When I heard that Denver Chef Troy Guard’s new venture was to be a large downtown steakhouse, I couldn’t help but wonder why we need yet another steak house in a town full of steakhouses. And I was more than a little curious as to how a chef known for more nuanced food at TAG would stake (pun intended) his claim in this overcrowded space. All it took was one visit to answer both questions.You might not think of a steakhouse serving hamachi crudo like this, but that’s the first way Guard and Grace distinguishes itself in a crowded market. It’s more of a surf and turf place complete with a raw bar (gorgeous counter if you want to sit there to eat) and a wide selection of seafood. Think of it as Stoic & Genuine meets Del Frisco’s.But it also has an impressive list of charcuterie and hand made cheeses to choose from to start your meal. The minute I saw burrata, speck, and grilled bread on the menu, I knew what I had to order. The burrata was creamy, the bread perfectly toasted, and the speck salty like it should be. Heaven together.It’s always great to have a salad at a steakhouse, and Guard and Grace offers a nice selection: the house salad features four types of greens, fresh herbs, sunflower seeds, and their house dressing; the Caesar has a twist on it with a nice wedge of avocado hiding under that lovely parmesan crisp; and of course, no steakhouse is complete without a wedge salad offering, although my husband seems to always be the only one who is thin enough to afford to eat that many calories.But what really sets Guard and Grace apart from all of the other steak joints in town is the selection of steaks. First, you have your choice of beef: PRIME: the highest select grade of meat based on marbling, robust flavor – raised in Colorado; ANGUS: slightly less grade and marbling than prime, naturally raised in Colorado; or GRASS FED: no growth hormones, no antibiotics, no feed lot…taste the difference – raised in Colorado. Get the idea? Great meat, raised in Colorado. Next you have your choice of size: 4 ounce (the very best idea ever put on a menu at a steakhouse in my opinion), 8 ounce, 12 ounce, 18 ounce, or 22 ounce; bone in or boneless. This little 4 ounce piece of succulent grass fed beef might very well be the best steak I’ve ever had at a steakhouse in town. They also offer 7 different sauces if you feel the need to dress up the meat (I didn’t): red wine mushroom, tarragon hollandaise (that’s béarnaise), brandy peppercorn, chimichurri, crab oscar, foie butter, or bleu cheese butter.The sides are decent too. While the menu features other decadent things like truffled gnocchi or loaded baked potatoes, we opted for the post-New Year’s healthier oak roasted broccoli and crispy Brussels sprouts with apple. Both were interesting, prepared well, and full of flavor.But lest you think we are dietary saints, we did manage to share a banana cream pie dessert between the four of us. I’m not a fan of dessert, and especially not banana cream pie, but the others gobbled it up. I think Guard and Grace has done a nice job of creating a unique space within the steakhouse market here in Denver – I hope they are here to stay as I’ll definitely be back!

Details
Guard and Grace
Modern Steakhouse
1801 California Street
Denver, CO 80202
303.293.8500
Website

Hours:
LUNCH MON-FRI {11-3}
SOCIAL HOUR MON-FRI {3-6}
DINNER MON-THU {5-10}
FRI-SAT DINNER {5-11}
CLOSED SUNDAY
Complimentary valet / Reservations accepted