The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Colorado Tap House
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- Westword 2024 · Best Philly Cheesesteak at an Iron Maiden Bar · Best of Denver
- 5280 Cheesesteak · The 17 Best Sandwiches in (and Around) Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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- Westword 2025 · Best Wings and Tenders · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Comeback · Best of Denver
- Westword 2026 · Best Restaurant for Craft Beer · Best of Denver
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Rank 16. King of Wings
Barbecue
A casual spot in Wheat Ridge where grilled wings arrive charred and smoky before getting tossed in one of ten sauces, plus a full taphouse if you want a beer to wash them down. King of Wings bounced back from a kitchen fire with the kind of resilience that makes a neighborhood place worth sticking with.
- Westword 2026 · Best Restaurant for Craft Beer · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Comeback · Best of Denver
- Westword 2023 · Best Chicken Wings · Best of Denver
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- Westword 2024 · Best New Bakery · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best New Takeout Pizza · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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Rank 31. African Grill and Bar
African
The Osei-Fordwuo brothers preside over a dining room where strangers become regulars by dessert, moving through West African stews and starches with the ease of a homecoming. Jollof rice with oxtail and red red—black-eyed peas with fried plantains—anchor a menu that treats regional technique as inheritance, not novelty.
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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A Westminster corner spot draws crowds for its vast Southeast Asian menu—lemongrass wings are the calling card, but the real pilgrimage is for lesser-known Lao and Cambodian dishes that sprawl across pages of organized excess. Order with a group and taste duck larb and beef loc lac alongside seafood preparations most Denver diners have never encountered.
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 36. Hey Kiddo
Contemporary
High above Tennyson Street, Chef Kelly Whitaker's playful third-floor restaurant stages broadly Asian-inflected shareable plates—Korean fried chicken with an improbable crunch, pork ribs with salted plum sauce—alongside compelling sides like crispy potato pavé topped with trout roe gravy. Red miso ice cream arrives customizable, a fitting closer to food that treats joy as a fundamental ingredient.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Matt Husted, Erika Whitaker, and Kelly Whitaker - ID EST Hospitality Group
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
- Westword 2023 · Best New Restaurant-and-Bar Combo · Best of Denver
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Talnua is a craft whiskey distillery in an Arvada industrial space where the tasting room spins Old Fashioned variations into creative territory—the Elvis features bacon fat-washed peanut butter and plantains, while the Wasabi Tsunami pairs wasabi popcorn-infused gin with the classic frame. It's a casual spot to taste what the owners developed after a honeymoon in Ireland inspired them to build America's first single pot whiskey operation.
- Westword 2023 · Best Distillery Taproom · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Distillery to Visit If You Have a Shamrock Tattoo · Best of Denver
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- 5280 The 13 Best New Places to Eat and Drink in Denver
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Dave Grant and Rocky Hunter
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- Westword 2024 · Best Expansion · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Breakfast Burrito · Best of Denver
- 5280 The 11 Best Breakfast Burritos in Denver and Beyond
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- Westword 2026 · Best Slice of Pie · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Shop for Pie Lovers · Best of Denver
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- 5280 Juicy Lucy · The 17 Best Sandwiches in (and Around) Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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- Bon Appétit The Very Best Bagels in the US (Yes, Outside New York)
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
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- 5280 The 13 Best New Places to Eat and Drink in Denver
- Westword 2026 · Best New Addition to a Food Hall · Best of Denver
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Erika Whitaker and Kelly Whitaker - ID EST
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
- 5280 2024 · Best for Filling Bellies · The 23 Best Bars in Denver
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Rank 59. Tocabe
Indigenous
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Denver
- Eater Bison Indian taco · Denver’s 20 Most Iconic Dishes
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Rank 61. The Electric Cure
Tiki Cocktail Bar
- Westword 2024 · Best Satanic Gay Tiki Bar · Best of Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- Westword 2026 · Best Secretly High-Tech Cocktails · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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Rank 64. The Wolf's Tailor
Contemporary
Chef Taylor Stark builds a multicourse narrative from global influences and local Colorado ingredients, opening with canapés that telegraph his kitchen's resourcefulness and closing with dishes like bison loin glazed in dried shrimp caramel. The beverage program matches the food's ambition—cocktails and wines composed with equal rigor and intelligence.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Erika Whitaker and Kelly Whitaker - ID EST
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Matt Husted, Erika Whitaker, and Kelly Whitaker - ID EST Hospitality Group
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Rank 66. Alma Fonda Fina
Mexican
Chef Johnny Curiel mines his Guadalajara childhood with technical precision, transforming humble ingredients—scallops in tomato butter, sweet potato with salsa matcha—into something both grounded and alive. The menu resists hierarchy; skip dessert and keep ordering, each dish a small argument for restraint's pointlessness.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- 50 Best 2025 · #45 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Mountain · Johnny Curiel
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Rank 67. Glo Noodle House
Noodles
A strip-mall ramen shop with dark wood interiors punctuated by vibrant lanterns, named for owner Chris Teigland's mother. The kitchen executes serious flavor across miso bacon broths and heat-forward bowls, with desserts like crispy rice cake and kasu-lime ice cream justifying the trip.
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Bar Team
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
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- Westword 2025 · Best Place to Get a Warm Beer on Purpose · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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Rank 70. Odell's Bagel
Kaiseki Japanese
By day Odell's moves kettle-boiled bagels topped with vegan carrot lox or hamachi and wasabi; by night, chef-owner Miles Odell pivots to kaiseki at the Counter, a hyperseasonal tasting that channels his years under Japanese masters into exquisite courses of scallop, Wagyu gyoza, and miso ice cream.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Miles Odell
- Westword 2025 · Best Bagel Sandwiches · Best of Denver
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
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Rank 72. Mezcaleria Alma
Mexican
Chef Johnny Curiel channels Mexico City's restless creativity into a narrow mezcal bar where herbaceous ceviches and slow-cooked duck meet dill and mandarin in a single, surprising breath. The agave cocktails are inventive enough to match the food's ambition.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 73. Coffeegraph
Indonesian
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Rank 79. The Ginger Pig
Chinese
Chef Natascha Hess spent years absorbing Chinese and Southeast Asian home cooking before opening this brick-walled spot on Lowell Boulevard, where her food truck still parks out front. Boiled pork dumplings swim in chili oil, stir-fried cabbage glows with Thai chili jam—the kitchen knows heat and knows restraint, each dish a legible argument for flavors earned rather than merely applied.
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- Westword 2026 · Best No Rules Pasta Shop · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 83. Casa Bonita
Mexican
The pink palace on Colfax is back under new stewardship, and a reservation here (email-only, hard-won) gets you into a dining experience that's equal parts nostalgia and spectacle, with chef Dana Rodriguez handling the kitchen. It's the kind of place where the theatrical setting and controlled crowds matter as much as the food, and worth the effort to get in.
- Westword 2024 · Best Entree to Order If You Actually Get Into Casa Bonita: Taco Salad · Best of Denver
- Westword 2023 · Best Wishes for a Smooth Opening · Best of Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Denver
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A coffee counter that morphs into a sandwich shop then a day bar, Odie B's assembles breakfasts like the Boujee with herbed feta and za'atar on focaccia, then keeps a patio full of regulars nursing green chile bloody marys into afternoon. The spirit is Sunnyside neighborhood life itself—boisterous, casual, unapologetically plural in what it wants to be.
- 5280 2024 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 88. Convivio Cafe
Guatamalan/Latin
Convivio Cafe is a West Highland hangout where Guatemalan coffee and Latin-inflected food fuel long mornings and longer conversations, with mural-covered walls that make you feel like you've stepped into someone's living room. The owners source beans and produce from their roots, creating a genuine third place for the neighborhood's Central American community and anyone else looking to linger.
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Bar Team
- 50 Best 2026 · #67 · North America's 50 Best Bars
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- Westword 2024 · Best New Restaurant in a Convenience Store · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Banh Mi · Best of Denver
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- Westword 2023 · Best Dive Bar With a View · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Bar to Visit Alone · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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Rank 95. Spuntino
Indian-influenced Italian
Chef Cindhura Reddy's modern Italian cooking folds Indian spices into elk tartare and lamb dishes with the ease of someone working from deep conviction rather than novelty. Her husband Elliot Strathmann's beverage program—sourcing obscure Italian producers, fermenting house amari—matches that soulfulness across a dining room animated by genuine warmth.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Cindhura Reddy
- Westword 2023 · Best Non-Traditional Italian Restaurant · Best of Denver
- 5280 2024 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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- Westword 2025 · Best Avocado Toast · Best of Denver
- Eater The Best Coffee Shops in Denver
- 5280 Denver's 25 Best Coffeeshops
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Rank 98. Bakery Four
Bakery
Shawn Bergin's bakery moved to a bigger Tennyson Street space in 2022, and the line of customers eager for pastries and sandwiches still regularly wraps out the door. The pastry selection expanded significantly with the new room, and there's genuine excitement around what comes next from this Denver favorite.
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- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. West
- Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
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Rank 100. Rioja
Mediterranean
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
- Eater Fresh bacon · Denver’s 20 Most Iconic Dishes