Phantom Canyon Brewing ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Jul 2024

First visit: Jan 1994

This past Sunday was a beautiful day, though a tad hot. Of course hot in Colorado Springs would be a cold front back in Texas, so we never complain. We haven't been back to Phantom Canyon since last October. So we decided to have lunch here while parking was still free before 1:00 (I just hate paying for parking...). Mrs. RJG was the adventurous one and went with the fish tacos which she thoroughly enjoyed. It came with a side of corn chips that were better than usual. I had the "usual" cheeseburger with bacon, also excellent (the Pastrami Burger seems to have dropped off the menu). And a side of fries in the grease basket haha. We each started with a cup of chile - hers vegetarian, mine pork. Both were very flavorful and spicy, though still not hot temperature enough for us. While here we talked about how Phantom Canyon has been the backdrop to our entire Colorado Springs experience. And for me personally, the brewery goes back to the very beginning as I discuss in the original review.

---2/20/23 update

Back for our annual review. As my former summary suggested: Best place in Colorado Springs to take out of town guests. But for today's holiday lunch it was just me and my favorite dining companion: Mrs. RJG. This is one of the consistently great places we go to. But unfortunately it's been pretty infrequent. In fact, I think it's been almost a full year since we last went (the update below). We didn't have time to take guests here last year, and it is fairly expensive for a "casual lunch". On this visit I went back to my "usual": Pastrami Burger with a cup of pork green chile and a unique beer. It was absolutely perfect - hot temperature, great tasting, the chile was spicy, and my Pilsner was excellent. Mrs. RJG went fancy this time and had the Lemon Tabasco Fried Chicken with broccoli. She enjoyed it, but not as much as usual. Said the chicken needed about a minute more in the fryer, and some of the seasonings were too strong (garlic in particular). But she finished it, so that's how I know she enjoyed it at least. Oh - and free downtown parking on holidays, so even better than going on a Sunday. Not much more to add to the below reviews. Phantom Canyon is likely to be a staple of our Colorado Springs dining experience for many years to come. 

---3/7/22 update

Time for the annual review. Last year I bemoaned the fact that Phantom Canyon exaggerated their pandemic spacing (removed from original review). Fortunately that's all in the past (and hopefully forever) and Phantom Canyon is what we remember from prior - a boisterous and happy place. We had a most magnificent meal. It appears the restaurant themselves read our review - and we know they did, since we cross posted to Google and they commented very positively. Why? Because on this visit the pork green chile was blazing hot in both temperature and spice level! And our waiter informed us that the vegan chile is even spicier. Well then, for next time. On this visit I tried their Blackened Chicken Club which had some fine seasoning and thick cut crispy bacon. Mrs. RJG stuck with the burger which she declared delicious even though they ignored her request for it to be cooked well done. That may be a first. We both had fries, which comes in generous portions inside of little "basket fryers". And we enjoyed 2 beers each. Like everywhere, the bill was very high (too much), though that didn't seem to deter people on this visit. They also include a 3% surcharge (in little print (which is actually illegal - must be prominently displayed), but OK it's not that big of a deal) for kitchen help. It's a small fee, but it amounts to yet another tax. I don't think that's the way to handle that - but they probably just wanted to highlight that they take care of their staff. Better would have been - 3% of the total cost goes to kitchen staff... Sounds like we're not happy here. Quite the opposite, A very fun visit - and a well earned gold star has been applied!

---original 3/13/21 review

Yea, the RJG goes way back with Phantom Canyon. In fact we were both new to the area - the restaurant and us. Well actually me, as Mrs. RJG was still a few years away from the picture. I had just moved to Colorado Springs only a month prior for work, and we had a company event close to when Phantom Canyon first opened. We've been semi-regulars ever since. During the Denver summer townhome years of 2009 to 2011, we'd skip down to The Springs for an occasional lunch and go here. Then on our semi annual visits to Colorado (2012-2017), Phantom Canyon was a mandatory stop. And now that we live here again (since 2018), we are going more often than ever. Except last year (2020), when the RJG rarely dined in at any restaurant. If visitors are in town, Phantom Canyon represents for us the best representation of a "local" place. This is to Colorado Springs what Tolbert's was to us in Northeast Tarrant. It's a gigantic place, perfectly restored from its 1901 railroad past. Phantom Canyon pretty much marks the center of Colorado Springs (quite literally - you're at the 000 North/South and 000 East/West blocks of the city). 

To note, their beers are delicious. Let's just get that out of the way first. And they always have new offerings to go with their flagship lineup. My beers for all post 2009 visits to Phantom Canyon are recorded in the Bier Reise (see tab above).

As for the main course, Mrs. RJG and I specifically came here to have a beer and a brew. She had the patty melt and I had the pastrami burger (on a brioche bun). In addition I substituted the fries with pork green chile. Their chile isn't bad at all, perhaps not hot enough, in both temperature and spice level. But very flavorful all the same. Not a bad example of the dish if you're new to Colorado. The burgers, as they always are, were delicious and perfectly cooked. Nothing has changed in the kitchen. Mrs. RJG lapped up the fries, and I snuck a couple for myself.

There's really no better place in Colorado Springs to take an out of town guest. 

1//94; 7/24/10; 5/28/18; 4/28/19; 3/13/21 (new entry); 3/27/22; 2/20/23; 7/28/24