Palisade Cafe 11.0

Parking is on the street. Set up is small but open. There were at least seven tables that allowed groups of 4, four tables for groups of 2, and the open bar seating for 10.
Perks of the restaurant are the advertised fresh fruits and veggies that are locally grown, as well as wines from local wineries. I arrived at 1pm for the lunch hour. The menu selection, although small, has a good variety of food options. What caught my eye was the fried green tomato, with sweet onions and aioli sauce and a side of fries. After ordering, it took my meal 35 minutes to be served. When receiving my meal I immediately asked that my bill be brought out as well.
The meal itself was tasty and delicious; however, I found myself having to scarf my meal down within minutes because I was pressed for time. My initial server was MIA after briefly taking my order. Granted that it was busy, I had at least three different people tend to my requests.
I would recommend Palisade Café to those not on a tight schedule, but rather to those with leisure in order to endure the potential long wait time — but hopefully, that will improve in the near distant future.

First do not let reviews from past owners fool you. This is a new restaurant. Part of the name, «11.0» is telling you that they are the 11^th owner. First, the place is charming. We came on Sunday, the day of the Farmer’s Market. The streets had a good vibe and the local music outside the café was awesome. The Café was pretty full. We were warmly greeted by a woman named Marti (we later found out she was one of the owners). She met us outside on the sidewalk where she was talking to patrons. She took our name and said it would be 5 minutes. Well it was 3 minutes. We laughed as that never happens. She offered us a table but we went for a place at the bar. We wanted to get a feel for this café.
The bartender, Sean, was friendly and offered some great advice on some local wines. Choosing a Plum Creek Chardonnay and Riesling we settled back to enjoy the venue. It is very cute and warm. The staff was available but not pushy. We spent some time talking about our selection and when Sean came back he answered all our questions like the pro he is. We ordered the Haddock Tacos, Ahi Tuna and Grilled Cheese. If you like good food, order what we had. It was awesome. The portions were well sized and the food was done to perfection. The grill cheese was the best comfort food I have had in some time. As we sat talking and eating I noticed they had Foie Gras. Wait I am in New York? As I started asking question about the Foie, this gentleman named John comes over and introduces himself. Apparently John and Marti just bought this place and have been open for 3 weeks. From all we experienced this place was well operated and was beyond the opening issues that plague new restaurants. John is an experienced Sommelier… so he knows his wines. He spent what time he could with us even though his place was packed.
I can only tell you this is a place worth visiting. The food, the venue, the owners will make your day. We will be back… and we will bring our friends. Thanks John and Marti for a great lunch experience.

We were very excited to have the Palisade Café reopen under new ownership. Here are our reasons for a 2 star rating. We were not greeted, and felt awkward. I asked if we should seat ourselves and the server said yes. We sat ourselves and waited. In the meantime another guest walked in that must have been the server’s friend. He was sat, given water, coffee and a menu while we sat with nothing. We had to ask for water, then menus. Lastly the menu was not full of all the locally sourced delights as promised. To be fair, they had only been open for a week and the servers may still be in training. We’ll try again after some time passes.

Fantastic Lunch. Service and Food were great can’t wait to try Dinner. Try the seared Ahi it was delicious.

Awesome to have this new restaurant in Palisade! This will be a short review, as I have only been there on opening day.
I never like to review a place when it first opens, because there are always kinks to be worked out. There were very few kinks here! And given that review of the past incarnations of this restaurant are still here — I think I need to help them boost their stars.
Speaking of stars, I am sure they will be at the 5 star level soon. It just seems hasty to laud them too highly until they have a chance to settle in. So here goes:
It was very busy when we walked in about 1:30 (wanted to give it a little time to get the first tide out). We were graciously greeted by both owners and quickly seated.
Lets talk food first, ambiance later. The menu is not large — apps, salads, and sandwiches. I love that the local purveyors are carefully called out (flowers and greens from Field to Fork, Cheese from Rocking W, tomatoes from (of course) Blaine, etc).
I ordered a hummus app and some local beer. Beer came promptly and I ordered my burger — with one «construction item» — green chile. My husband had the tomato sandwich (with the really thick Blaine tomato!) and asked to add bacon. It isn’t clear from the menu if you can add construction items to other sandwiches, or just the 2 burgers. But — no problem — it was cheerfully added.
My burger arrived — cooked EXACTLY as ordered. This in not usual in my experience. I either get it too bloody or too well done. My medium was medium — nicely pink and juicy. The green chiles were freshly roasted, peeled, and chopped poblanos. And plenty of them. Peppers were mild but so flavorful. The lettuce was real lettuce — not something out of a bag. And the Blaine tomato was excellent. Red onion and a whole grain bun from Slice O Life bakery completed the deal. Nicely fried fries were on the plate along with ketchup. I asked for a side of their housemade ranch dressing — much better dip. Very herby and fresh tasting.
The tomato sandwich was good but drippy. I think we might ask for it on toast and not grilled to protect the integrity of the tomato (and my husband’s clothing). But — don’t get me wrong, it was super flavorful and the bacon was a nice add.
Hummus didn’t appear — either on our table or our check. This isn’t ding — I could have checked on it. And, frankly, we didn’t need any more food. But — we will be back to try it. If some little thing doesn’t happen on opening day, it just means they were not busy enough.
Food had a lot of attention to detail. From the local origin of ingredients, to the cute cloth napkins, art on the walls, good local wines and beers, SUPER friendly service. This is a nice place to have in our area.
Hopefully they will soon have more hours. I would like to see it open earlier and be open later — sort of a brunch to happy hour timing. That is just me. And soup. A café needs soup.
Big kudos to the owners/​designers, the chef, and the servers! You done good.

Great food… Rapid Creek Turkey sandwich was awesone. To quote my daughter when she saw the bill for 3 dinners, a beer and 2 Arnold Palmers: «wow that’s cheap» .Yet was great food! Well done, can’t wait to try other menu items!

Wow this is nothing like the old Palisade Café, it’s amazing!!!
Will admit that we were a little nervous to go in on their first Friday being open under new ownership but sooooooo happy that we did. The foods was delicious and the staff was awesome. All food was fresh made and we lived that they used bread from the local bakery for their sandwiches. Such an upgrade from the previous menu.
Since it was the very first weekend being open you could tell they weren’t quite ready for the need to have a waiting list but they handled it like seasoned pros and were very courteous and the wait was really very quick.
Will be back again for sure.

We wanted breakfast on a Sunday before biking around the vineyards and somehow this was the only place that was open. After reading the other reviews, we were skeptical to say the least.
However, there was really nothing wrong with our experience. The service was nice, the food was good and the place seemed pretty clean. We were in and out quickly with no complaints.
We’ll definitely have breakfast here again the next time we’re back in Palisade.

Worst experience ever. We attempted to eat here 3 years ago and was met by a rude waitress who catered to locals who came in after we were seated. They got their drinks and orders taken right away. After sitting for 20 minutes, we got up and left. Fast forward three years, same rude waitress but this time we got to eat. Food was worst that I have ever had to pay for. Complaints fell on deaf ears. Bottom line! Don’t waste your money or time.

The food was awful and the service was not much better. I ate there during the farmer’s market, on the assumption that it would be nicer to sit inside and relax rather than eat from one of the food trucks. Wrong. Next time I will stick with the food trucks.

I complained about a horrible meal and this is the email I received in return…
Thank you for your feedback and it will be duly noted. Complaints are a rarity at our establishment but there will always be folks that are not happy. We will continue to do things as we always have, since it has led to a successful business and numerous awards. No restaurant will ever please all customers but we will still be open tomorrow… just like we have been for over 75 years. Thank you and good luck.
Don’t expect anything other than rudeness if you’re not 100% satisfied. We will NEVER be back after customer service like that.

Food was typical diner fare. What was a huge bummer is the fact they stopped serving breakfast at 11am on a Sunday. I was really looking forward to breakfast food. The servers were friendly and nice.

Service was abysmal. They brought out the drinks except for the kids juice — that was brought out with the meal despite us ordering it at the same time as everything else. Super slow kitchen. Rude service people — snappy when you ask questions. Never coming back.

The food is gross, can use some help with customer service. The owner is rude and unfriendly. I’d rather go to McDonald’s.

So sad to visit Palisade on such a beautiful snowy day and not enjoy breakfast. Memories of enjoying the café’s poblano chili breakfast rellenos were replaced with barely cooked hash browns, limp pale pancakes and weak, tepid coffee. Pace salsa accompanied anemic breakfast tacos (note: the tortilleria on 30 rd delivers) not helping flavor the again uncooked hash browns. Service was kindly and prompt, notifying us they were busy and we might have to wait… we would have greatfully waited 5 more minutes for the food to arrive fully cooked and hot.

It’s a decent place. I’ve been twice now and while the food has been okay, I’ve not been particularly wowed.
Last time I had the shrimp po boy and coleslaw; coleslaw was lacking dressing and seasoning, po boy was pretty good but kind of dry. The bf got the bronco burger, said it reminded him of a Wendy’s hamburger. (The time before, he got a burrito with undercooked beans.) The hot poppers appetizer says they’re made with cheddar, but the filling is more reminiscent of cheese whiz lol. Tasty though. The fries are really good here. I guess this would be a 2 star review if it was more expensive, but the prices are reasonable for what you get. And service is friendly enough. I wouldn’t be against coming back, maybe for drinks and an appetizer.

I have to say I’ve definitely had better. First of all there weren’t a lot of people at the diners but the waitress who was the only waitress wouldn’t let us sit wherever we wanted and we wanted to sit by the window and people watch. It was only 1 table over from where we sat with an obstructed view. The waitress was a bit grumpy. Probably because it was lavender days and she was the only restaurant on the block open and she wanted to go to the festival.
The cheeseburger was ok. They did have a nice house dressing which was like ranch. I liked it and used it to dip my fries and burger in. The French fries were the ONLY bright spot besides the great conversations we had the table. I think between the dark interior and the bland food menu this café needs some TLC. Wont return to this dreary little dive.

It’s edible. As a local, I like to keep it local. We’ve given this place several chances over the past few years, and it’s just never more than blah. Service is always lame, quality of food is average to just below average. Too bad, because the atmosphere & location have potential!

We went here based on recommendations from another restaurant in Glenwood Springs who said this café was forward thinking and original. Then a local winery employee said Palisade Café and Grill’s hamburgers and sweet potato fries were to die for. I disagree on both recommendations — especially on the hamburgers! They reminded me of Wendy’s burgers which I guess isn’t bad if that’s what you’re expecting. The place had a blah atmosphere and uninspiring menu too.
Our server had no idea how to answer our questions about gluten free options, local beer on tap, etc. There are better restaurants in Palisade; check out Inari’s for a very gourmet but affordable dinner.

So, I’m in this tiny town, in the middle of the Western Slope plains. I go to check in to this little café and realize that this place is full to the brim with wineries, breweries and distilleries.
And I’m in a café. D’oh!
Next time, Palisade. Next time I’m getting a hotel and trying everything.
As it was, this cute little café on the main drag wasn’t too bad. My grilled chicken sandwich was good. As were my fries. And I did try a beer from the local brewery that they had on tap. The service was really friendly, though a bit slow. But that’s probably what happens when you live in a small town. People just take their time.
My one big complaint is that it was hot in there. I mean, not sweltering hot house hot, but it was definitely not comfortable. To the point that didn’t really have much of an appetite for my hot food when it arrived. Either more fans or a better AC system would probably cure that in a jiffy though.