Carne isn’t just a place to go for fabulous food. *Although, let us pause here to reiterate the magnitude of exactly how amazing the menu is because it is truly, downright phenomenal.* Now, let’s resume: Carne isn’t just a place to go for fabulous food; Carne is a culinary journey. 

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Retro done right

Before delving into the food, the first experiential happenings for Carne guests occur immediately as they walk through the eatery’s door. This place is groovy, and not strictly because of its decor — which is heavily 70’s themed, including an entire wall complete with a retro entertainment center, topped with an old-school, convex glass television set. No, Carne is groovy in the word’s original context of “describing something fashionable, impressive or appealing.”

Another wall is adorned with the art of Ally Grimm (AKA A.L. Grime). Grimm, a Venezuelan-American, self-taught multimedia artist living in Denver, electrifies Carne with her monochromatic mastery.

But that’s not all. We haven’t even touched the upstairs yet! 

Steak home

For now, let’s discuss Carne’s bill of fare. The Carne team — who we’ll get to next — describe Carne as a “steak home,” rather than a steak house. We couldn’t agree more. The food feels homey, while also somehow towing an upscale, gourmet line.

Carne Founder and Chef Dana Rodriguez infuses all Carne dishes with global flavors traversing Argentina, South America and Brazil (as a few examples). We lost our minds over the Brazilian Picanha grilled sirloin cap steak with a side of chimichurri so good, you’ll want to guzzle it.  

Added to our BOSW favorite list: the tapas menu “Octopussy,” a divine grilled achiote octupus served with cannellini been puree and salad and olive tapenade. The octopus was soft as butter with the perfect amount of crisp on the outside. The French Duck Confit with cardamom and a decadent orange glaze, the Seasonal Creamy Risotto and Beef Tiradito were other table standouts, as was the Happy Hour Menu Fondue, with Gruyere cheese, gouda, red grapes, apples and bread. 

Cocktail service

In addition to Carne’s wonderfully eclectic menu, diners can select from a well-rounded cocktail list, from the Hawaiian Blue featuring pineapple, coconut, Hpnotiq, Blue Curaçao, tequila, lemon, lime and rum to the Carne Fashioned putting a spin on an Old Fashioned with Stranahan’s Blue Peak Single Malt, Rittenhouse Rye, amaretto and chocolate bitters — and many more spirits. 

Carne crew

We would be doing our readers a colossal disservice if we didn’t include Carne’s team as part of the “experience” that IS this steak home. Rodriguez is an absolute phenom, building Carne from the embers of what she feared was an end-of-the-road culinary career. Coming off the heels of closing a restaurant, Rodriguez literally stumbled upon a plastic-covered-windowed building in the RiNo district and future home of Carne. When you meet Rodriguez, you’ll understand why the building owners were willing to make a deal — her gumption and enthusiasm for what she does and what she believes in are palpable!

We also must give rave reviews to Carne’s General Manager Eric, whose decade in the Denver restaurant business enabled him to not only dive deep into Carne’s backstory, but also delve into the history and evolution of the RiNo district. Alivia was an exceptional server, who curated our robust evening meal and Daniel and Maddi were also part of the Carne A-list team. This staff is passionate about what they do and it shows in memorable and authentic ways.

Disco dreams

Before we exit this review, let us circle back to our hint about Carne’s “upstairs.” Here, visitors are entreated to the dreamwork of Rodriguez, which includes a swanky cocktail area with a bar (handled by the wonderfully surly Maddi) and a slightly obscured lounge area with disco ball, couches and shag green carpet separated by beaded curtains — groovy.

To learn more, visit carne-rino.com

The Bestie is born!

Postscript: A magical thing happened at Carne. Everything was at a caliber so high and the BOSW team was so impressed by our experience at Carne, we thought, “This place deserves something special — more special than simply a review.” And this, dear reader, is how the BOSW Bestie badge was born (if you didn’t see it before, take another look at the feature story photo above).