Casa Bonita is Just as Fun…And The Food Is Just as Bad

This weekend, my better half and I decided to relive a childhood tradition and have dinner at the famous Casa Bonita restaurant in west Denver. I hadn't been there since I was a teenager. Some things just never change; including the food.

The old building still looks exactly like it did when I was a kid, except the large pink landmark now occupies a mostly empty strip mall. A Denver institution since 1974, guests are still seated in a dining room decorated to resemble the mountains and beaches of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Crowds of children still look on in amazement as fire juggling divers plunge into the pool below the cliffs. And the food is still so terrible, I wouldn't feed it to the dog.

Of course, everybody knows the food at Casa Bonita is terrible. It's always been awful. Nobody would eat there if they didn't make you buy dinner on your way in. And should you tempt fate and actually eat the food, there's a good chance you'll be paying for it later.

I'd rather eat a microwave burrito from inside a gas station dumpster, but there's something so nostalgic about that place that keeps it alive. The decor looks like a Rainforest Cafe on crack and the food tastes like a mexican Chuck E. Cheese, but it's still fun. And it's even funner as an adult because you can order a pitcher of Margaritas.

In this day and age, family restaurants that have thrived for generations are constantly being replaced by the next big thing. The charm of Casa Bonita is that it remains exactly like you remembered it from childhood. It hasn't changed in 40 years, and hopefully it never will.