if you don't get a seat with a view, the inside atmosphere is sexy so you can enjoy that with your dining partners.
Disclaimer: Â GNO during DRW
Great view. Â Awesome service, esp. from our server who was only on his 2nd night. Â Portions were perfect. Â Everyone loved their selections from the DRW menu. Â I had the spinach salad, ahi tuna crispy things and pork. Â All were amazing and I would definitely order them again.
Disappointed that they are building a 5-story complex which hinders viewing of the city lights. Â Must come back in the spring/summer to sit on the upstairs patio.
Did you see the episode of HIMYM* about "occupational hotness," the theory that certain professions create a veil of perceived sexual juju. For example a perfectly handsome nurse is seen as an overly-sexed up caretaker, and firemen imagined with flat abs and girth.
*How I Met Your Mother, the best show on network telly.
Vita suffers from a form of occupational hotness. "Location litmus." Cuddled into the über hip section of Lower Highland, next door to Lola and down the street from Linger, with rooftop patio seating and sweeping city views of Denver across the Millennium Bridge, Vita is one of the more popular girls in school. Perfectly coiffed, coming from the right family, holding hands with the quarterback.
But I expect more from a prom queen. Â
Went for Denver Restaurant Week. Arrived on time (even a bit early) but the otherwise bored yet (oddly enough) constantly coffee drinking hostess told us our table wasn't quite ready. No worries, a girl can always use a quick trip to the loo. You can tell a lot about a place by its bathroom. Its outdated bathroom with toilets that had to be flushed twice to sink a small amount of paper. Â
Led through the modern but cozy interior and upstairs then seated on the perimeter of a large party. I think I counted 12 of them, loudly celebrating a birthday. It's not clear why they weren't happily huddled next to the bar downstairs, near the barking televisions and the loud talking. Instead a few random two-and-four tops out for a lovely quiet evening ended up pooled around the party goers, feeling as if we'd left our invitations at home. Feeling like we crashed Jake Ryan's bash. After spending a good 20 minutes with the battleship of a table, taking drink and food requests, a wide-eyed and wildly scribbling waitress came over, took our cocktail order then asked without making eye contact, "Do you know what you want to eat now too?"
Um. Okay. Ordered-actually strike that reverse it-reordered and repeated our order several times as she stayed distracted by the party table and arms reach away.
At least the martini was good, although the blue in the blue-cheese stuffed olives I requested lacked any tart zing or taste. More akin to Oreo Cookie filling. And it wasn't until it came time to pay I realized a $1.00 surcharge per drink for the stuffed variety. Vita charges $9 for a Grey Goose martini; expect and anticipate paying $10-$12 for a top shelf cocktail, especially at the swagger spots in LoHi. I wouldn't have batted at three martinis, $10 each on my bill. But a dollar more for a bit of bad blue? It's not good marketing. In fact it's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad marketing.
First course appetizers were the best of the three. Tuna Tartare piled over two large round wonton crisps had a slightly sesame oil aftertaste and perfect crunch. The Seven Hour Pork, braised in cherry and habanero sauce, served with pickled red onions, green onions and house fried chips a little sweet for my taste, but interesting in method and plating.
The salad course was fine but unmemorable, the sweet pepper and applewood smoked bacon in both the Spinach and Romaine worthwhile. How sad is that sentence?
Oh, and sullen pepper guy, a grunt of acknowledgment goes a long way when the cheeky redhead tries hard to engage you, make the evening and our short experience together a little more lively than simply grinding and clearing a fork.
Main course Steak Frites, mostly a chewy mess. Once grizzle cut through a soft bite of medium rare and velvety meat could be found here and there. Of the accompanying sauces the Horseradish Cream was a winner, but the interesting sounding Black Cherry Demi-Glace tasted more like flat cherry cola reduction. The Blackened Sea Bass with spicy charred crust and super white flaky fish hit the mark; the odd textural pairing of Sweet Potato and Crawfish Hash worked, with soft bites of potato and chewy (in the right way) texture of the shellfish.
I've heard the $9 Honeysuckle Mint (16 oz. glass, Skyy Vodka, St. Germain, lavender, mint and honey) is worth a sip and a sit on the roof. Â But I'm more likely to take my Benjamin's up the street to LoHi SteakBar (killer Steak Frites and service) or over the bridge to My Bros. Bar for a Johnny Burger and end-of-shift shot of Ouzo with Paul or the soul-affirming green tea broth rice soup at Sushi Sasa. Or into the Baker neighborhood when (fingers crossed and god willing because there's no better scotch egg in town) Argyll reopens later this spring.
The prom queen has big competition.
I discovered the big draw at Vita is the killer rooftop patio and views, but unfortunately it was a little chilly when my sister and I arrived Sunday afternoon for lunch, so we opted to sit inside. Maybe that's why I didn't get what all the fuss was about.
We're promptly seated, our server takes our drink order (heads up, Vita makes a GREAT Moscow Mule) and we start perusing the menu. We were starved, and everything sounded great. My sister got the Cherry/Habanero pulled pork sandwich and I went with the turkey club.
Meh. The club was all right. You couldn't taste the apples at all and walnut pesto was lacking...something. The fries were way yummy - they have a sweet/spicy bbq thing going on so I can definitely get on board with that. The pulled pork was actually pretty tasty but by then it had lost some of its heat (temperature wise), so I would recommend eating that as soon as it arrives.
My biggest disappointment was the response when we asked our server what he'd recommend or what his favorite was. The response: "Honestly, I haven't worked a day shift in  like a year and half so I don't really know. Uh, the Cubano?" Really? Way to get me excited about the menu, dude.
I guess overall it was just an "all right" experience at Vita. I'd definitely check it out again when the weather's more conducive to sitting on the patio.
Love the rooftop with the downtown view!
This place is perfect for a casual date or a night out with friends. Â
We ordered all the apps, the hangar steak, and a salad.  By far my favorites  were the sliders (kobe and pork) with the homemade chips, the bruschetta and the 7 hour pork.  bomb!
Sadly, the crabcake was a bit repugnant. Â I broke my rule of no seafood in a landlocked state and was disappointed! Oh well. Â
Now, for the best part... we did have an issue with the martinis. Â You would think that after two you would feel a slight buzz? Â Negative. Â We got the manager involved and he made us proper top shelf martinis. Â
Overall, it was a pleasant experience.
OOoooook, so the food the first time around should have prepared me for my second Vita visit. Not so. I'm sorry to say that I tried three different happy hour small plates, and all of them were awful. The bruschetta, the flatbread, and the mushroom sliders all had a distinctly wretched flavor. Like, maybe something happened. Like, maybe Lysol spilled into the dish?
This restaurant seems to rely completely on its location and patio to attract guests, and then falls flat on its face when it comes to the execution of its food.
The one high point: its virgin mojitos are quite nice.
Yum for the Kobe beef sliders and chips. Â Great white wine at half price and ok cheese and salami choices. Â The manager was very nice to us because we we got there about five minutes before HH ended. Â He let us have our food and first glass of wine at HH prices. Â The bartender and waitress was also very nice and friendly.
We sat out on the front patio was full. Â We tried to get into Linger but there was a long waiting list. Â The manager at Vita was unaware of this but I told him and he was happy we were at hisn place. Â Yes I would definitely go back. Â
I was there one winter night and between the summer and winter it is like 2 different restaurants. Â I like the summer I think better but the winter atmosphere was not bad from what I remember. Â .
Combine trendy decor, great Kobe Beef Sliders with caramelized onions, 1/2 price wine and a packed patio full of ridiculously sexy people overlooking downtown Denver--and you get my Vita experience last Tuesday for Happy Hour.
I have been by this place and have been wanting to try it out for quite a few months-- and was not disappointed.
I am thinking I need to sort up another Happy Hour on the now-famous Vita patio with some good friends sometime very soon!
I want to like Vita. I do. But I just don't.  I would like a hostess to tell me if the roof top seating is available before I trot up a flight of stairs; I would like the hostess to be available to show me on my first visit where those stairs are.  I know that people love Vita's rooftop seating; I do too, I just wish a hostess would be around below to tell me what to do.  More than once I have been to this resturant  where no hostess was to be found when I walked in.  It's awkward to have to ask the bartender where to sit. Just weird. It's even weirder to have to walk up stairs and select a table yourself when the downstairs is devoid of staff.
This last time the service was so slow it was unbelievable. Â My food was hot, but between actually delivering water, drinks, meal and dessert menu, I think it was somewhere in 15-20 minute intervals. Â I gave up on ordering desert because I figured I would have to wait another 30 minutes. Â I had the portobello sliders. Â Good, but for 10 bucks, I only recieved 2 and they were the size of a tangerine. Â This is a good place to go for portion control. No gigantic portions here. Â Had the famous pomegrante mimosas. Â Those took about 20 minutes to get- and they were bland. Â The champagne was all I could taste. Â Did they just pour in champagne and color it with red food coloring?
It wasn't too crowded for a Sunday, which was nice- a few open tables and the day was beautiful. I had a couple of hours to kill but if you were in a hurry, I would avoid. Â As a horrible side note, my friend's fritatta made her quite ill. Â Not a fun way for either of us to spend the rest of the afternoon. Â
Vita, I'm gonna spend my brunch life somewhere else.
yeah
not so much
Everytime I have gone here the hostess and waitstaff act like they are doing me a favor by waiting on me - if I treated people like this at my job - I'd be working at a restaurant too.
Last time I went in for HH, my friend and I waited 20 minutes and mid conversation, after realizing we still had no drinks, nor had we even been approached - decided to spend our money someplace else - we walked out before even getting our 1st drink.
a half hour we'll never get back.
The 2nd star is for the bartenders who look like they are busting ass in poserville.
Vita concerned me about Morte Nera after I ate a Kobe slider and part of a shared 7-Hour pork appetizer. I was driving back to Boulder and ...... uh....my stomach was protesting......and didn't stop for a while.
UGH. This really sucked, especially because we ended up here only because Lola was closed for a private party, and my host wanted me to enjoy myself, which I did but for the food.
If I wasn't so silly and lusty for Vita's Honeysuckle Mint cocktail, this place would easily be a one or two star experience.
First off, the drink: $9 and worth every penny. Â It's a 16 oz glass with Skyy Vodka, St. Germain, lavender, mint, and honey. Â 100% pure drinking bliss.
The happy hour: Â Fine if you're in a wine mood, but I wasn't. Â I actually didn't order anything that was happy hour price. Â The food is either sliders (boyfriend had chicken and didn't like them) or pork based. Â Nothing for the fish-eating or veggie-eating crowd. Â They could have easily added the bruschetta as a happy hour small plate but instead charged $9.50 for two pieces of alright bruschetta (for a comparable bruschetta at a happy hour price, try Pizza Republica in Greenwood Village). Â After it, I felt a bit price-gouged.
The Service: We had a large group and a friend made reservations. Â As soon as we sat, we were told we'd need to reliquish the table at a certain time for a wedding party. Â The service was soooooo slooooow. Â To be fair, they were really busy, but given our time restraint and the twenty minutes between drink ordering and the drink arriving, we could have maximized our happy hour capability elsewhere. Â And have gotten better food too.
The rooftop is cool and there's a lot of outside space. Â Is paying for the food worth it? Â Heck no. Â Is going back for another $9 Honeysuckle Mint? Â Hell YES.
Really an excellent neighborhood spot with a great view of the city.
But . . . and you gotta pay attention to this but . . . the thing you should remember (aside from that it's just down from Lola's and Little Man Ice Cream) . . . is that they've got AN INCREDIBLE DEAL going on each month: $35 for a 3 course tasting menu INCLUDING a more than decent wine with each plate.
Such a deal. And the food, delicious. I started with the Sicilian Lamb Crudo and my sweetcheeks had the Braised Squid Salad. She then had Pan Roasted Seabass and I had Orecchiette with Braised Pork. Each of us finished up with a Chocolate Pistachio Cannoli (deconstructed). And every course was excellent.
So try this place out. You're gonna like it a lot.
Jazzy. Acai berry-approved. Heated patio. Has that scenic view of the Denver skyline you might actually contemplate committing homicide over.
The live band was great, the drinks were deliciously succulent and the ambiance was right up my alley.
But the plates were blah. I mean, if you're going to slaughter a New Zealand lamb (Kiwi lamb?) and import the carcass to the United States - at least serve more of it than a measly rib and not put the poor guy over a bed of sloppy Joe beans.
Unless of course I'm supposed to see EVE pop out of the rib at some point during the meal or something. Maybe then I'd pay $12 for the show.
I also have a disheartening feeling that the yuppies from Lodo are starting to spill over to this new area of the Highlands. So enjoy it while you can.
I just called Vita and someone actually answered the phone! I tried two times earlier and got a blank voice mail.
Anyway, the nice hostess that answered the phone confirmed that Bloody Marys are indeed EIGHT DOLLARS each. So, no; the bartender did not overcharge us and pocket the money.
Eight dollars at the Brown Palace, yes.
Eight dollars at Vita, oh, hell, NO!!!
I met 3 friends for dinner last night to catch up and enjoy $52.80. If you like wine, they have a great 2-for-1 on all wines, but I'm a liquor girl and they don't have any drink specials for non-wine drinkers.
The host that greeted us was very nice and our server as well.
I really enjoyed the Hearts of Romaine salad I started with. It had pieces of bacon and avocado with grilled bread triangles. Next I had the Pork Tenderloin which was perfect in size & taste. And lastly, we ordered 2 of each dessert option, Chocolate Peanut Butter Terrine & Caramel and Banana Bread Pudding . I preferred the chocolate dessert.
I would give this place another try should I find myself west of I-25. It looks like they have a great summer patio & rooftop to try out.
We went to Vita for the live music but were entertained at the next set of chairs: two young women drinking something tall and fruity and yelling into each other's ears, "You're a sexy bitch!" Two men hovered. Mr. Vest caught one woman's eye, smiled, and bought her another drink.
The music was soft, jazz, a touch of India. Some sax, soft drum, gentle guitar, upright bass. I sipped wine, my man martini-ed. It was dark as post sundown; everyone looked pretty, when did white winter coats become trendy?
We were ready to share an entree and entered into the before-commitment-conversation with the bartender, where I try to name every ingredient that contains gluten and would make me, a Celiac, terribly sick. The bartender ran to the invisible chef, then jogged back: either the tuna tartar or the scallops would be gluten free.
The tuna was magnificent, with baby broccoli nested around. We watched as Mr. Vest wined his girl with another drink. She reciprocated: first a hand on his arm, then his knee, then around his neck.
My man was delighted to find bits of sausage in our meal, I was aghast: most sausage has gluten. Since I'd already eaten some, I quickly ate more of my promised gluten-free fantastic meal while he worried how fatal my suffering might be. As we watched Mr. Vest's girl in the white coat take a gunna-vommit stumble to the bathroom, soft music filled in the gaps.
I reminded my man that even one speck of gluten would make me whine with stomach pain or bloat...
"Bloat everywhere!" he begged, again.
Well, well, well...what a delightful little spot for my ritualistic happy hour! Seriously, what a great spot. I recently moved to Denver and this was my first happy hour (even though I didn't have a job at the time...do you HAVE to have a job to relish in the low priced drinks and apps that grace the happy hour menu of sooo many restaurants?? I mean, really.) Okay - so back to Vita...again...I sat at the bar (remember -- happy hour) and Mo greeted me with a sweet smile and asked me what I would like to drink. "May I see your wine list, please?" Mo replied with a "yes, but may I make any suggestions?" After telling him what I liked, he recommended the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. It was everything I wanted and more. Perfect suggestion.
So, the happy hour consists of 2 for 1 wines and 2 for 1 appetizers. Of course I had another glass of s.b. and I ordered the Mushroom Gnocchi!!! IT'S FABULOUS!!!!!! I have never dreamed about food before, well not really, but this dish...oh yeah, I did. The flavor is perfect...I mean, roasted mushrooms, mushroom jus and manchego cheese. How could you go wrong with that. My 2nd pick were the Crab Cakes. Not my fav...and I didn't dream about them later. Soooo...go gnocchi (they're Amy's favorite - another GREAT bartender there).
So, I decided to have dinner there...after 3 glasses of wine...I was in no mood to leave. :)
My next pick was a caesar. A little background here. I am a caesar salad connoissuer. This is a HUGE part of my meal. Again...LOVED IT! It's fresh, GREAT dressing and a lemon wedge. Woot!
I had a delicious pork tenderloin. It was tender and juicy. I just has a thought about tenderloin -- perhaps adding figs to this dish would be an interesting touch...I wonder if the chef (Max) would take suggestions???
My friend ordered the short ribs. They were also tender and full of flavor. We are so excited about our next venture to Vita. The staff is fun and the service fabulous. Oh and did I mention the jazz trio there?? Right behind me at the bar. Great to listen to -- but the company was great too. Kudos to Vita! <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fvitadenver.com&s=23fcfdf3eaf521944822701f83aa957d70c91b7f2e0a81e62780b5ff976f6e63" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://vitadenver.com</a>
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