El Rancho Colorado: A Taste of Comfort Food and Craft Brews

I am delighted El Rancho is open again. This has always been a favorite over the years for at least 3 generations. Loved the food and service. We arrived right when they opened and lots of people arrived shortly after. Fun to see it successful.

2024: Editing (since we can't leave new reviews once we've reviewed a place): Two years ago, when I first reviewed El Rancho, it was run by a completely different crew. Then it closed down for a while. A little over a year ago it opened with new ownership - a very reputable group, well known for operating other quality establishments. With five in our party each time, we ate here twice during our most recent visit, and both times we were all (including the pro chef with us) well impressed. I feel like deleting the old food pictures from two years ago, they're irrelevant now. The new food blows it away. Be sure to consider the dates on any reviews and photos you consult. It's a little pricey, but anything of quality is, these days. It's worth it. Plus no tipping, it's added into the total, which is perfectly fine with us. It's well deserved. Both times we were served by Liv, she's amazing in all the ways - I don't have to detail it, you know what I'm saying. 2022: We come home (after moving away) to visit, and we enjoy having a bite to eat at El Rancho. We loved this historical place 40+ years ago, and are thrilled to see it thriving again, after quite a few years of not doing well, and even closed at times. Tonight after arriving we enjoyed a little live music in the Aspen Room, and the food was good. Very busy, very pleasant atmosphere

I really enjoyed dining at El Rancho! Came with some friends and we ordered lots of food to share - Caesar salad, nachos, potato skins, tacos, & ceviche. Food was delicious. I had the strawberry rhubarb mule (which I loved), my friend had the Eat a Peach which she loved, and my other friend had a refreshing beer. We came on a Saturday night and there was live music playing which we loved. After the music ended, we sat outside by the fire pit and it was a great way to end our night. We loved Capt & Alice.

We were staying at the hotel up the road from restaurant and looked at the reviews which are not very good but decided to give it a try anyway. We were seated immediately and drink orders right away. We ordered the bison burger and the Rueben sandwich along with two beers. Everything came out as ordered and was very good. Some have mentioned that they charge a service fee but when you look at the receipt they do not. We finished off the evening with beers on the deck with a beautiful view. Would recommend to others.

We loved this place. Plenty of room with a cozy rustic atmosphere. We ended up sitting outside where we were able to get a tan while enjoying the beauty of Colorado. Good beer and tasty appetizers was the icing on the cake. Tip including with bill (18%) which spared me the challenge of performing simple math, although it did explain why the staff was somewhat zombified. All in all great experience and will return.

We came to El Rancho after spending the morning at Meow Wolf. We were starving as we didn’t have a large breakfast. The restaurant is huge with a nice view of the mountains. The staff is super friendly. We were seated right away as it was a little after 2 and it wasn’t too busy. They have cocktails on drafts and I ordered the Old Fashioned ($10) on draft. It was perfect in every way. I ordered the Eggs Benedict ($18), which can only be ordered on Saturday and Sunday. It was delicious and filling. The potatoes were nice and crispy. I would return as everything was great. Highly recommend stopping by for lunch and dinner.

What a great surprise! I took my mom here for a day inner out and everything we got was great. The service was what I would expect from a white tablecloth type restaurant. We had the Skillet trout and the bison short rib. The short rib was cooked to falling off the bone perfection over a bed of great root veggies including a delicious celery root. The trout was lightly breaded and cooked with skill and the pan sauce complemented it perfectly.

Probably busier on the weekend but for a Tuesday lunch, it had plenty of open seating. Enjoyed a flight of their beers (and brought some home too) along with their smoked trout dip...yummy - before ordering their bison burger and some fried chicken. Both were well prepared:) Sign on door indicated reduced hours because of staffing shortages but our server was both friendly and helpful.