Fabulous Summer Brunch At Yardbird In Denver’s RINO District

Photos courtesy of Kevin Austin

Hello, my fellow foodies and welcome back. I don’t get to go out to brunch that often in Denver, but an opportunity arose to check out brunch at Yardbird in The RINO district of Denver. There are many Yardbird restaurants all over the country and their brunch is supposed to be legendary. Many friends have been there and told me that this was the place to go for sweet and savory yumminess with a fantastic bar and patio. I went to check it out to see if this elevated brunch is truly worth all the hype. So off I pop and let’s eat!

Yardbird has a massive building in RINO with a patio and inside bar that are beyond impressive. This is a great place to hang out with a large party, have a celebration in their downstairs speakeasy, or just belly up to the stunning bar for brunch and cocktails.  I decided to sit at the bar to hang out with the bartenders, and more importantly, great people watching. I started with the iconic Cinnamon Roll, which was a great choice. I am not much of a sweets eater, but I saw one come out of the kitchen and had to order it.  It is massive, and enough for four people. It comes topped with a cream cheese frosting and a salted bourbon caramel sauce. The salty and sweet sauce of this pastry made in house was perfection. The steak knife that accompanies it tells you to just dig in and share. It is delicious.

You can’t come to brunch at Yardbird without trying two dishes, which both take brunch to a new level. The Chicken & Waffles with Vermont cheddar waffles, perfect fried chicken, honey hot sauce and bourbon maple syrup was up first.  The fried chicken was superb, and I really loved that this was a true mix of salty and sweet. The cheddar waffles were savory, which is a different take on the sweet waffle. The sweet came from the bourbon maple syrup, and this was syrupy perfection. 

Yardbird smokes their own meat, so the Smoked Brisket Huevos Rancheros were an obvious choice. Served with two sunny side up eggs on top of a mix of black beans, smoked brisket, and pico de gallo, this dish screams out brunch. Scoop all the smokey goodness up with the tortilla chips they serve on the side, and you’ve got yourself a 5-star brunch entrée. There are plenty of other dishes on the brunch menu including an Acai bowl which was fresh, full of fruit and something to order on the lighter side.

The cocktails for brunch are so inventive. The Watermelon Sling was my absolute favorite. Tequila, Aperol, watermelon, and lemon made this a great summer choice.  The “Yardbird” is an Old Fashioned made with bacon infused Wild Turkey whiskey.  They had me at bacon, and it was one of the best Old Fashioneds I have had. 

I am so glad I decided to make the trip to Yardbird and enjoy brunch on a sunny Colorado day. For all my brunchy foodies, Yardbird is for you, and for those that want to go out and try something truly amazing and different, take the trip down to RINO, walk around a bit and then stop into Yardbird for the brunch of a lifetime. You won’t be disappointed. Until next time my fellow foodies, eat well, drink well and be well.