Bang Up to the Elephant! from the Beatrice & Woodsley team brings Calypso cuisine to Cap Hill

By our count, Bang Up to the Elephant!, the new restaurant from restaurateur Kevin Delk and the team that graced us with Beatrice & Woodsley and Mario’s Double Daughter’s Salotto, has four things going for it.

The first thing is fairly obvious. Bang Up has an exclamation mark in its name. More restaurants should do this. (Just think — Señor Bear! Basta! Liang’s Thai!)

Next, the cocktails are fun, tropical creations that involve ingredients like Chinese five spice curry syrup and Andy Capp’s Hot Fries-infused tequila. The Nose Ender — cream of coconut, lime, tequila and serrano pepper — is even served in a coconut. Again, more restaurants should do this.

Third, the food is good and reasonably priced. Think of it as a riff on Caribbean fare with Indian, Chinese and African influences showing up in entrees like Bowl-O-Chow Mein ($13), Mack the Knife Curry ($14) and Pimento Wood-Smoked Jerk Chicken ($13).

And finally, probably the best thing that Bang Up to the Elephant! has going for it is its reputation. Beatrice & Woodsley and Double Daughter’s are known for their quirky atmospheres, and many visit them for the décor alone. So does Bang Up live up to the high standards of whimsy set by its sister bar and restaurant?

Not quite. It’s got a cool vibe going on and some great features — the giant stained glass sliding doors are beautiful and the hundreds of plants add a lush touch — but it’s not over-the-top eccentric like Beatrice and Daughter’s. Depending on how much you value eccentricity, this could be good or bad. Either way, Bang Up still isn’t your everyday restaurant, and the hundreds of plants and piped-in bird chirping will alert you to that fact pretty quick.

Bang Up to the Elephant! (the name refers to a Victorian saying meaning “Done properly,” by the way) will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition to the dining room and bar, there’s a front café and walk-up window for coffee and doughnuts on the go.

Check out the curry, coconut drinks and plants starting Saturday, Jan. 27.

Bang Up to the Elephant!: 1310 Pearl St., Denver; banguptotheelephant.restaurant; Sun.-Sat. 7 a.m.-1 a.m.

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