Ultreia

Mile High Dining, after a year of takeaway meals, enjoyed sit down dinner at a restaurant. We went to Union Station to watch the Kentucky Derby and enjoy a meal at Ultreia. Operated by chef Jen Jasinski, it features a Spanish and Portuguese inspired menu. Ultreia means “onward” and was shouted at pilgrims making their way to a shrine in Spain. This week was also Denver’s Restaurant Week and Union Station was packed as the weather was beautiful.

We enjoyed 6 dishes- grilled bread with tomatoes, artichokes, anchovies, asparagus and mushrooms, spiced ribs and sausage. Also, we had a gin tonic, note it’s not a gin and tonic, reported to be the most popular drink in Spain.

The grilled crispy artichokes with shishito creama were delicious. The entire artichoke is paired down and edible and with the spicy creama, these are some of the best in town.

Pan con Tomate is grilled bread with a tomato dipping sauce. The bread is crispy but its extra olive oil makes a great item. The added sweet tomato sauce adds a good touch.

The Setas is asparagus with lots of sliced mushrooms and an egg yolk sitting on top with dill. We wished for more asparagus as the sliced mushrooms dominated.

The marinated anchovies with crispy garlic slices, orange, and a side of grilled bread was excellent. The garlic added a great flavor to the fish and bread.

The glazed ribs with lots of chilies had a great taste and there was even enough to take home. The ribs are crispy and not covered in barbecue sauce, like usual in Colorado. The chilis provide lots of extra heat.

The last dish was the sausage sitting in a wilted spinach and bean sauce. It was very flavorful as the thinly sliced garlic pieces made a very good dish. The spinach and beans were so good!

One of us finished with a very sweet port wine. Too sweet but at least I can say I went to Portugal.

My ratings are: It’s OK, Good, Very Good, and Excellent.

The verdict ⚖️ for Ultreia is Good. If you limit yourself to the artichokes, pan con tomate, and sausage, the verdict jumps to Very Good.