Sangrita Restaurant - Westcliffe, Colorado
Reviews
I went to dinner with four other people and we had a wonderful time. The food is good and the menu is varied given the size of this tiny town. The five us had a total bill of $100 including a bottle of wine and one draft beer. I had a blue cheese burger with thick-cut potato fries and an arugula salad. The burger was laden with delicious cheese and the thick cut potatoes were very good. The salad had lots of garlic, but I like that so it wasn't an issue. Other items on the table were a broiled salmon, blackened tuna (the special), bruschetta, and a chicken salad. Everyone was happy with their food. As the last reviewer pointed out, our server had some tattoos and the busser had green hair. They were both young (recent high-school grands), friendly and responsive to our needs.
Slow service; OK food, bad business practices. We stopped there for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. It took an hour and a half to get our food after ordering sandwiches and standard items off their menu. Just before the food was delivered, the waitress arrived to tell us that those who had ordered wheat bread couldn't have it because they were running low and had to save it for people who might order it later. We won't go back.
Upon arriving my friend and I waited by the sign that said please wait to be seated to be noticed. Finally another customer pointed us out to the hostess. The waitress who took our order had purple hair that matched her shirt. While we waited for the waitress to bring out food we noticed that our silverware was dingy and poorly washed. My water glass was a Miller Beer mug. Oddly there was a glass votive holder with a red carnation in it - were they hoping we would not notice the dingy silver and mismatched glasses. The waitress (daughter of the manager) was friendly, but distracted. We orderd the special (usually the special is a good dish at most restaurants) - Alice's Green Chili. My friend had sald with a cup of the chili. I had the chilc over french fries with cheese. Right of the bat we were amazed by the level of heat in the chili. Even over the fries and with cheese I could not eat more than 5 bites. My lips were burning and drinking water to put out the fire actually spread the heat throughout my mouth. We alerted our waitress who cleared out dishes. The well tatooed manager with a lip stud wanted to know what the problem was. We let her know of the intense heat in the chili. She told us we should have asked for a solo (sample) before ordering. Oh - we were stupid to order the special without a taste test? We mentioned that we had eaten Alice's chili at the restaurant (different places buy it already made) across the street and it was not as hot. We mentioned that if it is hard to get peppers of consistent heat perhaps the cook should taste the chili as it is cooking and perhaps they should inform people that the chili is HOT when they order it. The manager said that some people like it that hot. Again - she implied that we were wrong not to love it. In a small town when there are few places to eat and fewer places that have good food and even fewer with reasonable prices. Sangritas is considered one of the upscale places to eat in town. With the dingy silver, purple hair and tatooed, argumentative staff and poorly cooked food it is a wonder that they are still open. My advice - order the baked potato as it is prepared in house and hard to ruin or head to a different restaurant.
Had a great lunch, everything was delicious. 12 of us dropped in on a Saturday, no problem, and not one complaint. We'll be back.