Bang Up To The Elephant!

I give this meal a 3.5 but it has more potential so I give 4 overall. Service was also very good.We got Buss up shut, nice flavors and a little spicy that comes with tasty corn bread.Now the coconut Curry was just average, not enough flavor, lacking some salt, and the roti it came with was very oily. Add jackfruit instead of tofu, it's better.

I'm somewhat surprised by some of the middling reviews of this place. My partner and I were visiting Denver, and we thought this place was great!We are both vegan, and neither of us drink. Many vegan restaurants have the same derivative bar-style dishes... Bang Up had some unique flavor profiles in theirs.Now, my wife did have the coconut curry dish, which was solid but not particularly unique in terms of flavor. However, my bunny chow was just excellent. We are from Seattle, and there's a place that serves bunny chow, but it's not vegan and therefore I haven't been able to order it. I couldn't tell you if the bunny chow here was authentic, but I can tell you that it was wonderful. The sourdough bread bowl was amazing too.My wife's cornbread was spot on delicious. Cornbread is a rare treat for vegans, and it's nice to get when available.The mocktails... skip over everything else on the menu and get the Mauby Fizzy. Seriously one of the best mocktails I've had anywhere. I'm looking at the menu now in another browser window, and it's described as "flavor's a cross between root bear and anise". This is absolutely spot on, and so unique. I don't know what mauby bark is, but I can tell you that other places should be using it as an ingredient.The physical space is just super cool. Make sure to look around the room when you visit. It's sort of a hip southern Pacific vibe. I love the look of the bar.We went on a Tuesday night, and it was empty (the restaurant is quite large). That's a crime -- this place should be busy every night of the week as it's one of the better vegan places in Denver. It was actually our third choice that night. We first tried to go to a vegan pizza place, and didn't realize it was a food truck. Second vegan place we tried to go to had an "incident" in the kitchen and wasn't serving food. This was the third place we went to, and as they say, third time's a charm.Service was friendly and good. We were seated next to the computer terminal where the servers enter their food orders, so we got attention throughout the evening anytime we needed it. The server was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the food as well. We were trying to figure out an ingredient in the cornbread, and the server talked to another server, and then ended up bringing out the chef from the back -- we had a nice little conversation about flavors. Great fun.We're planning on coming back to Denver, and Bang Up will for sure be on our list to go back to (I unfortunately always referred to it as "Bang the Elephant," which has some unintended implications...).

We recently dined at Bang Up to the Elephant for my mom's birthday, and she was super excited, as she follows a vegan diet. This establishment is very appealing, not only for the menu, but the atmosphere as well. It is advertised that they use 100% outside air, and I must say, it was very refreshing!To start, everyone in our party ordered a "fizzy" which is included on happy hour. These are non- alcoholic options that are certainly just as enjoyable as any cocktail. My favorite by far was the guava. It had a nice tang to complement the sweetness. We all shared the curry fries to start and let me tell you, after the basket was empty, I was ready to order more. I also wanted to try another fizzy, however, the service was a bit slow, despite being the only party in the restaurant. I did not get a chance to order another drink until after all of our entrees arrived. Fortunately, everyone at the table ordered a different variety of fizzies and I was able to try them all, and they all were delicious. I am also glad I was not able to order more curry fries because our meals were not only incredibly filling, but we had some left overs. I had the Mofongo, my husband had the buss up shut, and my parents shared the lo mein and a Cubano. I really enjoyed the tomato bourbon sauce on the Mofongo and did not leave a drop of it behind. We ordered a couple of sides as well that were nothing exciting. I ordered papaya slaw and corn bread, both were a bit bizarre to me. With the slaw, it was mostly pickled cabbage, which is a great accent to a sandwich, but eats difficult on its own with the strong acidity, and I was missing papaya, frankly. The cornbread also ate more as an aggressively sweet cinnamon cake that would go well with coffee, but not as a savory accent to the meals we ordered. On that note- we asked about dessert, but our server told us they don't really offer a dessert menu, so we went elsewhere to find celebration birthday dessert. I wanted to mention this for any sugar lovers out there before they visit expecting to round out their experience here. All in all a solid dinner, and perfectly seasoned meals!

They're doing too much with the flavor profile. There is nothing like a simple but effective dish using unique ingredients. I think the failure here is that it is too much of a fusion concept and they throw a bunch of things together thinking they work when they in fact detract or distract from the original purpose. They try highlighting an ingredient like cassareep and curry and kefir lime but put them with ingredients that downgrade or stifle the flavor.As a once time diner so far I would like to give them a benefit of a doubt. The space itself is very cute minus the horrible portapotty doors that just gross me out honestly. No one wants to go into a portapotty willingly. They really should consider a changing the decor there.We tried the RW menu and the best thing on here was the banana 'balls' at the end. The edamame was accompanied by a jerk sauce that I found to be an inedible combination. Who wants to dunk edamame in a sauce let alone a spice rub sauce? I'd expect them to sprinkle it on top of the edamame instead of salt. I mean our neighbors in the dining room liked it so to each their own but no thank you!The cassareep flavored bowl was ok. I didn't really like the pineapple chunks which were kind of thrown in there and there wasn't enough tofu to make this a dinner portion. My sister tried the special bunny chow and it came with a raisin containing coleslaw. Again this is a personal dislike so maybe you guys like coleslaw that has raisins but not I.The bread bowl of the bunny chow was quite good. The curry saucy waffle fries were good too. The balls of banana were good especially in the chocolate sauce. The kefir lime sauce was too mild and flavorless to count. The worst thing we got was the rice pudding. It came with a fruit topping that made it sour in a bad way and the flavor profile was like the rice in the Korean dessert drink. Too mild to be comforting like a pudding.I'd like to try their doubles as a person who lived in the Caribbean but I'm afraid I'll dislike it as well. If anything you can drink some pretty drinks here.

I love this place. Interesting food and atmosphere. I'm always looking for something new with a great vibe and I couldn't have asked for more. I love the coconut bread as a dessert and the staff is super nice and helpful.Wiiilldd this place has below 4 stars.

First off this place is straight VIBES! Felt like I feel into Miami x NYC west village. Vibrant colors, trini vibes. Greta music. Ordered some food to go, normally would never check out a spot like this but my friend is going vegan. All I can say is WOW!! The coconut curry is so flavorful, we got it with jack fruit - never had it and damn it was good. They were able to achieve such a rich and robust flavor that had me coming back. Also the portions are HUGE! Always a plus imo.Also got their quesadilla that was equally huge and flavorful. Their black eyed peas where so flavorful, idk ifs like a rue or gravy but damn its good. Also the plantains were great not al sugary like the East coast. Service was great. Also have a great HH! This spot is a must try regardless if you eat meat or not.

Cute and unique decor! Unique and tasty options! Definitely check it out if you are vegetarian/vegan or if you just like trying something different! I had a curry. Good service. Recommend!

I went here to celebrate a friend's birthday and the place is GORGEOUS! It's a quirky atmosphere that is very chill. We all tried each other's food and I was pleasantly surprised! We started wjth someCurried fries and Jerk edamame---a MUST, in my opinion. We got up the Busup shut, bowl'o'lo'meij, the cauliflower wings and Casareep Rice Bowl. With our various drinks. This place came rightly highly recommended by a vegetarian friend.

Updated review (3.5 stars):Cubano is still fine, and mustard is still overpowering. Chips+salsa is great.Hibiscus fizzy is SO much better than the guava. Guava one is just sour, but hibiscus one is really nice, and the flower flavor comes through a lot. Way too much ice though.Also got the bakes+ranch for a side. It was kinda lame; I don't even understand why it's on the menu, to be honest with you. Just extremely dense bread with some ranch.Miscellaneous notes:Restaurant is in a really sketch part of town, parking is a nightmare, and the internet connection is atrocious. I also just strongly dislike their sorta quirky branding - especially in their voicemail - but that's personal.

Unique ambiance with lots of space! The food is very filling and tastes great. I also got an interesting sarsaparilla drink that wasn't really my vibe, but it was a cool experience to try.