IKEA will put a 550-seat restaurant in Centennial -- but Casa Bonita is bigger!

Categories: The Dish

ikearestaurant279x279.jpg
Meatball surgery at the IKEA restaurant in Tempe, Arizona.
On July 27, IKEA will unveil its first store in Colorado, complete with the 550-seat IKEA Restaurant & Café and a Swedish food market.

Although both a market and restaurant are integral parts of most IKEA outlets, the restaurant in Centennial will be the largest to date. That's a lot of meatballs -- and it got us thinking about what would rank as the biggest restaurant in the state.

As far as we can determine, the champion is Casa Bonita, the incredible, Pepto-Bismol-pink institution at 6715 West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood that packs cliff divers, Black Bart's Cave and dozens of other attractions into 52,000 square feet that can seat over 1,000 people and serve them endless quantities of Mexican food...or at least some facsimile of food.

casbon.jpg
Kate Levy
Is Casa Bonita the largest restaurant in Colorado?
As far as we can determine, the champion is Casa Bonita, the incredible, Pepto-Bismol-pink institution at 6715 West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood that packs cliff divers, Black Bart's Cave and dozens of other attractions into 52,000 square feet that can seat over 1,000 people and serve them endless quantities of Mexican food...or at least some facsimile of food.

Since it opened in 1974, Casa Bonita's reputation has grown as outsized as its space. It's already inspired a South Park episode, and this month, a crew from World's Weirdest Restaurants, a show on Food Network Canada, will be stopping by to film a segment on the iconic spot.

Experience more, much more, of the massive Casa Bonita through this slide show

And if you know of a bigger Colorado restaurant than Casa Bonita (we doubt there's a weirder one), e-mail the scoop to cafe@westword.com.

Location Info

IKEA Restaurant & Cafe

9800 E. Ikea Way, Englewood, CO

Category: Restaurant

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Dining Newsletter: The week's top local food news and events, plus interviews with chefs and restaurant owners, dining tips, and a peek at our print review.

Privacy Policy
Sign up for free stuff, news info & more!

Tools

Links

Local Blogs National Blogs
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places

    Voice Places

    Discover restaurants, nightlife, travel, shopping...

  • VOICE Daily Deals

    VOICE Daily Deals

    Get 50 to 90% off every day on restaurants, movies, massages...

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    More than 10,000 of the BEST things to eat, drink, and experience

  • My Voice Nation

    My Voice Nation

    Join the Village Voice community and get exclusive deals and info

  • Happy Hour

    Happy Hour

    Your local Happy Hour guide at your fingertips

or

Log in or Sign up

Social Connect:

Use your favorite account to access My Voice Nation.


Use your My Voice Nation account to log in:





Forgot password?
or

Sign Up or Log in

Social Connect:

Sign up for My Voice Nation with your preferred network.


Sign up for a My Voice Nation account:



Privacy policy