Casa Bonita
$$ • Mexican Restaurant
Most Recent Reviews
My husband and flew to Denver, Colorado specifically to have dinner of the completely refurbished Casa Bonita restaurant.
I had been to the now shuttered location in Tulsa, Oklahoma as a child but the food has completely changed in Denver as the creators of South Park purchased the building when it went to auction. They gutted the entire building, rebuilding it and bringing on a new executive check, Dana Rodriguez
!! You need reservations. We had to book more than a month out.
Prix Fixe Menu
For $39.00+ 15%, service charge for dinner, each guest gets unlimited chips & salsa, soft drinks, tea and water and sopapillas (not gluten-free) You also get to choose 1 main dish from a marked menu. Alcohol and additional desserts are extra. Children over the age of 3 are required to purchase a meal at a discounted rate.
You get your table for 1 hour and then you get to explore until closing time at 10 PM.
Marked Menu
The menu is marked with gluten free and vegan options. Almost everything is gluten-free and they have a dedicated fryer. I asked.
I had an iced tea, water, chicken enchiladas with green & red chile sauce, chips & salsa and an $8 chocolate budino. I've had better Mexican food but this was celiac-safe and was fine.
My husband has no restrictions and had iced tea, water chips & salsa, green chile brisket tacos and the not gluten-free all-you-can-eat (AYCE) sopapillas, which are like a square, fried donut covered in honey and cinnamon.
Customers
A table next to us kept making a loud fuss about their food being cold and wanting it remade. Then they wanted a taco salad but had celiac (one of 2 dishes that didn't have a GF sign on the menu) and then were mad they didn't get the gluten four tortilla shell with the salad because they said they were celiac. Then they sent that back so they brought them a regular taco salad with gluten shell but then they claimed that they had a dairy allergy and they didn't want the taco salad with gluten shell with cheese.
Magically when they were told that no, they couldn't take the food off the bill if they were planning to stay for the experierice, and that they could choose to be escorted out of the restaurant by security if they didn't want to pay, they figured out how to order gluten and dairy-free from the marked menu and stayed. They were disruptive and annoying Actually read the menu before ordering and if you're getting something remade, go over your restrictions again.
Entertainment
Your meal comes with entertainment that is located around the restaurant in what looks like an old Mexican village.
Included entertainment:
• cliff diving show
• puppet show
• magic show
• museum
• wishing well
• balloon artist
• face painting
• tarot reader (didn't do this one)
• pirate cave
• archaeologist cave
• live music
• character actors
Extra cost:
• gift shop
• arcade
• caricature artist
• old westem jail photo
• photo booth
• fortune telling bird (out of order)
• pressed / squished pennies (you have to lood minimum $10 onto an arcade card to buy a $1 squshed penny so my husband was mad about this because we weren't going to buy $10 in squished pennies).
My husband and I had a really great time.
Visited January 2025
I had the chicken enchiladas. Didn't get sick. Everything on the menu is clearly marked gf.
While my server didn’t seem to know some answers to my questions, she quickly asked. Chips are in a dedicated fryer alone. GF items are clearly marked and there are a lot of good options. The soft corn tortillas that came with my rajas tacos were suspiciously good, but I didn’t get sick! Also it’s Casa Bonita!
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More Reviews
Went here with family and was mentally prepared to deal with some CC. Luckily I had no problems at all. I ordered the chicken enchiladas and had the chips/salsa and I’m not feeling any gluten.
My server wasn’t really knowledgeable about gluten and seemed a bit dismissive when I asked him to mark my order as a gluten allergy. My mom also ordered the same meal and a different server brought us the meals so there was no way to tell if one the plates had been prepared more safely or anything. Either I got very lucky or the kitchen is incredibly careful. Having recently watched the gluten free South Park episode, I’m inclined to believe the latter since it’s clear the owners get celiacs and CC.
Also I know everyone has mentioned the sopapillas. They are visibly in a separate kitchen that has a counter which the staff walks up to to order from for tables. So I am confident that there is at least no kitchen CC from those
Like many who grew up going to Casa Bonita (pre-celiac diagnosis), I was thrilled to hear their newly revamped menu was largely gluten-free. The greeters and welcome staff confidently told me that the kitchen took allergens seriously and had established cross-contamination protocols. I also asked the server some questions, and she seemed less confident in answering about kitchen procedures but knew which gluten-free items were on the menu. The food was excellent. I shared the Christmas-style Chicken Enchiladas and the Green Chile Brisket Tacos. The beans were creamy, and the homemade corn tortillas were incredibly soft. The famous sopapillas are not gluten-free. I didn't try either gluten-free dessert option but will next time. I am extremely sensitive to gluten and had no reaction. I’m thrilled to be able to enjoy Casa Bonita once again and can't wait to return.
I was pretty nervous about coming here but everything turned out really well. I’m so pleased that my family is not excluded from this iconic Colorado experience!
Unlike some of the other reviewers, we weren’t asked about allergies and our server (who was armed with some information about gluten that didn’t seem to match up perfectly with the menu) seemed a little confused. But after a bit of back and forth he confirmed what other reviewers have said—the sopapillas (with gluten) are fried in a separate area and separate fryers, so we felt ok about eating the chips and everything else that was marked gf on the menu. The celiacs in our group had a taco plate and the children’s chicken fingers and fries and they were both decent. Apparently the chicken was very crispy! We then hung out and watched the shows, explored, and played arcade games for 3 hours(!) and no one was sick!
It’s a bummer not to be able to eat the famous sopapillas but the flan ($8 extra) was an excellent consolation and my kids, who don’t have any nostalgia for the sopapillas, actually preferred the flan.
I’ve been going to Casa Bonita since I was a little kid. Safe to say the new renovations have increased the food quality as well as the gluten free options. All food employees were very helpful and knowledgeable about the gluten free options. The menu itself is small but really there is only 1 item that cannot be made gluten free (taco bowl). The waitress offered me 2 substitutions for dessert when my table was brought sopaipillas and I ended up getting the strawberries and cream which was excellent. I wouldn’t say it is the best Mexican food I have had, however, if you are going to Casa Bonita solely for the food, you are going for the wrong reasons. Casa a Bonita is an experience, not simply a restaurant.
I ordered the baked chili relleno - menu said it was GF. My stomach said otherwise - spent the next 24 hours in bed. Would still take the grandkids again but will eat before I go!
All in all I was impressed. Enjoyed my carnitas tacos, flan, and margaritas -- and super-enjoyed the whole shebang of shows, arcade, divers, etc. Felt totally fine after. Not the best tacos you'll ever have, but solid.
Given the mixed reviews on FMGF, I emailed the restaurant in advance to ask about GF options and practices to prevent cross-contamination. They responded quickly: The only things I needed to avoid were the sopiapillas and the bowl that the taco salad comes in. Both of those items are made in the fryers in the separate sopiapilla kitchen. But they assured me that everything in their main kitchen is gluten free, including the kids' chicken tenders. When we checked in and ordered our food, the cashier voluntarily repeated all of this verbatim. Left me feeling confident and welcome. Oh and the chips are fine too eat too!
Loved going back to Casa Bonita. So many childhood memories there. When we checked in for our meal we were asked of any food allergies. They were great about telling me all that was gluten free. The chips are in a separate fryer from the taco shells and taco shell bowl, which are made in a different part of the restaurant. The taco shells and taco bowl shell are not gluten free. I had the enchiladas Christmas style. They were yummy. I had the chips too. Also yummy! I am severe celiac and did not get sick. The margaritas were good too.
I finally got off the waitlist and went last night for the first time in like 20 years. The majority of the menu is labeled as gluten free. Before I went I emailed and tried to ask about kitchen standards to prevent cross contamination and if the chips would be celiac friendly. I got back a pretty rude non answer email simply stating “we are a Mexican restaurant,” so I’m not sure what their email correspondence team thinks I was asking but it’s probably a lack of education. When I got there the girls taking orders at the counter didn’t know for sure the risks of contamination either. When we picked up the food the guy at the counter was super helpful and said they prep everything separate and that chips were corn based. The taco salad is not in a gluten free bowl but otherwise that’s the only gluten item in the main food line, per the guy. He said they change gloves before delivering food (didn’t see this happen though) and that any fryers used are separate. It’s like a cafeteria line so I think the staff only touch the food items immediately in their section but I can’t tell. They also had a couple gluten free deserts on the menu too. They give you more food than I was expecting. But after eating there last night I do feel nauseated today and I’m not sure if it’s from gluten or from just poor quality food. I got the enchilada because I am vegetarian as well. It was.. fine. Very very bland and cold. Also they increased the ticket cost from $40 to $50. But you have options if you go and depending on who you ask it is “gluten free.”
No one goes to Casa Bonita for the food. I couldn't find posted information about allergins. But the employee that checked us in had Celiac! And said the facility is peanut-free and that they do a good job of preparing food separately in the kitchen. GF items are marked on the menu and the digital card readers can show you a list of ingredients for each item. The server seemed less knowledgeable and the items did not come out marked in any special way. Because this is a situation where there isn't real communication with the kitchen, I think it is higher risk and I'm less confident eating here. That being said, I had chicken mole, and while I didn't get sick, I definitely felt bloated/gassy/not the best. Although I'm not so sure that was gluten so much as just mass-produced theme-park-esque food. Just like the old Casa Bonita, at least the margaritas were good! And the cliff divers made the experience. I also was able to sneak in a lunchbox that had a salad and snacks in it, and security searched my bad and made no comment. Go and have fun and best of luck to you! There are GF desserts to replace sopaipillas as well, although they cost extra. Skip all that and just enjoy the puppet show of the food that has been fired from the restaurant. Good times!
