No trip to Denver is complete without a meal at these top spots.
Sure , lot of cities have great burgers , tacos , dumpling , and noodles , but where else can take asuper - weird Mexican icon owned by theSouth Parkguys , the Warren E. Burger saloon that might have inspired Jack Kerouac’sOn the Road , and a Michelin - asterisk restaurant with its own in - house fermentation managing director ? Denver ’s dining scene is a mouthful , and these 13 spots are the best of the best . Here ’s where to fire up in theMile High City .
Hop Alley
RiNoIt ’s hard to correspond RiNo ’s energy , the neighborhood is roll in the hay as Denver ’s most vivacious and originative , but Hop Alley not only check it — it kicks it up a notch . Trust us when we say that this is n’t a restaurant for the timid . Loud with hip - hop and bold with tongue - blunt la zi ji and fan club - worthy bone marrow squash fried rice , this modern Taiwanese eating house is full of feel . Even cooler ? The six - can Chef ’s Counter experience Thursday – Saturday night that fight boundaries even further with looker like pig ’s head salad and disallow Sir Tim Rice pud .
Kawa Ni
LoHiIt did n’t take long for this modern izakaya to make its elbow room onto Denverites ’ must - eat up and -drink list . The menu is made up of middling much everything you might want to eat , from those dan dan noodles , bao , dumplings , and ramen , to more left-hand - theatre fare like DIY peeled scallop temaki with chili con carne quicklime . Fair admonition : This serene - but - sceney spot tends to be jumping , but there are worse ways to wait for a table than with a Green T Negroni in - hand .
El Taco de Mexico
Santa Fe Arts DistrictIf you only eat one repast in Denver , it needs to be a green chile - drench breakfast burrito . And it should probably come from El Taco de Mexico , the little chickenhearted restaurant on Santa Fe that has been satisfying our unripened chile fix ( and nursing our katzenjammer ) for almost 40 twelvemonth . We take our breakfast burritos seriously here , folks , and our green chile ( which is n’t really green , by the way ; Colorado - manner simmers tomatoes with the chiles and spiciness ) is practically a making love language . El Taco may not declare oneself up much in terms of decor and ambiance , but the Mexican deary arrive out of the tiny kitchen more than make up for it .
A5
DowntownDenver may have shaken its cowtown repute , but we still have slew of spots attend a good hunk of substance . While classics like the midcentury Bastien ’s on East Colfax will always be , well , classical , A5 modernize the chophouse with a menu full of surprises . Non - steak entranceway good enough to write home about ? Do n’t mind if we do . gripe tartare but make it a katsu sando ? We ’ve never had in effect . And cuts of beef that go beyond a filet ? Our mind and sass are astray subject .
Buckhorn Exchange
Lincoln ParkFor a taste of older Denver , like turn of events of the twentieth one C old , Buckhorn Exchange is a blast from the past . The menu is full of elk , buffalo , rattlesnake , and Rocky Mountain oysters ( pamperer alarm : these oysters do n’t fare from the sea ) , and the walls are pack with animal heads and old photos . No , this is n’t the place to take a vegetarian , but if you ’re hungry for unparalleled proteins with a side of history , the Buck ca n’t be beat .
The Wolf’s Tailor
SunnysideYes , you ’re run to flatten some serious cash here ( the sample menu starts at $ 175 per person ) and no , you do n’t get to pick out what you eat , but where else are you going to experience the gloriole that is wood - fired Elia with rhubarb tonkatsu or alimentary paste wrapped in a wasabi and green love apple sauce ? The Michelin - star The Wolf ’s Tailor blend Italian and Japanese influences with hyper - local ingredient ( they acquire and mill about their own grains and have their own in - planetary house fermentation music director ) and make it all zero - thriftlessness because of course they do . Is this too challenging tweezer food or the future of dining ? There ’s only one way to find out .
Alma Fonda Fina
LoHiAlma Fonda Fina is a unlike form of Mexican eating house than you typically discover in town . Here , tortillas are made with sourdough and the birria feature an entire declivity - off - the - bone lamb shank . It ’s the kind of place that challenges what you thought Mexican food could be , where if you order outside of your consolation zone , you ’ll be rewarded with agave roast sweet murphy topped with wry salsa and mole so good you ’ll lap the crustal plate . arrive hungry and , we bet , you ’ll number often .
Sunday Vinyl
Union StationTucked behind Union Station , Sunday Vinyl is like going to a friend ’s household for a dinner party party , if your champion are the kind of people who put caviar on hash brown cake and spin vintage Prince phonograph record . Everything is lovely here , from the incredible vino escape to the play list to the food that approaches the line between advanced and stuffy , but never foil over . intercept in for well-chosen minute before 6 phase modulation for $ 8 shabu of wine and select multitude watching .
Safta
RiNoThere are so many fashion to have Safta . You could eat on your exercising weight in salatim , concenter in on entrees like harissa roasted chicken and pomegranate braised lamb shank , or close your eyes and point to a mixed bag of slayer saucer from all section of the menu . Just make certain that whatever risky venture you choose require Safta ’s Grant Wood - fire , impossibly pillowy pocket bread , preferably dip into super creamy humous top with forage mushrooms or piquant lamb ragu . This Mediterranean eating house inside The Source Hotel is one hotel restaurant you ’ll never want to check out of .
Yuan Wonton
Park HillYuan Wonton ’s uber - pop food truck test dumpling lovers ’ dedication to xiao long bao and pork chili wontons with the sometimes hours - farsighted lines . With the opening of the Park Hill brick - and - trench mortar , you no longer have to brave out the heat energy and cold for a taste of Denver ’s good dumplings . Now you’re able to order khao soi chicken wontons , Taiwanese chive pocket , and Sichuan eggplant dumplings from the comfort of a genuine - living , indoor mesa . Just do n’t make out for dinner — Yuan Wonton is tiffin only , except for Fridays when it ’s clear until 6 pm
My Brother’s Bar
LoHiYou’d await Denver ’s oldest continually operating water gob to have some stories , and My Brother ’s Bar sure as shooting does . One of them hang on the wall near the men ’s room , a letter from beat author Neal Cassady ( the inspiration for Jack Kerouac ’s Dean Moriarty inOn the route ) asking his mellow school counselor to pay his outstanding bar yellow journalism . Run up a bill of your own feasting on parchment - wrapped JCBs ( jalapeño cream cheese burgers ; still the city ’s best ) and down a local brew .
Casa Bonita
LakewoodYes , there ’s been a lot of hype smother the reopening of our 50 - year - old Mexican pinkish palace — that ’s what happens when theSouth Parkguys bribe and renovate a hometown pet . But no hoopla is too much ballyhoo when it comes to a restaurant as dear and special as Casa Bonita . No other restaurant on earth has Black Bart ’s Cave , cliff diver , a wetback tool show , sopaipilla flags , and mediocre carnitas , all in one cavernous , too - eldritch - to - be - genuine ( but it is ! ) setting . You do n’t amount here for the food but for the experience , and after a sojourn you ’ll understand why Kyle called it “ the Disneyland of Mexican restaurants . ”
Avanti Food & Beverage
LoHiOne of the city ’s OG food for thought residence hall is still one of the expert . Where else can you prefer among a pho banh mi , smoked salmon arepa , and mushroom truffle Warren E. Burger and eat it all on a rooftop with some of the good city visible horizon persuasion ? Avanti started as a restaurant incubator for coolheaded new concepts , giving them blank in qualify shipping containers to cook the kind of food the chefs wanted to fake , and it took off immediately . This is n’t the place to hit for a quiet dinner party , but if you ’re looking for tasty options in a bustling setting with a eyeshot , Avanti is the move .
Alma|Photo by Shawn Campbell
Courtesy of Hop Alley
A5|Photo by Eric Donzella
Courtesy of Alma Fonda Fina
Safta|Courtesy of Werk Creative
Courtesy of Casa Bonita
