Vail’s Westside Cafe is tried and true

“If you wish to complain to a manager or owner, please write your complaint on a $100 bill and turn it in at the restaurant.” This statement alone points out just what Westside Cafe & Grill is about — casual, friendly and, what’s more — good eats.

The restaurant was founded by Ryan Thompson, Steve Solomon and Mike Dennis who, while working together at Sweet Basil, decided to go out on their own and took over the space in West Vail 20 years ago.

And they’ve made Westside a blend of rusticity and contemporary without being modern. 

“We’ve made some mistakes along the way — and kind of refined — and made more mistakes and refined — and made more and more mistakes — and here we are 2.5 million guests and 20 years later,” said Dennis, who, like his partners, worked and managed several restaurants before opening Westside. His first jobs in the industry include a stint as a stand-up comic as well as a singing waiter who, at times, dressed up as Zorro. Now, however, as an owner/manager, his crazy days are over — in public, anyway. Running a successful restaurant is serious business — and the partners have it down.

The menu lends itself to those who just want a simple meal to the “foodie” who likes a bit more flair.

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And it all begins with breakfast. Eggs, pancakes, hash browns — you name it, they’ll make it. Any possible variation of eggs Benedict. Omelets, dirty biscuits and gravy, chilaquiles. It’s yours. Don’t forget a bloody mary.

The lunch menu offers salads, chili — pork green or red elk — plus all sorts of burgers, grilled sandwiches and even combination soup and sandwich plates. The ramen is a favorite.

Veggies are crunchier, fish is fresher than one might expect from an “everyman’s cafe.” In fact, the restaurant is in the process of building an aquaculture setup in Eagle that will provide some of its vegetables and fish. Appetizers are fun, like the freshly cut ahi tuna poke and short rib empanadas. Dinnertime brings a tasty selection of entrees from bourbon jalapeño peach-glazed pork chops or grilled salmon to short rib mac n’ cheese and steaks. Every bit their equal are pastas: bison Bolognese penne simmered in a luxurious wine sauce or shrimp scampi sauteed with white wine, garlic, butter and shallots over linguini.

And leave room for dessert. They’re all so tempting. For kids there are table-top make-your-own s’mores or Pizookie, a pizza-sized warm and gooey cookie. Or, perhaps, a tangy piece of Key lime pie, or perhaps the rich carrot cake.

“Our theme — what we do — is serve American comfort food with some global inspiration,” explained Dennis. “We have a bit of culinary flair and a great presentation, but we’re still going to have the staples. You know we’ll have meatloaf, but it might be bison meatloaf. We’ll have a couple of nice steaks, but we’ll also have burgers.”

But it’s more than the food.

“We use quality ingredients and classic presentation and technique to give great value and super-warm service,” he continued. “I think that’s what we’ve done from the beginning and what’s most distinguished us. And one of our priorities is to hire nice people, warm people.”

And that’s Westside Cafe’s mission.