We recently took a long staycation in Ouray, Colorado, a quant mountain town in the San Juan region of the Rocky Mountains. During our stay, we hit as many local restaurants as we could, including Kami’s Samis. Keep reading for our review of this local breakfast and lunch spot!
Atmosphere
It is important to note that we were visiting Ouray during a notoriously low season. They are typically busy in the Summers when hikers and backpackers travel through, and their traffic picks up again in Winter when ice-climbers flock to Ouray Ice Park. However, in the Fall, it is mostly a ghost town with business posting their odd hours for the off-season.
With that said, the atmosphere are Kami’s Samis was still warm and welcoming, despite being the only patrons there. The dining room was well-lit, nicely decorating and clean. By looking around, you could easily tell the restaurant caters to the brunch crowd, which I would say is a plus for branding! The tables also had festive Fall decor, adding to the warmth of the atmosphere.
Service
Before we even walked in the door, a nice woman who I assumed was the owner welcomed us and let us know we couldn’t go wrong with anything on the menu. She had us sold and we entered to make our lunch order at the counter. With us being the only customers at the time, she found a nice balance between being friendly and welcoming and giving us space to enjoy our meal together.
We each ordered our lunch, were handed a number to take to our table, and found a seat in the dining room toward the back of the business. I can only imagine the flow of ordering at the front of the store and making our way back to the dining room to sit comes extremely in handy during busy times.
Food
Luke ordered a Rueben Sami with a street-corn-inspired side and I ordered a coffee-rubbed burger that came with a side of truffle dusted potato chips. The portion sizes were fairly average—not too small, but not large either. Overall,
The burger was good as far as burgers go. I would say the flavor was above average, but it was fairly well-done, which is not usually my preference. The side of truffle-dusted chips was good, but I always prefer fries with my burgers if possible. Overall, I would rate my burger a 6 out of 10.
Luke was fairly pleased with his Rueben, although it wasn’t necessarily mind-blowing. The side of street-corn was, in his words, “interesting.” He couldn’t quite tell if it was cheesy, creamy, or something else. But overall, he was satisfied and would give his meal a solid 7 out of 10.
Price
Pricing is always hard for me to review, and even harder during times of inflation because everything seems overpriced. Go to a fairly isolated mountain town, and that inflation seems even more intense. With that said, I did feel that the food was slightly overpriced, especially for serving only breakfast and lunch.
The burger I ordered was $19 while the Rueben was $17. While it is rare to find a meal at a sit down restaurant for less than $15 these days, I was a bit flabbergasted by the menu prices. With that said, context matters and in a tourist town where most things are slightly inflated in price, Kami’s Samis prices are not outrageous.
Concluding Remarks
Overall, I’m glad we gave Kami’s Samis a try. It was the first time I had a coffee-rubbed burger, and I was pleasantly surprised by its bursting flavor. Having grown up near Ouray, I have frequented the town a decent amount over the years, but never tried this spot. Upon reflection, I would love to go back and give their breakfast a try.
