Old Capitol Grill & Smokehouse

Excuse this lengthy review, but I have a lot to say about this establishment & Golden altogether. My husband & I stopped into Old Capitol Grill for lunch recently. We were met with hospitality, history & delicious food. We sat at the bar where we were served by Alex. Her suggestions were very specific & thoughtful—brisket nachos, a must-order. The environment in Old Capitol cultivates a sense of camaraderie, & you naturally get to know the guests seated around you. In the heart of it all, this restaurant is a great spot to settle in for lunch or dinner.

October 20th @4ish? Came in midday as a party of three after doing some hiking at Red Rocks. Got sat immediately. Food looked good online and was definitely up to standard. Our waitress was very nice and super helpful. Cheese curds appetizer was awesome and all three of us were raving about our dishes. Next time I fly out again to Colorado to visit my friend we will be going back for seconds!

Tonight, the wife and I had dinner at The Capitol Grill in Golden. It’s been years since I last ate here, and I remembered it being a solid spot—but this time around, it felt a little underwhelming. We started with the fried cheese balls and Brussels sprouts. Both were fine, but nothing special—just pretty basic. For my main, I ordered the half rack of ribs, and my wife went with the chicken-fried chicken. Honestly, the highlight of my plate was the cornbread, which pretty much says it all. The food wasn’t terrible, just not what I was hoping for. I was craving something a little more elevated. Unless they bring steak back to the menu, I don’t think we’ll be rushing back anytime soon. That said, the service was great, and the ambiance was chill, so props there. As always, I encourage you to check it out for yourself—maybe your experience will hit differently. Follow me on IG @hungry_dude_usa

I was a little skeptical after reading a few reviews but everything our party of 7 ordered was delicious! First we ordered the crispy brussel sprouts. They were cooked perfectly with slices of apple and a delicious vinaigrette. My in-laws ordered the fried pickles and said they were very good. Two of us ordered the smoked pulled pork and brisket. That was soooo good as was their house made bbq sauce. My husband had tacos and enjoyed them. The kids burger was quite large and my 8 year old had half to take home. My teenagers split the nachos and had pulled pork and brisket on it. The nachos were really good and went fast. They did order everything on the side except the cheese and meat. The nachos come with a lot more than was is pictured. They also have great mocktails. I ordered the mojito and loved it. We couldn’t go wrong with anything we ordered!

Nice place …stopped in for Buffalo Bill days Service was nice my waitress was on point she was blonde and worked the bar too. My husband wanted a bison burger and it was very delicious.I had a basic burger and it was very tasty pickles added would have been nice but overall it was good. I will return next time I’m in golden oh and the tubing creek right by there was a plus!

I park my car, got out, and instantly was like "whatever I'm smelling that needs to be my lunch." We thought we followed our noses correctly, but I'm not so sure. We were able to get seated right away, with patio seating available. First impression of our server was not great. She seemed impatient. I will add by meals end she redeemed herself. She was pretty chill. I didn't get her name to toss a shout out, but she was also tending the bar. Anyway, to the food.... the reason you're reading this. It was... mediocre. Both of us got the Hatch Burger and I also got a small side of green chili. I will say, Red Robin has a better burger. The French-fried onions had zero flavor. Beyond that it was kind of eh. The French fries were really yummy, so there's that. The highlight for myself was the green chili. A nice kick with some good bold flavors. Now, bang for the buck, not at all. Two beers, two hatch burgers, a small side of green chili.... $64.00!!!! The green chili side was $8.00!! I honestly could have gone to a chain restaurant got the same quantity of food and drink maybe better quality for a bit less and bottomless fries. Just saying. All in all, I might need to try to find what I was smelling when I got of my car. That's just me. Go, give em' a shot. See what you think. Go eat, drink and be kind.

This was my first visit to this cool, historic restaurant in cool, historic Golden, CO. From start to finish my dining experience was excellent...conveniently located in downtown, Golden, nicely decorated on the outside and on the inside of the restaurant, greeted upon entering, seated right away by staff, plenty of different kinds of seating, had an excellent, friendly, patient, knowledgeable waitress, nice, detailed menu, delicious reasonably priced pulled pork sandwich and sweet potato fries, and nice music playing in the dining room.

They really really really need to water their plants. Food was ok, but we ended up getting sick, the atmosphere was great but they lack attention to detail. They had vases of flowers in the tables, however at our table they were dead and in gross water.

From Chicago, first time in Golden. Old Capitol Grill has a nice menu, so we decided to try it. Here are my thoughts: -I ordered the beef brisket 4/5 and it was reaaally good--tender, tasty, just the right amount of fat. -I enjoyed the barbecue sauce, not as sweet as I like it, but very good. -French fries were good, not great. -The blue cornbread was good, more moist than expected. -Highlight of the meal was the fried pickles, a very light batter--best I've ever had! -Service was friendly and good. Overall, highly recommended!

If you're in Golden & looking for a solid Bison burger this is a spot I highly recommend. The server was incredibly sweet & I just loved the vibe of the spot all around.

We spent the day in Golden, Co and grabbed lunch here! The pulled pork street tacos were filling, the mac & cheese was delicious! My husband had the brisket sandwich and it was one of his fav meals in Golden! The service was fast and our waitress was very nice. We sat outside along the side street where we could enjoy the sunshine and live music!

Old capitol Grill is always a spot for us when visiting Golden. We love the ambiance on the grill and the food is delicious and service was excellent!

We came here for a snack and shared the fried pickles. It was a generous portion, and they had a lot of flavor. My only critique is that the pickles were sliced a little too thick for my liking. Overall, we were happy with our experience!

The food is delicious. I had a bison burger and beef brisket sandwich. The fries are cooked perfectly. Not greasy. Not too crispy. Just right. If you check into Yelp, you get a free beer. Which I did, I got a Coirs light. Upsetting thing is if you don't ask for a paper receipt, they charge a kitchen inflation fee of 3% which they then tax on also. Upping your bill.

I wish I could give it 5 stars. This place has a history that dates back to the late 1800s. The atmosphere is a cool mixture of historic and modern feel. We stopped here for a quick dinner on our way to listen to some live music. Our server was wonderful. She was friendly, attentive and made sure we had everything we asked for. My wife got the pulled pork tacos and I got the pulled pork sandwich. Why go to a smokehouse restaurant if you're not going to order their smoked meats.. Right? Our drinks and order came very quickly and the food was delicious. My sandwich looked so good the guy at the table next to our ordered one for his meal. The one complaint I have, and I admit I'm a pulled pork snob, is that I like to be able to eat all of the sandwich I'm served. Whether it's a steak, or beef or pulled pork, I simply don't like chunks of fat or other inedible things mixed in with it. Ninety-eight percent of my sandwich was deliciously smoked, tender, pork. I ate it as an open-faced sandwich because the roll it came in was more than I wanted. In the mixture of delicious pulled pork were two large pieces I couldn't eat. One was a shaving of fat, the other a piece of cartilage. If these two pieces weren't in my sandwich this would be a 5 star review and the meal would have been perfect. Maybe it's just me.

We went to the restaurant on a Sunday afternoon without reservations. We were able to be seated immediately at an outdoor table. It was a beautiful day outside, but the inside of the restaurant would be fun to enjoy as well. Unfortunately our server did not do a great job. We did have a wait for quite a bit to order. We were given water by the hostess but drank it right away. Our food came quickly, but we didn't get a refill on water for a while nor could we get our servers attention. The salad I got had a very very light dressing on it that wasn't very good. When I was finally able to get the servers attention to ask for my dressing, he forgot to bring it to me. I had to wait to flag him down again for him to bring it out to me. Unfortunately, my partner had already finished his meal by the time I was able to get salad dressing. I got the bright side salad. It was not great. I had asked for honey mustard dressing hoping it would help. Their honey mustard dressing was horrible. So I just ended up not eating my meal. My partner got the Juanito Burrito. He said it was delicious and finished it all.

Restaurant is in the old court house and is a really fun atmosphere. Building was very clean and staff were super friendly and attentive service. The food however wasn't that great. Example: All the cheese was fried out of our golden nuggets, so they were just fried batter.

I went on a weekday and it was pretty desolate. The food was decent but nothing overly special. The staff wasn't overly attentive for the lack of people there.

Forgot to take pictures! But such a cool old atmosphere. The service was friendly and helpful. The espresso martinis were not good so I would not recommend those. However, the food was great! The golden nuggets were SO good! The Turkey Reuben and fries was such a great pick. The portions are huge!!! You will definitely leave with leftovers.

If you want to nice small town feel pub this is it! We had great service, only had a few beers so can't judge the food.

Audrey is great, love when she's working I sit with her. The building has a lot of charm and the food is great with lots of options.

Try the fried pickles!! Great place for a get together with friends. The waiters/waitresses had quite a lot of patience with the huge group that came with me. The drinks were well mixed and they didn't skimp out on the actual vodka. Even though my group of 12 (+) was there for quite sometime, the employees were very attentive.

Ugh. Mediocre flavorless tacos and salsa so hot that you can't breathe. The only reason I give it two stars is because it was my daughter's birthday and the restaurant we had planned to go to had over an hour wait...we got right in this place.

Absolutely unacceptable charging for your kitchen staff! You should pay them correctly or not at all. Your food was decent. Your server was excellent! The management can figure out their own issues. We will never return or recommend your establishment

Not a very aesthetic or charming place. Server was friendly and appetizer and drinks came quickly. We didn't order more than an appetizer because we knew this wasn't what we were looking for. Chips were stale and the pico looked like it was several days old and didn't taste fresh. The queso was good. Drinks were okay. I'd say this gives me the same vibes and satisfaction as Applebees or another chain restaurant. If you're a local the service seems good enough to come back but only being here for one night I wouldn't recommend wasting your dinner here.

Great food and service. The bison burger was excellent! Our waitress was very friendly and accommodating.

This was ok. Great patio and great views of the mountains, so good for a weekend afternoon. It's right on the main part of Golden which is how we stumbled into it. The burgers were just ok, but the fries were good.

Was really craving some awesome food today so I brought a friend here today. Last week we had Josh, today we had awesome Kallie L and helped us with keto friendly food options from their lunch menu. I had a repeat of last week cuz it's so dang good ...Lunch or Dinner this is the place to go!! Unfortunately when we left, an Amazon truck side swiped my new Suburban and took off without Stopping...of course and Only in Golden are the kindest people and one person got photos of the truck and license plates and a great description of the driver!! Golden is definitely a place to visit and move too. Love this welcoming town!!

Was looking for a place to grab lunch and saw them right on the corner. Old fashioned vibes of an old saloon. Quick drink and food service. We had burgers and the salmon salad. The burgers were nothing to brag about. The salmon salad was very different- not a huge fan of the cold crunchy potatoes but overall pretty tasty. The salmon was cooked perfectly but could have been a bit bigger portion. Definitely recommend asking for more of the salad dressing it was much better with a little extra. Also pleasantly surprised to get a free Coors with my check in! But also unpleasantly surprised with the surprise "3% kitchen inflation fee" tacked onto the check with no warning. Just change your menu prices instead of sneaking in an extra 3%.

We sat at the bar and had good service on a Friday night. Ordered the bison burger and regular burger and both were good. Husband did ask for no onions and it came smothered with them, lol, but not a big deal. Fries were just okay. Like the vibe of the place!

I really do encourage people to go here because it was an absolute delight, the bison burger and sweet potatoes fries I had were 10/10. Marie was attentive and made me feel so welcomed.

Customer service is super welcoming! Audrey the server is the best. Blue corn bread is yummy. Definitely come back!

The wife and I stopped in Golden on a last minute whim when driving back from the mountains. And wow what a great choice. The restaurant is super dog friendly, almost every table outside had their pups with them. We sat outside on the patio so we can do some people watching while we ate. The staff were super friendly and provided great customer service, even brought our Yorky a bowl of water of her own. I had the Buffalo burger, and it was fantastic, It wasn't just the fact that it was buffalo, but it was cooked a perfect medium, super fresh and moist. Definitely worth a try if you stop here. My wife had the classic burger which was cooked just as well! Great little joint with a perfect view of the Main Street in Golden!

I would rate this a 0 star if I could. I ordered a 14$ caesar salad with chicken added which was another couple dollars. The chicken was definitely pre-packaged cubed chicken. Im not even sure if that 'chicken' was chicken it tasted more like turkey. Also, with an expensive meal like this I would at least expect filtered water but I could tell by the taste it was definitely from a tap didn't even come with ice. I ordered fried pickles with my meal and the ranch that came with it was absolutely watered down. Awful experience considering the food was so expensive.

The food was incredible! I got the Juanito burrito, as recommended by our incredible waitress, Sophia. Sophia was a ray of sunshine and did an excellent job waiting on our table. Great establishment all around. 10/10 would come back and request for Sophia.

What a find! The restaurant was referred to us by a family member, whose son was at the the School of Mines. The building was the capitol of the Colorado territory initially in the 1800's and has maintained its charm- especially the bar. It's larger on the inside than it appears and is neat and clean. The portions were huge and all four of us were very pleased. I ordered the Bruno burrito with brisket and it was to die for. With brisket, tater tots (!), pico, guac and cheese. Cover that bad boy with green chile and whoa! Excellent. You could see chunks of tomato and avocado and every bite was a perfect marriage of flavors. The burgers looked great and were heaped with lettuce, tomato and onion while the baby back ribs were hearty and tender. We were so happy with our meals and hope to return soon.

First time trying this place out in Golden Colorado very Serene atmosphere love the view of the mountains if you want to get there this is the time to go unfortunately the Coors Brewery is not doing tours due to call David but it's awesome walking downtown Golden Colorado we picked this restaurant based on the menu that they had it posted outside enjoy the atmosphere and our servers the food was amazing from The Pickled fried pickles to the dry rub smoked Wings we had the salmon salad and the bison burger. I would recommend that you stop in and give him a try I had a Basil Hayden old fashioned made perfectly my wife had the Riesling you can sit and people watch from your table we sat inside although they did have patio seating but it was too windy. The next time you're in Golden or Denver from Denver it's about a 30-minute drive go ahead and stop down walk the downtown and stop at the Old Capitol Grill & Smokehouse you won't be disappointed!

Ate with the family here on 12/23 and 3 out of 4 of us got food poisoning from the lettuce. I had a salad and the others had lettuce on burgers. I ended up going to the ER for the severity and dehydration from the effects of the food poisoning. Service was good, but clearly can't recommend this place.

We had the best server Emmy. She recommended the 7 minute poor pilsner and omg it was the best I have ever had. It paired perfectly with a bison burger & fries. I could have eaten the meal twice and it was the best experience I have had this year. What a great lunch.

To start, the food was delicious. I absolutely loved it. What really made my experience at Old Capitol Grill was my superb server, however. Charles Andrew Nissen (I liked him so much I had to ask for his full name) was my knight in shining armor. He wielded his order pad like King Arthur did Excalibur. He was fast. He was charming. He was daring. He was funny. I don't know how I lived before being served by Charles. I'd put Sir Nissen amongst the highest pantheon of servers, the Mount Rushmore of wait staff, the Hall of Fame of employees. It wasn't just my table too. The joint was busier than an average Monday evening, but my hero wasn't phased. Not a single glass sat empty nor a single table uncleared. And all of that accomplished with a smile. I am utterly impressed with Old Cap (that's what the locals call it) and will certainly be coming back. 11/10.

We stumbled upon this place after a hike near Golden on a Saturday afternoon. It was fairly crowded but we didn't have to wait. Our party had hamburgers, fried cheese, smoked salmon salad. None of the portions were overwhelming but very satisfying in flavor and quality. The only minus was inattentiveness to our slight modifications to the order. For example a hamburger requested to be served without tomato still came with 2 slices of it. A request for a different dressing for the salad was ignored. I also ought to mention that I have multiple food sensitivities and had no problem getting a meal here. Did I forget to mention this restaurant is very clean?

Our family of four enjoyed our first visit to Capitol Grill. We shared the spinach artichoke dip and fried cheese bites which were both good. I tried the bison stew and was not disappointed. The others had smoked meats and we can see why they're a specialty. Our waitress was wonderful and the service was great. The only complaint we had was that it is very cold unless you are seated in the far corner as far from the door as possible. we were closer to the door and ate with our coats on. The building is charming and historic but could benefit from adding an entry vestibule.

To be fair, I must say that the staff were friendly and attentive. Our waitress was very nice AND she did not say anything about us picking at our meals. We ordered chips and Queso, plus smoked wings for appetizers. The queso was literally tasteless - melted cheese with a small sprinkle of pico on the top. We added salt snd then asked for salsa to mix in. They don't have salsa. Hmmm.... The chips were low quality flavorless and I guess salt free. The wings were smoked nicely but no other flavors. The burrito and street tacos we ordered were very disappointing. And remember, no salsa?? The green chili was fair, but couldn't hide the fact the pork burrito was filled mostly white rice. No cheese either. $100 later we drove home announcing to each other that this was the First and Last time we will go to Capital Grill and Smokehouse!

Where do I start? Asked what was the most appetizing thing on the menu, was told the BBQ. I said I was a BBQ snob (respectfully) from Texas and it will be hard pressed. He said he was from Texas too. However when I asked him where it took him a second to say outside of Lubbock. I went ahead and took the risk. I've eaten at a lot of places. This likely was the worst. Meat was dry, looked like it wasn't even cooked on a smoker. Mac/cheese was nasty, Luby's or Golden Corral is even better if that tells you anything. Heck, I didn't even try the bread. The fries, oh the fries, I can eat that as a meal. However, whatever they cooked them in seemed as old as the building. I was there with co-workers and they had burgers and they said it was about the same in taste and quality. Won't be going back unfortunately. The Buffalo Trace "neat" was good though. Needed that to help swallow the food. . I have it two stars because they had Buffalo Trace.

Food, Beer, atmosphere and service right on! Large seating area and quite town. Great selection of foods. Just an easygoing place to eat in general. I highly recommend considering this venue

The greeting was friendly & authentic. The food was prepared to order & exactly as expected. The tap was cold and the beer tasted good. The wait staff was super friendly & the restaurant was clean.

There were 5 of us girls who came here to eat on a Thursday afternoon and besides the great food, our waitress Emi was fantastic...sweet, personable, caring and attentive. I can't say enough good things about this cozy place! Try the Bison Burger, the Brussel Sprouts Appetizer & the Brisket Sandwich. To drink, the Grasshopper Martini is to die for!!! Great experience, will be back the next time we are here from California!

We had Cam as a server and she was fantastic! Great drinks and food was good and and quick!

We've been coming here for years and it's improving for sure! :) Service was pretty good and I love the location of the restaurant. It's in the old territorial capital of Colorado and it's right on the Main Street of Golden. They have a nice patio also! The menu is pretty limited but I had the Bison burger with sweet potato fries, which was all pretty delicious. I'm still bummed they got rid of the Philly cheesesteak.... I wouldn't go here if you're looking for a huge variety of food however.

Food was just average to below average! Burgers had no real flair -- about on par with Arby's?! Appetizer prices where on the high side for portion size. Can't say a repeat visit is in the future!

The 1 star is for the patio which was the only good part - and only reason we stopped for a quick drink & app... which was $13.50 for stale chips, watery queso, and an all onion pico - just sad. BEWARE to check your check!!! bc we were almost charged (& way over I might add) for the wrong table! $30+ a tip was about what I was figuring and server turned the touch-screen it said $52!!!! WTH! - ALSO, 3% for the Kitchen! NOPE - Never again.

The service was perfection and the food was fresh and amazing. Our server, Alex was phenomenal! I highly recommend this establishment!

We came in with a party of 9. We were seated within minutes. The food arrived at our table in a reasonable time. Our server was really nice. The pulled pork tacos were greasy and messy, but really flavorful. The salsa has a bit of a kick so if you don't like heat don't use it. The brisket was good. The fries were some of the best we have had. Highly recommend.

First time visit, first restaurant experience in Golden. Our table of 3 all ordered salads which were good, save for the fact that they brought my Bright Side salad made of different greens because they were out of arugula. I'm not unreasonable--this would be totally fine if they had notified me, but they chose to substitute without asking and arugula was the main reason I had ordered this salad. DO NOT order the Golden Nuggets (cheese curds) unless you enjoy severely overpaying for appetizers. Curds were $12.50, which would be fine since appetizers normally should be serving multiple people. We thought nothing of it until they brought out a tiny diner soup cup (about the size of your fist) with about 10 curds in it. The salads we ordered were fairly good value for the price, but the app value was deeply disappointing. It's always possible our experience at OCGS is an outlier in average experience, but we probably will not be repeat customers.

Today was the first visit. The staff was friendly and inviting. We split the brisket Bach his and were very pleased. Will return to try a full meal.

Just had a great casual lunch with my five year old sitting on the patio on Washington Ave in Golden. Great patio, really good bison burger (not spectacular) and terrific service. Patrick did an excellent job is accommodating me and the kiddo, he really enjoyed the macaroni and cheese with fries (guaranteed winner!). Definitely a great stop on Washington Ave for a break and some good food! Don't forget If you check in on Yelp you get a free Coors draft with your meal, not a bad deal when you're in the home of said brewery.

Such a great place!!! It blows my mind that anyone would call them racially motivated! I have never been served so well: I had a dog and had to wait for the patio (obviously ) and once I got sat it was the best service ever! Thank you Emily!

The layout of the restaurant was open and not too crammed. i ordered a blue cheese burger with sweet potato fries. the burger was excellent (just a bit too much blue cheese for me), however the fries had sugar on them instead of salt. they were more sweet than savory, which didn't blend well with the burger. trying the fries with ketchup just tasted odd. my dad got the regular fries and they looked and tasted really good. kinda disappointing since the sweet potato fries cost an additional fee.