The skyline of Denver, while not the tallest, looks like it is enrobed in the clouds and the reddish-pink hued sunset that is painted across the Colorado sky. This view is always a show stopper and enough of a distraction to disrupt the drivers on I-25. Nothing compares to gazing off the balcony of El Five located in the LoHi neighborhood. Its panoramic view of the city puts every aspect of the city into view. El Five reigns above the other surrounding restaurants leaving it capable of an unobstructed view. The balcony even wraps around the restaurant just enough to give you an added treat of looking at the snow peaked mountains that are a classic Colorado specticle. The atmosphere craves the commencement of spring and summer to be able to step out onto the patio instead of staying sequestered in the dimly-lit restaurant. I doubt there is another view of the city that would have a local and out-of-towner both dropping their jaws in amazement. While the view is definitely a reason to check out this place, the food is right up there with it. Regardless of the view, their dishes will have you cruising through the countries of the Mediterranean with its flavors.
From the Edible Beats restaurant group is another staple to the Denver culinary scene, along with their other renowned eateries: Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Root Down, Vital Root, Vital Root and Linger. Each concept showcases fresh Colorado produce intertwined with origins from another place in the world. El Five is a tapas style restaurant but instead of solely drawing influence from Spain, they have taken the challenge of incorporating all the cuisines harbored on the Mediterranean sea. While at first glance it may seem like a disjointed menu in need of some continuity, the spices’ blends and attention to preserving the purity of each ingredient creates a concept that flows. A traditionalist might want a clear identity, but as a melting pot country, it was fascinating to see how El Five can cultivate fusion in their food with countries that are so close but tend to food so differently. Each tapas plate offers the ideal amount to share and mix cultures on the wooden table in front of you, which supplements the social atmosphere the restaurant was designed for with the bold wall art that plasters the walls and music loud enough to be consciously heard.
Although they have proven to add their own interpretation to each dish, they still have a section claiming to be traditional tapas, but at a contemporary restaurant like this, there will always be a twist. Dates wrapped in bacon is iconic to a proper Spanish tapas feast. The natural sweetness from the dates gets caramelized once the bacon fat begins to render and together it tastes like the brown sugar bacon I would make my dad for breakfast on his birthday. Sometimes that dates can be filled with a pungent blue cheese to add a surprise of creaminess back into the dish. This would be too mainstream for the chef’s at El Five. Instead they slice serrano ham, a spanish cured ham, to the point of being almost translucent, then wrap it gently around prunes in order to present their Diablo dish. The thinly sliced ham crisps up to crunch better than a Lay’s potato chip, while the date has a chew that resembles a slow-roasted beet. Similar to a bacon-wrapped date dish, the plate is painted with an orange sauce somewhere between the color of the fruit and the sunset sky outside. Normally, it is a red pepper or piquillo sauce to add a hint of spice, but here they pair it with feta to emulate the consistency of a fondue and add to the creaminess the blue cheese is meant to provide.
Their Moroccan lamb sausage is anything but an Italian sausage stuffed into a hoagie roll with greasy peppers beginning to dretch the bread. Instead, the artfully plated dish comes with a base layer of smooth,velvety hummus where more flavors and textures begin to build from. The crumbled sausage is next with the gamy, distinct lamb flavor comes through with notes of fennel, cumin and coriander giving the warming feel that any good spice blend should. Although the beloved snap on a good sausage is missed, the juiciness of the meat is completely intact. These two rich components are balanced by the light refreshing lemon, mint and pea tendril salad delicately stacked on top to emulate the beauty of Mediterranean greenery. Finally, sprinkled with roasted fava beans, that could become the newest crouton trend, the dish is ready to be devoured.
Instagram has showed it’s love for the soup dumplings that explode with a Chinese version of chicken noodle soup wrapped in the unconventional doughy shell. El Five decided to pay an homage to Israel with their version of soup dumplings as a mashup with matzo ball soup. The traditional chicken bouillon base is nestled inside the dumplings with trifecta of any good soup; onion, celery and carrot ready to take a bath in that rich broth. Four adorable little dumplings arrive quaintly on a plain white plate with sprinklings of the trifecta on top. As unsuspecting as it may be, cracking into one dumpling gives you a mouthful of matzo ball soup that you would assume the chefs at El Five were on break and their Jewish grandma took over the kitchen. While the texture doesn’t resemble the iconic matzo ball, the flavors do the dish justice. In contrast to this more humble dish, they present the baba ganoush that paints a forest scene on the slab of wood. The deep dark purple is intensified after being shocked from high-heat cooking and complements the crosshatched grill marks on the body of the vegetable. I anticipated a spread to be set before me, but all the notes of lemon, tahini and olive oil remained but in a contemporary manner. The eggplant was cooked until tender that mashing it slightly onto the pita bread created a DIY baba ganoush. The garnish of dill, mint and parsley reaffirmed the Middle Eastern influences that they were playing off of.
The time has come for the grand finale where El Five returns to Spain to offer the beloved paella as if we weren’t full already. There are a variety of interpretations that could cater to any craving from meat lovers to a salty seafood mix. The golden hue of the saffron rice provides a textural contrast from the fluffy interior grains to the crunchy bits that were roasted against the cast iron pan. The fish gently laid on top is flaked off with the touch of a fork while the clams and mussels waited to be released from their shells. Baby scallops will sneak onto your fork unexpectedly and offer a great tender addition to the rice. The final creatures to join the party are the head on shrimp that retain all their sweetness and flavor from staying in their shells just a bit longer. The entire dish gets drizzled with a homemade aioli to accentuate the creaminess of the dish to emulate a risotto.
While El Five is not any everyday after work (or school) hang out, going there is great for visitors and locals alike. A couple starters and a small paella is more than enough for two or three, so bring a big group to split the cost and enjoy a new take on the Denver skyline and the food culture taking over the city.
