Free Range Kitchen - Basalt, Colorado

Carina B.

It’s my second time dining in this spot and I would say I had a great time.

The first time I came in was only for starters . I was surprised how big the charcuterie board was.It got us filled up so we weren’t able to get entrees.The crab cakes tasted good too.

The second time was really the full course . We enjoyed the pork belly starter that was paired with the fresh watermelon. We had the tenderloin for entree which was okay . The corn ravioli on the other hand was delicious. We finished it off with their tasty and sweet chocolate cookie skillet 😋

The cocktails were good too .

We had a bit of delay with our food but over all the experience was great. Our servers were really nice and attentive.

I recommend this spot .

Kimberly C.

Had a lovely dinner here with family. The atmosphere is contemporary with rustic finishes. It was very busy and loud but also created a fun environment.
The menu was creative with plenty of variety for everyones tastes. The food was excellent, cooked perfectly, and flavorful with good portions.
The service was also stellar with enough staff to ensure all needs are taken care of.

Will definitely return here and highly recommend.

Leah K.

I can’t find any thing to improve! This place is a gem! Ditch Aspen & head to Basalt (Yes, Basalt). Food, atmosphere, service - Free Range Kitchen has it all going on. And we got to enjoy good live music on top of it. Thanks for a wonderful dining experience!

Mariya M.

This was our first dinner at the new location. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the live music. Lovely ambience - the restaurant is modern, very lively, and the the patio is spacious. We enjoyed the atmosphere. The prices are very reasonable 👏 The views from the patio are not very scenic but sitting outside listening to pleasant live music makes the experience nice.
The food is flavorful and has an awesome aesthetic appeal (see pictures!). We had the ceviche, buratta board, brussel sprouts as appetizers; the trout, coconut curry with shrimp, and burger with fries as main course; the soft serve ice cream and skillet cookie for dessert. Everything was good except for the ceviche. I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m a big fan of ceviche, did not like it at all. The skillet cookie was extremely sweet, my friend who is a sugar addict was hardly able to eat one third of it.
Compliments to the bartender for the best spicy paloma I’ve ever had. Better than the ones I drank in Cabo San Lucas two weeks ago. Outstanding.
The service was okay, our waitress wasn’t very attentive. I wasn’t able to order a second drink for a very long time. I guess she saved me from drinking more than 2 Palomas because they were so good that I was probably going to end up drinking 4😂 But the restaurant was very busy and she seemed to have a lot of tables. We definitely didn’t feel rushed.
Overall, a great restaurant in downtown Basalt. I would recommend it for its ambience, outdoor seating, affordable prices, and live music. Most food options are delicious and creative. We’ll go back to try more.

McHala K.

Out of respect for the restaurant industry, supporting local and the work it takes to get wholesome food on a plate. The French onion soup is 🤌🏼 the burger & truffle fries also 🤌🏼. Sorry for my out-of-line first review. It was based on a bitterness I feel towards dining, inflation, the cost of living in this valley and not so much your individual restaurant and I realize that wasn’t fair. Keep up the great work

Sarah C.

We ate on the patio. The town is doing a lot of construction in this area right now, but I’m sure it will be great once it’s done. I enjoyed my meal wholeheartedly. We had the tacos to start, which were juicy and well-flavored, but a bit messy. I had the salmon special for my main course, and it was excellent. Perfectly cooked with bright flavors. The 1 star reduction was for my husband’s meal, the pork chop, which was rather overwrought with too much sauce and confusing flavors. He also found the meat to be dry. The churro sundae was also a throwaway. Overall, a good experience with some room for improvement!

Antonio E.

We recently had the pleasure of dining at Free Ranger Kitchen in Basalt, Colorado. The restaurant offers a variety of interesting dishes that are both creative and delicious. The service was outstanding, with attentive and friendly staff who made us feel welcome.

We especially enjoyed the ROASTED ELOTE OFF THE COB and the BRUSSELS SPROUTS side dishes, which we had as appetizers. They were both outstanding and set the tone for the rest of the evening. We also selected an Open Range Syrah from Washington, recommended by the sommelier, which we thoroughly enjoyed. It paired perfectly with our meal and added to the overall dining experience.

To top it all off, we had the SKILLET CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE with caramel sauce, chocolate crumble, and vanilla gelato for dessert. It was a delightful end to a great meal.

Overall, Free Ranger Kitchen is a must-visit in the Basalt area.

ROB D. J.

The potential here is off the charts, and that roasted red pepper bisque was a top tier soup. Soup does a lot to move the needle forward for me obviously, but I couldn't in my heart go above three stars for the kind of night we had. The food here is the true star of the show; our two pasta entrees were compelling deviations from the usual valley menu staples, plated beautifully and absolutely delicious. Portions for everything from appetizers to dessert are well above average. Overall there's a lot of value for your money here, (for food anyway).

Service is where things get rocky, and it started from the first cold greeting from the hostess. The vibe was just so incredibly off from everyone we came in contact with. Our waitress was attentive at least, but not personable and woefully uneducated about the menu. Free Range has a well deserved reputation for a diverse and unique wine list, but our server could not pronounce nor remember the order of our three glass wine flight. A shame considering all three were heavenly.

Preferring to get a bottle but left hung out to dry not knowing the names of anything we tasted, we decided on cocktails instead. Woah boy! This valley has a high bar for craft cocktails, so it's baffling that Free Range hasn't even mastered the basics yet. The whole menu needs to be stripped down and redone by a real mixologist. Like the wine, the server of course could not tell us what brand of liquors were used in any of the drinks. For a restaurant at this price point that is just bewildering.

There were confused and dissatisfied looks from many diners in our section. Plates were slammed down unceremoniously without a smile at our table, and we noticed more than one server carrying wine to tables by literally palming the bowls of the glasses. We watched this whole scene while thoroughly enjoying our dinner, sometimes in amusement and sometimes in shock. Huge shout out to our one food expo, she was literally the only authentic employee interaction we had all night. Other than her not a genuine smile was in sight, or even a "thanks for dining with us" as the check was dropped off. Everyone was just so indifferent to our patronage. Truly baffling.

My sincere hope is that this was just an isolated incident of epic proportions. Maybe the owners were out of town and the staff was letting their hair down for the night so to speak. The aesthetic here is refreshing, welcoming and comfortable. The view from the picture windows untouchable. The food delicious. Still, one of the weirdest date nights we've had in a long long time.