Went by a new neighborhood eatery last night after karate, the Copper Fox Pub — a pretty cool name (tying as it does to our local neighborhood). It’s trying to establish itself as a local high-end pub — or “casually upscale neighborhood tavern,” as they put it — with various tasty sandwiches, beers, a vodka list, sports TV, etc.
This is the place that sent us a fun survey over the summer, while they were under construction, soliciting names and menu items; I have no idea if it was all a sales gimmick, or if they actually made use of the data, but it got us interested.
Food: Good ingredients, mixed preparation. I had a spicy chicken sandwich — a great roll, large and good quality yet bland chicken breast, almost too-spicy garnish. Margie’s tuna club was similarly well-constituted but needed some sort of sauce to make it less dry. Katherine’s burger had a good, sizeable patty, but the bun was oversized for a kid’s meal.
The onion rings we had as appetizers were of modest quantity, well-prepared (if a bit tasteless in the breading/batter), but served with a couple of yummy dipping sauces.
There were several sandwiches (and a couple of salads) on the menu I was interested in, though I’m not usually a sandwich eater. I would have liked a few plate entrees, but …. The kids menu is a bit limited (and the usual suspects), but they also serve it automatically with a side of carrots or apple sauce, and, as noted, the quality of the burger, at least, was very good.
As a pub, you’d expect the drink menu to shine. They have a decent but not awe-inspiring collection of beers on tap (their house Copper Red was flavorful) and bottled. They have a good (and pricy) wine list. They also have two pages of vodkas from around the world.
Service: We arrived around 5:45pm on a Tuesday, and had no trouble getting seating. The hostess was pleasant. Our waitress was new (first night) and did her job well; where she made a few errors, she was quite pleasant and apologetic for it. She followed up with us sufficiently, suggestively sold in a non-pushy fashion, and was someone I would be more than happy to have wait on me in the future.
She also had a more experienced fellow over-enthusiastically helping her, though he didn’t add much aside from interruptions to make sure we were doing okay.
The only serving gaffe was that they by default only bring out forks and knives, and Katherine needed a spoon with her apple sauce.
Ambience: It’s a relatively small place with a bar, booths, and open tables, lightly decorated as a sports bar (a couple of signed pictures and memorabilia), plus TV monitors all over the place. It wasn’t too noisy, though most of the open tables were unoccupied. There’s also a back room good for a party, and a patio with a fire pit.
The appointments were all upscale, going with the food. Not just your ordinary grubby sports bar, this.
The place was kid-friendly, if not intentionally family-oriented. The kids menu is small, and the handouts for coloring were kind of limited.
The web site says, “The Copper Fox Pub is a casually upscale neighborhood tavern with an atmosphere that rich [sic] in warm woods, copper and earth tones. The vibe is fun and laidback with an undertone of upbeat energy.” That seems a bit of a stretch, but it was, after all, a Tuesday night.
Prices: The sandwich plates (they also had salads) were $7 and up, so in line with a family restaurant. The wine was marked well up, from the labels I recognized, but we must have been there during Happy Hour because the beer was dirt cheap.
Overall: I won’t put it at the top of my list of places to go, but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back again (or to take others there). I hope they do well.
The Copper Fox Pub, 8236 S. Holly St., Centennial (at Holly and County Line, by the King Soopers).