Bones (DEN) - Did anyone try it at the opening last night?

[Mimi]

Frank Bonnano's newest venture, Bones, opened last night. It's an Asian noodle restaurant with one of the chefs from Mizuna running the kitchen. Did anyone try it last night?

[hungrygirldenver]

I did. The place, as expected, needs some time to figure itself out a bit I think - I only say that because I expected a more casual restaurant atmosphere. The service, though lovely, was a bit too formal in style and didn't seem to really fit the noodle bar idea IMO. I think I'd be more comfortable if they'd loosen up a bit, or maybe next time I'll sit at the bar instead of a table. Or maybe it was just opening night jitters for the waitstaff. Cocktails were overpriced and not very good, but best of the three I tried was the green tea one. The food however, was excellent - a few standout appetizers were the black cod/pork belly tempura, roasted bone marrow (if you're into that sort of thing), fried shishito peppers, and pork belly buns (definitely preferred them to the suckling pig buns but who doesn't like pork belly?). These apps ranged about $7-12 as I recall. The pickled vegetables were good also. For mains, I had the ramen with lobster and edamame - it was wonderful though not what I expected at all. It was very rich, and more French/Italian-influenced (if you subbed out the edamame for peas) really than Asian, with more of a sauce than a soup, which is more what you'd expect from a true Asian ramen. It was $16, but with a decent amount of perfectly done lobster. I tried my neighbor's udon - also good, and another neighbors spicy egg noodles with chicken - this one actually probably the most "Asian" of the bunch, and only about $9, I think.

Didn't try the soft serve ice cream, priced at $5 a serving. I was full, but I also thought that was a bit much for soft serve. If anyone tries it, let me know if it's worth it!

As an aside, I was there with my toddler daughter and extended family (6 of us in all). I'm a fan of Frank's restaurants and haven't been able to hit Mizuna or Luca lately, and I was thrilled when I thought he was opening another "casual" restaurant, and a noodle bar at that! Thought it might be relatively kid-friendly, like Osteria, but the place again felt a bit too formal for me to feel comfortable bringing her, too quiet maybe - and that may change as it gets popular. It's also NOT a good place for groups - anything more than 4 is hard to seat, and there are only a few tables. Frank's wife Jackie was a trooper however and agreed to pull 3 tables together just for our group - Thanks!! I'd recommend dining with just one other person and sitting at the bar, where you can watch the chef at work!

All in all, I'd definitely go back, but maybe on a date night with the hubby instead! And I'll drink wine instead...

[hungrygirldenver]

Anyone else been yet? curious to hear what others think.

[rlm]

I was at Bones recently (at a table since the bar was full) and it didn't feel formal to me at all. So it looks like they've found their groove. Tiny and laid back with W-Hotels-type "chill-electro" music playing (similar to what you'd hear in Adega's dining room back in the day). I was there alone in jeans on a weeknight and felt comfortable. Servers were all attentive with big smiles and kept my water topped up. Usually if places have an attitude, they inflict it on people drinking tap water, but I was never made to feel unwelcome or uncomfortable or anything other than a valued customer. I definitely will try one of their sake flights in the future when I'm not driving.

The fried shishito peppers are very good--though it's probably a bad idea for one person to chew on a bowl of those incendiary suckers without assistance, especially if you're eating them with the sambal like I did. Another solo diner at the table next to me recommended the ramen with poached lobster, edamame, and miso (which he said the diners previously sitting at my table had recommended to him). This was amazing, and your description was spot-on, hungrygirl.

I had sampled some disappointing happy hour small plates earlier at Happy Noodle House in Boulder, so I was entirely too full to try the soft-serve (they had Reese's Puffs, Malt Ovaltine, and a twist available). The gentleman at the next table was happily lapping up the malt flavor like an excited kid though, so I'm guessing it was pretty good.