Briarhurst Manor Estate
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Ratings and reviews
4.0
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
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PRICE RANGE
$29.00 – $67.00
CUISINES
American, Contemporary
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options
meals, features
Menu
Starters
Briarhurst House Salad
Mixed Wild Greens, Pickled Seasonal Vegetables, Cucumber, Feta Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, & Shaved Carrots
$10
Strawberry Fields Salad
Arugula, Kale, & Mixed Greens Tossed With Strawberries, Craisins, Pecans, & House Made Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
$16
Caesar Salad
Romaine & Parmesan Cheese, House Croutons, Tossed With Caesar Dressing
$10
Add Chicken
$6
Fall Harvest Bisque
$10
Lobster Bisque
$14
Can a vegan person get a good meal at this restaurant?
Details
About
Briarhurst Manor’s construction started in 1872 by the founder of Manitou Springs, Dr. William Bell for his wife Cara. It is situated in a box canyon at the foot of Pike’s Peak by the banks of Fountain Creek. The famed architect Frederick Julius Sterner designed Briarhurst, as well as Glen Eyrie Castle for General Palmer, Dr. Bell’s business partner & dear friend. In the Roaring Twenties Briarhurst became a “Gentleman’s Supper Club”. In 1940,Robert and Vida Ellison purchased it. In April 1973, Briarhurst was officially entered in the National Register of Historic Places. Then renowned Chef Sigi Krauss purchased it, and opened a opened a fine dining restaurant in 1975. Today, Mr. Ken Healey operates Briarhurst as a restaurant and venue for fairytale weddings, parties & receptions for all occasions. Our menu brings back a taste of life as it was for the Bell’s in the New West by combining a blend of classic and innovative culinary techniques.
PRICE RANGE
$29.00 – $67.00
CUISINES
American, Contemporary
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options
Meals
Drinks
FEATURES
Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Private Dining, Seating, Parking Available, Free off-street parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Free Wifi, Discover, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music
Contribute
4.0
370 reviews
Excellent
230
Very good
58
Average
25
Poor
20
Terrible
37
stb501
Colorado Springs32 contributions
Feb 2020 • none
We went to the Briarhurst over Valentine's Day weekend, so they had a special menu. The Briarhurst, as a former mansion, has separate dining rooms, rather than one or two large rooms. This lends itself to a more romantic setting. The food was great! The service was so good that I had to search out the manager to complement our server. Good service and good ambiance are just as important, if not more important, than the food, when celebrating a special night.
Written May 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CarrieH
6 contributions
Nov 2020 • couples
We had our first date at Briarhurst 6 years ago with their Groupon for the 5 course dinner special. We were married last year on our 5 year anniversary. I wanted our 1 year wedding anniversary extra special and I was delighted to be able to book on open table.com despite covid, AND wefound another great Groupon special. From the first call to confirm our reservation and the friendly hostess congratulating us when we arrived while getting us a romantic table, everyone treated us so special from start to finish. Erika was our server and she was AWESOME! She was so helpful and patient with us reviewing the menu and offered great suggestions. She kept our wine glasses full and took pictures for us to memorialize our special evening. She had the words "Happy Anniversary" written in chocolate syrup on our dessert tray. With the lack of guest service today, Erika is a true gem. She made us feel so special and truly made our first wedding anniversary extra special. If you have a special day, I highly recommend Briarhurst Manor. We have spent countless birthdays and other special events at other restaurants who never demonstrated half of the appreciation and genuine friendly guest service that Briarhurst showed us. Thank you for making our Anniversary so special! I recommend adding the 5 course meal to any entree and we will be booking Briarhurst for more special events in the future.
Written November 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leif L
Panama City38 contributions
Dec 2019 • none
Went with my wife for a romantic date night in December. We were sat at the table looking directly up at Pike's Peak as the sun was setting behind the mountain - gorgeous. Menu offered a variety of wild game and more traditional options, wonderfully prepared and presented. Things that missed the mark included drafty windows (cold winter temps) and a server who tried to make connections but missed the mark, coming across as rather rude. A nice evening out with above average food, in a quite cool part of Colorado Springs history, but we left a little disappointed.
Written January 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SLW
1 contribution
Dec 2019 • none
I have been disappointed in visiting the establishment. The wait staff, while well-meaning, is under trained in general and over worked. The chefs, although talented are using sub-par ingredients and selling their food for fine dining prices. The Tomato bisque is simply cream and V8! The food was average and service sub-par for the prices. When I complained to a server about our meal, we had a conversation in which they described to me the hostile work environment. They mentioned that the owner is mean and inappropriate and that servers often do not receive the tips that are left on the bills. As a customer, this enraged me. I expect most, if not all, of the tip I leave on a credit card bill for a server to go directly to them, unfortunately, this employee told me that the owners often keep the tip money, leaving the wait staff to only receive around $8.00 an hour. They also mentioned that the restaurant breaks multiple other laws regarding payment of wages and tips and that employees have even been fired for speaking up about this. I hope the owners are ashamed of this and that the employees get what they are owed, Please do not support this business, and if you do, tip in cash!!
Written January 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RDLMD
1 contribution
Jul 2020 • none
I am not one who is prone to doing any reviews. Are usually do positive reviews but this is one of the very few -ones that I've had to write. My friend and I went to the Briarhurst last night for dinner and we sat outside. This is truly a very romantic setting. The patio is beautiful. We had a 2 1/2 hour dinner for two people because of horrible service. The waiter NEVER checked on us to find out how our dinner was. My friend had an elk burger which was so salty and was overcooked. I finished my dinner by the time that the waiter came out to first check on us. He offered to fix the order but we had already waited about an hour and 45 minutes by the time we got our dinner. So he ate only 1/2 of the meal. Also, beware of the five course special that they tout. One of the courses is BREAD. REALLY--bread as a course?? . Our waiter did not even know what the five courses were when he opted for this. He said the chef would do something nice..When we got our "fifth" course, we only counted 4 courses. We were told that bread was actually considered a course at this establishment. To say that we were disappointed in the service and the food would be a complete understatement. We did complain to the assistant manager and they took $18 off of the meal. He did not seem that interested that we did not get a quality meal or service here. Keep your money and go to another restaurant!
Written July 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sakasslers
San Antonio116 contributions
May 2022 • family
Only giving them 1-star for our server who it was't her fault for thE horrible kitchen.
We travel and eat all over the world. When we chose to do a fine dining establishment we expect a culinary journey, NOT a nightmare.
After 2.5 hrs we had barely gotten appetizers. The lobster bisque was broken and tasted like pizza and the crab cakes were fried so fast and hard they were dark chocolate brown.
After another 45-minutes wait for entrees, we asked how much longer and were told only 1 of 3 was ready we decided to leave and take our hunger somewhere else.
Even sadder part was we went for a mother's day adventure and such a letdown for such a special occasion. We drove almost 2 hrs for a beyond dismal experience.
Be smart, go somewhere else as their kitchen is totally inadequate to handle the only 10 tables that were there over 3 hours.
Written May 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
helowife
8 contributions
Jul 2021 • family
We have been to Briarhurst in the past and loved it. Years ago. We waited over 2 hours for our soups and salads. Then another 45 for the main course. When it finally came out it was wrong. I didn’t want to wait another two hours for my kids eat so we left. Kim the waitress was great and very personable. They were down a bartender and two other staff but after reading reviews the lateness of food seems to be a systemic problem. That has been going on for a while. Management clearly does not know how to handle or run a restarting anymore. If you do not have a bartender then only serve wine and beer. The mixed drinks were being made by their wait staff and therefore pulling them from serving the food. Soup was cold when it was finally served after two hours. Probably because when it was up to be delivered kim was stuck making drinks for the entire restaurant. If you do not have the staff to support tables then do not seat people. There were four tables in the room we were in and three of the four finally left after hours of waiting. We will not go back until they make some major changes.
Written July 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jeffhColorado
Colorado28 contributions
Nov 2020 • none
Our family dined here on Thanksgiving. What started out as a promising experience quickly dissolved into a charade of blunders by the restaurant. After appetizers, we waited what seemed like an eternity for our entrees to arrive. When they finally came, the filet mignons that several people in our party ordered were cold in the middle. Upon complaining to the staff about this and other issues, we were met with apathetic attitudes. To top things off, a 22% built in gratuity was like rubbing salt into the wound. All in all, a bad experience. We won't be back.
Written December 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
m0m0ntheg0
46 contributions
Jul 2023 • couples
So seriously disappointing in this shell of a former fine restaurant. We ended up here on our 33rd anniversary in the exact spot where we got married July 7, 1990. We were the only people in the entire place from 4:45 PM to 6:30 PM, even though the staff was well aware that it was our anniversary, that we had been married right there on the spot 33 years in advance, and that we were there celebrating a very special occasion absolutely zero was done to recognize special occasion. We paid for a half bottle of champagne. We waited far too long for our entrée. We were asked if we wanted to order dessert and we were brought absolutely zero not an amuse Bouche, not a chocolate for the fact that we decided to spend a little bit of our anniversary in a place where we were married, the place is absolutely pathetic dated and completely out of sync with what any restaurant would do in this day and age. Completely sad and depressing. I can’t understand how they even stay open.
Written July 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
11532
Paris3 contributions
May 2021 • none
Our family went to the Briarhurst for Mother's Day. Service and food were both of very poor quality. We waited 1 1/2 hours for the first course to arrive. The lobster bisque was salty and watery, the tomato basil soup with crispy gnocchi was watery and there were no gnocchi to be found. We waited another hour for the main course to arrive - the salmon was raw - worst presentation of salmon ever seen. Our waiter was however kind and adjusted the bill down accordingly. We won't be back.
Written May 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jill
4 contributions
Dec 2022 • family
Was so excited to go huge disappointment. Out of four fillet mignonette dinners , one was cold , one should of been medium rare was well done sent it back and one was the toughest fillet I have ever had .
The place is cute . But , I do t live close by and had a Groupon . I had dinner lined up for Thursday, but there was bad Weather so I changed my reservation to Friday as the person that called said it was available. I said I wanted to use my Groupon and she made my dining reservations at the restaurant the waitress was training a new waiter and I mentioned the Groupon and she said they do that at the end. At the end she said the Groupon doesn’t work on Friday, my fault for not checking it o did mention it to her earlier and the person that rebooked as the restaurant was closed on Thursday.
I was able to get a refund for my Groupon as we won’t be back .
Written December 23, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dadmay
Colorado Springs46 contributions
Apr 2021 • none
As always, Tyler and the kitchen staff at Briarhurst were their usual outstanding. We're keto right now so their awesome bread service was offered but regretfully declined. The amuse-bouche is always remarkable and was again this time. The chef is so creative and Tyler's description is always interesting. Many of the individual ingredients I don't even like. But when it hits the table it's almost indescribable - incredibly flavorful and delicious. Not to be missed! We both had the filet as we usually do and lots of delicious salad and mushrooms to go with it. My wife had the crème brûlée (might be the best in town right now) for her birthday dessert and I had the berries and cream. They topped off another simply fantastic dining experience at the Briarhurst! We're headed back next month for my birthday. Go!
Written April 16, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ironhombre
1 contribution
Dec 2023 • family
I can’t even begin. How did this place get 4 stars?? Christmas Eve dinner with family proved a $700 disaster. Service non existent. So much so our server walked out midway thru dinner. Without a word to us. Food was either cold or over done. Like my wife’s medium rare steak which cost $90 came to her well done!! We had a special 5 course dinner. After 3 hours of painful waiting we bailed on desert as we just couldn’t sit around waiting any longer. The really awful part of the entire experience was the staff could actually care less!! Crazy. No apologies or any other explanation. We paid and just left with most of the staff in the kitchen doing god knows what. Crazy night for me and the family. Just do me a favor and avoid this place.
Written December 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Juancho G
4 contributions
Jun 2023 • family
My wife and I started planning our silver wedding a year out. After visiting multiple venues, my wife fell in love with the architecture and history of the Manor. We reserved our date in June 2023 and Janice worked with us every step of the way. We communicated over phone and by e-mail and she was always prompt to respond. On the day of the event, we had a storm come through but then it cleared. The staff were quick to dry up the chairs to prepare for the outdoor wedding. We had selected the appetizers and entrees during our tasting meetings with Janice and her amazing Chef Ryan, so all the dishes we had pre-selected for our buffet menu looked amazing! Janice and her team made our day very special and they were very attentive to our needs and the needs of our 100+ guests. Garrett and Natasha were very attentive to the head table and I am very thankful to them! I would gladly pick their venue again for another event and it would be our pleasure to work with Janice and her staff once again!
Written July 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tking
Larkspur6 contributions
Aug 2021 • couples
My husband and I had not been to the Briarhurst for quite some time. Our last experience was enjoyable however this visit was terrible. We were there celebrating our 38th anniversary and we invited friends who were celebrating their 20th anniversary. Even walking up to the manor was disappointing. The landscaping was clearly not a priority (dead grass, weeds everywhere).
Our reservation was 5:30 and we didn’t leave until 8pm because of all the waiting through the meal. We had to refill our water glasses twice. For $150 meal the food was ok. The bread service a joke! Rites crackers and a thinly sliced bread loaf is not impressive. Won’t be going back!
Written August 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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