Stoic & Genuine

This place is so amazing and so fresh! You can really taste the love put into the food and it’s unlike anything in Denver. One of a kind and an absolute favorite for all seafood lovers!!!

Upon first hearing the name of this seafood spot in Denver, I expected pretension. My husband and I debated whether or not they were being sarcastic in choosing the predictable _​_​_​_​& _​_​_​_​name, and if it was a joke that one of the words chosen was «genuine.» Upon first bite though, our misgivings vanished.
We were disappointed that the restaurant was sold out of the Uni Fried Rice (something they should have mentioned when handing us the menus but didn’t), but we didn’t let that get in our way. We started our meal with George’s Bank Scallop Poke, with bruleed grapefruit, jalapeño, avocado, basil, and cocoa nib-​coriander vinaigrette. While that combination could have gone poorly, potentially demanding a closer edit, it was stunning. The scallop was perfect, the grapefruit offered that sweetness and tang, the jalapeño gave it some heat, the avocado mouse provided earthiness, the basil gave a great herbaceous touch and the cocoa nib-​coriander vinaigrette (which had chunks of cocoa nibs throughout) offered the slightest bitter note and the umami the dish needed to round it out. All together, a beautiful bite, and the star of the show for me.
Next up with the Octopus Mortadella with candied lemon vinaigrette, smoked salt and sorrel. This was another winner. The octopus was thinly sliced, with pistachios perfectly placed throughout to resemble mortadella. The lemon, salt and sorrel offered just the right notes of sour, salt and texture.
The Seafood Tower of Power ($ 75 version) came with a dozen oysters, crab legs, shrimp and caviar. The oysters, half of which were from the East coast and half from the West, were good, but nothing to write home about. Really, they did as much as they could have done with day-​old oysters. I didn’t love the strips of horseradish in the cocktail sauce that forced youto chew your sauce. The crab legs and drawn butter were excellent. The shrimp weren’t as fresh as I had hoped — they tasted like they had been cooked and then sat on ice for hours. The caviar, served with crème fresh, shallot and lemon herb blini (delicious and still warm) was lovely, though I was slightly disappointed that there was no mother of pearl spoon offered.
The Brioche Crusted Skate Wing with butternut squash, brussels sprouts, guanciale and apple vinaigrette pistachio pesto finished off the savory portion of the meal for us. It was excellent — the skate was perfectly crisp on the outside while still buttery and flaky inside, and the pesto was simply delicious, with hints of dill. The brussels were good, as was the butternut squash, but neither seemed like they were perfectly paired with the skate and pesto. Nonetheless, I’d order it again.
We finished off the night with a foie gras crème brûlée, (we had been told to save room for dessert because we were celebrating an anniversary) which was savory and sweet all at once. We wanted decaf cappuccino, but learned that the restaurant doesn’t have an espresso machine. Decaf french press was a suitable substitute.
The granita cocktails were delicious, and the bubbly offered to us for free with our raw seafood in celebration of our anniversary was a very nice touch. I very much enjoyed the hot towel served between dinner and dessert. The service was excellent. It’s a bummer that you have to leave the restaurant and go down a flight of stairs to the restroom, but the restaurant can hardly be blamed for that — they are in Union Station after all. All in all, an excellent experience, and one I’d repeat when I’m craving seafood in this land locked state.

We went on Sunday happy hour 11 – 4:30. $ 3 cocktails, $ 2 oysters. Delightful atmosphere,
Amazing sever that gave great advice. Mussels were amazing! Drink specials with vodka, house granita was so refreshing! $ 9.50 calamari with feta cream was to die for! Defiantly will come back.

I give this place 4 stars because I enjoyed the atmosphere. The oysters were fresh and served with a yummy mignonette. I had two west coast varieties. I love oysters. I had the hamachi sashimi. The fish was very fresh but I wanted a more balanced flavor. I felt the harissa was the heaviest flavor on the plate, while delicious, I found myself wanting more citrus, perhaps the lime wasn’t coming through for me.
I also had the fritto misto. I know it says feta crema and piquillo coulis but I couldn’t help but think franks red hot and blue cheese through this dish. With that being said, it was tasty.
The lemon sage soda and vodka was a nice drink. I would get it again. Refreshing.
I would love to try this place again for supper. I enjoyed lunch but with how fresh and creative everything was, I think it would be enjoyed best with a group that likes to share so you could try multiple dishes.
Service was exceptional and I was well taken care of. Thank you.

Eat here. This place is awesome! Cool tunes, very cool staff (especially Sarah — she makes a killer old fashion). I had a pound of King crabs, and one of each of their oyster selection. Everything was top notch. I’m picky as hell, and these guys absolutely crushed it. Seriously, if you’re near union station, eat here!

This place is fabulous! The fresh seafood is delicious and the vibe is relaxed. I love the oyster choices and great lunch options… especially the shrimp roll on a buttery brioche bun

Have been here several times now; it’s a wonderful place for high quality seafood in the newly renovated Union Station. Very pricey. But very good.

Def a must try! FRESH! which is a challenge in CO! I’m from Hawaii and a fisherman’s daughter… So I’m a little picky and this place is worth stopping in for.
Love the selection of seafood and oh the oysters are AMAZING! love love love all the options. HH is a short window only 2 – 4 or 430p but so worth it! I think they are $ 2. I’ve always missed it but will be back for it!
Great quality and love that they prepare everything right in front of you. It’s also conveniently located in Union Station. It was also on the 5280 best new restaurant list for 2015! And I totally agree! Double dated here, had a girls night and came with a group of friends just bar hoping DT for food… Every time it’s been wonderful!

My dad and I went here last night and absolutely loved it! Our waiter was friendly and genuine and the food was absolutely incredible (get the surf and turf!).
If you go, I highly recommend you sit at the chef’s table. They were interacting with us while we ate, giving us recommendations on what to eat and cracking jokes with us. It was by far the best experience I’ve had dining in Denver. They have a way of making customers feel special, while also delivering top tier food.

I don’t know why we came here. We’re from southern california where the seafood is more fresh, but we were wandering around downtown and got hungry and we were able to squeeze in here at the bar.
I can say that sitting at the bar is a dangerous proposition… you’re sitting in front of the seafood prep area and you just see them continually either breaking down oysters, breaking open clams, preparing those giant lobster tower things… makes you want to go overboard ordering seafood.
The food was pretty good. Ordered an assortment of oysters and I went with the crispy whole haddock. I’m really getting behind this whole fried fish revival that’s getting play at nice restaurants. Started with that lion fish at Chengdu Taste in Alhambra… anyways, the haddock was quite nice. Cleaned that fish up properly like a true asian man. haha.
Anyways, the pricing was semi reasonable for what they were going for here. Special occasion type of restaurant.

We agree, these were our favorite meals during our trip to Denver. Yes, meals, plural, because we needed both lunches to even explore enough of the wonderful seafood menu. We are former coast (mostly east) residents and we have felt a bit landlocked in CO over the decades. But this will be our new go-​to for quality fresh seafood in the area. Wish it was a bit closer for us, but we will find a way.
Over our two day visit we had a variety of fresh shucked oysters, all good. My husband preferred the cocktail sauce and horseradish, I preferred the mignonette. There is a choice of both on the plate. We had lobster rolls the first day, small enough for lunch to still enjoy sides and dessert. Classic New England presentation though with upgraded components over the beach places I usually frequent. The side of potato salad was gourmet and exceptional. We shared each dessert, the pineapple right side up bread pudding and the blackberry allspice granita. The granita was so good and seasonally inspired that we had it again the second day when we really needed a lighter finish.
On our second lunch of two days of extended eating, we did go a little lighter but not any less perfect. I had the fritto misto which included my must-​have calamari along with some fish pieces (haddock or halibut, I have forgotten) and artichokes, another favorite. A light dressing with a feta cream and a piquillo pepper drizzle added just the right zing. My husband had the Bang Island Mussel clam chowder which look astounding to me and he confirmed it tasted as good as it looked. A full bowl of traditional ingredients mounded up in a classy broth with a full ring of steamed mussels in the shell around the perimeter. We both ordered a parker house roll as accompaniment and it was just the right touch and clearly right out of the oven, with an excellent garlic butter preparation.
I cannot fathom not making this part of our special meal locations, no matter the distance. Kudos to everyone there, as the service was excellent and everything a far better effort than most places would make for lunch.

The food, tastes BETTER than it looks! They seem to cook with 50% Science, 50% Art and 100% passion here! The staff genuinely respect each other and, as a guest, you can really tell. They have an open kitchen that you sit and eat at. Its awesome to watch Chef Jorel and his staff cooking. He took the time to explain what he was preparing and seems to know A TON about seafood. He is a great teacher and gave us so many cooking tips! I know so much about Urchin now!
The location is great, right next to Union Station. Cozy and full of energy at the same time.
The sardines, as mentioned by so many, are amazing!
The Sea Urchin was so creative and tasty! Everything on the plate was perfect!
Its obvious that freshness is a top priority.
Absolutely my favorite part of the meal was the Alaskan Halibut. The piece was cut right in front of me and cooked to perfection! The corn and BACON served with the dish mixed so well.
The meal really was memorable and the food is soooooo worth the trip.
I am excited to see what The Skipper does at the other Crafted Concepts restaurants.

This place is the highest quality. Chef Jorel is really what makes the place so genuine. He has the most respect for his staff, the food quality, and his guest. He will always put food credibility over costs and you can tell it is a true passion of his. He is a partner to Eulicid and Rioja which are also amongst my favorites.
Out of all the meals I tried I would say the Halibut was my favorite. I recommend sitting up at the bar too and watching the staff crack open all the oysters & Uni.

Chef Jorel is doing something really innovative and great with this restaurant. He really seems to challenge himself (and his staff) to push the envelope and bring creative, fresh, and delicious seafood to the table. One of his primary personal tenants is to act with integrity and to only serve dishes that he himself would be ecstatic to consume. Not everyone will share his tastes, hence some of the lesser reviews, but if you appreciate high quality, unique seafood dishes — you will not be disappointed.
I tried several dishes, but for me the standouts were the fresh oysters and the sardines served with blood oranges. Highly recommend.

Jorel and staff do an amazing job with bringing the freshest possible seafood to Denver. I have had everything from the raw oysters, sardines, and the halibut. All fish served here goes from sea to plate in 72hrs or less.
The passion in the food is evident here. For an appetizer I had the Fresh Uni. It was served with walnut butter, a small fig, and some scattered walnuts. I have had uni once before but it had been lackluster. This was definitely the way it should taste. I was told that the urchin is alive until you order so that’s as fresh as you can get it. If you have some fresh oysters I recommend the Lucien Albrecht Cremant Rose with them.
I had the halibut as my main course. It was cooked to perfection. It was fresh and seared quickly with just a bit of oil and butter. It was plated with some fresh local corn and some chanterelle mushrooms from Colorado in a lite sauce.
My dessert was of the liquid variety. I had the El Duderino. It is their interesting take on a white russian inspired by the Big Lebowski. A perfect finish.

Hands down the best seafood you can get in Denver! I tried four different courses here and from each and every one, you can tell that serving fresh, high quality fish and maintaining the integrity of the food is of upmost importance to the chefs.
Course 1: You must get oysters here. Absolutely the best oysters of my life. SERIOUSLY. And some of you may read this and say, what does she know, she lives in a landlocked state. People, I have traveled to the East and West coasts often, and tried many an oyster. These were PERFECTION.
Course 2: Fresh sardines, which were paired with blood orange. Absolutely a fantastic pairing. For anyone who doesn’t like sardines, the stuff you get in cans is not real! These beautiful little fish have an entirely different flavor when fresh– just a little salty, but very delicate.
Course 3: Sea urchin paired with walnut butter, black mission fig, red wine gastrique, fried rosemary. I have to say I am not a fan of sea urchin. Because what you are eating is basically the reproductive organs of the urchin, which just grosses me out to begin with. But this was very good; the walnut flavor was unique and delicious.
Course 4: Seared halibut with chantarelle mushrooms, corn, cilantro, and a truffle/​honey custard. The fish was fantastic– cooked perfectly and so fresh– I watched them filet it immediately before cooking. I loved the mix of flavors in this dish, and they all paired together so well.
Wonderful service here as well! I can’t wait to come back! They have happy hour with $ 2 oysters, which is a screaming deal for those puppies.

The reviews for this place are all over the place, which made me hesitate for a split second about coming here but I was convinced enough to give it a shot. The first decision to be made was inside or outside. We chose the patio and on a perfect summer night I’m not sure it could have been a better atmosphere.
Matthew was our waiter and despite many lousy reviews about the service, he might have scored a perfect score in every category. I really appreciated this honestly, decisiveness, and attention to detail. He wasn’t afraid to tell us what he thought and even, at one point, noticed we were ignoring the lime wheel on the dish and told us how we should enjoy it, and what a great detail and suggestion that was!
We more or less based our ordering on the Unilocal reviews but his were very much in line with those. We went with the cornbread, crab legs, and haddock. I did have two oysters to start– I had to– after all, this place is named after them and they didn’t disappoint!
The cornbread was to die for. It might be worth a trip to just have these. The crab was steamed perfected and cut enough to make it easy to get rather than struggling and being all messy. The haddock was the highlight. What an amazing fish, great taste, excellent complimentary ingredients making this dish an absolute must.
When I think back to the three key aspects of the night– ambiance, service and food– this place blew it out of the water. They nailed all of them and made this an unforgettable night and one we hope to repeat at some point in the future.

I know (and knew before going) that Stoic & Genuine’s reviews are all over the place, but… I had a wonderful evening filled with wonderful food and excellent service.
Came to Stoic & Genuine on a Friday evening with reservations. They sat us immediately and even gave us a choice of indoor or outdoor seating.
For food we stuck with the things that we had read were good:
For starters — cornbread and 1lb of king crab legs. The cornbread was perfect; crisp and salty on the outside and moist on the inside, and the crab legs were well cooked and yummy.
Main Course — Haddock. This large, head & tail on fish is battered and fried and was so, so scrumptious! The meat was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and pulled right off the bone. It was also big enough to share — which is the key to leaving with any money left in your wallet here ;)
Extras — we ordered Albarino as our wine — a smooth white that I love, but can’t always find and because it was my birthday they brought a pineapple bread pudding dessert with cherry ice cream. It was yummy (but I probably wouldn’t have paid for it)
The «deal sealer» for me though was our service. Our waiter, Matthew, was attentive, fun, and extremely helpful. He wasted no time giving us suggestions about the menu, and was really knowledgable in guiding my BF to the right oysters for him. He gave us «tips» throughout the meal — like suggesting that we try bits of the grilled lime wedges with our haddock — something we wouldn’t have known to try on our own.
Overall, I had a fantastic evening meal.

Where to begin? I won’t be returning to Stoic and Genuine.
They charged me $ 1.75 for the Coke in my whiskey and Coke. I have a hard time wrapping my head around this. I’ve been to hundreds of «fancy» and «nice» restaurants. Who in the world charges $ 1.75 for the splash of Coke in a whiskey and coke? Apparently this place. I asked for
Jack and they didn’t have it. I was then offered a magnitude of other whiskeys, I chose Whistle Pig, which is a fabulous whiskey. Yeah, I got a Whistle Pig and Coke. Judge me. Please.
The other drinks were subpar. We both ordered an extra dirty martini to start the meal and the vodka was sweet… Ugh! The worst martini I’ve ever had to say the least. We asked about the sweet taste to the martinis and the girl had not a clue in the world. She’s said it was probably the well vodka. Yuck. With all the expensive vodkas she rifled off I’d expect the well to be at least decent.
The only saving grace to Stoic and Genuine were the oysters. They were truly delicious. We had one dozen made up of three different varieties. Some were better than others, but they were all wonderful. They were full of flavor and very distinct in taste. A plus for the evening.
After the oysters we had an appetizer of Hamachi Poke and Shoshito peppers. There were way too many peppers. I love peppers, and these are pretty mild, but the ratio to the fish was insane. Not only that, the fish was supposed to be raw, and whatever sauce they used to dress it cooked some of the pieces. Did I mention how many freaking peppers were in the dish? I felt like we were only eating peppers.
The rest of the meal was just «meh.» My tenderloin was cooked well and the wife’s whole haddock was nicely presented and flavorful (we even ate the eyeballs). But, they were out of a lot of items on the menu and the mussels that were supposed to come with my main were replaced with shrimp. I don’t find it very acceptable to be out of so many items on a busy Friday night. The table next to us tried to order the mussels, sea urchin and octopus and they were out of those as well. Our server was very nice and tried her best given the situation. Overall, the meal was just ok at best, but nothing above and beyond.
With all the new additions at Union Station, this wouldn’t be my first choice. Honestly, everything was over seasoned and over priced. There are a lot of better options around.

Food is delicious. It’s hard to find a good restaurant that offers decently priced seafood. For the quality of product you are getting the prices are more than reasonable. Scallops of $ 12.50 you can’t beat it!
We ate the scallops, bacon-​wrapped cod chowder, six oysters, sunchoke salad, and brussel sprouts. Split between two people it seems like quite a bit of food.
Personal favorite was the scallops. So tender and delicious plus you don’t get the grainy crunch you can get from some that weren’t prepped correctly.
After the last bite we were full and satisfied but didn’t have that stuffed want to go lay on the couch feel. Which is nice!
Wash it all down with a nice happy hour drink and you’ll be all set, enjoy!

Muy buen lugar para brunch y echar unos drinks, tiene un excelente mezcal y un excelente Bloody Maria echo por Jessie el Bartender. Esta ubicado en el Unión Station, tiene varios locales que parecen ser un excelente lugar.