Back again to celebrate birthday, end of school year, Mother's and Father's Day. Just fantastic. Ate outside as the sun set. It was all just fantastic. Spouse had a salad that looked like it was mostly flowers; she and my daughter both had duck. I had crab cakes (Maryland represent) and chicken. Daughter had a tiny scoop (seriously, a tablespoon) of blackberry ice cream for dessert, very good, but tiny. They had a 2:1 wine deal (actually, half off on the second one) going, so we had a white Graves Ch. Corbonnieux to start and then a red Cote de Beaune Pernand - Vergelesses, both of which were fantastic. We decided not to go for the Methuselah of Vosne Romanee for $52,000. The sommelier was very helpful in maximizing the value/cost. Wine list is 92 pages long, and they believe they have the strongest Burgundy selection in the country -- I've not seen better, but neither does my opinion matter much in such things. Best or not, it's amazing. I'd think that they might rate a Michelin star. Just fantastic, and reliably so. Expensive but probably worth it.
(5)
Vijay K.
After a long flight I just needed to relax with a cool light beer and meal. Nick at a elements 47 made the excellent recommendations with the Colorado kolsch and a hearty colliflower tortellini with shaved truffles and hon shimeji mushrooms. Exquisite. Never thought a vegetarian option could have so much richness.
(5)
Michael M.
You'll pay for the pleasure, but hard to beat the food, wine and service here. Best of the best in Aspen. We'll be back.
(5)
Tyler R.
I think Yelp needs to add another $ to this restaurant - extreme megabucks to eat here. That said...it was definitely delicious. We (again) chose to sit outside, but not before grabbing a drink at the bar and giving a polite smile/nod to Tony Bennett, who was performing in town and having dinner here that evening. The menu was simple, and most of us opted for a small and a large plate. Portion sizes are on the small side, but as with any restaurant of this caliber, as the price goes up the portion sizes go down. Not necessarily a bad thing - if they came out with a Cheesecake Factory sized dinner I would probably have been thrown off a bit. At this point of the trip I was meated-out, so I went for a salad (paonia farms lettuce) and the halibut. Both were good - but next time, after seeing some other meals floating around, I would have gone full blast and opted for the nettle tagliatelle & the wagyu cut. Great meal, extremely pricey. This was a company dinner, so my pocket didn't take a hit, but given the choice I would have a very hard time justifying what would end up being a $250 meal for two.
(5)
MK P.
Quiet, hidden little get away located in the center lobby of Little Nell. We had a very patient server who made even our dog feel welcome (Amanda). The food was flavorful, well presented and fairly priced at about $20 per person. Such a relaxing lunch, I really enjoyed myself. Thanks!
(5)
Adam H.
My wife and I stayed at The Little Nell for our wedding and honeymoon in June, 2014. The staff at Element 47 overextended themselves at every turn. From our cake, to our wedding reception. We met with the pastry chef, the head chef, and the sommelier. Each had an element of excitement to add to our most special celebration. They waited on us wether we were dining or just passing through. I cannot speak highly enough of the wonderful team who made us feel at home all week. Needless to say, when the staff care about their customers as these guys do the food quality is superior to anything you might find elsewhere in Aspen. Did I mention it was just the 2 of us (zero guests)? ...still, we were made to feel like complete rockstars. Thank you.
(5)
Marty B.
This restaurant at The Little used to be much better when it was under different management. Now it's impersonal, the food is just okay (with very small portions), and the service slow. Certainly not commensurate with the prices they charge. The hotel is great but sadly the restaurant lags behind. Many better places to eat in Aspen.
(2)
Kim W.
Wow! Amazing service and the Carte Blanche was one of the, no, THE best meal I've had in at least a decade. Thank you Chef, thank you very much!
(5)
Tracy L.
Visiting Aspen with a large group (21) for a birthday celebration. Very disappointed outcome with his restaurant. Quite expensive and the service was poor. Beautiful restaurant and outdoor seating is a dream but the whole experience was not ideal. Ate at much better (highly rated) restaurants in the area.
(2)
Rachel M.
What a great experience today for lunch! Come try the new menu with bigger portions! The Little Nell has a reputation for being great- and their rebranding and improvements will not go unnoticed but will raise the bar. The lamb meatballs and tortillini apps were my favorite but everything was great!
(4)
Jin Y.
foie gras donuts. five stars. maine lobster benedict. amazing. lamb burger. yumtastic. very very pricey but worth the splurge if you're in aspen since it's inside aspen's "only 5 star 5 diamond property." that said, on a super crowded x-games weekend where everything had a huge line and immense wait, we walked right in here and got seated and served right away by a friendly server. super classy.
(4)
Ben M.
Very poor service experience at very high prices. I've eaten in every version of the Little Nell's restaurant since the hotel opened and never have they managed to match quality of service to price. Most recently I tried Element 47 for breakfast and was very disappointed. About half of my party's food came out cold, one dish was completely uncooked, I had to flag down servers several times for coffee or water or follow up on the food that was sent back. Our main server was apologetic (the issues were not within her control for the most part) but never did a manager or anyone for that matter come over to apologize or try to improve the situation. To top it off, the quality of the food was fine but nothing exceptional. To get away with an average $30 per person breakfast, everything needs to be perfect without exception. Regrettably not the case here. If you are looking for a hotel fine dining experience the Hotel Jerome and the St. Regis are better choices.
(2)
Heather B.
Quiet between seasons, but some of the best food in town. We ordered the courses to split & all were presented split with beautiful presentation. Every dish was superb, you will want it to go on far beyond the plate being empty. We will be back in our next visit to Aspen.
(5)
Jori E.
We were really looking forward to our visit at Element 47! We came during the X-games and figured that since it was during the season and such a busy weekend the food would be superb! The restaurant is beautiful and the reason behind the name of Element 47 is very creative and the staff is so friendly! However, when coming to a restaurant like this you expect to be blown away! I don't mean with complicated dishes, I mean with just great great cooking. I am sad to say we were very disappointed. There were more low lights than highlights. Highlight- Great sake, smooth and sweet. Low-lights- The scallops- were terribly over seasoned. Just so much salt we could hardly finish them. The presentation was beautiful but the over seasoning took away from scallops that were very well cooked. The Wagyu beef- If you are going to spend $63.00 on a piece of meat you would expect it to be perfect. Unfortunately most of this steak was extremely fatty and again- over salted. It was another dish that was difficult to finish. It was cooked for way to long and the presentation was poor. It looked like a sad piece of meat. We were really let down and really enjoy fine dining and trying new places. I was disappointed by the cooking at Element 47 and suggest spending the hefty price tag at a different restaurant when you're in Aspen.
(2)
Suzee Q.
Slow service. Although we were greeted and seated early as we requested, it took a while for our server to get to our table. The menu was never explained to us. The periodic table of elements is used as a gimmick to organize the menu. (Element 47 = silver.) There's, apparently, a tasting menu listed on the left side of the menu. On the right side, the menu is divided up but it took us a bit to figure it out. We were given an amuse-bouche of celery root puree. A small cast iron pan of rolls were set on the table as well. Actually, all the food was good but we weren't blown away as we had expected - no entree on the menu really appealed to us. We ordered 2appetizers: seared scallops and ravioli with lobster and all the 4 sides: whipped potatoes (great), polenta (yummy), brussel sprouts (chewy big chunks of meat though), cauliflower (good!). Decor is modern and interesting. Just wished it was a better experience.
(3)
Paul S.
Element 47 presents a bit of a conundrum to a reviewer. Man, the food really is good. It is universally flavorful, perfectly prepared and presented, uses excellent ingredients -- there is nothing at all to complain about. I'm not sure what genre they say they serve, but something along the lines of Novelle makes sense to me. Here's the problem: it is the most expensive restaurant I've eaten at in years. For the prices charged, even in A$pen, the experience should be transcendent. Not great. Not excellent. Magical. It is great. It is excellent. It falls short of magical, though, in almost every respect. The room, to start with, is designer stark, with muted colors and angular lines dominating. It feels cold. Maybe its the lighting, but I don't read it as artsy. Just empty. The service: really hard to complain about. Again, if this were a $$$ restaurant and not a $$$$$$, I'd have been very satisfied. Everyone was friendly and attentive, and there were no real mishaps. Nonetheless, when we wanted help, it was not instantly forthcoming -- it took sometimes a couple of minutes. And when we ordered oysters and did not specify either of the two offered preparations, maybe someone could have confirmed which one we wanted? No big deal; what we got was excellent. And Nick the sommelier is really on top of his game, so I leave him entirely out of my criticism. But the service is excellent, where it should be perfect. The food: My chicken was really nice -- deboned and juicy, with great simple sauce and some nice sides. The oysters were fresh and the seafoam and pickled onion prep was interesting. My wife's filet was tender cooked exactly as she likes it, but maybe should have been sauced -- it was a bit plain. Everything I tasted was really good. Just not special or particularly memorable. The star of the show is the wine list. Wow. I love burgundies, and the temptation to blow the price of a used SUV on a bottle or Leroy or DRC or Lignier Grand Cru is pretty compelling. Fortunately there was a $100 Leroy Borgogne on the menu -- lower appellations from great producers (particularly Leroy) are often bargains, and always better than average. This was a 2000 and did not disappoint. As I said, Nick, who's worked every time I've been there, was excellent, as knowledgeable as anyone I've come across. Talk to him before you order, tell him what you want, and he'll find you something special. So overall, a really nice dinner in what turns out to be a very expensive hotel dining room. One might hope that it were more ambitious than that, that it strove to provide a transcendent culinary experience. It does succeed in providing a really excellent one, but at these prices, that's only worth 4 stars, not 5.
(4)
Chrissy S.
For lunch, get the lamb French dip. It was amazing! Dinner is exquisite as well.....the hot chocolate with a huge homemade marshmallow is beyond rich and creamy and very dangerous!
(5)
Richard S.
Went to dinner here tonight. Very disappointed, service was lacking. Restaurant was not very busy still they didn't seem to have their act together. Knew that it was going to be high priced, therefore I would expect much more delicious food. Many other places in Aspen.. I think offer better quality and better value. I know it's in the Little Nell and maybe that's why they get away with it
The service here was impeccable! Lauren was a delight and the sommelier Nick was knowledgable with the extensive wine list. Our first two dishes were stunning, the Autumn vegetables and the Maine Lobster. Unfortunately the Rabbit was lacking in flavor and the Wagyu beef was marginal at best. We chose the local grass-fed beef and are keenly aware this tends to be a less fatty beef, however for $69 the chef should have been able to figure out a preparation in which the flavor could have been enhanced. Unfortunately this left us feeling disappointed with the food element to our dining experience.
(3)
Orene K.
The first time we ate here, we thought it was just okay. We decided to give it another try, since it purports to be a fine dining experience in the Little Nell. We went using their Monday night special prix fix dinner. We wanted to make a minor substitution, looking at the prices of the entrees on the menu. We were told that they would charge us more than double the price difference between the two items on the menu (the difference between the two was $14 and they would charge us $30 for the change). When my husband asked to speak to the Manager about this, the Manager told us that they were losing money on every dinner sold in the Monday night special, and they would charge us double the normal amount for any substitutions. We have never seen a restaurant operate like this before. In addition, my soup was lukewarm (and very rich) and, although I ordered the chicken, the sauce on it was very rich and I left with an upset stomach. Overall, the food was average.
(1)
Katie W.
Hands down one of the best dining experiences I ever had. Our waiter was friendly and not fussy, he made great recommendations and was available whenever we needed anything. The sommelier selected a fantastic French red for our table based on our preferences. I had the scallop appetizer to start, it was gorgeously presented and tasted wonderful. I had the monkfish per our server's suggestion and I wasn't disappointed, it was fantastic. I also tried the lamb and venison, both were top notch. We all shared the doughnut hole dessert alongside what my dining companions called the best coffee ever. Some places can really be pretentious is Aspen and Element 47 is far from it. I felt at ease and welcomed for our entire meal, even when asking for my 20% annual ski pass discount. The server was so kind about it, which really made a great impression on me. We will definitely return.
(5)
Cassie P.
Unbelievably expensive. Minuscule portions,especially evident in huge dishes not worth it. (Okay -- found a bug in my organic salad--comped the salad....whoopee!). Someone besides the server needed to make it right.
(1)
Amy M.
Delicious meal. My husband and I were staying at the Little Nell and decided to try their signature restaurant. We were not disappointed. We started off by ordering a bottle of wine and the nantucket bay scallops, farm apple, japanese citrus, ginger for an appetizer. The warm bread that they give you is delicious and my husband enjoyed it so much that they brought him another round. We were also given a small shot of the nights soup which was nice to sample. The ceviche was delicious and I made sure to enjoy every last bite. For our entrees I opted for the sweet potato ravioli with black trumpet mushrooms & pecan granola. My husband enjoyed the pacific black cod with brandade, braised endive & orange. Both of us found our meals to be quite tasty. At the end we were presented with complimentary desserts of salted caramels and cream pops. After spending ~$184 for dinner we both agreed that the meal was good and we don't regret going but that before making a return trip we'll try some other restuarants in the area.
(4)
John P.
Fabulous for dinner. The best wine list in the US ! great service ....great cuisine do not loose time, get there right away ! $$$$ prices completely justified.
(5)
Samantha L.
I think we will be talking about this meal for the rest of our lives. The service is fantastic, the decor modern, and the cocktails exciting. But, really, the food is just crazy good. First, you get fresh, warm bread rolls and whipped butter. Then, if you choose the $47 menu choices, you indulge in a non-throwaway menu that includes 3 courses and a glass of a nice wine. We had the salmon rillettes to start -- fresh and delicious. Then, I had the gnocchi with chimichuri, farm fresh egg and short rib. This was maybe the best pasta I've ever had. My boyfriend had the paella with the freshest seafood he's maybe ever had outside of Spain -- and the homemade chorizo and rice was also just amazing. For dessert, we had the fantastic doughnut holes and the molecular gastronomy that was the Greek yogurt cheesecake with basil sponge cake. While the cheesecake was a little too savory for my sweet tooth, my boyfriend loved it. Oh, and did I mention, the compliments-of-the-chef grape juice drink with an almond crust and after dinner orange creamsicle pop and caramel candy. I'm going to be dreaming about my meal from here on out.
(5)
Andy G.
Pros: Great food and atmosphere Cons: none One of the finest dinning experiences in Aspen. Well worth the money. You will not be disappointed.
(5)
Jennifer S.
Beautiful space at the Little Nell...great patio with views of the mountain and impeccable service - clearly the staff is highly trained and it shows.
(4)
Shayna P.
Favorite place to après. Less crowded than most places. Indoor and outdoor seating. Amazing cocktails. Yummy octopus ceviche. I had my first Moscow Mule here & fell in love.
(5)
Jeff L.
We went for the price fix. The service was excellent as well as the wine. The food was horrible. I had the Kobe beef. It was saltier then beef jerky. My friend had the black cod. A lemon tree could not drown out the smell. You could not pay me to go back. I hope I don't get sick.
One if the top dinners of this foodies life. Shocking actually, not good - but excellent in every aspect, every course. Staff well spoken and extremely knowledgeable, decor a 10 (request a booth)... Wine list expensive - cocktails great - price for it all was no more than a very average Aspen sushi restaurant was ate at the night before.
(5)
Lauren M.
Element 47 is the new restaurant replacing Montagna at The Little Nell. The decor is more modern but is lacking something. The food is just okay and the service is very mediocre. I did however enjoy a fabulous burger :)
(3)
Phil D.
Your life will dramatically improve during and after this meal. Congrats to your future happiness!
(5)
t k.
Our favorite meal in Aspen! The Little Nell is the very picture of perfection when it comes to customer service, and this adjoining restaurant is no exception. Clean, modern, minimalist interior. Outstanding customer service that was beyond polite and entered the realm of actually nice and sincerely friendly. All dishes were generous with rich and nuanced flavor, starting with their fabulous warm rolls all the way through dessert. We took advantage of their off-season fixed price menu, which was an amazing way to explore the place in an affordable way. A decadent, fun two hours at this special place - the first one in Aspen to which we're eager to return!
(5)
Mia B.
Love this place for lunch. A good break from slopes. Great burger and service was impeccable.
(4)
David A.
If they are going for five stars they have a long way to go. While at the bar before dinner we had a very small pour on our drinks over the rocks and they then filled the glass with so much small ice it was difficult to drink. The bar back setting up sneezed in his hand, did not wash, and keep setting up the bar. Ten bar tender handled evert thing with her bare hands,, even my olives. The soup, scallops, vegetable salad were good but very rich. To me the menu did not offer anything else that sounded interesting. I was told the chief was new and had been there 3 weeks.
(3)
Eric J.
elegant setting for drinks
(4)
Brian S.
This place suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. The food and drinks were all superb, but the service made dining here a less than ideal experience. There was no communication between the wait staff, and they were constantly asking us duplicate questions. Most of the staff was very friendly and relaxed, but our server Chad was very condescending and showed clear favoritism to the bigger table next to us. When he cleared the table of our food, he took my guest's dirty fork and knife off her plate and put them back on the table in front of her. If this place wants to masquerade as fine dining, they should train their waiters. Otherwise, they should lower their prices (not gonna happen in Aspen, I know) and go for a more relaxed vibe. In conclusion, this is still a great place to grab an (expensive) bite to eat, but don't let the stuffiness fool you... This is not a fine dining experience.
(3)
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Address :The Little Nell,675 E Durant Ave
Aspen, CO, 81611
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : No Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Valet Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Dressy Ambience : Romantic Noise Level : Average Good For Dancing : No Alcohol : Full Bar Happy Hour : Yes Coat Check : Yes Smoking : Outdoor Area/ Patio Only Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes
james w.
Back again to celebrate birthday, end of school year, Mother's and Father's Day. Just fantastic. Ate outside as the sun set. It was all just fantastic. Spouse had a salad that looked like it was mostly flowers; she and my daughter both had duck. I had crab cakes (Maryland represent) and chicken. Daughter had a tiny scoop (seriously, a tablespoon) of blackberry ice cream for dessert, very good, but tiny. They had a 2:1 wine deal (actually, half off on the second one) going, so we had a white Graves Ch. Corbonnieux to start and then a red Cote de Beaune Pernand - Vergelesses, both of which were fantastic. We decided not to go for the Methuselah of Vosne Romanee for $52,000. The sommelier was very helpful in maximizing the value/cost. Wine list is 92 pages long, and they believe they have the strongest Burgundy selection in the country -- I've not seen better, but neither does my opinion matter much in such things. Best or not, it's amazing. I'd think that they might rate a Michelin star. Just fantastic, and reliably so. Expensive but probably worth it.
(5)Vijay K.
After a long flight I just needed to relax with a cool light beer and meal. Nick at a elements 47 made the excellent recommendations with the Colorado kolsch and a hearty colliflower tortellini with shaved truffles and hon shimeji mushrooms. Exquisite. Never thought a vegetarian option could have so much richness.
(5)Michael M.
You'll pay for the pleasure, but hard to beat the food, wine and service here. Best of the best in Aspen. We'll be back.
(5)Tyler R.
I think Yelp needs to add another $ to this restaurant - extreme megabucks to eat here. That said...it was definitely delicious. We (again) chose to sit outside, but not before grabbing a drink at the bar and giving a polite smile/nod to Tony Bennett, who was performing in town and having dinner here that evening. The menu was simple, and most of us opted for a small and a large plate. Portion sizes are on the small side, but as with any restaurant of this caliber, as the price goes up the portion sizes go down. Not necessarily a bad thing - if they came out with a Cheesecake Factory sized dinner I would probably have been thrown off a bit. At this point of the trip I was meated-out, so I went for a salad (paonia farms lettuce) and the halibut. Both were good - but next time, after seeing some other meals floating around, I would have gone full blast and opted for the nettle tagliatelle & the wagyu cut. Great meal, extremely pricey. This was a company dinner, so my pocket didn't take a hit, but given the choice I would have a very hard time justifying what would end up being a $250 meal for two.
(5)MK P.
Quiet, hidden little get away located in the center lobby of Little Nell. We had a very patient server who made even our dog feel welcome (Amanda). The food was flavorful, well presented and fairly priced at about $20 per person. Such a relaxing lunch, I really enjoyed myself. Thanks!
(5)Adam H.
My wife and I stayed at The Little Nell for our wedding and honeymoon in June, 2014. The staff at Element 47 overextended themselves at every turn. From our cake, to our wedding reception. We met with the pastry chef, the head chef, and the sommelier. Each had an element of excitement to add to our most special celebration. They waited on us wether we were dining or just passing through. I cannot speak highly enough of the wonderful team who made us feel at home all week. Needless to say, when the staff care about their customers as these guys do the food quality is superior to anything you might find elsewhere in Aspen. Did I mention it was just the 2 of us (zero guests)? ...still, we were made to feel like complete rockstars. Thank you.
(5)Marty B.
This restaurant at The Little used to be much better when it was under different management. Now it's impersonal, the food is just okay (with very small portions), and the service slow. Certainly not commensurate with the prices they charge. The hotel is great but sadly the restaurant lags behind. Many better places to eat in Aspen.
(2)Kim W.
Wow! Amazing service and the Carte Blanche was one of the, no, THE best meal I've had in at least a decade. Thank you Chef, thank you very much!
(5)Tracy L.
Visiting Aspen with a large group (21) for a birthday celebration. Very disappointed outcome with his restaurant. Quite expensive and the service was poor. Beautiful restaurant and outdoor seating is a dream but the whole experience was not ideal. Ate at much better (highly rated) restaurants in the area.
(2)Rachel M.
What a great experience today for lunch! Come try the new menu with bigger portions! The Little Nell has a reputation for being great- and their rebranding and improvements will not go unnoticed but will raise the bar. The lamb meatballs and tortillini apps were my favorite but everything was great!
(4)Jin Y.
foie gras donuts. five stars. maine lobster benedict. amazing. lamb burger. yumtastic. very very pricey but worth the splurge if you're in aspen since it's inside aspen's "only 5 star 5 diamond property." that said, on a super crowded x-games weekend where everything had a huge line and immense wait, we walked right in here and got seated and served right away by a friendly server. super classy.
(4)Ben M.
Very poor service experience at very high prices. I've eaten in every version of the Little Nell's restaurant since the hotel opened and never have they managed to match quality of service to price. Most recently I tried Element 47 for breakfast and was very disappointed. About half of my party's food came out cold, one dish was completely uncooked, I had to flag down servers several times for coffee or water or follow up on the food that was sent back. Our main server was apologetic (the issues were not within her control for the most part) but never did a manager or anyone for that matter come over to apologize or try to improve the situation. To top it off, the quality of the food was fine but nothing exceptional. To get away with an average $30 per person breakfast, everything needs to be perfect without exception. Regrettably not the case here. If you are looking for a hotel fine dining experience the Hotel Jerome and the St. Regis are better choices.
(2)Heather B.
Quiet between seasons, but some of the best food in town. We ordered the courses to split & all were presented split with beautiful presentation. Every dish was superb, you will want it to go on far beyond the plate being empty. We will be back in our next visit to Aspen.
(5)Jori E.
We were really looking forward to our visit at Element 47! We came during the X-games and figured that since it was during the season and such a busy weekend the food would be superb! The restaurant is beautiful and the reason behind the name of Element 47 is very creative and the staff is so friendly! However, when coming to a restaurant like this you expect to be blown away! I don't mean with complicated dishes, I mean with just great great cooking. I am sad to say we were very disappointed. There were more low lights than highlights. Highlight- Great sake, smooth and sweet. Low-lights- The scallops- were terribly over seasoned. Just so much salt we could hardly finish them. The presentation was beautiful but the over seasoning took away from scallops that were very well cooked. The Wagyu beef- If you are going to spend $63.00 on a piece of meat you would expect it to be perfect. Unfortunately most of this steak was extremely fatty and again- over salted. It was another dish that was difficult to finish. It was cooked for way to long and the presentation was poor. It looked like a sad piece of meat. We were really let down and really enjoy fine dining and trying new places. I was disappointed by the cooking at Element 47 and suggest spending the hefty price tag at a different restaurant when you're in Aspen.
(2)Suzee Q.
Slow service. Although we were greeted and seated early as we requested, it took a while for our server to get to our table. The menu was never explained to us. The periodic table of elements is used as a gimmick to organize the menu. (Element 47 = silver.) There's, apparently, a tasting menu listed on the left side of the menu. On the right side, the menu is divided up but it took us a bit to figure it out. We were given an amuse-bouche of celery root puree. A small cast iron pan of rolls were set on the table as well. Actually, all the food was good but we weren't blown away as we had expected - no entree on the menu really appealed to us. We ordered 2appetizers: seared scallops and ravioli with lobster and all the 4 sides: whipped potatoes (great), polenta (yummy), brussel sprouts (chewy big chunks of meat though), cauliflower (good!). Decor is modern and interesting. Just wished it was a better experience.
(3)Paul S.
Element 47 presents a bit of a conundrum to a reviewer. Man, the food really is good. It is universally flavorful, perfectly prepared and presented, uses excellent ingredients -- there is nothing at all to complain about. I'm not sure what genre they say they serve, but something along the lines of Novelle makes sense to me. Here's the problem: it is the most expensive restaurant I've eaten at in years. For the prices charged, even in A$pen, the experience should be transcendent. Not great. Not excellent. Magical. It is great. It is excellent. It falls short of magical, though, in almost every respect. The room, to start with, is designer stark, with muted colors and angular lines dominating. It feels cold. Maybe its the lighting, but I don't read it as artsy. Just empty. The service: really hard to complain about. Again, if this were a $$$ restaurant and not a $$$$$$, I'd have been very satisfied. Everyone was friendly and attentive, and there were no real mishaps. Nonetheless, when we wanted help, it was not instantly forthcoming -- it took sometimes a couple of minutes. And when we ordered oysters and did not specify either of the two offered preparations, maybe someone could have confirmed which one we wanted? No big deal; what we got was excellent. And Nick the sommelier is really on top of his game, so I leave him entirely out of my criticism. But the service is excellent, where it should be perfect. The food: My chicken was really nice -- deboned and juicy, with great simple sauce and some nice sides. The oysters were fresh and the seafoam and pickled onion prep was interesting. My wife's filet was tender cooked exactly as she likes it, but maybe should have been sauced -- it was a bit plain. Everything I tasted was really good. Just not special or particularly memorable. The star of the show is the wine list. Wow. I love burgundies, and the temptation to blow the price of a used SUV on a bottle or Leroy or DRC or Lignier Grand Cru is pretty compelling. Fortunately there was a $100 Leroy Borgogne on the menu -- lower appellations from great producers (particularly Leroy) are often bargains, and always better than average. This was a 2000 and did not disappoint. As I said, Nick, who's worked every time I've been there, was excellent, as knowledgeable as anyone I've come across. Talk to him before you order, tell him what you want, and he'll find you something special. So overall, a really nice dinner in what turns out to be a very expensive hotel dining room. One might hope that it were more ambitious than that, that it strove to provide a transcendent culinary experience. It does succeed in providing a really excellent one, but at these prices, that's only worth 4 stars, not 5.
(4)Chrissy S.
For lunch, get the lamb French dip. It was amazing! Dinner is exquisite as well.....the hot chocolate with a huge homemade marshmallow is beyond rich and creamy and very dangerous!
(5)Richard S.
Went to dinner here tonight. Very disappointed, service was lacking. Restaurant was not very busy still they didn't seem to have their act together. Knew that it was going to be high priced, therefore I would expect much more delicious food. Many other places in Aspen.. I think offer better quality and better value. I know it's in the Little Nell and maybe that's why they get away with it
(3)Kaye M.
AMAZING meal! My husband and I ate at Element 47 the last night of our stay in Aspen and, if we could do it all again, we would "un-visit" a couple of other restaurants that we went to (which I won't name, because I don't normally "hate") and, instead, go back to Element 47 a couple of more times. We started with the winter vegetable salad ($18) creatively consisting of parsley root purée, apple vinaigrette, garlic streusel and the field lettuces salad ($13) consisting of shaved farm vegetables, pickles, verjus vinaigrette (both of which we took turns sharing). To be honest, I'm very "simple" when it comes to trying new things and was concerned that the salads might be a little too creative for me. WRONG. Although both were, in fact, incredibly creative both in presentation and ingredients, they were amazingly delicious. I never thought I could enjoy salad SO MUCH - I'm a die-hard carnivore. Hot-house vegetables, fresh from the farmer that day, made for two impossibly perfect salads in February. We each had the Buckner Farms' Colorado lamb (probably the best lamb we've had the luck to enjoy on all our travels) ($52) which contained two different cuts of lamb (chop and loin) and included red onion, paonia sunchoke purée, rapini, parisian gnocchi, kumquats. If you like lamb even just a little bit - you will LOVE this dish! Although we don't drink wine, they have an EXTENSIVE wine list for those of you who do, and the evening (service, food and atmosphere) were all top notch. Oh, and the skillet of bread rolls they bring to the table were worth every calorie & carb they consist of. EAT them! Sadly, we were too full for dessert, but if the chef who makes the rolls has any hand in their dessert menu, then lucky is the man (and woman) who has room for dessert! I would like to thank everyone involved with our meal on Saturday, February 7th. Your restaurant and team (from the front of house staff to your chefs who created our beautiful meal) are all a class act! Run (or ski) as fast as you can to this restaurant . . . you'll be glad that you did!
(5)Carrie B.
The service here was impeccable! Lauren was a delight and the sommelier Nick was knowledgable with the extensive wine list. Our first two dishes were stunning, the Autumn vegetables and the Maine Lobster. Unfortunately the Rabbit was lacking in flavor and the Wagyu beef was marginal at best. We chose the local grass-fed beef and are keenly aware this tends to be a less fatty beef, however for $69 the chef should have been able to figure out a preparation in which the flavor could have been enhanced. Unfortunately this left us feeling disappointed with the food element to our dining experience.
(3)Orene K.
The first time we ate here, we thought it was just okay. We decided to give it another try, since it purports to be a fine dining experience in the Little Nell. We went using their Monday night special prix fix dinner. We wanted to make a minor substitution, looking at the prices of the entrees on the menu. We were told that they would charge us more than double the price difference between the two items on the menu (the difference between the two was $14 and they would charge us $30 for the change). When my husband asked to speak to the Manager about this, the Manager told us that they were losing money on every dinner sold in the Monday night special, and they would charge us double the normal amount for any substitutions. We have never seen a restaurant operate like this before. In addition, my soup was lukewarm (and very rich) and, although I ordered the chicken, the sauce on it was very rich and I left with an upset stomach. Overall, the food was average.
(1)Katie W.
Hands down one of the best dining experiences I ever had. Our waiter was friendly and not fussy, he made great recommendations and was available whenever we needed anything. The sommelier selected a fantastic French red for our table based on our preferences. I had the scallop appetizer to start, it was gorgeously presented and tasted wonderful. I had the monkfish per our server's suggestion and I wasn't disappointed, it was fantastic. I also tried the lamb and venison, both were top notch. We all shared the doughnut hole dessert alongside what my dining companions called the best coffee ever. Some places can really be pretentious is Aspen and Element 47 is far from it. I felt at ease and welcomed for our entire meal, even when asking for my 20% annual ski pass discount. The server was so kind about it, which really made a great impression on me. We will definitely return.
(5)Cassie P.
Unbelievably expensive. Minuscule portions,especially evident in huge dishes not worth it. (Okay -- found a bug in my organic salad--comped the salad....whoopee!). Someone besides the server needed to make it right.
(1)Amy M.
Delicious meal. My husband and I were staying at the Little Nell and decided to try their signature restaurant. We were not disappointed. We started off by ordering a bottle of wine and the nantucket bay scallops, farm apple, japanese citrus, ginger for an appetizer. The warm bread that they give you is delicious and my husband enjoyed it so much that they brought him another round. We were also given a small shot of the nights soup which was nice to sample. The ceviche was delicious and I made sure to enjoy every last bite. For our entrees I opted for the sweet potato ravioli with black trumpet mushrooms & pecan granola. My husband enjoyed the pacific black cod with brandade, braised endive & orange. Both of us found our meals to be quite tasty. At the end we were presented with complimentary desserts of salted caramels and cream pops. After spending ~$184 for dinner we both agreed that the meal was good and we don't regret going but that before making a return trip we'll try some other restuarants in the area.
(4)John P.
Fabulous for dinner. The best wine list in the US ! great service ....great cuisine do not loose time, get there right away ! $$$$ prices completely justified.
(5)Samantha L.
I think we will be talking about this meal for the rest of our lives. The service is fantastic, the decor modern, and the cocktails exciting. But, really, the food is just crazy good. First, you get fresh, warm bread rolls and whipped butter. Then, if you choose the $47 menu choices, you indulge in a non-throwaway menu that includes 3 courses and a glass of a nice wine. We had the salmon rillettes to start -- fresh and delicious. Then, I had the gnocchi with chimichuri, farm fresh egg and short rib. This was maybe the best pasta I've ever had. My boyfriend had the paella with the freshest seafood he's maybe ever had outside of Spain -- and the homemade chorizo and rice was also just amazing. For dessert, we had the fantastic doughnut holes and the molecular gastronomy that was the Greek yogurt cheesecake with basil sponge cake. While the cheesecake was a little too savory for my sweet tooth, my boyfriend loved it. Oh, and did I mention, the compliments-of-the-chef grape juice drink with an almond crust and after dinner orange creamsicle pop and caramel candy. I'm going to be dreaming about my meal from here on out.
(5)Andy G.
Pros: Great food and atmosphere Cons: none One of the finest dinning experiences in Aspen. Well worth the money. You will not be disappointed.
(5)Jennifer S.
Beautiful space at the Little Nell...great patio with views of the mountain and impeccable service - clearly the staff is highly trained and it shows.
(4)Shayna P.
Favorite place to après. Less crowded than most places. Indoor and outdoor seating. Amazing cocktails. Yummy octopus ceviche. I had my first Moscow Mule here & fell in love.
(5)Jeff L.
We went for the price fix. The service was excellent as well as the wine. The food was horrible. I had the Kobe beef. It was saltier then beef jerky. My friend had the black cod. A lemon tree could not drown out the smell. You could not pay me to go back. I hope I don't get sick.
(2)troy w.
Dropped by for dinner after reading a review in this month's Sunset Magazine. It didn't disappoint! Truly a 5-star dining experience. The service staff was attentive, unhurried, and discreet, the wine, cocktails, and beer were all to our table's approval, and the food was spectacular. Each dish was prepared by a kitchen that knows we eat with all of our senses. House made fettuccine: we didn't add the truffles and didn't miss them. Literally, as good as - or even better - than pasta we had in Italy. Poached egg torn into the sauce... Yum! Scallops brûlée: inventive, presentation points, and tasty. Cleaned the plate. Sea bass: wow! A nod to Asian influences while being an entirely new creation that one can't call Asian at all. A perfectly moist, tender piece of fish atop black rice and bok choy in a coconut-ginger-other-good-stuff sauce. Venison: my colleague had never had venison. Her words, "better than the best steak." The portions look small when brought to the table, but fear not, we left stuffed after splitting two starters, an entree each, and sharing a dessert. Plus, price was very reasonable. I wouldn't even list Element 47 as $$$$, but rather $$$. Dinner for two with 2 alcoholic drinks each and tip was slightly over $100 each. I hope Element 47 becomes the renowned place it deserves to be... You should go.
(5)Dan J.
One if the top dinners of this foodies life. Shocking actually, not good - but excellent in every aspect, every course. Staff well spoken and extremely knowledgeable, decor a 10 (request a booth)... Wine list expensive - cocktails great - price for it all was no more than a very average Aspen sushi restaurant was ate at the night before.
(5)Lauren M.
Element 47 is the new restaurant replacing Montagna at The Little Nell. The decor is more modern but is lacking something. The food is just okay and the service is very mediocre. I did however enjoy a fabulous burger :)
(3)Phil D.
Your life will dramatically improve during and after this meal. Congrats to your future happiness!
(5)t k.
Our favorite meal in Aspen! The Little Nell is the very picture of perfection when it comes to customer service, and this adjoining restaurant is no exception. Clean, modern, minimalist interior. Outstanding customer service that was beyond polite and entered the realm of actually nice and sincerely friendly. All dishes were generous with rich and nuanced flavor, starting with their fabulous warm rolls all the way through dessert. We took advantage of their off-season fixed price menu, which was an amazing way to explore the place in an affordable way. A decadent, fun two hours at this special place - the first one in Aspen to which we're eager to return!
(5)Mia B.
Love this place for lunch. A good break from slopes. Great burger and service was impeccable.
(4)David A.
If they are going for five stars they have a long way to go. While at the bar before dinner we had a very small pour on our drinks over the rocks and they then filled the glass with so much small ice it was difficult to drink. The bar back setting up sneezed in his hand, did not wash, and keep setting up the bar. Ten bar tender handled evert thing with her bare hands,, even my olives. The soup, scallops, vegetable salad were good but very rich. To me the menu did not offer anything else that sounded interesting. I was told the chief was new and had been there 3 weeks.
(3)Eric J.
elegant setting for drinks
(4)Brian S.
This place suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. The food and drinks were all superb, but the service made dining here a less than ideal experience. There was no communication between the wait staff, and they were constantly asking us duplicate questions. Most of the staff was very friendly and relaxed, but our server Chad was very condescending and showed clear favoritism to the bigger table next to us. When he cleared the table of our food, he took my guest's dirty fork and knife off her plate and put them back on the table in front of her. If this place wants to masquerade as fine dining, they should train their waiters. Otherwise, they should lower their prices (not gonna happen in Aspen, I know) and go for a more relaxed vibe. In conclusion, this is still a great place to grab an (expensive) bite to eat, but don't let the stuffiness fool you... This is not a fine dining experience.
(3)