Hillstone Restaurant Groups namesake brings consistent food, service and style in Cherry Creek
Open at 11am daily, Located at 303 Josephine Street in Denver
Food and Drink | 4.9 Dishes
@hillstonedenver delivers casual, upscale comfort food to a packed house night after night for this perennial powerhouse sister restaurant to the Cherry Creek grill. Hillstone features a compact menu with outstanding options including Sushi, Salads, Sandwiches and House specialties. This eclectic offering will have everyone at the table with hard choices on what to order.
Our Meal started with bread service, rosemary focaccia served with marinated olives and toasted almonds and butter. It was a great way to hold us over while we downed martinis and decided what else to order-
Our Second Course was their famous coconut shrimp roll, which features real toasted coconut and cool sushi shrimp- I love that this sushi roll roll is not just your ordinary coconut fried shrimp and still has the flavor you would hope for and more. It's delicate and wrapped in soy paper. Their sushi is outstanding - do not pass on it if you are in the mood.
Ahi Tuna, Rib-Eye steak and house smoked salmon
Next we shared the house smoked salmon, which comes as a nice sized filet and is exactly the same as Cherry Creek Grill's offering (there is some welcomed overlapping on each menu). It features grilled bread with house made chef's dressing- a favorite at the Hillstone group. It's perfectly prepared and will disappear quickly.
What I love about this restaurant group is that they are agile and accommodating, allowing you substitute with no hassle. So for my entree, I went with the Ahi Tuna with shiitake ponzu and subbed in my favorite Hillstone Group Kale Salad with sesame miso vinaigrette. The tuna was cooked to perfection and paired perfectly with the mushroom sauce. My friend opted for the Hawaiian- a grilled Rib-Eye steak with pineapple-soy-ginger marinade and a Kale salad as well. We were both really happy with everything we ate, including the finale of Key Lime Pie and Chocolate brownie, which were not even close to being finished...
Hillstone's drink list is classy. You'll find high end cocktails, your traditional nice wine and a small, but international beer list to satisfy your libation needs. They mainly offer Napa and Sonoma wines with a few selections from France- but you'll see names you recognize: Orin Swift, Darioush, Caymus, Silver Oak, Frank Family and Cakebread. But all I can say is that I come here for Martinis (see below).
Service | 5.0
Hillstone's casual service will keep you satisfied and coming back to the restaurant. I cannot stress that you need to have a Martini if you come to one of their restaurants located across the US. Their service is never awkward, always accommodating and I have yet to see them swing and miss. Everyone runs food (we had stops from the manager, the chef, our server, other servers) and the host stand even takes a drink order from you the moment you sit down! BRAVO!
The above and beyond service is highlighted with unsolicited chilled Martini glass replacement. Where else have you ever had a chilled glass brought to you without asking for it? Seriously, where else!
From ease of substitutions, to the friendly host stand, everyone you interact with in this restaurant is welcoming, kind and happy you're there.
Ambiance | 4.7 Dishes
Like all their restaurants, Hillstone has a modern supper club feel with dim mood lighting and spotlighting on your table- You can smell the open kitchen from the second you walk in and it keeps you salivating until you are finished. The restaurant has mostly booths around the edges and some bar seating as well as outdoor patio seating when the weather will allow. The atmosphere is energetic with music that is just loud enough, but not too much to drown out your conversation. You feel like you're at the place to be, time and time again.
Overall | 4.9 Dishes
@hillstonedenver is a wonderful restaurant that I will return to as much as possibly. They delight you in a multitude of ways and provide dynamite food paired with superb service in a setting that you are destined to enjoy. It's a great place to take friends from out of town (like I did, Thanks @pjcaruso) or a nice night out on the town. There is reason this restaurant is packed every night, so make your reservations in advanced. YES, even on a Tuesday.
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