22 Best Restaurants in Denver

Spuntino is the quintessential date-night spot. On the one hand, it exudes old-fashioned romance:It's small, low-lit, filled with weathered wood and glowing copper, and run by a warm, cheerful husband-and-wife team. On the other, it’s an adventure, with a seasonal menu that colors—sometimes way outside—the lines of traditional Italian cuisine. Even the background music—as anyone who’s listening closely knows—splits the difference between soothing and edgy.

Mercantile Dining & Provision

Mercantile, from James Beard Award– winning chef-farmer Alex Seidel and his chef de cuisine–partner Matthew Vawter, is the very definition of destination dining in Denver. This high-flying market and cafe by day and New American hot spot by night opened in Union Station in 2014 and has been buzzing ever since.

El Taco de Mexico

It may look like any other taqueria—stucco façade, bars on the windows, order counter lined with stools, a few booths—but and the menu looks nothing out of the ordinary— tacos, burritos, tortas. Despite the fact that its longtime cooks do their thing in an open kitchen, day in and day out, in full view of the tiny dining room, they’re notoriously tight-lipped about— well, everything, but especially their recipe.

Comal Heritage Food Incubator

Hidden away on a quiet road in the TAXI development, Comal is as casual as could be. Picnic tables line the sunny space, a wall mural depicts Frida Kahlo, and garage doors open to a small patio. This weekday lunch counter is run by immigrant women from the surrounding neighborhoods, all of whom are in training to open their own restaurants. The women who man the kitchen change things up daily. Monday through Wednesday there's a Mexican feast: tacos on homemade tortillas and entrées that range from brisket stewed in red chile to zucchini stuffed with mushrooms, corn, and asadero cheese. On Thursdays, the theme is Ethiopian: vegan stews and curries accompanied by fresh-baked injera. And on Fridays, it's Syrian food: puff pastry filled with lamb and rice, roast chicken in garlicky yogurt sauce, or perhaps nutty, earthy mujadara.

Annette

Located in a former aviation factory out in Aurora, the Stanley Marketplace is basically a mall. In short, it's not where you’d expect to find a restaurant with two James Beard nominations, among numerous other accolades garnered over less than two years in business. But that's Annette, a new American restaurant from CIA-trained chef-owner Caroline Glover.

Work & Class

“A square meal and a stiff drink at a fair price.” That’s been the tagline of Work & Class since day one, and chef-owner Dana Rodriguez and her partner Tony Maciag have been living up to it with gusto ever since. The "square meal" part takes shape in the vibrant Mexican-meets–heartland American menu, which is centered on meats by the pound; the "stiff drink" part manifests in a creative-yet-unfussy beverage list.

Señor Bear

Never mind the name; whatever seedy, margarita-slinging undergrad magnet you might be picturing, this isn’t it. On the contrary, LoHi's Señor Bear exudes a breezy charm that’s almost calming, with hues of pearl-gray and ocean-blue, large windows overlooking two sidewalk patios, wicker lampshades, and potted plants—and a wraparound bar that definitely doesn’t do bottom-shelf margs. In short, although Señor Bear can definitely start a party, it’s a classy one all the way.

Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs

Watch any food channel's travel show(s), and you’re bound to catch a segment on Biker Jim’s at some point, because it’s a TV magnet for its character as well as its food. Named for owner Jim Pittenger, and if you want a real taste of Biker Jim’s, get the Alaskan reindeer or elk- jalapeño-cheddar dog topped with cream cheese and caramelized onions; after all, they’re what transformed this place from a humble street cart into a brick-and-mortar.

Tavernetta

Après-ski in the Alps. Sunset on the Sardinian seashore. An al fresco feast in the garden of a sun-dappled villa. The vintage Slim Aarons photographs of Italy’s mid-century jetsetter class that splash the walls of Tavernetta also set the mood: fabulous. As the James Beard Award–winning team behind Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Bobby Stuckey had a high bar to hurdle when they opened this Italian ode to la dolce vita, located at the edge of a Union Station railway platform, in 2017.

ChoLon

The moment you step foot into ChoLon’s dining room, you grow a little taller, get a little better-looking, and suddenly have a little more money. At least that’s what it feels like, as the high ceilings, giant windows, massive concrete pillars, marble floors, and sleek banquettes come together to create an aura of sophistication and privilege. Chef-owner Lon Symensma’s exuberant menu, inspired by the market goods and street foods of Southeast Asia.

El Five

If you crossed a midcentury cinema with a harem, what would that look like? Or a disco with a souk? Probably something like El Five. Plastered with colorful old Turkish and Egyptian movie posters illustrating what appear to be torrid affairs, glittering all over with hexagonal mirrors on the one hand, and dramatic views of the city from its fifth-floor windows on the other, Justin Cucci’s pan-Mediterranean tapas lounge is as sexy as they come in Denver.

Hop Alley

Denver doesn’t have a Chinatown today, but it did in the 19th century: Hop Alley. In homage to that local history, chef-owner Tommy Lee took the name for this modern Chinese restaurant in RiNo. At Hop Alley, the kitchen crew treats Chinese cooking with due respect while adding their own spin, and it shows in the balanced complexity of the food.

Ultreia

Taking its design cues from the historic architecture of Union Station, Ultreia, a tapas bar from James Beard Award–winning chef Jennifer Jasinski and her partner Beth Gruitch, positively radiates Old World glamour. Jasinski and exec chef Adam Branz do the classics justice, and their house creations are also spectacular. When on the Iberian Peninsula—or at least as close as you can get without leaving Denver—do as the Spanish and Portuguese do!

The Bindery

Humming with activity from early morning to bedtime, this ambitious yet welcoming cafe, bakery, and restaurant in a former book bindery plays the part of a neighborly hangout throughout the day. By day, The Bindery's market counter is lined with ever-changing pastries and pantry items galore. By night, the kitchen works its magic with the most uncompromising of ingredients.

African Grill & Bar

At this West African restaurant in Green Valley Ranch, just a few miles from the airport, Ghanaian-born, Nigerian-raised Theodora Osei-Fordwuo runs African Grill and Bar with her family. She's quick with recommendations for the uninitiated, often guiding newcomers to the cuisine toward items like pillowy samosas, jerk, jollof rice, and fried chicken. You can’t go wrong with any of them.

Chef Elise Wiggins is the kind of gregarious soul who lights up every room she enters, so it follows that Cattivella is just as warm. Her long-awaited debut venture out in Stapleton—whose Italian name translates roughly as “naughty girl”—thrums with energy. Though the food here is fine dining worthy, the casual atmosphere bids you to come as you are. And despite the somewhat saucy name, everybody here is nice—fellow patrons as well as staff.

Jeff Osaka’s Congress Park destination feels like a secret—the calm in the eye of Denver’s dining storm. Occupying a narrow storefront in the middle of a residential neighborhood, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it restaurant is nothing if not low-key: just a long, narrow dining room with blonde woods and the glow of the chef’s counter. 12 @ Madison is witty, fanciful, and elegant by turns.

As the anchor of The Source—the 19th-century foundry–turned–artisan marketplace that put Denver’s RiNo neighborhood on the map—Acorn, a celebrated New American destination, doesn’t do fine dining in the traditional sense. Much of the kitchen’s handiwork depends on its oak-fueled range with a menu that combines Asian, Mediterranean, Latin, and Middle Eastern influences to complex effect.

Colorado may not have earned its place in the pantheon of regional barbecue yet, but Roaming Buffalo, a storefront smoke shack, stands as Exhibit A in the case for its future inclusion. Owners Coy and Rachael Webb bill their style as “Colorado Craft BBQ,” with bison, venison, Colorado’s famous lamb, and touches of green chile all your expectations will be met.

In a notoriously male-dominated industry, in a town long ignored by the national food media, Jennifer Jasinski was the first Denverite to break the Mile High glass ceiling and win a James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest in 2013. Rioja, a modern Mediterranean fixture on Larimer Square has long claimed one of the top slots on newcomers’ to-do list.

Located in Cherry Creek North and a longtime Northern Italian destination, stands as a bastion of refinement on Denver’s ultra-casual scene; just to walk in is to begin to feel indulged.. Chef Darrel Truett takes a decidedly contemporary approach to his seasonal menu. he doesn’t stray from the boundaries of Italy; fusion this is not. Nor is it fussy, for all its intricacies.

On the spectrum from serene to uproarious, Sushi Den falls somewhere closer to the latter end, with low ceilings, bare surfaces gleaming in lamplight, and jam-packed seating around the bar and counter, where the chefs are slicing and dicing like mad. Since 1985, brothers Toshi and Yasu Kizaki have served as Denver’s ambassadors to Japanese cuisine, and they take their role seriously, sourcing fish daily with extreme care.

SO, NOW THAT WE HAVE 22 RESTAURANTS TO TRY, LET'S MAKE A DATE AND GET OUR FOODIE ON!