Fruition Restaurant

Finally ate hear after hearing about this place for years. Why did I wait?! Great food, great execution. The mix of flavors and texture well blended. Great service. As Arnold once said, «I’ll be back».

Appetizers were good and so were the desserts, but the entrées were just ok and the service wasn’t the friendliest. I was hoping for much more based off the stellar reviews.

I started this review a year ago and never finished but this restaurant just came up in conversation yesterday again so I’m committed to finishing.
I was in from out of town and was looking for some great food. We got a recommendation from a friend to check out Fruition and we are so happy we did. I travel every week for work so I eat out 6 dinner/​week and this is top 10 favorite restaurants in the US.
Atmosphere — small, intimate, very nice
Servers — engaging, well-​trained, top notch
Food — perfectly done. The server told me the «chicken would blow my mind» and he was right! Chicken is a hard dish to be memorable but this sure was.
No complaints, this was a top 10 favorite experience!

It was our first trip out to Denver and our first full day in the Mile High City, we came to Fruition. This was a month ago and we’re still talking about our meal. Service is bar none the best, incredibly attentive, caring, and friendly. We went with what was recommended by the staff, and that was the potato wrapped rockefeller oysters and the pasta carbonara. Honestly, we still talk about the oysters to this day.
Entrees, I had the diver scallops in a parsnip purée. Excellent dish. And my bf had the duck breast with tortellini which if were possible, we’d take that dish back with us to SF.
Our first Denver experience was top notch and we have Fruition to thank for such a wonderful evening! We hope to be back next time work calls us out there. Until then: D

I came here with my boyfriend and his parents. We made reservations 2 weeks in advance and could only get an 8pm reservation. Make plans early!
Its very cozy in there so expect to be sitting very close to the next table, but it only ads to the romantic atmosphere.
Highly recommend the grilled octopus salad and scallops. The food is worth every dollar its priced. The farm to table, and seasonal vegetables keep the menu fresh.

I am actually feeling more of a 3.5. Excellent service and good food, mostly really good food. The fact that the kitchen will not split meals I find unreasonable and pretentious. Loved the octopus. If they are going to have such a thickly sliced carpaccio at the very least they should present a steak knife as it was a battle to eat. The walleye pike was excellent. The cheese course was just plain weird.

I was very excited to try the scallops after seeing the menu and photos from OpenTable, and the menu on Fruition’s website. The reviews looked great. When we got there, the menu on the door also featured scallops. However, once we were seated, an entirely different menu was given to us. We were told that the menu had changed two weeks ago, and they must have forgotten to change out the menu on the door and online. I don’t understand how a restaurant (especially a highly reviewed restaurant) can get by without having an accurate menu for two weeks.
I ordered the duck, and was more than disappointed. The manager took it off the bill, which is the only reason I’m giving three stars instead of one.

I just dined at Fruition this evening and after my experience, felt compelled to immediately convey my utmost appreciation and delight. The service was top notch and the food out of this world. There is no question as to why the James Beard Foundation has taken notice. There is spectacular talent in the kitchen and world class staff. Aaron the host was warm and accommodating from first contact, making me feel like a very welcome old friend as soon as I arrived. Geoff took excellent care of me, providing first class service. The meal was superb.
I highly recommend the Pan Roasted Halibut Cheeks with crispy veal sweetbread. Spectacular! The Pan Roasted Lamb Loin also did not disappoint. The lamb cooked to medium rare was tender, flavorful and melted in your mouth.
Everything tonight was perfect. Fruition will not disappoint!
Although I am from the East Coast, I will be encouraging my local friends to visit as well as plotting my return to the Denver area so I may have the pleasure of dining with you again.
Thank you for meeting and exceeding my expectation.

Fabulous dinner spot! My boyfriend and I were visiting from Cincinnati and found this restaurant on Open Table. From the minute we set foot inside, the customer service was top notch! The host was more than attentive — providing a list of 5 breweries and 5 restaurants to visit while we were visiting Denver.
The food was absolutely delicious as well! The pasta carbonara was to die for as a starter and the lamb was super tender.
Definitely recommend this restaurant as a date night spot!

Absolutely stellar. My gf and I went here for a belated birthday dinner. We were treated with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine by the wonderfully kind Jen. She also then gave us personalized menus with our names on them which was a nice touch.
We started off with the Maiden Voyage cocktail with whiskey and rhubarb bitters that was excellent. The salted butter they serve with the bread was great. I would have been happy eating just that all evening.
For starters we got the grilled octopus and the halibut cheeks with veal sweetbreads. Both were delicious but I really enjoyed the sweetbreads.
For our entrees I got the Bavette steak and my girlfriend got the Walleye. Again, both dishes were stellar but I think I favored her fish. It was incredibly complex with the citrus complementing the olive dust. Both dishes were cooked perfectly. Everything we had was amazing.
The service was also fantastic. Tim was really knowledgeable and even though he just started working there he knew the menu up and down. We declined dessert but Tim hooked up some free mezcal shots to end the meal.
In just one meal Fruition easily became my favorite Denver restaurant. Can’t wait to go back.

Excellent dining, stuffy atmosphere and you can barely see your food :)
Came here with my Denver friend recently and although the food was great and prices were reasonable, I really just felt like it was kind of an overstuffy type of restaurant where the average age of the diner was over 50.
Perhaps it was a slow Friday night, but they definitely could have used a little better interior lighting and décor. The lamb we had was spectacular, the duck was less impressive, but their appetizers were great. Recommended I suppose, but there are better places in Denver to spend your money.

Came here for dinner with my brother, his new girlfriend and my «status TBD» friend for dinner. The place is kind of small but cozy. The waitstaff were really friendly and knowledgable about the dishes.
We had the octopus, oysters Rockefeller, sweetbreads and the pork. Everything was phenomenal!!! The octopus was well cooked and
Came on a bed of mesculin lettuce. The sauce was delicious.
The oysters were fried and had large pieces of
Bacon underneath, it was delicious!
We ordered the chocolate cake for dessert it was super rich but tasty!

Days have gone by since my visit here. Not too many, I suppose. Let’s call it a week.
So only the most pronounced memories of the food and my dining experience have stayed with me. My babe and I called ahead and got reservations for a mid-​week, semi-​prime dining time. We got a table within eyeshot, directly across the buffet where they ready the bread and house glassware.
The hostess was kind and inquisitive. She seated us and stuck around long enough to not only make it seem like it wasn’t a perfunctory task, but that she actually took interest in the diners that walk through the doors. Not to spoil it for you, but the high service standard didn’t let up from there. Our waitress was equally talkative and friendly. Around closing time, a waiter came by and struck up a conversation with us about all things beer.
But i digress, because these are the accouterments of the dining experience, and what it really comes down to is the food and drink. And what a meal it was, although it wasn’t without minor flaws. Truthfully, some of the flaws are reflections of my personal taste; so take this rating as my own, as you may have different preferences.
We went with the duck, which was suggested medium rare. It came out textbook medium rare. The flavor was deep and complex, although the skin wasn’t crispy, which is how I think of duck. Again, preferential. Elsewhere on the plate, the pasta and veggies were perfect, all full of flavor. If I ordered the duck medium, I would be providing a 5-​star review, I believe. Alas.
Oh, my cocktail was also overshaken. Tons of ice bits. And I wasn’t a big fan of the finishing salt in the butter. Mostly my preferences.
Would go back because it’s definitely a 5-​star worthy place. No doubt about that.

Wow. A seriously amazing experience. EVERYTHING was deeeeeelicious! The way they melded flavors gave me the most interesting palate journey I may have ever been on to date. I began eating something and, by the end, it had morphed to another flavor sensation entirely. I want to say I had several mouth orgasms but it was far more complex than that. It was… a culinary exodus, an awakening of sorts, a taoist this-​can-​not-​be-​spoken-​of-​because-​it-​is-​minimized-​by-​words kind of trip.
I can’t wait to go back!

Fruition
Country Bread from Grateful Bread Company with Salted Herb Butter
Potato Wrapped Oysters Rockefeller — Parmesan Leek Emulsion, Bacon Lardons, Baby Spinach
Crispy Veal Sweetbreads — Tagliatelle, Bone Marrow Crema, Pickled Celery Root, Brussels Sprouts Leaves
Pasta Carbonara — House-​cured Pork Belly, Handmade Cavatelli, Six Minute Egg, Cacio Pecorna Broth, Cracked Black Pepper
Devil’s Food Cake — Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream, Malted Vanilla Mousse, Salted Cocoa Nibs
Butterscotch Pudding — Beignet Crispies, Eggnog Ice Cream, Marcona Almond Brittle
Considered by some to be Denver’s Best Restaurant, Chef Alex Seidel a two-​time Beard award nominee now pulling triple duty with Mercantile Dining and Provisions at Union Station plus his Sheep Farm and Creamery, Fruition was booked for 7:00pm on Sunday night and entering approximately a half-​hour early it was almost as if the staff had been expecting me, the table already set and the only open one in the building.
Low lit and rustic, the L-​Shaped space with a larger dining room behind the hostess stand while the narrower area where I was sat approached the cusp of the kitchen, Fruition was launched in the mid-2000’s with a focus on contemporary American cooking and evolving since to embrace farm-​to-​table as well as organic concepts while developing several signatures, plus a seasonal assortment of appetizers and entrees, recent reports indicate the restaurant to be as good as ever, Seidel’s own cheeses even starting to make an appearance.
Already well-​sated from a long day of dining while seeing Denver’s sights it was with water in hand and wine declined that a menu minimally changed from that online was presented, and opting against sizable entrees including pork, duck and lamb to focus on small plates a four-​course order was optioned for, an elderly gentleman with a ponytail providing exquisite service throughout the evening.
Oddly choosing to outsource bread to a group in Golden when retrospectively considering the quality of baking at Mercantile, the herb-​butter a creamy concoction that I could have easily overindulged in were I not mindful, course one arrived after a small delay due to a sizable group celebrating up front and although I am generally weary of ordering Oysters the makeshift Rockefeller-​stack with Leeks, Pork and sauteed Spinach presented a game of Jenga in which there was no loser, each crisply wrapped bite breaking into a briny center that found expected harmony in it’s plate mates.
Debating plate two for a while, several appetizers sounding delicious while mains also beckoned, the server eventually convinced me to trust my gut and go with Seidel’s seasonal Sweetbreads with a tangle of housemade Tagliatelle, the earth of Celery Root tamed through pickling while flaky individual Brussels Sprout Leaves danced atop unctuous Bone Marrow crema.
Acknowledging that another plate of pasta would be pushing limits, but at the same time not willing to forgo Fruitions most celebrated plate, it was after a lengthy delay spent reading a nearby cookbook that the Pasta Carbonara emerged from the kitchen, al dente noodles absolutely perfect surrounding a fatty nugget of House-​cured Pork Belly plus a sous vide Egg, lightly saline broth and Black Pepper cracked tableside.
Having spent the better part of two hours watching various items land on tables around me it was without doubt that at least two desserts would find their way to me by meal’s end and although another duo also sounded excellent it was with some restraint that the original plan was adhered to, the Devil’s Food Cake a moist slice of sizable proportions elegantly decorated by Popcorn ice cream and the flavors of malt and vanilla with caramel corn adding whimsy while Butterscotch Pudding took no shortcuts to best any other in the city, fried bits of donuts and candied almonds adding texture while aromatic Eggnog ice cream prevented the low bowl from trending too sweet.

Fruition has a restaurant philosophy that a lot of restaurants like to claim, but few succeed. Locally-​sourced, seasonally-​appropriate ingredients shine as the chef knows how to let the good raw materials speak for themselves.
I’ve been to Fruition twice for special occasions. Both times were made more special because of the combination of great food and attentive, but not pushy, service.
On my most recent visit, I enjoyed a cauliflower bisque with crab meat. It was a very well-​balanced dish that made use of the «pour soup tableside» technique. That technique allowed for the acid notes of the dish to be separate and distinct from the creamy deliciousness of the bisque. Put together on the spoon, it was both bright and luscious.
My main course was a duck breast. It was a beautiful piece of meat and it was impeccably cooked medium rare with a crispy layer of duck skin. Cut into medallions, it was a beautifully composed dish. It was as well balanced as the soup I had as my first course.
If you have family or friends in town and want to show them that Denver is more than just a cowboy town, take them to Fruition and showcase the best of what Colorado has to offer.

Our friend’s last night in Denver and we chose Fruition for dinner.
It’s right across from a liquor store and a phở place. What a contrast from how and what Fruition is to these two establishments across.
Fruition is classy. Cozy and packed! We were welcomed by a very warm but professional gentleman who gave us a nice little chat to start off.
I went for the pork dish and I think was one of the best I’ve tried. It’s nicely presented. Very pretty to look at and its packed with flavor in a subtle way. My plate had the color of just about everything. The greens were fresh, the vibrant prosciutto and who doesn’t like a prosciutto as a sidekick to anything? But add that to this pork belly and my carnivore side was in heaven! The pork belly was definitely the star and everything just added a different level of flavors all around. I will describe this pork belly as tender and yet structured so I easily cut thru it like it’s a warm stick of butter. Oh my! You have to try this!
Awesome wine selections. Impeccable service. Romance is alive here by the way. It just oozes that in every way. It’s the coziness? The bench outside?
You will forget about the contrast across the street once you enter Fruition.

Easy to find location, didn’t have trouble making a reservation. Great staff, we were actually a bit late but still got seated right away!
We ordered the scallops, steak and duck.
Personally, I prefer the steak over the duck, the duck was a little too fat for me which I usually don’t have a problem with, but the steak was truly amazing.
There was complimentary bread and butter. I think I’d enjoy the bread much more if it was room temperature or warm, but it was cold, which isn’t a big deal.
Overall great experience, cozy little place with dim lighting.
Starters ranged from $ 11-​$ 15, entrees $ 25-​$ 29 and deserts $ 9-​$ 11

If I could give Fruition more than 5 stars I would, the dining experience I had here almost makes me want to take away stars from other 5 star restaurants just to clarify how great this place is.
As soon as we walked into Fruition we were greeted with warmth, not only was the ambience romantic and warm while still feeling homey, additionally the host greeted us with incredible warmth and enthusiasm. My girlfriend and I came here to celebrate an exam I had just passed, the host knew this and immediately proceeded to congratulate me. Also, they had personalized our menus to include our names. This proved to be the start of a pattern of fantastic thoughtful service.
My girlfriend had called ahead and told them that we were celebrating something but also that we were not drinking alcohol. The waiter proceeded to not list any alcoholic options or bring a wine list rather he provided us with all of the non-​alcoholic options. It’s little thoughtful gestures such as this that enhance a dining experience. Our waiter was incredibly professional. Fruition understands that diners look forward to coming here for a long time and generally do so to celebrate occasions in their lives. For that reason the waiting staff is adept at being there whenever you need them but also staying removed enough to allow you to enjoy the company you are with. One final note about the staff here, at no point did we feel rushed, rather the staff made us feel that the priority of the restaurant was to create a great dining experience rather than to make money.
Anytime a waiter entered the dining room with a dish you could see every diner in the room turn and look. This is because the kitchen staff puts out gorgeous plates. I found myself looking forward to the next dish because I had seen saliva inducing food enter the room time after time.
We started off by sharing the Tuna Carpaccio as an appetizer. The tuna carpaccio was light and a delicious way to start the meal. The dish almost read like a deconstructed caesar salad. Another highlight of this appetizer was the crispy poached egg.
For the entrée course I would recommend the Grilled Steak Bavette to anyone and everyone. This is one of the few places that I have been to that will actually cook the steak medium rare when you ask for it. Upon my first bite I was in culinary heaven, the steak literally melted in my mouth and the accompanying shaved foie gras and cauliflower purée made for rich bite after rich bite. Another distinguishing feature about the food is here is the whimsical additions the chefs make. This may sound cliché but I was truly surprised by every next bite. Every bite would reveal a new type of perfectly roasted vegetable or extra bit of steak. A final note about this A+ dish, the portion is very generous, you get more than enough steak for you buck.
Finally the dessert course. My girlfriend got the lemon meringue pie which was visually stunning but the real star of this dessert is the vanilla cheesecake. The vaniila cheesecake is silky and buttery while and topped by a delectable almost gummy like ginger pâté de fruit. The best part of this dessert was the brown butter financier though, I could have eaten a whole plate of just the financier.
All in all, we will definitely be visiting Fruition again the next time we have a big occasion to celebrate. Thanks for this great night!

Place was busy on a Saturday so even with 845 reservations, we had to wait almost 60 minutes to be seated but the lovely hostess Jen got us drinks while we waited outside so it balanced out a bit. Having a few made it easier to forget how long we actually waited.
But the food and staff redeem the wait.
On top of that we came to celebrate a birthday and they printed a custom special menu just for her with her name on it! Talk about details!
It is worth noting that we had 845 table, sat at 945 and didnt eat until 1045 but the food was really good.
The pasta carbonara and rabbit salad were incredible. The best entrée by far was the pork chop!

I’m going to start out by saying that I’ve eaten at some of the best restaurants around the world… and if I had to pick one restaurant as my absolute favorite… this would be it. Also, I want to add that I’m not trying to brag or anything about how cool I am for eating in different countries. It’s true… other countries have restaurants… and I’ve been to some of them… but that’s not the point. In the end… I’m just trying to be more dramatic… so try to play some music from Star Wars when Darth Vader walks in… that should add to the whole dramatic review thing. But, all that being said, this place really is da bomb. And by bomb, I mean mind numbingly spectacularly awesome in case you’re going to get all upset that I wrote «da bomb». Whoa… sorry I offended you… I didn’t know you were so sensitive.
Back to the review: This place in general has special meaning. I took my wife here after we got engaged and we’ve tried to come back on special occasions whenever we can. Last night, I took my wife here for her birthday and it was just amazing as always. It always surprises me when restaurants can stay consistently fantastic and Fruition just raises the bar with each visit.
We started out with the Asparagus appetizer and Beet Salad… which were both superb. The balance of both small plates were simply sublime. Each bite was the perfect balance of sweetness with just the right amount of acidity to round it all out. One of the greatest things about this place that hit me after my first bite last night, is that each plate is an amazing orchestra of flavors. It’s one thing to have the freshest and finest local ingredients available… which they definitely do… but to do it with such finesse and panache… it just completely puts it over the top.
I had the Beef Coulette and it completely rocked the house. It had the finest sear on a piece of meat that I’ve ever had. Plus, it had just the right amount of seasoning and it was perfectly cooked to medium rare. My wife had the Sea Bass which had the most tasty crusts I’ve had the pleasure of tasting on a fish. Just full on groovy.
For dessert, we had the cheese plate and banana pudding which blew us away. The pudding came with three miniature double chocolate cookies that were worth the price of the final bill alone. Yes, they were that good. They also remembered my wife’s birthday and considerately put a candle in the banana pudding… and let me tell you… nothing says happy birthday like a pudding that’s on fire.
All in all… best place in Denver… best place period… unless I’m in the mood for pancakes… that’s a whole other story.