Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we give our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems.)
Itap difficult to imagine a more perfect fish and chips than the shatteringly crisp platter sold at in Broomfield.
I’ll entertain an argument for a newsprint-wrapped bundle eaten while overlooking the River Thames, but for hungry Anglophiles who want to avoid a 9-hour flight from Denver to London, the cozy pub near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport sells a fish and chips thatap the best I’ve had this side of the Atlantic.
There’s the stunning visual: a filet of Icelandic cod bigger than your head, battered and fried to deep golden brown perfection, served piping-hot over a bed of hand-cut chips (also known as French fries, for the uninitiated).
And then there’s the sensory experience: the beer batter coating is like biting into a kettle-fried potato chip, crunchy and light at the same time, substantial without being overly thick or dense. The cod is flaky and succulent, falling apart at the lightest touch. Crispy, thick-cut chips and tangy tartar sauce play a beautiful supporting role.
Fish-and-chips is common enough in restaurants across metro Denver, but itap also a meal thatap often so-so. At Burns, itap not just standard pub fare, shuffled in alongside plates of fried appetizers and happy hour pints. Rather, it’s the star of the show.
And as proven over my own repeat visits – and through customer raves on review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor and a feature on – the fish-and-chips is not a solo act.
Burns’ salty-savory-tender corned beef, brined in-house, challenges diners to choose between the corned beef poutine or the Reuben sandwich. (I vote for both.) The menu features a rotating savory pie of the day along with perennial favorite shepherd’s pie, which I have labeled in my mental restaurant rolodex as “ultimate comfort food.”
Thatap not even touching the desserts (sticky toffee pudding that I will not admit to getting misty-eyed over), occasional special features like beef Wellington, the staggering 500 whiskeys on deck or the Celtic music jams every Sunday night.
There’s not a lot I can do when the travel bug strikes and a trip across the pond isn’t in the books. But just a few miles down the road, Burns promises a balm of British comfort food, no passport required.
The Burns Pub & Restaurant is located next to The Hilltop Inn at 9009 Metro Airport Ave. in Broomfield and is open Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sunday from 4-8 p.m. More information at or by calling 303-469-3900.
