Cherry Creek teems with restaurants like a rain forest full of critters: Cafes, bistros, steakhouses and trattorias swing in and out of sight like monkeys through trees, chattering and throwing nuts at intruders.
But, like a graveyard at midnight, Cherry Creek also abounds with the dead. Ghosts of restaurants past roam freely. By now nearly every address in the neighborhood is haunted by a culinary spectre.
It’s no place to get lost.
It isn’t easy for relative newcomers like Euro, a promising pan-European bistro on Milwaukee Street, to navigate this jungle/graveyard. But if Euro can hold its footing, it might just find its way through.
As long as it doesn’t get lost.
One thing Euro needs to light its way is a bigger crowd, especially on weekdays. The place is often peopled, but rarely full.
At first glance this is a good thing – it means you can always get a table. But Euro should be more crowded. Too crowded, even.
The room demands it. This classic Champs Elysées-via-Melrose Avenue room wants Jimmy Choo heels to clackity-clack along its white-tiled floors.
It wants heads flowing with Oribe’d hair to toss flirtatiously to and fro in the mirrors hanging over the booths.
It wants glaze-eyed men in skinny jeans and tattered Oxfords to flip mindlessly through the design and fashion coffee-table books propped on the low bookshelves.
Laughter should shoot from the crowd like juice from a grapefruit. Glasses should clink to seal spontaneous toasts. Trays should crash to the ground once in a while. Waiters should yell.
But Euro isn’t that loud. Even when it’s full, the vibe is restrained. The pulsing bass from the bar next door doesn’t get heads bouncing. A muted flat-screen television showing old movies goes all but unnoticed. The mirrors reflect a well-behaved, not boisterous, crowd.
And the waiters definitely don’t yell. At Euro, servers are subdued, casual, relaxed. Slightly bored. Friendly, but clear.
“I’m going to take your order now,” announced our server as she approached our booth of four. She put one hand on my shoulder. “I’m going to start with you,” she said, pointing at my friend Andy, “and work my way around the table. Go ahead.”
Charming, but more important, efficient.
Appetizers came quickly, and in a blink we devoured the lovely fried duck egg sandwich. It came sunny side up and open-faced on a toasted piece of brioche with a couple of buttery slices of prosciutto di Parma. It was like a happy childhood on a plate, and I want one every day.
Second best? Frisée salad, lightly dressed with blue cheese and topped with a runny poached egg and bacon. (It said “lardons” on the menu, but what we got was crumbled bacon. No matter, I’ll take smoked pork belly however it comes.)
Other starters: The grilled shrimp salad, tender and well-
cooked, satisfied but didn’t inspire. The baby carrot salad was lovely to look at, but the lavender sabayon dollop on top just tasted, as lavender often does, like soap. Gazpacho three ways should have been two ways – the traditional tomato and grape-cilantro versions were keepers, but the cantaloupe-mint was clumsy.
With another glass of wine came entrees, or as Euro calls them, “Large Plates.” They aren’t kidding; portion sizes are huge.
The lamb T-bone, supple and mild with a charred crust and rosy red interior, was bow-out- of-the-conversation good, juicy and meaty and tender and decadent. The potato salad alongside soaked up the juice well.
Euro’s soft-shell crab cioppino, better described as a couple of deep-fried soft-shell crabs with some shellfish cioppino on the side, also delivered. The crabs (just now coming into season, so get them in the next few weeks) showcased everything that’s good about tender, sweet, crispy soft-shell crabs, making for a smart texture contrast to the silky clams in sea-broth across the plate.
The massive crab-stuffed halibut fillet provided many (maybe too many) sweet, buttery bites. It came with crab fritters on the side, which seemed, and were, excessive. But they were fried and crispy, so of course I ate them.
The basil-scented salmon rippled with summertime mojo, even if the crawfish risotto it perched on had been overcooked into mush.
One low point, surprisingly, was the steak frites. The first time I ordered it, the steak was beautifully cooked, but oversaturated with a pungent soy marinade that drowned out the flavor of the meat. I figured I’d just caught an off-night, so I ordered it again the next time I visited Euro. Same deal. And the fries, both times, were undercooked in the middle.
Frustrating, because there’s no reason this kitchen can’t turn out killer fries. (And let’s face it, nothing hooks customers like great fries.)
Euro’s wine list mostly makes sense, except that there aren’t enough cheap bottles on it. The roster of chardonnays is strong, with global representation from Sonoma to Chile to France. The Bordeaux are seductive, but too many bottles are out-of-reach: a bottle of 1990 Chateaux Margeaux lists here for $1,150. Save your Benjamins and get Christian Moueix Merlot (an earthy, Old World example) or the food-friendly Australian Annie’s Lane Chardonnay instead.
Dessert? Best choice was the homemade s’more: warm ginger cake, gooey chocolate and bruléed homemade marshmallow. The nut tart was sticky-
sweet (too sweet for some). Cinnamon fritters were sugary and finger-whipping hot. The bread pudding – gummy and dense. Skip it.
Euro deserves, and needs, to be busier every night of the week. Already, a few of the dishes (the fried egg sandwich, the cioppino, and the lamb T- bones) are worth the visit, and the menu will strengthen each time it’s tweaked.
More promising than perfect, Euro has the chops (and T- bones) to find its way through the Cherry Creek jungle. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get lost along the way.
Dining critic Tucker Shaw can be reached at 303-820-1958 or at dining@denverpost.com.
Euro
European
231 Milwaukee St., 303-333-1811, eurodenver.com
* *|Very Good
Atmosphere: Stylish basement bistro with tiled floors, big wall mirrors, and white tablecloths.
Service: Young, friendly and competent.
Wine: Adequate list, if aggressively priced. Especially good rosters of Chardonnay and Bordeaux. Some good bargains.
Plates: Small Plates, $6-$9. Large Plates $14-22.
Hours: 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. Street parking. Reservations recommended but not required. Private party room in the back for large groups.
Three visits.
Our star system:
****: Exceptional.
***: Great.
**: Very good.
*: Good.
No stars: Needs work.
