The Burns Pub, Broomfield, Colorado Saturday, January 25, 2025
The Burns Pub in Broomfield, Colorado, is one of America's most authentic British pubs. It was founded by Jonathan Odde and is managed by Jonathan and his sister Tracy.
The family named the pub to honor their mother's side of the family, not for legendary Scottish Poet Robert Burns.
The Burns Pub survived the stressful, open, and closed COVID period again, only to come out stronger due to the support of its loving customers. The bar is bursting with one of the nation's largest selections of whiskey/whisky. The selection is heavily weighted with Single Malt Scotch but also includes a good representation of Bourbon, especially great bottles made by Colorado distillers. Today, they stock almost 600 different whiskies.
The Odde family made a smart investment in elevating the restaurant’s cuisine when it hired Chef Carlos Ortiz in 2023 as Executive Chef. He has not messed with the core menu and recipes; instead, he focuses on elevating food quality and selecting better ingredients, like a superior type of potato for the hand-cut French fries. Later that same year, Guy Fieri and the Diners Drive-Inns and Dive crew visited the Burns Pub and featured them in an episode of the show. Food Network is featuring two of the Burns Pubs Recipe's on their website here:
Since Guy's visit, the Burns Pub has been crammed tight with new and repeat customers. Their staff has been working at herculean speed and strength to provide prompt and friendly service to their patrons.
The Odde family has plowed a lot of the revenue into improvements to the restaurant and the adjacent Hilltop Inn, a 16-room Inn with oversized rooms and electric fireplaces. Some rooms have built-in spas.
Robert Burns was born in 1759. He lived until July 1796, when he died at the young age of 37 ½ years old. Today, he is considered Scotland's most famous and beloved poet. There are more than 65 statues of Robert Burns around the globe.
Scots worldwide celebrate "Burns Night' on his birthday, January 25. Many thousands of Burns Night celebrations happened last week in the UK. This tradition began five years after his passing when his friends decided to celebrate his legacy.
Jonathan Odde explained, "It has been since before the pandemic since we held a Robert Burns Super. We had many customers asking when we would bring it back."
Approximately 50 guests attended last night's Robert Burns Super.
The menu was traditional, like what Mr. Burn's friends created in 1801.
Darcy and I had the pleasure of being joined by Jonathan's father, John, at our table. Mr. Odde splits his time between living in the Caribbean Island of Jamaica and Colorado.
Menu
- Cullen Skink: A traditional Scottish fish chowder with Cod, carrots, potatoes, cream, butter and parsley. It is real comfort food for a cold, damp day.
- Haggis is an extremely popular national dish in Scotland. It was a favorite of the late Celebrity Chef and TV Host Anthony Bourdain, who stated that it contains "sinister sheep parts."
The Oddes sourced their Haggis from a reliable US supplier, who excludes Sheep Lungs from its recipe, complying with a US regulation. The chef placed his Haggis on a small pastry. Enjoying a delicious Haggis was a real treat!
Steak Balmoral with creamy whisky sauce, sliced mushrooms, and mashed potatoes. The steak was a large, thin-cut ribeye done medium rare. Delicious but very rich.
Cranachan is a fresh Scottish dessert traditionally made to celebrate the raspberry harvest. This version was served on a cake with oats and whipped cream. It's a lovely dessert!
Whiskies Featured:
Lochlea Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky finished in a combination of Sherry and STR casks (Shaved, Toasted, Re-Charred, rejuvenated wine barrels for aging whisky). 60%. *****
Lochlea Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky Single Cask Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 51.8%. **** ½
Kilchoman Distillery Sanaig Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Cask Strength. 57.8%.
Matured in bourbon, sherry casks, and oloroso sherry casks. **** ½
The Glenturret Highland Single Malt 12 -year-old, 2023 release. 46.4%. **** ½
Robert Burns was a well-known lover of Scotch Whisky. He wrote about whisky in his poems.
Historians say that Burns believed that whisky brought out his creativity.
During the evening, Jonathan and several of his friends recited Robert Bruns’s most iconic poems, including "To a Mouse" and "A Red, Red Rose," and referenced the whisky-fied "Earnest Cry and Prayer," which has the famous line, "Freedom and whisky gang thegither."
The Burns Pub
Broomfield, Colorado
For future dinners and special whisky tastings and events, visit: