El Diablo has been open on South Broadway in Denver for a few months.  We tried to go there at the end of August, either their first of second weekend of business, but gave up after being told it was an hour and a half wait.  Since then, the restaurant and bar has remained very popular, and I finally was able to check it out this past Saturday.  Some friends were hosting a pub crawl, and El Diablo happened to be the second bar of the night.

Kim and I arrived there around 8:30 and stopped by the hostess stand to ask about the wait for a table.  She told us that it would only be a few minutes, but we decided to join the group on the pub crawl for a drink before grabbing a table.  The bar area was crowded, but we lucked into a couple of seats right away.  Before long a bartender took our order.  I decided on a specialty margarita with Stranahans Whiskey instead of tequilla.  And then I asked for something nonalcoholic for my wife, hoping they had something special.  The clueless bartender said all she had was club soda, so Kim just had a water instead.  I was not very impressed with the drink that I ordered, which came with a near $10 price tag, and was served in a small glass.  I was expecting much more.

Eventually the pub crawl group was moving on to the next bar.  Kim and I stayed behind and got a table for dinner.  Since it was already late in the evening, we quickly found an appetizer.  The Cazuela de Queso Fundido was our choice, and it was served very quickly.  The description calls it a cheese fondue with rajas, chorizo, mushrooms and flour tortillas.  I call it delicious!  The strips of green chile were wonderful, and the chorizo added a bit of spiciness to the dish.

Cazuela de Queso Fundido

For dinner Kim ordered the Al Pastor tacos, and I decided on the Chile Relleno Burrito.  The tacos come served in threes.  Kim’s selection featured chile rubbed pork with pineapple, adobo and onion, each piled high on a pair of small tortillas.  She was very happy with her selection, and if we go back I think I’ll have to try some of the other taco options.  Before I ordered the Chile Relleno Burrito I asked the server about it, and was told that it is just what it sounds.  A queso stuffed green chile, pan-fried, and the rolled into a large tortilla.  The burrito was gigantic, but mostly was filled with rice and beans.  The Relleno was definitely the highlight of it, but there wasn’t enough inside.  Fortunately I had the burrito smothered with green chile, which helped enhance otherwise plain bites of rice filled burrito.

Burrito And Tacos

Overall the food was good, I just think I made a bad decision with my meal.  I was not a fan of the drinks.  I tried a mojito with my food, which was better than my earlier choice, but still nothing better than average.  Our service was great once we finally sat at a table.  However the bartender that we ordered from needs more experience in my opinion.  The food seems fairly priced, but the drinks were much overpriced.  We may return again in the future, but it may be hard with so many other fantastic Mexican restaurants relatively nearby.