A festivarian asked me about restaurants in Telluride and I couldn’t comment. Then noticing the idea from leave no trace to shop local, it occurred to me that we could use a thread on restaurants. Maybe the ABGATer’s next year can do a restaurant crawl and give some new feedback. For now, start your reply to this post with the name of the restaurant you tried. if you have kids, did they like it? What was delectable delicious and was it pricey? How was the service? If you have a comment on a restaurant already named - reply to that post so the comments can group together.
Coming from the land of incredible restaurants, I think it would be a great idea for those who can to support the local economy by going out at least one of the nights you/we are there. I never do, but I’m putting it on the list of things to do next year. Maybe it will start to soften the locals attitude toward the invasion of the festivarians. I imagine no matter how hard we try, that last day leaves Town Park a wreck and certainly not as beautiful as we found it.
The Steaming Bean - we hit this spot on the way out of town. They are overwhelmed by the crowds and messed up a simple bagel order. Instead of creating the bagel right then, they put the botched order at the end of the line of orders. Sorry - that’s just not cool at all. I think it might be a nice place when there are only a few customers in it. On the other hand, the guy helping out offered to clean my disgusting coffee mug and that was over the top kind.
O’Bannons: Street level pub next door to Baked in Telluride. Want to enjoy a cheap beer with the Salt of the Earth? Go here! WARNING: Watch your women in here, men.
Last Dollar Saloon (aka :quote “The Fish Bowl”): Relax in the corner window and watch the world go by. A horse may even pass through the place. Seriously.
Brown Dog: Bar food, sports on the tube, reasonably priced. The service could be a bit faster, but they probably aren’t used to the festi-crowds.
Coffee Cowboy: Drip coffee, please. No room for cream. :coffee
Shanghai Palace: Chinese food. Huge servings. Yum. :drool
Floradora: A bit touristy for me, but a good place to take the fam for dinner. :flower
Hooch took me to the Cornerhouse Grille for lunch on Saturday and it was yummy! Beautiful people watching and the best tater tots I’ve ever eaten!
I’ve taken my family to Smugglers for safe adequate pub food.
The Last Dollar is a great place to grab a quick beer and watch the world go by. Just keep Duck Tape Man away, the bartenders tend to way over serve him and he can get a bit fiesty.
The Mexican fare at La Cocina si really good, although the service can be spotty when it gets crowded.
And of course: Baked in Telliride is back! I enjoyed stopping by for a bagel with lox and creme cheese on my way to Elks park a couple of times this year.
Alex loves the Sweet Life… It’s basically a ice cream and hamburger place. The hamburgers are good and ice cream delicious… I must admit I was a bit crabby when we ate there on way out of town though because I was cold ( and had been for about 7 hours) and they had no coffee and/or soup…
La Tapatia (the Taco stand) at the corner of Colorado Ave & Spruce is awesome. We had great tamales and tacos there all weekend, all at decent prices. Plus, it’s open super late (2-3 a.m.) during festival.
I’ll second La Cocina as well, though as the previous poster noted they are not built for crowds and we waited in line for 30 minutes just to place our order with a man who proved to be very cranky. It’s a bit expensive and I wouldn’t recommend the rice (every time I’ve gone, it’s been undercooked/crunchy), but it’s great food overall.
Inside the festival I have to prop Killer Flank Steaks. Great every year!
Baked In Telluride’s new setup proved confusing this year, but I expect they’ll get things under control – they’re newly re-opened, after all; the food’s still good!
Siam - Awesome Thai Corner Grill - Get the Tater Tots The taco Cart - The Cubano is out of this world La Cocina - Best mex in town honga’s - Expensive, but the sushi is awesome
The Steaming Bean - Good Coffee, seems almost omnipresent in Telluride. Very good service.
The Llama - The one time we went, it was very hot and service was so-so. I had a beer in a very dirty glass, and a great burger. Probably wouldn’t return.
The Donut Cart - Batshit crazy good donuts, and cheap.
Smugglers - Good food, average beer, fun crowd. Worth a stop.
Baked in Telluride - Overpriced, overhyped. Coffee + breakfast burrito = $10 and tasted okay.
Cosmopolitan in the Hotel Columbia, adjacent to Gondola-great service, killer drinks, fantastic company, each yr. i’ve spent time here and leave satisfied always. Locals who are in the know, funny anecdotes, John the bartender this yr had great stories to tell. Usually hang with musicians here as well, not in 2011 however
Brown Bag-killer samiches, at a reasonable price, try the Smooze and forget about it!
Steaming Bean-my favorite coffee haunt, like their breakfast selection as well
BIT-nuff said
Taco Stand adjacent to Fly Me to The Moon-great greasy food, cheap prices. Their shrimp tacos and cubano sandwich rock, try the sandwich with a soda and chips, look out look out
La Cocina-holy snikes, everything is delicious
BPOE Elks Lodge-great company, have a member sign you in, and get ready for a stiff cocktail, feel like a local!
The thing to do at Brown Dog is to order their Detroit Square pizza, it’s fantastic. The regular pizza is often just…regular.
Cosmopoiltan had a nice early Happy Hour this year w/ half price sushi and fried calamari/shrimp. Off the regular menu the crab stuffed broiled chicken is awesome.
One of my favorites is Telluride Bistro, they have rustic Italian food and a beautiful patio. Of course La Marmotte, a french restaurant, is especially good for celebrating your birthday.
My kids also love the Sweet Life, the ice cream is great but if you actually eat there, it is really pricey for burgers and grilled cheese.
Taco Trailer was excellent as always. Two fish tacos, please.
La Cochina served us a really good lunch.
Smuggler’s for appetisers and then dinner on Friday before was super.
Maggies for a large breakfast after the load out, mmmmmm. Steak n eggs.
Prices are more than reasonable for where you are and what you get.
La Cocina was very good. You order at the counter and then they bring the food to your table, but quality was way above fast food. We had excellent service there.
Brown Dog was good. Very crowded and the service was slow, but the Fish & Chips were very good. I wasn’t that crazy about the pizza.
Smugglers food was OK. Service was good.
The Sweet Life was AWFUL!! I got a patty melt to go. When I got back to the condo, I found that the outside of the patty melt hadn’t been grilled and the hamburger patty was RAW. Not rare, but RAW. I also got a scoop of ice cream and it wasn’t very good - kinda grainy and “old” tasting.
Breakfast: BIT Egg, cheese, and sausage bagels were good, but a little pricey. Butcher & Baker Breakfast sandwich - egg, cheese, and ham on a big English muffin. Very good. I didn’t like their breakfast burrito, too much salsa and corn not enough eggs and sausage. Maggie’s BEST BREAKFAST I had in Telluride.
I’m not sure if they were open yet for Bluegrass last year, but:
Zest - high quality sandwhiches, salads, soups, sweets, etc. at very reasonable prices (even for Telluride standards). They are located above Clark’s market next to the visitor center … they have also been/are professional caterers in the town for a number of years.
…Bistro 221 … at 221 South Oak st. (near gondola). Phenomenal food!! It is a bit pricey… but more than worth it. Awesome garden/patio dining, or you can dine inside. Its a must visit for us now; even if just for coffee and a slice of cheesecake (homemade, of course).
It’s a bit expensive and I wouldn’t recommend the rice (every time I’ve gone, it’s been undercooked/crunchy), but it’s great food overall.