Wondervu Cafe

Love the queso with a margarita and the view if you can sit outside. I order cheese enchiladas most of the time. Nice staff.

my wife and i ate here on thursday night and had a good meal
we live about 20 minutes away in gilpin county and for some reason had never made it over here
the drive was beautiful and the location of the restaurant is perfect
this is a classic cozy roadside place that is typical up here in the mountains
the views from the deck are fantastic. the restaurant has a gift shop up front with sweatshirts and bumperstickers as well as baked goods and bottled salsa.
they have a main dining room with tables, a lunch counter style/​bar area and booth seating as well… we chose the booth
we were seated immediately and our waitress came by promptly to take our drink order
my wife had a mojito which was ok but not great and i had a ranger ipa
i had the chile rellenos for dinner and my wife had a combo plate
both were quite good and the portions were enormous!
neither of us were able to finish our meal
service was friendly and efficient and the pork green chile that topped both of our dishes was a highlight… truly excellent
much has been said in the reviews about the prices here and they are quite high
10 $ for guac and chips is outrageous and the most expensive meals top out at 27 $ here but i will say this… almost any restaurant up in the mountains charges more and they need to make the money when they can as the slower months can be a struggle just to survive. to me it comes down to the following:
was the food good? yes
was the service good? yes
were the portions adequate? most definitely yes!
so to me this was a great place. would i eat here weekly? no but we will be back

Pricey! $ 34 for 2 dinners and chips and salsa to go. Chile rellenos were good, my bf had the smothered meat burrito with ground beef and he said it had no flavor. If you are in these parts, there isn’t much else option, but I wouldn’t drive out of my way to go here.

If you are driving near or in the front range — head UP highway 72 and enjoy a wonderful restaurant
This is only 15 minutes if you have a fast motorcycle or sports car from 119 (go west and UP) or peak to peak highway (east and UP).
Perhaps the most genuine and wonderful Mexican food — complimented by traditional American fare. You can enjoy a great breakfast, superb lunch or dinner. You will be welcomed with exceptional service from the girls and yes a magnificent view of the front range.
You can enjoy a pleasant outside patio if it is sunny and warm. If you want a wonderful destination for your drive into the mountains make the Wondervu Café your choice ! You know you are there when you reach the top of the hill

What should you come to Wondervu for? — Green Chili & Margaritas. They make a pretty mean bowl of green chili, perfect for after a winter snow shoe, and their margarita menu is vast and refreshing. This isn’t the place for amazing mexican food and as others have mentioned, some items are overly pricey, but if you are going to stop in those two items get my approval!

We were driving up to Nederland from Denver and thought this place looked nice. They have tons of outdoor seating and it was a lovely day. We arrived here around 11am on a Sunday and asked for the lunch menu… Only had breakfast”.
We should have checked Unilocal.Colorado Mexican is not exactly our style of Mexican but we figured we would give it a go.
First off there is no kids menu… And they don’t have breakfast tacos, only burritos. So my 6 year old ordered and received a huge egg and chorizo burrito. She is super sensitive to spice but thankfully for her it was absolutely the most bland chorizo I have ever tasted making it ok for her.
My husband had an omelet and I had a smothered breakfast burrito. We waited 45 minutes for this (the restaurant was not crowded) and both had absolutely no flavor. The smothered burrito came with the green chili sauce but it didn’t have any distinctive chili or tomatillo flavors… Just strange.
I guess if you were coming for the nice outdoor seating and frosty adult beverages, it might be enjoyable but not the food. Even my 6 year old said the food was nothing like we have back home.

Came here for father’s day brunch buffet — soooooooo yummy. Any time I can eat enchiladas at 930 in the morning with no shame count me in.
Service was very sweet, and sitting outside on a Sunday morning was great. I was not disappointed in any of the food, all was extremely delicious! Strawberry rhubarb crumble, the tamales, the green chile (YUM) — will definitely be back here again. The only bummer is sitting outside can get loud, since motorcycles are commonplace. Also getting there means my road rage is at a maximum since bicyclists don’t know how to ride on the shoulder… jus’ sayin.

We’re locals. We know what we’re in for at the Wondervu: overpriced food and slow service, but it’s a short drive.
They really outdid themselves tonight. 40 minute wait for an underdone sandwich and a salad. Overworked waitress was apologetic; the 2^nd cook didn’t show. Frankly, it didn’t look like they needed one for 6 tables. To Go orders went out as we watched. Next time: continue on to the Stage Stop, or the Last Shot.

Stopped today. Margaritas were good, $ 10 for chips and queso, that’s a little much. They had some chocolates on a display too. Good… But $ 16 for 4pcs? Really? View is nice, from the outside of the restaurant.
Not sure if I will be back… There’s really nothing fancy or cool this place.
Gift shop next door has some cool stuff (from Colorado artists), service was good, just slow.

The food portions were generous for breakfast but the entire menu is unbelievably priced. $ 5 for a side of hash browns? $ 7 if you want to add cheese? Come on! The food was definitely not worth the price. Very obvious that this joint just preys on tourists. I definitely should have checked Unilocal beforehand. Will definitely not be returning and will advise my friends to do the same.

While the wait staff was both incredibly friendly and professional the cost and taste of the food at Wondervu Café is what killed our eating experience. It cost $ 35 for two people to eat with both of us drinking water because refills aren’t free. A standard steak dinner is nearly $ 27 so we opted for the cheaper plates at $ 15-​$ 17 each. The food took quite some time to come out and once there it was overcooked and poorly seasoned. Simply put the food at Wondervu Café is in absolutely no way worth the money. If you’re looking for delicious well priced food just head toward Nederland. Although our waitress was phenomenal, her personality and charm just couldn’t out weigh the other major flaws at Wondervu. I would not recommend this resturant and will not be returning.

If you love spending $ 24 for a plate of the worst Mexican food that Colorado has to offer, look no farther. I had the Pollo Asada, which was a huge, unseasoned chicken breast with a side of tasteless refried beans and some hard Spanish rice that looked like couscous.
The slab of dry chicken was plated with pico de gallo, lettuce and guacamole and appeared to be an assemble-​yourself meal but came with only one flour tortilla to do it with. Don’t worry, you can buy more tortillas at $ 1.00 each.
My partner had trout which was uninspired, bland and cooked incorrectly. It appeared to be steamed, and was paired with a baked potato and Texas toast.
After buying two pieces of fudge, our total came to a whopping $ 63. Glad we didn’t spring for an alcoholic beverage!
The waitress was rude and seemed annoyed with us. The man in the booth behind us summed up the experience pretty well, by saying that «ehhh it’s food», when asked how it was. The only think positive about all of this was the size of the portions, but they weren’t «$ 24 a plate» worthy.

Some of the worst Mexican food that I have had. They should call «The Profit» and have him come in to turn this place around. My chicken had those black marks on it that you fake when you don’t grill it yourself and you pull it out of the freezer. I think this place used to have a Mexican name until some real Mexicans ate there and threatened to stage protests until they changed their name to something that doesn’t mean good Mexican food. The best thing for this owner to do, fire everyone, start over and pay to get real food brought up the mountain. Locals don’t even go there, just tourists.

We love Wondervu!
We came upon Wondervu after doing some 4wheeling in the area about 3 years ago and now we make it a yearly thing! They have the best guacamole! It is so fresh they make it on site same as the salsa which is delicious as well.
We have always had good service and the patio is awesome after a drive in the mountains. Don’t forget the margs!

Horrible overpriced food! $ 21 for a tiny bit of dried fajitas with stale tortillas that took almost 45 minutes to arrive at our table. We got 3 tortillas and we simply asked for more and got charged $ 6 for 4 more tortillas! The servers run around like stressed chickens even though they arent busy… worst experiance we had in Colorado. My advice? KEEP DRIVING! Yuck!

I ate lunch at this mountain café style Mexican joint. I found the atmosphere to be somewhat eclectic and enjoyable. I ordered a tostada, enchilada, burrito combo and it was actually very delicious. The green pork chili which smothered the burrito had the perfect amount of spice and the cheese enchilada was very cheesy and crispy! Went on a Tuesday for lunch and it took my meal 30 minutes from order to table, which seemed to be somewhat of a wait, but the waitress was very kind and the food was worth the wait :)

I woke up this morning missing Wondervu Café real bad. I always had a delicious breakfast sandwich as I sat & chatted with Gary. I guess today is that kind of weather, a lil chill to the air while the sun is shining bright. It’s a locals joint, the hub of the canyon. I miss living across the street and frequenting there. Sometimes it gets crazy, I see a lot of reviews on here about bad service but you have to understand that Adeline can’t do it all everyday but she sure does try. If only all she had to do was cook… that would be amazing!
Miss you Wondervu!

My husband and had been hiking at Eldorado state park. We took a drive after we were done and decided to stop at the Wondervu Café. They have an excellent selection of margaritas with several flavors like prickly pear, pomegranate and mango by the glass or pitcher which were great after being in the heat all afternoon. They have ala carte or full entrée Mexican selections. All of our food was good and we really enjoyed the guacamole. The staff were very nice and they have a gift shop right next door with a nice selection of souvenirs. We will definitely go back.

Sensational Mexican fare in an even better setting overlooking continental divide. The breakfasts are fabulous and even the coffee was high quality. I highly recommend the breakfast burrito with chili. Warm atmosphere and friendly staff. This is a must stop for anyone heading up to Eldora, Rollinsville, Black Hawk, or Nederland.

This time of the year, unless it ‘s one of those brilliant sun splashed, blue skied January days, I wouldn’t recommend taking the gorgeous drive up coal creek to sit on the patio and enjoy the charming oversized deck.
Sitting outside bundled up like Randy from «A Christmas Story,» and wearing mittens, is just plain miserable. Besides, unless you’re a tourist, that look is reserved for ski lodges and snowmobile trails.
But, I’m planting a seed to all your convertible connoisseur’s and motorcycle enthusiasts, nothing beats the ride, the sun soaked deck and the friendly staff here at the Wondervu Café.
They specialize in Mexican food, but the breakfast is worth the early morning jaunt. And personally, I love the buffalo burger and their green chile.
Honestly, this place is all about the ride, whether you’re coming from Denver or flowing down from the peak to peak highway, enjoyinging the twisty turns and breathtaking views. I recommend, if you come up one way, go out the other way… the ride becomes completely different. It’s just so nice to find this gem, take off the gear, enjoy a great meal, wonderful people watching and a cold beverage on those lazy days you’re looking for something different to do.