Evergreen is a delightful discovery that I hadn’t seen coming. That doesn’t happen often. At Springsmag.com, we’re always trying to track new openings and changes to the constantly growing Colorado Springs restaurant scene, but this one flew under our radar right up to its opening week in late July. My first peek in the windows while closed was intriguing, but I still wasn’t prepared for the breadth and detailed level of excellence inside.
Evergreen is out to provide an immersive European dining experience with authentic variety for all hours of the day. It already has me wanting to return again and again.
“In America, it’s hard to find comfortable places with good atmosphere, with good music, with good design, with good food,” he says (the owners prefer to keep their names behind the scenes). “We like European culture, and we want to make a high level restaurant but inexpensive.”
The couple were already operating the online La Belle Melange pastry boutique for local delivery and farther shipping, but they wanted to create a restaurant that captured the full European ambiance. They spent six months transforming the space that was the original La’au’s Taco Shop tucked away between the Colorado College Cornerstone Arts Center and Robson Arena. In full DIY mode, the owners did renovations from hanging drywall and refinishing hardwood floors to decorating and furnishing the new restaurant themselves.
The resulting ambiance is stylish but comfortable. A flower arch surrounds the exterior door. Faux greenery covers the ceiling and provides a lush, natural feel. Green velvet chairs and a fabric-covered back wall give luxurious accents that contrast the historic exposed brick. Lo-fi beats add a chill vibe.
“Maybe we can give the experience of a journey to different countries and different places to taste the best dishes from the world: Ukrainian borscht, Turkish baklava with real Italian espresso, for example,” he says. “We want to do the best.”
At Evergreen that seems to start with the details. The owners traveled extensively through Europe and Asia, as well as the U.S., gathering ideas and connections before opening their new restaurant. They have gone straight to the source for many aspects of their menu. For others they are creating their own, often using authentic tools to meet their standards.
Take the coffee, for example. The Victoria Arduino machine uses a hand-press lever similar to the company’s influential models from the early 1900s during the development of espresso. “We brought here a real Italian coffee machine to make real Italian coffee,” he says. “There is no automatic system that can do the same pressure like you do manually.”
Evergreen serves Turkish coffee as well. That process requires a different machine that heats a special container called a cezve to boil the coffee evenly on all sides. The result is deep, rich and strong.
It pairs nicely with the baklava, which is imported from Istanbul because it was unmatched from any they tried. I’ll attest it is delicious. “We brought part of Turkish culture right here,” he says.
Other pastries are done in house in French and Russian styles. The couple has carried over their confectionary works of art to Evergreen. Many are sculpted to look like fruits or objects. Whether you have a particularly sweet tooth or not, don’t miss the changing selection of these sweet treats.
Change, evolution and variety seem to be built into the ethos of Evergreen. Some of that is due to its new rollout and getting a full staff in place. Cocktails are the most recent addition — with options drawn from Asian destinations, such as Singapore, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.
On the menu, Evergreen’s Ukrainian chef is creating a mix of Eastern and Western European dishes. Breakfast highlights are French crepes and Skakshuka, a savory, traditionally Georgian egg dish. Lunch offers a variety of fresh salads, flatbread pizzas and noodles that range from a Vegan Wok to Carbonara. Dinner includes Blue Cheese Mussels and Chicken Kiev. Meat and potato lovers will love the straightforwardly named Beef with Meat Sauce and Baby Potatoes, described as “the ultimate comfort food.” Entree prices span the mid-teens to upper-20s, generally rising from breakfast to dinner.
But expect the menu to change and rotate. The owners describe lingering over meals, savoring the full experience European style and exploring new dishes and offerings.
“It’s a place where you can reboot, relax, come with your family or friends, spend a couple hours,” he says. “Enjoy your seats. Enjoy your food. Enjoy the music. Enjoy your mountain view. Just enjoy.”
He also says future plans include adding dishes slow-cooked in a Big Green Egg. Those will pair well with expansions to the patio. Pergolas, heaters, and more comfortable and stylish seating are meant to extend the ambiance outdoors and keep it useable in cold weather. That buildout takes more money and time, so it remains farther down the road.
For now, Evergreen is worth joining on the journey.
Explore the menu and learn more at evergreen.restaurant.
