Casa Bonita - A Magical Night
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Casa Bonita in Denver, Colorado provided hours of entertainment for my daughter in her toddler years. It is a favorite theme-based restaurant of locals and visitors to the Denver area. The specialize in all-you-can-eat Mexican food, with little flags on each table that you raise when you would like more of any menu item delivered to your table. The service is quick and friendly. It is an experience that even Hollywood thought was special when it featured the restaurant on an episode of South Park.
The restaurant that seats 1,100 visitors, is so popular, that you are led through roped lanes of a crowd-control design similar to those used at Disneyland. Once you have made it through the wait line to the serving area, you grab a tray and proceed through a buffet line, picking all your favorite Mexican food items, including really good sopapillas for dessert. The cost of the buffet is $10.89 per person, but bring some extra spending money for all of the other "town's" activities.
The food, while acceptable and plentiful, is not really what makes Casa Bonita so special. It is the 52,000 square foot building with magical paths through a tropical wonderland that keeps you going back. While you journey through the colorful jungle, you can watch cliff divers jump daringly in front of a 30-foot waterfall into a 14-foot deep pool located below the dining tables. Shows with flame jugglers, gorilla trainers, shoot-em-ups with Black Bart the bad guy and the sheriff, entertain the entire family while eating at tables spread across mountains of Acapulco-like scenery.
The restaurant that seats 1,100 visitors, is so popular, that you are led through roped lanes of a crowd-control design similar to those used at Disneyland. Once you have made it through the wait line to the serving area, you grab a tray and proceed through a buffet line, picking all your favorite Mexican food items, including really good sopapillas for dessert. The cost of the buffet is $10.89 per person, but bring some extra spending money for all of the other "town's" activities.
The food, while acceptable and plentiful, is not really what makes Casa Bonita so special. It is the 52,000 square foot building with magical paths through a tropical wonderland that keeps you going back. While you journey through the colorful jungle, you can watch cliff divers jump daringly in front of a 30-foot waterfall into a 14-foot deep pool located below the dining tables. Shows with flame jugglers, gorilla trainers, shoot-em-ups with Black Bart the bad guy and the sheriff, entertain the entire family while eating at tables spread across mountains of Acapulco-like scenery.
Comments
Linda Symmes
(Guest)
(Guest)
10/22/2008
Casa Bonita is not the most wonderful dining establishment, it's a kids paradise. The cliffdiving alone makes it well worth the trip and I defy you to find a better sopapilla anywhere. ..And on top of that, they are free.
Dave K
(Guest)
(Guest)
07/31/2008
Family went to CB in the late 70's and early 80's. It was fun then, with fresh tortillas, decent gringo-style mexican food. Relatives arrived from Canada,told their kids of youthful experiences, so all wanted to go again. We went last night. Horrid! Crowded through twin stuffy cattle chutes, we waited in line for over half an hour. Kids took our orders - over $12 for "all-you-can-eat deluxe beef dinners." We shuffled past unused tortilla stall, grabbed plastic trays, warm plates of pasty-looking stuff. No fresh greens or salsa in sight. Star Buffet Inc, Owner, is taking advantage of expired USDA warnings to avoid serving ANY fresh vegetables. "Hostess" packed us off to corner table, view obstructed by plaster pillars. Whiffs of stale food and sterno filled air. No wandering Mariachis - they play up front between "dive shows" - more kids doing random things. "Food" awful. Meat mostly soy product. Bland sauce. Fake "cheese." Got sick later - MSG! No Beauty to be found in Casa Bonita
Dave K
(Guest)
(Guest)
07/31/2008
Family went to CB in the late 70's and early 80's. It was fun then, with fresh tortillas, decent gringo-style mexican food. Relatives arrived from Canada,told their kids of youthful experiences, so all wanted to go again. We went last night. Horrid! Crowded through twin stuffy cattle chutes, we waited in line for over half an hour. Kids took our orders - over $12 for "all-you-can-eat deluxe beef dinners." We shuffled past unused tortilla stall, grabbed plastic trays, warm plates of pasty-looking stuff. No fresh greens or salsa in sight. Star Buffet Inc, Owner, is taking advantage of expired USDA warnings to avoid serving ANY fresh vegetables. "Hostess" packed us off to corner table, view obstructed by plaster pillars. Whiffs of stale food and sterno filled air. No wandering Mariachis - they play up front between "dive shows" - more kids doing random things. "Food" awful. Meat mostly soy product. Bland sauce. Fake "cheese." Got sick later - MSG! No Beauty to be found in Casa Bonita
Sounds wonderful! I've never been to an all you can eat Mexican restaurant.
If I'm ever in the area, I'll be sure to stop in for a bite. Good article
I want to go! Great article, very informative... thanks Aly.
I haven't eaten at a Casa Bonita in over a decade. The very thought makes my mouth water. Wow, seating for over 1,000. That sounds like a very large restaurant.
I've been there. Great food, great service, and outstanding atmosphere.
sounds like fun
That photo is breathtaking. I want to go there!
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