Buckhorn Exchange, Historic steakhouse in Lincoln Park, Denver, United States

The Buckhorn Exchange sits in a brick building with wide windows and is filled with over 500 mounted animals and 125 historical firearms displayed throughout. The restaurant spans two dining levels, with taxidermied heads and vintage objects covering nearly every wall surface from floor to ceiling.

Henry H. "Shorty Scout" Zietz opened the saloon as The Rio Grande Exchange on November 17, 1893, in a building put up around 1886 by the Neef Brothers Brewing Company. Zietz, a scout and friend of Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull, served railroaders, cattlemen, miners and Indian chiefs. Theodore Roosevelt dined here in 1905 after his Presidential Express reached the Rio Grande rail yards, then hunted big game with Zietz. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as the Zeitz Buckhorn Exchange.

The name honours Henry Zietz, nicknamed "Shorty Scout" by Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull, who opened the saloon in 1893. Zietz was a lifelong friend to Native Americans, and the saloon served railroaders, cattlemen, miners, gamblers and Indian chiefs alike. Five presidents have dined here, and an African Cape buffalo shot by Theodore Roosevelt hangs among the trophies.

The dining rooms sit on two levels inside the 1886 Neef Brothers Brewing Company building, with the mounted animals and firearms displayed on both floors. The entrance faces the light rail stop on West Alameda Avenue, so arriving by train avoids the search for street parking. Reservations are accepted for securing a table.

The menu offers meat from rattlesnakes, alligators, and Rocky Mountain oysters prepared using traditional recipes from pioneer days. Trying these uncommon proteins lets you taste how people actually ate when settling the frontier.