A very nice tavern serving American fare in Longmont, CO. This building comes with some interesting history if you are history buff. It was originally built in 1881 by William Henry Dickens, a relative of the famous author Charles Dickens. They have Dickens Opera House upstairs, where they have live music shows (not your typical Opera House). It is a big red brick building, you won’t miss it. Inside is big, with dark wood furniture and exposed brick wall, making that tavern feel that is warm and welcoming.
We went there as a group, so we got some appetizers to share. And let me say, I was there with hungry men. I couldn’t get to all the plate BEFORE one of the hungry bears got to it first…. Well, we were hungry, and they were tasty! We got Fried Cheese Bite, Crispy Fried Pickle Spears, Pub Shrimp, Dickens Chicken Wings, and Sweet Potato Wedges.
Fried Cheese Bites ($9) are white cheddar breaded and fried, served with marinara. It was tasty, like bite sized mozzarella sticks. Very addictive, easier to eat than mozzarella stick. Crispy Fried Pickle Spears ($8) came with garlic parmesan dressing. It actually with one or two more “spears” than on the photo, hungry bears got to it first. It was juicy, the breading was very nice, the dressing was great with the pickles. Pub Shrimp ($9) came with 8 tender shrimp wrapped in bacon and stuffed with sliced jalapeño, served with chipotle aioli. I say most of anything that is wrapped in bacon is delicious, and this one was too! The kick of spicy jalapeño when you bite into it was great, it was burst of amazing flavors all into one.
Dickens Chicken Wings ($9) came with 5 crispy wings tossed in a tangy, sweet chili glaze with fried jalapeño strips and picked carrots. Since there were 6 of us, they actually threw on 1 extra one for us. It was very tasty, not your ordinary spicy or BBQ flavor, the sweet chili sauce added really great taste to it, and each piece was big, so you can really taste the chicken and the marinate. Sweet Potato Wedges ($8) came with balsamic drizzle. The fries had sea salt on them, and since it is wedges, each one was a good portion of sweet potato, you didn’t need the balsamic. It was soft in the inside, not greasy, and addictive. This one also had more on the plate when it first arrived to our table.
As for the main, they had pretty good menu so it was hard to choose which one to pick! The Dickens Pie, The Dickens Chicken, and Fire Cracker Shrimp Pasta. The Dickens Pie ($14) was type of Shepard’s pie, it came with shredded beef roasted with onions and carrots, topped with mashed potatoes and cheese, then browned in oven. Served with bread, which was surprisingly tasty, we had to order additional breads for others. The Dickens Pie was quite delicious and filling, actually super filling. Their portion here is really big! The Dickens Chicken ($14) is their signature dish, half the table ordered this one. It is a beer can roasted chicken, comes with half bird roasted and served over mash and tomato basil salsa. Again, the portion was pretty big, and it certainly was delicious. No wonder it took the spot of most popular item on the menu. The chicken was juicy, very flavorful, and the tomato salsa added good contract from the chicken. The meat was very tender and fell off the bones easily. It was a bit hit at the table. Fire Cracker Shrimp Pasta ($12) came with 6 shrimps sauteed in chilies, garlic, lemon juice and fresh basil and served over angel hair pasta and topped with reggiano parmesan. The shrimps were kind of spicy, not too spicy though. It also had some small mango bits, which gave a sweetness to the dish, which created this interesting hot and sweet combination. It was not the best pasta I’ve ever had, but it really was more than filling.
We had a small dessert at the end, vanilla ice cream. I heard it is usually just 1 scoop of ice cream, but the waitress decided to give 2 scoops because we were “such great customers” – her words!
The server was super nice, friendly, and polite. We were not one of those “quiet & easy” type of group, we were fun and chatty, but she dealt with us with smile and kindness. Food was good and really big, really filling. If you are in the area, I would say you should really, definitely check this place out! You will find something you will really like for sure.
The Dickens Tavern – 300 Main St, Longmont, CO 80501