While West End did lose the view, they definitely improved the atmosphere. I remember the food being better...especially the blackened mahi mahi sandwich. The rooftop is still the best feature.

The new West End doesn't hold a candle to the old West End. That wall is just too daunting. However, I have to give the owner (who owns several of my other favorite establishments in the area) a lot of credit for persistence. Faced with the miserable task of taking over a local landmark after the tragic death of one of the orignal owners (local legend has him dead of a heart attack propped up in his hospital bed during game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs "watching" the remainder of the game with his homies) and the decimation of the best view in Boulder, he has tweaked, adjusted and retweaked the menu and the establishment so that what was once a depressing and unhappy place now is a rather enjoyable experience, both in terms of food and atmosphere. I still find myself, wandering up there on a nice summer day to sit at the upstairs bar and put a few down, reminded why I still can't get away from Boulder after all these years.

Yep. The roof deck is still good. Better in my opinion, because there's a real bar up there now, not just tables. And the view is still there from 1/2 of it.

The food is also a bit better, though The West End persists in having the worst fries of any bar in Colorado. That's right. The worst.