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What's a Belgian cafe doing on Colfax? Serving very good food.

A A A Comments (5) By Jason Sheehan Thursday, Nov 5 2009

...continued from page 2

Kyle Kainz delivers a beer at the Cheeky Monk, Denver's only Belgian cafe. See more photos at westword.com/slideshow.

Location Info

Map

The Cheeky Monk

534 E. Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80203

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Central Denver

10 user reviews	Write A Review
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Details

Sausage platter $15
Soft pretzels $6
Cheese croquettes $9
Frites $6
Bangers and mash $11
Belgian waffle $7

534 East Colfax Avenue

303-861-0347

www.thecheekymonk.com

Hours: 11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily

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But then, the Cheeky Monk has a strange magic that's helped it beat the odds and survive in this space. I had a nice time sitting there listening to the regulars talk about beers and baseball with the fill-in bartender, eating my cheese, my sauerkraut, waiting on my server to deliver an authentic Belgian waffle with sugary icing and cinnamon sauce and wondering when I would be able to make it back for some fish and chips, more fried cheese, more unpronounceable beers and beignets. And though I love the Monk's neighborhood for all its endemic weirdness and odd juxtapositions, for its come-ons from the small-time pushers, flashing cop lights, midnight fistfights and dives of all description, for a moment — looking out the window at the wind-blown snow and damp freaks stalking the sidewalks — I never wanted to leave.

See more of the Cheeky Monk at westword. com.

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Joey 12/08/2009 6:52:00 PM

Have to agree with mantotat, Carlsberg?? My last memory of that dreadful lager was from an open bar at a Norwegian wedding last summer. The best thing about Cheeky Monk is the variety of the beer list; choices that you can't find within walking distance of any bar or pub in downtown(though some are for sale up the street at Argonaut). The styles of beer and prices are certainly not as approachable as the tame offerings at Uptown Tavern or the like, but that's why it's important that a place like Cheeky Monk continue to survive. And with the new mixed retail space going in across the street, maybe its future is a little more secure (though I'd like to avoid the development debate). As someone who lives a block off Colfax, I welcome and applaud Cheeky Monk's continued survival.

Jodie 11/24/2009 2:24:00 AM

I was more than a little disappointed that the pretzels were "Super Pretzel" brand pretzels microwaved from the box then dressed up with the coarse salt, mustard seeds and garlic salt. (I only know this because we have a box in the freezer and Cheeky monks tasted identical) I was hoping for something a little more authentic. My only hope is that maybe I caught the kitchen on a day where they ran out an had to substitute with the boxed freezer kind. Other than that the beer was great and so was our bartender.

Ed H 11/08/2009 4:19:00 AM

Wow, I gotta tip my hat to Jason Sheehan this week. I think this was damn near the ultimate Sheehan review. Condescension: "...we joked about the place, inventing back stories for the people there � how this one had gotten lost on his way downtown for a board meeting and was afraid to leave, how that couple considered themselves brave urban pioneers living on the edge..." Some people just aren't made to try new restaurants downtown. Don't have the huevos if you will. Unlike Sheehan, who is bad-ass and will eat wherever he feels like. Bigotry: "I wondered how the Monk could possibly attract enough yuppies to keep the lights on, Chads and Buffys willing to brave the neighborhood and mangle the pronunciation of Koningshoeven Quadrupel and Duchesse de Bourgogne and eat sauerkraut" We can all hate yuppies right? God forbid the wrong type of people show up at *our* places. Shudder. Shudder. Shudder. Self Absorption: "I was there with another writer.." (Pahlaniuk? Bourdain perhaps?) "I retired to Tom's Diner across the street, where I re-read the best bits of Down and Out in Paris and London..." The only thing it lacked was Sheehan referring to himself as a 'Mick' and pointing out he's from Buffalo with hard-drinking-blue-collar � roots. Anyway, keep up the good work Jason, Denver needs you.

mantonat 11/07/2009 3:06:00 AM

I'm glad Jason enjoyed the Cheeky Monk, but it's a shame he missed out on the main theme of the place - Belgian beer. I know Sheehan is a not a drinks writer, but he is also a restaurant critic, which means that he should take the time and care to at least attempt some form of accuracy when it comes to such a central aspect of this particular restaurant. To have a Carlsberg at the Cheeky Monk is like reviewing Elway's without ever eating a steak there. To call lambic beer "just alcoholic fruit juice" is to show a level of willful ignorance that makes a knowledgeable reader question Sheehan's commitment to hard facts. If he can be that blatantly wrong about a subject that could be easily researched (by simply sampling a few beers), it calls into question his accuracy on any number of other different topics; pho, deshebrada, creme brulee, green chile, etc. I don't expect every food writer and restaurant critic to become an overnight beer geek, but when a writer claims to be passionate about flavors and the discovery of new and wonderful things in the Denver restaurant scene, it seems that the writer owes it to his readers to not limit himself to things like industrial European lagers, which the majority of us already are familiar with. I expect more from Sheehan. I wouldn't expect him to stick to Pad Thai at at a new Thai restaurant, I can't imagine him stopping at the ground beef tacos on a Mexican menu, and I certainly think he is missing out on a world of flavors - and depriving us of that experience - by not exploring beyond the basics in this case. Maybe the wider world of beer flavors is just not his thing, but Sheehan is too good a writer to not share even his bad experiences with us. Drink up, buddy, and tell us about it!

E. Brown 11/06/2009 8:09:00 AM

Not that this really matters but about 50 years ago Belgium created what we've come to know and love as The Smurfs. And in the Belgium Comic Strip Center (yep, that happened) there's a huge un-named Smurf to take cheesy pics with. But I found out, first hand, they frown on taking said pics with said Smurf while holding a big ol Belgium beer in one hand and a waffle covered in chocolate in the other. Long story longer: The Cheeky Monk was a good Smurfin' read.