Outdoor dining in February? (Denver, Littleton: appointed, Valentine's day, university)

[Hiruko]

If I try to have a Valentine's Day dinner in Denver, am I going to freeze on these "heated patios"? Here in the Midwest (where it is colder, granted) the way things have been done forces you to freeze to death while sitting out on an often wet patio. Any insights on The Bindery's patio? Virtually everything is booked up or only offering a pre-paid overpriced prix fixe menu.

[davebarnes]

Insights?
Yes.
Go out to dinner 3+ days after Valentine’s Day.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Insights?
Yes.
Go out to dinner 3+ days after Valentine’s Day.

My mother worked in the restaurant business and one of the old dirty secrets is that a lot of eateries had a special menu for special days (Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, etc) where the prices were a good deal higher. Similar to New Year's Eve, aka amateur's night out, they jack up the prices to get the same sort of clients who only go to church at Christmas and Easter.

We never go out on those special days, we'll go a day or two before and call it done.

IIRC the low temp in Denver last night was in the range of ZERO which means that if one were to eat outdoors last night they'd freeze. Could be different in a week but IMO outdoor eating in COLO in February is very iffy and probably not a good idea.

[himain]

Too cold currently to be outside. I can think of one restaurant in Littleton that has little fishing huts that have heaters inside. But it's probably been booked for weeks.

[Hiruko]

Ok, well, I got moved indoors. I know that they are different cuisines and locations. But, can anyone compare or recommend either The Bindery or Cattivella?

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

Ok, well, I got moved indoors. I know that they are different cuisines and locations. But, can anyone compare or recommend either The Bindery or Cattivella?

No.
Go to dinner on February 20th.
Don’t be a chump.

[emm74]

I love the food at Cattivella (it's very near my house), but I agree to go another night besides the 14th.

[Hiruko]

I ended up at The Bindery on Valentine's Day and it was a $280 trainwreck. I should've listened because I got hosed. We both enjoyed the entrees and dessert. However, both first-course options were disgusting—cold vinegary fish, yuck. The other option can't even be described by me. The second course was so bad that I had to send it back. "Squid ink pasta" with prawns. They brought out the most disgusting-looking food I've ever seen presented. The entree was a bison steak that while very good is absolutely not worth $140/person.

Cattivella was very good. But, it was pretty pricey for something so far outside of the city center. The portions were also fairly small the night we were there.

All-in-all, the dining experience in Denver was extremely subpar and overpriced. I was, honestly, very disappointed. Great Divide Brewing was excellent and Ivy on 7th was decent. First Draft Taproom was also nice. Jelly near Denver University was just bizarre. No real waitstaff service but then charging a 20% service fee that the employees claim isn't going to them? Get out of here.

[Mike from back east]

Thanks for the feedback; our members who take the time to advise people really appreciate it when we get follow ups.

[Hiruko]

Any recommendations for midrange places to eat in the coming days? I'm going to be in Denver for a day or two before heading back east and would like to give the place another chance.