Can the elegance of the milieu elevate the essence?
Twee and lavish without feeling stuffy, Wildflower in LoHi has an upscale but cozy vibe that feels welcoming and plush. Whether you sit at the dusky bar or find a little table in the wallpapered dining room, your first impression is that you’ve walked into some old west institution —without the dust or gloom or pretension. It’s a lush experience.
And the Marigold de la Rosa is one of those concoctions where you hmmm and mmmm with your first sip as you delight in its layers of flavor. And then, with the second, you can’t help but deploy an adjective that seems like faint praise but actually implies deep appreciation.
“Wow, this cocktail is perfectly balanced.”
Like, yeah, it tastes good. Really good. Lots of cocktails do. But lots of tasty drinks don’t leverage their components into a cogent whole, where you can taste every one but also enjoy the way they converge into a mélange that’s unified in its alchemy.
The sweetness and burn of the rum and the bourbon are aligned with the bitter, herbaceous Strega. You notice an uplifting zing of ginger and citrus. They’re all there on their own, but they also coalesce into perfect sip after perfect sip, even as the big rock’s clink against the side of your glass gets subtly softer as it melts and meliorates.
The gentle, mannered murmur of the room amidst the quiet authority of the bartenders, the presentation of each drink with its signature edible bloom, small plates presented as edible art — yeah, for sure the ambiance makes the Marigold taste even better.
I’m fairly certain you could drink the very same cocktail without the warm hygge blanket that is Wildflower and still love it.
But why would you?
Sounds like a quiet place to dine and drink. Quiet is the ingredient that most restaurants lack these days.The Marigold de la Rosa at Wildflower Is on my list to visit. Thank you!