A $38 Burger That Is Actually Worth It
Ordering a wagyu cheeseburger for thirty-eight dollars at a Five-Star hotel sounds like a tourist trap. At Ajax Tavern it is, against the odds, the right call. This is the terrace at the base of Aspen Mountain where the Silver Queen Gondola unloads onto Durant Avenue, and for two decades it has been the hardest après-ski reservation in American skiing.
Chef de cuisine Oscar Ibarra, who has worked his way up The Little Nell's kitchens since 2016, runs a menu smarter than the ski-bar setting implies. The Ajax Wagyu double cheeseburger, Colorado wagyu with gruyère and house sauce on toasted brioche, with a side of the cult truffle fries, runs about $38 and earns it. The raw bar is serious, the Wagyu Bolognese is the composed option, and the martini is made properly. Most of the table lands between $60 and $120 a head.
The terrace is the whole point and nobody pretends otherwise: a south-facing run of heated seating at the foot of the mountain where the light from two o'clock to sunset is genuinely extraordinary. It belongs to The Little Nell, a Forbes Five-Star hotel since 1995 and the most prestigious tag in Colorado skiing, which is why the oysters and the wine list outclass the ski-boots-and-flip-flops crowd around you. In January and February those terrace tables are among the most fought-over reservations in town.
Restaurant Details
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Reserve a Table →Best for a Team Dinner
Ajax solves the team-dinner problem most Aspen rooms can't: sophisticated enough to feel deliberate, casual enough that the group rolls in straight off the mountain without changing, and big enough to seat eight to twelve on the terrace without anyone wedged against a wall. The menu rewards sharing, truffle fries and a crab tower for the table, burgers and Bolognese across appetites, and the bar supplies the social glue. When the budget is generous but the night is celebratory rather than formal, this is the Aspen table. Book the terrace in ski season.
Not For
Not for a quiet, romantic dinner or a serious business negotiation: the terrace is loud, sunny and social by design, and in peak ski weeks it runs at full volume. If you want hush and white tablecloths, walk up the hill to Element 47 instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ajax Tavern worth it?
Yes, with eyes open. You are paying Five-Star-hotel prices for a burger, but the Ajax Wagyu double cheeseburger and truffle fries are genuinely good, the raw bar is serious, and the slope-side terrace is the best après-ski seat in American skiing. Around $38 for the burger is fair by Aspen standards.
What should I order at Ajax Tavern?
The Ajax Wagyu double cheeseburger with truffle fries is non-negotiable, and the truffle fries alone are worth ordering for the table. Open with the raw bar, oysters, shrimp and crab, while the ski day is still in your legs, and let chef Oscar Ibarra's Wagyu Bolognese be the composed second act.
How much does Ajax Tavern cost?
The signature wagyu double cheeseburger with truffle fries runs about $38, and most diners spend $60 to $120 a head once drinks and the raw bar are in. It is à la carte New American at Little Nell prices, which is to say not cheap, but fair for the address and the view.
How hard is it to get a terrace table at Ajax Tavern?
In January and February the south-facing terrace is among the most competitive reservations in Aspen. Book well ahead through The Little Nell, target the early-afternoon après window for the best light, and have a fallback indoors. Off-season and in summer it is far easier.
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