Adobe brick, red rocks, rich history, unrivaled views, & tantalizing meats.

These are just some of the words that come to mind after dining at The Fort!

Being a Colorado Native, I am shocked this was my first time dining at this historical establishment. The Fort is one of Colorado's oldest restaurants and one of the most visited tourist destinations in the state!! We were really excited to check it out.

The Fort was modeled after the famous Colorado fur trapping fort, Bent's Fort and opened for business as a restaurant in 1963 - it has been family owned and operated ever since! The restaurant has hosted politicians and A list celebrities such as George W. Bush & Bill Clinton (to name a few).

The Fort is rapidly adapting following re-opening (post-Covid) & we were invited in to try their newly launched outdoor Picnic/BBQ menu! The Picnic/BBQ menu can be enjoyed on The Fort's massive patio or as take-out. The Fort is also open for their famous in-room dining where fine steaks and bone marrow are the name of the game!

We were seated out on The Fort's patio and were immediately overwhelmed by the scenic views - it is breathtaking.

We had the pleasure of meeting The Fort's owner and Proprietress, Holly Arnold Kinney, while we dined and she gave us an amazing run down of her family and the restaurant's background! Holly's passion for the restaurant shone through and this passion certainly is passed down to The Fort's employees. Our server, Ian, was awesome!

After we got a little more history on the restaurant, we were ready for some Historic Cocktails!

We had the The 1840 Hailstorm Premiere Julep, the White Ginger Sangria, and the Prickly Pear.

The 1840 Hailstorm Premiere Julep is the famed drink from Bent’s Fort: You get your choice of well bourbon or scotch that is mixed with sugar, mint and ice and then well shaken in a Mason jar. The Hailstorm's recipe is the original from 1840 (except the ice is from the kitchen and not hail from the sky lol). This Julep was minty & cooling with strong notes of bourbon.

The White Ginger Sangria is made from fresh lemon, lime, orange and apple. The blended white wine is then given a nice splash of Canton Liqueur and served in a mason jar. This sangria is perfect for The Fort's picnic vibe and was Dana's favorite! The ginger gave the sangria a subtle kick and some nice added sweetness.

The Prickly Pear is made with scarlet prickly pear fruit and can be served slushed or on the rocks.

I had my Prickly Pear on the rocks and it was loaded with delicious pear/watermelon flavor and gorg pink color thanks to the Prickly Pear Cactus! This was my fav cocktail out of the three! The Fort also offers their margs in pitchers - #yesplease - for larger groups!

For sides we had Sam’s Famous Guacamole and the Peanut Butter Stuffed Jalapeños Escabeche.

Sam’s Famous Guacamole - also aptly nicknamed “Denver’s Best Guacamole” - is made with big chunks of avocado, tomato, onion and fresh squeezed lime & served with homemade corn tortilla chips. This guacamole was so good and the hot homemade chips (they came out freshly toasted) were a homerun!

The Peanut Butter Stuffed Jalapeños Escabeche are house-made Pickled Jalapeños stuffed with a mango chutney sweetened whipped peanut butter.

As the sun sets, The Fort patio is where to be!

The fire pits are lit and the sky is blanketed with those Colorado Summer cotton candy skies.

For our meals, I had the German Settler’s Grilled Buffalo Bratwurst and Dana had the St. Vrain’s Slowly Braised Hickory Smoked Buffalo Brisket Sandwich.

The German Settler's Buffalo Grilled Brat is served with South Carolina mustard, BBQ Sauce, and a cornmeal muffin.

The buffalo brat was great! It had some smokiness to it and all around solid flavor. I mixed the South Carolina mustard with the BBQ sauce to top my brat off which I loved!

The St. Vrain’s Slowly Braised Hickory Smoked Buffalo Brisket Sandwich is served on a brioche bun and comes with The Fort's three bbq sauces: South Carolina mustard BBQ, Kansas City hot and Spicy BBQ sauce, and Jack Daniels BBQ sauce.

All of The Fort's Smoke House BBQ Specials come with Holly’s southern cornmeal muffin, a pad of butter, and REAL Georgia pure cane syrup. These cornmeal muffins are tender and sweet and a perfect side for a BBQ.

Huge thanks to The Fort & team for hosting us! We can't wait to come back in and we'll be trying the fine dining of The Fort very soon!

The Fort

Address: 19192 CO-8, Morrison, CO 80465
Menu: thefort.com
Reservations: opentable.com
Phone: (303) 697-4771