LoHi’s Jacques Gives Denver Diners Exactly What They Want

Where:

3200 Tejon St., LoHi

The Draw:

Gussied-up French classics in a refined yet relaxed setting

The Drawback:

Some dishes have undesirable flavor profiles.

Noise Level:

Low

What To Order:

French onion soup, duck confit, burger, French wines

If the definition of a gift is something you wouldn’t normally grant yourself, then the time, effort, and more-is-more mentality underlying French food is the ultimate extravagance. Jacques, the more traditionally French, quasi-sister restaurant to the Cole neighborhood’s rowdier Brasserie Brixton, has been spoiling us in all the right ways for the past year, marrying disciplined techniques with indulgent ingredients and a menu that changes with the season.

In my home kitchen, I would never spend four hours cooking down sweet yellow and red onions until they melt into glassy, caramelly shadows of their former pungent selves to produce something like Jacques’ French onion soup. (I also wouldn’t be so freewheeling with the wine, which is deliciously noticeable in the broth.) Covered with a gooey blanket of Gruyère, Emmentaler, and other Swiss cheese, chef Nicholas Dalton’s vegetarian rendition of the classic starter is the perfect way to commence your meal, with its welcoming warmth and richness.

Or you could begin with the crackly crusted house-made baguette, served with a generous dollop of ultracreamy salted French butter. Better yet, order both, so you can dip the bread in the soup’s rich, comforting broth. Better still, also get the steamed mussels and swish the carbs through the garlicky sauce.

Jacques’ menu is divided up by proteins rather than by appetizers and mains. The mussels are a worthy selection from the seafood section, but the meats are popular picks. Four-year-old Brasserie Brixton has become locally famous for its decadent double Gruyère burger, but Jacques’ iteration is just as good. This may be a French restaurant, but the two perfectly charred patties, American cheese, In-N-Out-like sauce, and shredded lettuce on a sesame bun scream USA. The matchstick taters, which are available as a side, are my fry ideal; some are chewy (but never greasy or gummy) and others are supercrunchy. They taste like—forgive me, France—a better version of McDonald’s fries.

The duck is my favorite thing on the menu. In late summer, it came with chunks of Palisade peaches, a dark mole, seedy salsa macha, and pickled cherries. Even if I could somehow master the crispy, tender duck confit itself at home, I could never re-create the complexity of the chile-laced mole. That bit of kick juxtaposed with the sweet peaches, pickled cherries, and savory duck made for a very special bite.

Least successful for me is the half chicken. While the plate is visually beautiful and the bird’s skin is crispy and well-seasoned, the black pepper sauce it was served with at the time was overwhelming. The strong, piney pepper overpowered the otherwise well-cooked meat. By the time you stop in for dinner, it will hopefully rest upon a more complementary sauce.

The blow from a misstep such as this can be softened by a good drink. Here, I’d happily linger over a glass of Syrah or Chardonnay from the mostly French wine list. Or, if booze is in order, the sweet and cool Cucumber du Désir cocktail made with St-Germain, gin, and lemon is a standout. And then, why not close it out with a digestif—maybe a pour of chartreuse or cognac?—to end on a high note, à la the French.

Read More: 10 of Denver’s Best French Restaurants

Another high note is Jacques’ service, which is better than I’ve experienced at a Denver restaurant in a long time. Dinner here is a splurge—I never made it out for under $100 for two, even without alcohol—but I appreciated that my server was still budget-conscious, pointing out happy hour versions of menu items to save me a few bucks.

I also was grateful for other things I rarely experience at home. One is the date-night-ready ambience—the marble bar, deep green and blue paneling, and banquettes feel chic and sophisticated—that’s also comfortable and relaxed, thanks both to the garage-style windows and casual meal pacing. Dinner at my house is quick and economical, often dependent on how I can best feed my two kids with the least amount of effort so they can get back to their activities. At Jacques, lingering is welcome, so I wasn’t at all surprised that the couple sitting by the window when we came in didn’t look anywhere near done when we left. It’s the kind of experience you can savor as slowly or quickly as you want.

That relishing of food, drink, and company is what Jacques is all about. This isn’t the place to watch calories or count dollar signs or worry about where you need to be next, and that’s the gift of this corner bistro in LoHi. That sort of dining experience is a treat we don’t normally give ourselves—but should.

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3 French Wine-Protein Pairings

We love enjoying a glass of wine (or two) with our meals, particularly with French fare. After all, France is the world’s second-largest producer of wine. At Jacques, beverage director and co-owner Jerome Lavaissiere curates a list of 120 bottles, 90 percent of which are imported from his native France. Consider these pairing tips from Lavaissiere for your next brasserie-style meal.

If you’re having: Mussels
Ask for: A glass full of grapes grown close to the ocean, which will bring out the seafood’s salty notes. Lavaissiere recommends a Muscadet, a dry white from west of the Loire Valley.

If you’re having: Duck
Ask for: A Syrah from the Saint-Joseph appellation of the Rhône Valley, where the fruit thrives in the black schist soil. “It yields a rich, deep flavor of black olive tapenade with hints of smoky black pepper,” he says.

If you’re having: Salmon
Ask for: A Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, a white wine crafted near Avignon in France’s Provence region. The variety’s balanced blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Clairette makes for a sipper with subtle floral notes.

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Read More:

• 10 of Denver’s Best French Restaurants
• Top of the Town 2024: The Top French Restaurant
• 3 Must-Try French Restaurants