Gumbo’s

I went here for my birthday and the experience started good till the food took an hour and then was terrible. I am from Louisiana and that said the food was a terrible comparison. We needed drinks and the server ignored us. The topping on the sundae was that we asked for separate checks and did not get that. We asked again for separate checks and he said he could do it in about 15 minutes.
DO NOT GO HERE!!! GO TO LUCILLE’S INSTEAD
275 South Logan St.
Denver, CO 80 209

While walking on 16^th St we spotted a happy hour sign that said 1.50 $ PBR and we said I like PBR so in we go. Best move we ever made, we found a seat at the bar and ordered a beer and the seafood jambalaya that was part of the happy hour specials that was just 4 $. Had to be the best I ever ate, full of shrimp, craw fish, and sausage the flavor was great, and had just a little spiciness to it and for 4 $, I wasn’t expecting very large amount but what I got was a nice sized portion.
Defiantly want to come back to this place and try some of the other items on the menu. If you come during happy hour get there at 2 because by the time we left their were people waiting for a place to sit.

What I had? Blackened chicken with vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, & green beans) and mashed potatoes (and side cup of Red beans and rice with Andouille sausage)
Food review: I started with a cup of Red beans and rice which was generally good but I like my RB&R a little thicker. Blackened chicken was just right (wasn’t overwhelmed in spice). The mashed potatoes were nice and creamy and the vegetables made the meal have a nice balance.
Overall, the food was pretty good… but nothing amazing.
Also note, I thought I ordered a lot of food so I was thinking I’d be coming out pretty full but ended up just about satisfied. Maybe I was just really hungry. :-)
Service? No complaints here.

While on vacation with my wife we were overwhelmed with the food options in Downtown Denver. This place had the best chicken and sausage gumbo I’ve ever eaten! The slightly smoky, garlicky roux
and homemade sausage was wonderful. The waiter was prompt without being in your face. I enjoyed the large scale black and white photographs and cozy yet well lit booths.
If we’re in Denver again I’ll be back.

Gumbos is one of Denver’s hidden gems. Food is delicious and different than just about any other place in town.
I’ve heard that the landlord just doubled their rent to over $ 40,000 a month… yes, you read that right… and the second the owner said he wasn’t interested, the Kitchen from Boulder instantly snapped up the real-​estate.
Losing Gumbos for a copy of an already mediocre Boulder restaurant-​turned-​chain will be a disgrace to the city. I do hope the owner relocates, but I can understand if he hangs it up.
Gumbos gets passed over for everything in 5280, and generally never mentioned in anything you ever read about Denver eateries. It’s truly a shame. Only the «hip» chefs from out of town ever show up in that silly rag.
So… if you want some Gumbo’s… you’d better get downtown soon and enjoy it. I hear it’s leaving, and that makes me sad.

I have been here 3 times on my travels to Denver. This is my first review with them. The food is delicious! The service is always good including the friendly bartenders. You have to have one of the gumbos. My preference is the crab. I also had the Shrimp with dirty rice meal that has it lightly coated with some spice and served with a perfect amount of cream sauce. The atmosphere here is very good.
This is a great place for a great dinner!

How do you still exist???
Every single time I pass by, you are empty! I mean, sometimes there is a sad lonely table in there. I wonder to myself… does that couple feel weird knowing that no one else wants to be in the same restaurant as them. It’s a Saturday night and you two are all alone. The lone table in the big empty restaurant.
I bet they play crawfish basketball in the back.
It’s as if you are owned by a crazy millionaire with a crazy scheme to bring mediocre cajun food to Denver!
WHY??? Your ugly cousin, Dixon is closing. Maybe it’s time you took the hint too!
The food is better than average, but I would not call it fantastic. I enjoy delicious cajun food, and this is tasty, but not the best. You would be better off cooking it at home, because it will be half the price.

Hey now, that was a pretty tasty dinner!
I met a buddy down here on a Saturday night because I had a hankerin’ for some creole cuisine. (Oh, how my mouth was watering for alligator meat, but alas, twas not to be had as I scanned the menu.) But I perused further undaunted.
Our server was a pretty good guy, recommended a nice patio drink which was tasty and refreshing and did indeed go well on a patio. He brought us some bread and butter and that butter was the stuff of dreams! I ordered a cup of chicken and sausage gumbo, then went with a pasta with grilled chicken in a mushroom bacon garlic sauce, which are three things that will ALWAYS belong in the word sauce! My buddy ordered a special, which was blackened catfish. I had to beg for a table scrap, as I had not to date ever tasted catfish, and well, darn it, that was the right time and place. While I must admit that I didn’t care for the fish, the blackened seasoning was perfect. My gumbo was awesome, and the pasta hit the spot. Our server did a great job and was knowledgeable on everything the menu had to offer.
We sat on the patio, which had the usual Lodo balance of people from teens to hobos to hobo teens, but the restaurant is nicely spaced and cozy, the staff is friendly, and the grub is good. On the higher end of a mid-​priced joint, but not ridiculous, and very worth it. They also prominently display a «People Love Us on Unilocal» sticker in the front window, and when you scoot on down here you’ll see why.

I lived across from gumbos for 2 years and never stepped foot in it until my friend from out of town came and suggested it. Seriously, it was probably the best food I’ve had in forever. It’s so fantastic. Everything was done to perfection and we didn’t want to leave after our meal.
The servers are great and they really do know what goes into every dish. They take care of you from beginning to end.
If you’re around the area you must go and try their étouffée, it’s is mouth watering. My friend had the blackened catfish and it was unbelievable.
It’s a little pricey than some other places I normally would go but it’s worth it!

This place has real class and delectably delish dishes!
I could have easily kept eating. But that’s just my insatiable appetite. The portion sizes were PERFECT! My husband and I have been in the mood for gumbo since all the hooplah about Mardi Gra and let me tell you GUMBO’s did NOT disappoint. All the way from the hostess, bartender and servers to the food and dark VOODOO beer! I have nothing but great things to say about this place. The chairs were comfy and full backed so I didn’t have to worry about my butt hanging out :)
The view of the street from our table was perfect because we love to people watch while we converse.
The tables were human sized and there was ample room to breathe without feeling cramped.
I love the art work on the walls and the fact that you have the option to seat yourself in certain areas.
The floors were clean the music was groovy Jazz and just loud enough to hear but not drown out our conversation. The Seafood Gumbo was amazing (but not anywhere as good as my mothers Gumbo: P)
The staff was very professional and wonderful and made us feel comfortable and welcome.
We were so impressed we will definitely be back soon!

Gumbo’s is the restaurant equivalent of «Groundhog Day.» Every time I go there my mouth says I’m tasting the same thing, no matter what I order. So why 3 stars, edging up to almost 4? ‘Cause the taste, while repetitive, is still pretty darn good.
Indeed, I understand the place has a theme, and for sure they’re true to it. Still, every once and a while I get a craving for those Cajun rubs and spices. Last night had a very good sweet potato catfish dish along with one of their upgraded pear and walnut salads and a glass of Torrontes Argentinian wine. Nothing to complain about food-​wise and the meal scratched that Cajun itch we were having.
The service was by a sweet, enthusiastic waitronette, but kinda sloooooow and included a couple of mistakes (like forgeting to put the salad dressing on the side and bringing a wrong drink order). Had the service been a little better, the rating would have been a more four-​ish than three-​ish. But the bottom line is if you wanna feel that Luzianna lipsmack in this olé burg, hit up Gumbo’s for some Cajun cookin’. You’ll probably end up happy.

When I first started coming to Denver for business I was taken here by my boss because he said it was fantastic!
There were a lot of us, 7 to be exact. The waitress was very pleasant and told us about the menu and took our order efficiently and quickly.
I ordered the Pistachio Crusted Mahi Mahi with roasted shallot jalapeño cream sauce topped with sauteed asparagus spears. It arrived like a Picasso on a plate, perfectly plated with Asparagus the size of tree trunks with a beautifully piece of Mahi Mahi on top of the cream sauce. OMG — I thought I was going to lick the plate (honestly if I wasn’t in a work group setting I probably would have licked the plate) LOL. Finished the entire plate and was gazing around at everyone else’s plates to see if I could pick off of theirs — No luck they liked their dinner as much as I.
Will definitely be back to try the rest of the menu. Everyone should go for a completely enjoyable experience. :)

Who would’ve thought that you could find decent Cajun Creole food in Denver of all places? Definitely not me. To me, Cajun food will always have a special place in my heart for the simple reason that it brings back fond memories of the University of Hawaii football team’s 2007 appearance in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. While not as good as the cuisine in New Orleans, the food at Gumbo’s was still pretty damn tasty.
While awaiting the arrival of the rest of our dinner party, we had a few beers at the bar and were seriously tempted to partake in the Happy Hour Specials. With the purchase of a drink, you can order a bowl of gumbo or red beans & rice for only $ 1. On top of that they also offer other goodies such as seafood jambalaya, shrimp po-​boys, Cajun style BBQ shrimp with cheesy grits, fish ‘n’ chips, etc. for only $ 4. Keep in mind though that these specials are only offered Monday-​Friday from 2 P.M.-6 P.M. For sure one of the better Happy Hour deals that I have come across recently.
By the time the rest of our party had arrived, we were quite hungry. To start off my meal, I ordered the Seafood Gumbo which was a tad bit spicy for me personally, but still very delicious. For my entrée, I decided to go with the Sweet Potato Catfish which was grilled & served with mashed oven glazed sweet potatoes, sauteed crabmeat, fresh spinach, and a herb buerre blance sauce. Although a bit rich, all the components of the dish just went so well with one another. To end our meal, our group ordered the New Orleans style custard with bourbon caramel sauce, the New Orleans style chocolate custard topped with dark crème de cacao, and the South Louisiana bread pudding with caramel sauce & vanilla bean ice cream. For me, the bread pudding was definitely the best dessert of the night and was silky smooth.
All in all, dinner at Gumbo’s was definitely the perfect way to end our first night in the Mile High city.

OK — time for an update. Been awhile since I was here and used to like it pretty well. Groupon in hand we went back for a repeat tonight — meh — not so much.
First of all parking is $ 12 — not the $ 20 that Larimer Square charges but still. Place was pretty dead but it still took our waiter 10 minutes to find us. Not terrible but not great, although once he found us he was pretty attentive if somewhat aloof. Second, the place clearly hasn’t had a facelift since it opened and it’s showing some wear and tear. Third, their menu prices on-​line are about two bucks less per item than what you will encounter on their actual menu. Not a big deal really but update your website with the real prices.
For dinner my friend had a Greek salad (totally lame and a complete waste of $ 8 — mushy tomatoes, huge honkin’ chunks of cucumber, watery dressing), the crab cakes (plenty of crab as there should be at $ 15) but fat and mushy as opposed to thinner and crispy — looked like cat food), and finally the crab gumbo which was the highlight of his meal — but also $ 14ish.
I had a cup of the red beans and rice (not too bad — not moving the earth good but serviceable) — followed by fried shrimp $ 19 (ouch) — I have to admit that they were tasty but far from the advertised jumbo in size. Plenty for me though and the remoulade was picante. The collards on the side were an abomination — someone should really lose their job for putting these almost raw greens on a plate — horrible. Collards need to cook low and slow and LONG.
The dessert menu is pretty uninspired — all the usual suspect. s — custard, cheesecake, yadda yadda. Only the bread pudding sounded tempting but that is heavy going indeed so we skipped it.
If we’d been paying regular prices I would have been seriously disappointed but with the Groupon I guess it was OK — maybe two and a half stars. Go back a pay full price — no way.

As good as it gets? Yea I think so.
So it would appear, that this place has the most ridiculous happy hour imaginable. $ 2.50 for Coors lite, and they have HUGE portions of food for $ 4. On top of that, you can get a bowl of their famous Gumbo for $ 1. Yea that’s right folks, only a buck. It actually used to be free, but $ 1 is a price I’m willing to pay.
Friendly staff, delicious food (also try the fried catfish), great prices that cannot be beaten, and they give you all kinds of food too. It’s awesome! I think this place rules.

Excellent shrimp appetizer.
I don’t remember the name but I guess we could call it Cajun Shrimp.
I am not sure what the full menu is like, but if you want to save some money and sample (win win if you ask me) then go during their happy hour. The gumbo of course was good and the bar seating crowd quite fun.
Most important for me… fully repeatable.
Dafe

Am I seriously writing about the same place as my fellow Unilocaling brethren??? ‘Cause this place sucks majorly! Well, I take that back, the service was fast & friendly, so +4 stars for that… but omg the food is just wrong, overly greasy, overly heavy & rich, and yuck-​o in the taste dept. –3 stars for that. The garlic butter is fine, but nothing amazing — it’s simply a compound butter.
Crab cakes ¹⁄₅ — soaking in melted butter soup, not made of lump crab meat, not fresh tasting. Of course… why would I get seafood from a city far away from the ocean? Stupid, my own fault.
Salmon in pastry puff ¹⁄₅ — more like over-​cooked salmon in a hard bready shell, soaked in 2 different butter-​based sauces (yes, meuniere & bernaise). Took a bite & called it a night.
Don’t get me wrong, I love butter as much as the next guy, but this place single-​handedly keeps Land O’ Lakes in business. Don’t be fooled by a delicious-​sounding cajun menu. I won’t be back :(

Happy hour gumbo is not free anymore :(Updated menu below:
Mon — Fri 2pm — 6pm
$ 2.50 Coors Light
$ 3.00 Louisiana Abita Turbo Dog
$ 3.00 Merlot or Chardonnay
$ 4.00 Svedka Vodka Martinis
$ 1.00 Gumbo (with purchase of cocktail — limit one per person)
— Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
— Seafood Gumbo
— Red Beans and Rice
$ 4.00 Food Menu
— Shrimp Po-​Boy
— Cajun Style BBQ Shrimp with Cheesy Grits
— Seafood Jambalaya with grilled Andouille Sausage
— Chicken Po-​Boy
— Catfish ‘n’ Chips
— Cheese Fries smothered with your choice of Gumbo

I stayed at the Hotel Teatro which is right next to the hotel. Some of the restaurants on Larimer St. had very long waits, so I made the hike over the Gumbo’s since that was also on my list of places I wanted to try. Actually the walk wasn’t too bad but it was rainy and cold, so that kinda sucked.
Anyway, I ordered the blackened catfish with étouffée. It took me forever to figure out what to order because everything looked so amazing! The catfish was very good.
The dining area was very large, and the night I was there, the restaurant was pretty empty so I don’t think anyone should ever have a problem getting a table here without a reservation, unless there’s some special event going on.

Out of all my travels and my love for creole and cajun food this place is decent on my charts, sorry Denverites, just decent.
I grabbed a meal and a seat at the bar, the bartender was friendly, and quick with the service. The cup of gumbo was agreeable, nothing great or special about it. The blackened shrimp with the crawfish etoufee was my entrée, the number of shrimp in my dish was actually surprised me because it wasn’t just four or five pieces, but crawfish lacked flavor. Same with the shrimp, both crustaceans could do with a little more flavor. But overall it was an enjoyable experience, did not really expect decent creole food in Denver, the upscale atmosphere was a definite standout in a town known for casualness.