Tennessee Pass Cafe

Very unexpectedly, this was our favorite restaurant in our two week Colorado vacation. We randomly ate here our first evening in Leadville and then decided to also return the second evening. All four dinners the two of us tried were amazing. You wouldn't expect it from looking at the building (or the fact it is located in Leadville) but they have a masterful chef. We also really enjoyed the outside seating and friendly service!

Incredible food. The turkey sandwich is amazing! They have a homemade tomato bisque, which is perfect for a chilly day. Our waitress was very friendly. Amazing place!

Edit (3-19-21):
Visited for the second time while passing through Leadville. Still awesome!

Tennessee Pass Cafe was amazing... We were shocked how great this place was for a little mountain town cafe.
The sandwiches were fantastic, they were very fresh and made with great ingredients and the drinks were also very good.
I would definitely travel from Denver to come here.
Great job

Right in the heart of Leadville. Seating inside and out. Great staff, but they need a few more! We arrived right at noon and were ahead of the rush, but by the time our food arrived (a great salad with trout and a buffalo burger) the joint was packed! Reasonable prices. I'll be back!

So good. Large portions (we finished nothing but our appetizer). Everything was delicious! Brushless sprouts are excellent.

Sandwiches, soups, and buffalo burgers. Pretty small, seats about 40. Food is good, service is okay. Expect to spend about 20-25 per person.

Just stating the facts, this is a tourist trap and the pricing is rigged.
If you go to their website they clearly state a reasonable price, when you get there to pick up your food, they have a completely different price.

They also have a routine where they don't let you pay for your food against an itemized receipt, they force you to wait until they have brought out the food and then they stick you with the one high total. I was never given anything with a price, only the total. ANYONE, who has ever eaten at a restaurant before (not even worked at one) knows the POS system prints out both.

Then when confronted, they do a well rehearsed tap and dance about "oh I don't know anything about the website, these are just the prices in the system".

There was no, oh hey I see that's our site, let me correct that for you, Nope it was too bad, soo sad, but I'll tell them you said something.

I'm not upset about the food (which was actually ok), I'm upset about being baited and switched.

Be careful in choosing your dining options Leadville...

Watch out for dueling hostesses! The inside hostess told us we could sit anywhere we liked, whether inside or outside. We walked outside and the outside hostess got upset with us and raised her voice at us. It was not welcoming.

The salads were great, however!

Great experience and the food was good.

Amazing spot! The food was incredible. Huge portions. I got the chicken Brie sandwich with Brussels sprouts and it was so good! Very cute atmosphere right in downtown Leadville and friendly staff.