It’s a treat to look at the state you live in through the eyes of a vacationing visitor. You see things with a fresh perspective, experiencing things you may have seen a dozen times before. Golden, Colorado, is one of our favorite cities, just 30 minutes from the heart of Denver, yet with a real western-chic vibe. The opportunity to experience The Eddy Taproom & Hotel gave us a chance to have a fresh perspective on this historic city.
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Welcome to The Eddy Taproom & Hotel
Immediately upon entering, guests get a preview of what they are in for, with hanging chairs, bikes to check out, comfy seating, and the entrance to the hotel’s restaurant, The Eddy Taproom. Upon checking in, a sampling of Eddy Red is offered in the cutest-ever glass beer mug. The property’s signature beer is made for them by Flyte Co. Brewing. It’s a fine how-do-you-do and welcome.
Before hitting the “up” button on the elevator, check out the Adventure Wall outside The Taproom which lists activities each day, staff menu picks, trivia, and drink specials.
Let’s head upstairs
Greeting guests on each floor, there’s a pantry that supplies coffee, teas, flavored syrups, and milk and alt-milks for said coffee and tea, plus a nozzle for filling up your water bottle before you head back out.
The hotel hallways tell the color scheme of the hotel with shades of white, gray, and black swirling on the floor and high, dark blue wainscoting on the walls. That picks up in the hotel room itself with a dramatic wall of dark blue above the super-comfy bed, with angled slats for a geometric look. Placed just so on the wall are a series of images, abstract, impressionistic, and humorous, that all work well together. Posh high-back velvet chairs the color of goldenrod are a pretty accent.
The sleek bathroom has beautiful floor tiles throughout, great-smelling toiletries, a shower head with plenty of oomph, and a separate toilet room with an abstract mountain scene mural. The motion-detector light that goes on the moment you walk in the bathroom is a nice perk, especially in the middle of the night. The bummer? When you didn’t think to manually turn on the light switch and find yourself in the dark. Another grumble? All-the-rage sliding barn doors look great but gaps between door and wall don’t provide much, um, privacy for a bathroom. I’ll leave it at that.
Grab a bite, a drink, and some tunes at The Eddy Taproom
After settling into our room, we headed back downstairs where the Taproom was buzzing with people – a birthday party with kids, a group of women sharing appetizers, what appeared to be a business meeting, family gatherings, and couples – proving the space can be all things to all people.
When there isn’t live music playing by local musicians, there’s music piped in. And when you find yourself yelling to the person next to you, it’s too loud. And this was, live or piped in, a bit too loud. It was great music though, so we gave up trying to discuss anything more than what we were going to order and just enjoyed the tunes and the food and drink that came our way.
The handy thing about The Eddy Taproom & Hotel’s food offerings is that you can order from both the Taproom’s menu and the Truck Eddy’s BBQ-centric menu from the comfort of your table. Truck Eddy is parked outside on certain days and hours so try to time your visit for when it’s available so you don’t miss out on the ‘cue offerings.
From the Taproom’s menu, we ordered the Taproom “Wings” (their quotation marks, not mine) ($14), with chipotle-brown sugar sauce. They come “lollipopped,” with the bones trimmed and the meat pushed up to the top. It makes for some easy, plentiful bites of chicken and sauce and a lot less hunting around sinew for tasty morsels. The flavors were delicious. Don’t expect cups of ranch or bleu cheese dressing for dipping. Instead, grab some crumbles of soft, creamy chunks of mild bleu cheese plus a citrus slaw and peanuts. Without a doubt, these are some of the best chicken wings I’ve had and I’m a huge wings fan. Don’t miss them! Other items from the Taproom menu include Roasted Tomato Bisque ($5), the Eddy “Smash” Burger ($17), Sweet Potato Tacos ($15), Chicken & Waffles ($19), BBQ Chilaquiles ($15) and Burnt Ends Mac n Cheese ($15.)
Normally not a fan of arugula because it can be overly peppery and dry, I said “sure” to my husband’s suggestion that we order the Arugula Salad ($14) because that’s the kind of wife I am. Tender and lightly-dressed arugula was mixed with spiced pepitas, small dices of roasted butternut squash, and juliennes of apple. I couldn’t get enough of it! Yes, I said that about a salad.
From Truck Eddy’s menu, we ordered brisket and onion rings as a Single Meal (1 meat and 1 side for $11). Two meats and sides, the Double, is $21. The brisket was tender and not overly smokey which can way too much of a good thing. The onion rings were dredged, fried, and nicely crunchy. But really, the stars of the bbq meal were the sauces. We were given three small cups, the KC Pitmaster (tomato, brown sugar and molasses), State 38 (bourbon, vinegar and spices), and the Stockyard Spicy (dried chilies, molasses and black pepper). Dipping meat and onion rings into each, repeatedly, we couldn’t decide which we liked best but did decide to bring the leftover sauce home with us for further experimentation rather than leave them to be tossed (thank goodness they come with lids). Also on the Truck Eddy menu were Apple Brined Pulled Pork, Smoked Sausage, Burnt Ends and sandwiches including The Mesa Chicken. Meats are also available by the quarter pound and Burnt End Baked Beans, Coleslaw, Green Chili, and Mac N Cheese by the pint. I suggest stocking up for the ride home.
Barely able to fit another thing into our stomachs, we HAD to have a milkshake and chose The Jackpot ($8), which took us right back to our childhoods with vanilla ice cream, malted milk, and Whoppers. Am I the only one who liked to scrape the chocolate off the malted milk balls? Other shake options include the Red Rocks with strawberry ice cream and Pop Rocks and the Going Bananas with banana pudding and vanilla wafers.
As a nice bonus, breakfast is included in room reservations and includes options like breakfast burritos, yogurt & granola parfaits, and waffles.
Cheers to beers and such at The Eddy
To accompany our meal, I ordered a cocktail from their many creative options which includes smoked cocktails and drip infusion options. The Barrel-aged Brooklyn ($15) had Rye whiskey, luxardo maraschino liqueur, dry vermouth, Golden Moon’s Amer It Picon. It was good and strong, both in alcohol and flavor. And that luxardo cherry left nestled in the bottom of my coupe glass was a wonderfully boozed up happy ending to the drink. I have to say, I am always in a conundrum about ordering a cocktail in a restaurant. While $13-$15 (and up, sometimes) is the going rate for a craft cocktail, I have an inner debate about whether to order one or spend the same amount of money on an entire plate of food – actual sustenance! Sometimes the cocktail wins. Most times it’s the food. On this night, I went for both in the name of being able to speak to both experiences. You’re welcome.
Beer-wise, The Eddy takes advantage of its location in beer-producing/beer-loving Golden and features a rotating selection of craft beers.
Basically, The Eddy Taproom is a full-on, worth-a-trip restaurant that is also a lovely hotel. Too often, hotel restaurants are an afterthought – but not in this case. While an overnight is ideal, think of The Taproom when you’re looking for a good meal too.
Go on, get outside
It’s not all about eating and sleeping at The Eddy Taproom & Hotel. Consider the property your basecamp and walk or check out a bike (e-bikes too) to go along the Clear Creek path into downtown Golden and beyond, or up the canyon, and along the new Peaks to Plains Trail.
They also offer a variety of experiences including guided hikes, massages, Brewmaster Dinners, and roundtrip transportation to nearby Red Rocks for concerts to avoid the drive and parking. They also offer a private tailgate option for shows.
We’ll return to The Eddy, certainly for a meal, especially when the big garage doors open the restaurant to its large patio with pretty views. And we’ll also return for another Colorado staycation getaway for the comfy-chic, mountain-urban vibe they manage to pull off so well.
To learn more about The Eddy Taproom & Hotel, visit their website. Their address is 1640 8th St, Golden, CO 80401.
-Story and photos, except where noted, by Courtney Drake-McDonough, In Good Taste Denver.
Please note: We were hosted for our visit but, as is always our policy, that doesn’t influence our report of the experience, which you can always count on to be honest and true.
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