Casa Bonita: Denver's Best Mexican Food and Entertainment

From Cliff Divers to Haunted Caves to Strolling Musicians, This Restaurant Has it All

Haley Feuerbacher
Hidden in the corner of a shopping center off of Colfax in Denver, Colorado, the ornate pink tower of Casa Bonita invites diners to experience its magical offerings and to recapture a sense of childlike wonderment. The Mexican food restaurant has a limited menu, but people do not necessarily come for the food. Decorated predominantly as a Mexican villa, the inside of the restaurant features beautiful Spanish tile roofs over seating areas, palm trees, and tiki huts. The best seats in the house are those with visible access to the cascading waterfall, the centerpiece of the restaurant. Performers put on plays atop the waterfall's cliffs, and divers stun their audiences with spectacular flips into the pool below. Strolling musicians and vendors selling light sticks and other paraphernalia visit the tables while you eat, but the fun only just begins with dinner. Casa Bonita has myriad themed rooms for your after-dinner exploration, including a tiki room, a jail, a cavern complete with stalactites and stalagmites, a mine, and a treasure room with a special treat for the kids. Also, the restaurant has two arcades, a gift shop, a magic show, caricature artists, a photographer, and a haunted walk-through cave.

Casa Bonita's menu includes two all-you-can-eat meal options at a reasonable price, fajitas, salads, tacos, enchiladas, and margaritas. The food is decent, and the service is professional and responsive. The best deals are the all-you-can-eat dinners, which come with tacos, enchiladas, rice, beans, and sopapillas, all for around $11.00. Expect to spend between $10 and $15 a plate for food that is better than forgettable and a dining experience that will be remembered for a lifetime. In addition to the Denver Casa Bonita, the restaurant also has a location in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With over thirty attractions, Casa Bonita's beauty, magic, and surprise-around-every-corner atmosphere will bring out the kid in everyone!

Published by Haley Feuerbacher

A graduate of the Honors and University Scholars Program at Baylor University, I have worked as a youth leader and a whitewater rafting guide and am now pursuing my Masters of Theology at Vanderbilt Universi...  View profile

  • Casa Bonita provides both decent food and one-of-a-kind entertainment.
  • Over 30 attractions, such as divers, caves, and waterfalls contribute to the magic of Casa Bonita.
Casa Bonita has been in operation for more than thirty-five years.

10 Comments

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  • Summer7/17/2009

    I haven't eaten at Casa Bonita in 27 years. I'll be visiting denver and looking forward to going again, but even 27 years ago the food was below average, but I can't resist the atmosphere and all the great memories

  • Jay6/21/2009

    Food was gross, place was very dirty, and workers were rude. A tourist trap. Maybe with a paint job this place will look a little cleaner. Never again!!!

  • joseph5/31/2008

    the place is nice but the food is horrible it isnt mexican food

  • Jana6/25/2007

    I am gonna be in denver august 1st for the modest mouse consert, and all my friends and I are planning on eating at Casa Bonita's. I am so excited!!!

  • Amber5/15/2007

    John the diver is really handsome, and someone needs to get pictures of him

  • az5/14/2007

    YUMM!!! The best food ever.

  • az5/14/2007

    YUMM!!! The best food ever.

  • erica4/16/2007

    yes, this place is nice for family entertainment (read: kids), but the food is god-awful. if you think this is mexican food, you are dead inside.

  • Clear as Mud2/12/2007

    "The food was decent" doesn't exactly describe a great restaurant. I ate there not too long ago, and it was awful, perhaps the worst mexican food i have ever had. The place is fun, mainly for young children, but the food is horrible.

  • Teresa Morse10/5/2006

    Based on the excellent review you gave, we stopped in at the restaurant on our road trip thru Colorado and really had a great time! The food was delicious! Thanks for giving such a true, accurate review!

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