Argyll

I had the good fortune to try Argyll twice this past week--once for dinner and once for brunch.

The gastropub, located in Cherry Creek North is a nice addition to the Denver restaurant scene. The servers are all very friendly and the atmosphere is awesome. If you like Jonesy's you will love Argyll. On the corner of 3rd Avenue and Clayton, Argyll features an eclectic menu that is geared, unsurpringly toward U.K. fare. They also feature a couple of Scottish beers. I tried the Twisted Thistle IPA at the waitress' suggestion, and as she said, it was quite lovely and much more mellow than the hoppy IPA's this side of the pond.

As we waited for our food to arrive, the waitress brought us some house-made chips with a malt vinegar gastriche that she drizzled over the chips. Yum. What a nice touch.

We had some Oysters--east coast, that are reasonably priced at $17/dozen and served with an interesting cocktail sauce and lemon. Finally we shared the Mac and Cheese which certainly lives up to the Gabby Gourmet award it recently won. A rich and creamy Mac and Cheese, the large rotini noodles are coupled with a five cheese sauce, a small smattering of peas and bacon, small prawns, and topped with a fine breadcrumb crust. The kitchen was kind enough to pre-split the entree for us, and did not charge us a fee to do so. While the dish was delicious, it was quite decadent, and I would definitely recommend to others that they split it if ordered because it was far too rich for either of us to even finish our half portion.

Brunch was also quite good. The menu features some British regulars, including corn beef hash and smoked salmon and eggs; with the more traditional egg sandwiches, to the more adventurous, oatmeal pancakes and pumpkin french toast. The brunch menu also features $8 bottomless mimosas in either mango or orange--after trying both, we recommend the traditional route here. We tried the Scotch Egg--a soft boiled egg covered in sausage and deep fried, served open over a horseradish aioli. HIGHLY recommend this item, as it was the best thing we ate. I had the egg sandwich which was prepared very well. A large helping and well cooked, it was served with some boxties--which are not unlike latkes. I also tried a friend's Smoked Salmon bagel, which was served with capers, tomatoes and lettuce, but an interesting cream sauce instead of cream cheese. This was also tasty.

Taylor didn't fare as well. He ordered the Oatmeal Pancakes which he thought were overcooked and not up to par. However the bacon was thick and cooked properly.

All in all I would suggest this place for a quick pint, a dinner or a brunch. I am thrilled about this addition to the Denver restaurant scene. They offer reasonably priced dishes with decent spirit options. The one real downer is the parking. Because it is in Cherry Creek North there is only street parking which is hard to come by and you have to use those damn payment machines.