The Penrose Room at The Broadmoor is back after a full renovation and update, and the results are a gorgeous upscale dining experience that blends modern elegance with historic grandeur.
Perched on the top floor of The Broadmoor’s South Tower, The Penrose Room has been the resort’s crown jewel of its excellent collection of upscale restaurants since first opening on New Year’s Eve 1961. In 2008, it became the first Colorado restaurant to earn a Forbes Five-Star rating, maintaining the distinction for 13 consecutive years, along with a AAA Five-Diamond rating in 2007. Those honors continued until The Penrose Room closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now the fine dining destination has undergone a full reconceptualization. Its physical transformation was executed by Tihany Design, a global multidisciplinary interior design firm known for its work with luxury hospitality. And it’s culinary evolution was led by The Broadmoor’s long-time Executive Chef Justin Miller.
“The Penrose Room has long held a special place in the heart of The Broadmoor, and its reintroduction marks an exciting new chapter in our ongoing legacy of excellence,” says Jack Damioli, president & CEO of The Broadmoor. “With the expertise of Tihany Design and our extraordinary culinary team, we’ve created an experience that is both timeless and contemporary, one that honors the spirit of Spencer and Julie Penrose while inviting a new generation of guests to discover the elegance and artistry that define The Broadmoor.”
The Vibe
The new Penrose Room draws its theme from hotel founders Spencer and Julie Penrose’s global travels. Those international touches are subtle but immersive, and they allowed Miller and his team a good deal of latitude in presenting a wide range of menu options to satisfy a variety of tastes.
The tone is set as you step off the elevator into a large, comfortably chic parlor surrounded by rich wood paneling and a circular, red velvet sofa. It’s a statement piece, part Victorian, part Art Deco, that ushers you into the opulence of early 20th century steamships and railcars.
The penthouse level decor, features arched wood paneling, lush velvet and leather seating and classically clean light fixtures. Sitting in a curved booth, surrounded by warm tones of gold, jade and copper, cocktail in hand, it’s easy to imagine yourself in a luxurious bar car on a transcontinental railroad — this one offering gorgeous views of Cheyenne Canyon and Cheyenne Mountain through it’s wide, wraparound windows from the penthouse. The adventurous Spencer and Julie Penrose might be just a table away.
Tucked throughout the space are display cases with Penrose artifacts and heirlooms. There’s Spencer’s original top hat and pith helmet; Julie’s jade and cloisonné vases and jewelry from Asia; and sepia-toned photos of the couple with their daughter, Gladys, visiting the Egyptian pyramids.
“In all the restrooms there are posters of actual steamships that Spencer and Julie Penrose sailed on,” says Cindy Leonard, Broadmoor historian. “I think there were about 24 different ones, and some they did multiple trips on across the ocean. But they loved to travel.”
As a nod to Julie Penrose’s love for collecting fine China, The Broadmoor partnered with renowned Italian porcelain house Ginori 1735 to create an exclusive, custom-designed collection of dishes that serve as the backdrop for artful meal presentations.
Many Experiences in One
More than just a singular restaurant, the new Penrose Room offers guests multiple ways to enjoy the space. Along with the main dining room, there are The Penrose Room Lounge, a whiskey room, a speakeasy called The Polo Club at The Penrose Room, as well as a reception room and banquet space.
The Penrose Room has a long history of hosting proposals, anniversaries and family holidays, but Miller says they want the new Penrose Room to be more than just a restaurant for special occasions.
The variety of options and menu selections help. Both the Lounge and Polo Club make excellent destinations in and of themselves for elevated cocktails and small bites, including the Sushi and Raw menu. (More on that later.)
Penrose Room diners will receive a special invitation and escort to continue their experience at the Polo Club, but the speakeasy is absolutely worth its own visit, whether combined with The Penrose Room or not. Reservations are not required for the Polo Club.
Find it down an arched hallway and enter through a false bookcase. Inside is a separate bar and more of the same Penrose Room vibes on a more intimate scale. The cocktail menu is the same as the Lounge, for now.
Art reflects The Broadmoor’s long history with polo, harkening back to its early days that included stables and four polo fields. And the coveted Penrose Cup which was and continues to be awarded to the winners of the Broadmoor Winter Polo Classic is displayed with honor here.
The Culinary and Cocktail Stars
Both the food and drink menus at The Penrose Room draw from the Penroses’ global travels and combine fresh takes on some of the restaurant’s classic menu items. Impeccable service is a priority, and several of those signature dishes are prepared tableside, including Pio Tosini Prosciutto di Parma, the Penrose Caesar Salad, Beef Wellington and Flambeed Baked Alaska.
Other standout entrees range from Japanese White Miso Glazed Pacific Halibut and Thai Barbecued Red Snapper to Za’atar to Pistachio Crusted Colorado Lamb Loin, Colorado Red Bird Chicken Marsala and Côtes de Veau.
The dining options also include a dedicated Sushi and Raw Bar menu, and it is a clear nod to Spencer and Julie’s affinity for Asian destinations. It’s also an excellent addition that expands the breadth of possibilities for enjoying the restaurant’s reboot. We could happily make a meal out of these fresh offerings alone.
Exquisite rolls, such as the Hamachi Poke Roll and the signature Penrose Room Roll (featuring tempura shrimp, spicy ahi tuna and whiskey barrel aged shoyu), are served on artful towers. The Marinated Tuna Tataki deserves a special shoutout for its beautifully plated presentation and perfectly balanced fruit-spiced bite of its Peruvian aji amarillo peppers. Even those not excited by seafood can savor the Eagles Nest Ranch Wagyu Beef Tataki Roll that brings the far-flung theme back to The Broadmoor’s own local sourcing.
For libations, the stars of the drink menu are the signature cocktails served from the glass-backed bar. These draw heavily from the Penroses’s lifetimes and experiences, and it’s worth asking Lead Bartender Jacob Smith about their origins.
The Broadmoor Cooking Club Punch was inspired by the actual club of that named formed by Spencer Penrose and friends. “They would get together once a month with a chef, and the chef would guide them through preparing the meal,” Smith says. “It was an opportunity for them to get away from the stresses of life.”
Smith describes it as a culinary inspired cocktail. ”It’s a milk-washed cocktail — you add milk to an acidic cocktail and strain it to clarify the cocktail. It has sherry which brings really nice raisiny notes, and a vein of rum. Umami bitters add a smoky, savory element, and it is garnished with a raspberry gelée that we make in-house with the leftover raspberry pulp from making our housemade syrup for the Broadmoor Clover Club.”
Two of our favorites are the Inari Sour and the Seafarer. The Inari is built with Kikori Whiskey, a bright Japanese rice whiskey that blends well with yuzu, matcha and lemon for a refreshing sipper.
The Seafarer has just a hint of tropical flavor that keeps it light and balanced. “It is a coconut fat-washed gin, with housemade cashew orgeat [syrup] flavored with a little bit of cherry blossom extract,” Smith says. “And it’s colored with blue spirulina, which is a luminous algae that is odorless and tasteless but really bright blue, so it’s visually very striking.” The coconut is subtle, and the unique libation drinks smooth and clean.
Of course, fans of more traditional cocktails should not miss the Tableside Cocktail Trolley for an entertaining martini or Manhattan experience. Your mixologist will pour, stir or shake your custom cocktail to your exact preference, using top-shelf spirits and a variety of fresh garnishes. Dirty, filthy, perfect, uptight — you name it, you get it. And your bespoke beverage comes with an elegant flair and sophisticated performance.
It’s just another example of superior selections and service available at this crown jewel.
Somewhere, Spencer and Julie Penrose are smiling.
Explore the menus and make your reservations (highly recommended) at broadmoor.com.
