No matter what season you visit Beaver Creek in, chances are you’ll be doing a lot of physical activity; skiing and ice-skating in the winter, ATV’s, hiking, biking, etc. in the summer. After all of that, the best thing to do, is enjoy a great meal with friends and family. After spending two years of winter and summer vacations in Beaver Creek, I’ve compiled a list of our top 10 meals (in no particular order – they’re all amazing!).
Village Bagel: Village Bagel is now a must do every single time we visit. Located right across from the Edwards Riverwalk, Village Bagel has an INCREDIBLE menu of different bagel flavors, cream cheeses, breakfast sandwiches and more. You can make your own bagel sandwich, either breakfast or lunch style, and they even make bagel pizzas! They rolled out a new app recently, and you can order online and pick up curbside to avoid the wait.
Vista: Located just inside the Arrowhead gates and perched over the golf course sits Vista restaurant. As the self-titled “Country Club of the Rockies,” Vista offers an amazing dining experience. The best thing about this menu is that you can choose from one of the chef created entrees, or you can create your own by choosing a protein, a sauce, a vegetable, and a starch. My favorite starter is the burrata cheese salad with arugula, poached pear, red onion, candied walnuts, and a honey vinaigrette. For entrees, I recommend the tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes – it’s to die for.
Grouse Mountain Grill: Dinner at Grouse Mountain Grill may be my absolute favorite meal I’ve had in all of my trips to Beaver Creek. We went with my entire family plus significant others, so luckily we were able to sample just about everything on the menu. We ordered all three starts and I have to say the definite standout was the manchego and green onion tater tots. From the appetizers we all loved the yellow fin tuna crudo, and recently I had the asparagus soup pictured above – it was a creamed asparagus soup with fried asparagus and avocado lumped in – amazing. For entrees, I love the pan seared halibut over a cauliflower puree, as well as the goat cheese ravioli. You can’t go wrong with any dish here.
Vin48: I have to say, one of my favorite things about Vin48 is that most of the menu is made of snacks and small plates so you can taste a ton of different items. They also have an extensive wine list with options to order flights, glasses, or bottles. The absolute best item on the menu in my opinion is the wild mushroom appetizer. Think marinated mushrooms with olive oil on top of a honey biscuit – it’s so good that sometimes we order two. Some other standouts are the braised short ribs, ricotta ravioli, and the white bean dip.
eat + drink: eat + drink is a very small restaurant attached to a wine and cheese shop, and it’s often very crowded during lunch hours so prepare to wait a bit (I promise it’s worth it!). While you’re waiting, the super friendly staff will be more than happy to help you pick out the perfect wine and best cheeses. They have a selection of flatbreads, salads and paninis on the menu. My favorite is the fromage lover grilled cheese sandwich with a side of truffle chips. They also offer wine flights and cheese boards for those looking for a little extra with their meal.
Tacorico: This sister restaurant to eat + drink is another great place to come with a group and order a bunch of small items from the menu. We started with queso, salsa, and guacamole as our appetizers, and then ordered a gazillion tacos to share. Each order comes with two tacos that are big enough to share. We ordered almost every taco on the menu and our favorites were the pollo al pastor with pineapple, the pescado cod, and the rajas, crema, and maiz veggie tacos. They also have a ton of really creative margaritas and tequila mixed drinks to choose from, as well as a great beer menu.
e-town: e-town is one of my absolute favorite places for lunch, plus it’s only about a mile from our house, so on sunny days we love to make the walk over. My guilty pleasure is the baked three cheese onion dip as an appetizer. For entrees, the santa fe chicken salad is light and spicy. If you’re feeling a bit more hungry, the ahi tuna sandwich is one of the best lunches I’ve ever had. And the best part about lunch at e-town? A few shops down sits one of my favorite independent bookstores, Bookworm.
Golden Eagle Inn: Golden Eagle Inn is located right in the middle of Beaver Creek village, making it a great spot for lunch or dinner. For both meals, they offer an amazing Elk Chili by the cup or bowl, which I highly recommend. For lunch my go-to is the Mixed Curried Chicken sandwich, and the standout dinner options are the Elk Meatloaf and the Elk Ravioli (sensing a pattern here?).
Maya: Located inside the Westin Riverfront Resort at Beaver Creek, this upscale Mexican restaurant has some of the most amazing food and margaritas. If you’re staying in Bachelor Gulch, you can take a gondola straight up to the hotel, otherwise they have valet out front. They have a great selection of flavored margaritas, with my personal favorite being the mango. For appetizers, they do a tableside prepared guacamole with four different options for ingredients ranging from bacon to tuna (I typically stick with traditional). My go-to entree is the poblano and corn enchiladas, but we have yet to be disappointed with anything we’ve ordered.
Blue Moose Pizza: This is a great spot for a casual night dinner. They don’t take reservations, so be prepared for a bit of a wait if you go during peak hours – our group of 6 typically has about an hour wait. They do have a small bar, so you can perch up and have a few beers before sitting down to order. Most fun part about this place? The tables are covered with white paper, and the whole table can draw with crayons. After a few drinks at the bar, this always gets entertaining. As for food, my favorites are the Cowboy Pizza and the Autumn Pizza, and the Meat Lovers typically tends to make its way into our order each time as well.
Wyld – Wyld is a brand new addition to the Ritz Carlton in Bachelor Gulch. Since our house is in Arrowhead, we typically spend the morning skiing that side of the mountain, and we happened to end up here around lunchtime. Since we were still planning on skiing the second half of the day, we wanted a slightly lighter lunch and opted for the ancient grain and mushroom soup, the lobster cappuccino, and a side of the charred brussels. Everything was amazing but my top recommendation would hands down be the lobster cappuccino – it is frothy and delicious with full pieces of lobster floating in the buttery creamy soup at the bottom. And yes, that is a full piece of truffle on top.
Spent time in Beaver Creek and have other great spots we should try? Have questions about what to do in BC on your next visit? Let us know in the comments below!
