Ramen Shop Tokio Praised, Butcher's Bistro Struggling

Chef Miki Hashimoto resurrected his culinary career when he opened Tokio last summer. The restaurant received 3 stars from the Denver Post in this week's review, with critic William Porter deeming the Asian cuisine as balanced, skillfully combining flavor, texture and presentation. Porter recommends the Kushi Katsu pork dish, skewered chicken thighs, and the whole squid in ginger sauce. Tokio's specialty is their ramen bowls, applauded as well. He noted that the space commands a young crowd to enjoy the moderate noise-level in the "handsome" two-level room.

Butcher's Bistro, a whole-animal eatery located in the former Twelve space, failed to please Westword's Gretchen Kurtz. The critic was excited to experience the cut du jour that the bistro provides, but was immediately put off by the sauce-less and side-less steak dish. She felt as though chef-owner Tyson Holzheimer played it so safe that she was "tempted to never order the cut du jour again." An overly dry pork chop and a recurring issue of too much salt left Kurtz with leftovers that would be forever untouched. She ended on a positive, noting that the cut du jour offering has already improved.