Jax Fish House (Denver)

Located in LODO, Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar (1539 17th Street, Denver, CO) has served fresh and sustainable seafood since 1996. They cater to the ‘Coast-less Communities’ with an impressive raw bar and hand crafted cocktails and beer. Happy Hour is 4pm to 6pm daily and all night long Mondays. Specials include $1.50 oysters, steamed mussels and a sea dog as well as discounted craft cocktails, seasonal tap sangrias, $1 off drafts, select wines for $6 and more.

My first impression of Jax was great. I was visiting family and brought them along so our party was rather large (six). Instead of forcing us to sit outside or wait and make a reservation the manager quickly put together a table for us. Not exactly the easiest task as this place really is a counter bar with table seating. Our server was super attentive and helpful and every table was covered in white craft paper. I’m sure it’s meant for easy cleanup but they leave crayons so I had to leave behind a masterpiece.

My first drink was the strawberry lemonade ($5: house infused strawberry vodka, lemonade) and while I’m not big on vodka I enjoyed this refreshing take on a summer staple. The lemonade wasn’t too tart and the infused vodka had a good strawberry flavor.

Next was the gumbo fries ($5: aged white cheddar, andouille) which is Jax’s version of poutine. I would have liked the fries to be a bit more crispy, but the gumbo was a nice twist. The andouille gave this dish a more hearty base than their regular cup of gumbo, but the flavor was lacking real depth. I understand if some take that with a grain of salt as not everyone grew up eating authentic Louisiana gumbo as our server alluded to. Worth a try and extra points for creativity.

I also ordered a seafood dynamite slider ($2: pea shoots, pickled red onion) which was delicious. The remoulade wasn’t exactly spicy, but still worked. The actual slider consisted of a seafood mix which was fresh and not fishy or rubbery. Overall a good size for the price.

My second sip was their seasonal paloma ($5: seasonal infused tequila, grapefruit, grapefruit soda). I learned with this drink that I must stop forcing myself to try grapefruit. I wanted to like this drink just as much as I want to enjoy grapefruit in general, but it just isn’t going to ever happen. For that reason I can’t say don’t get this drink even though I didn’t love it.

To round out my visit I tried the bacon fat chicken wings ($9: guajillo chili sauce, cilantro crème fraîche) which sadly was the most disappointing dish of the night. I had very high hopes for these wings because bacon = greatness. The wings didn’t inherently have a bacon flavor nor did they evoke any bite from the chili sauce. The crème fraîche seemed out of place on the actual wing adding nothing of note.

I give Jax 4.5 smiles. The service is great and I love that their HH is daily. Everything I tried was fresh which is maybe the most important thing a fish house can offer but the chicken wings missed their mark and some of the risks they take (like the gumbo fries) could be executed a bit more deftly.