The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Fierce45 Westminster
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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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Rank 17. Frasca Food and Wine
Friulian Italian
Downtown Boulder's sleek dining room channels the Alpine reaches of northeastern Italy, where Friuli's distinctive seafood and pasta traditions meet sourced Colorado ingredients. The cjalson—spinach pasta pockets with pea and potato—exemplifies the restaurant's clean, purposeful approach to a region most Italian fine dining overlooks.
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Bar Team
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright
- 50 Best 2026 · #67 · North America's 50 Best Bars
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Rank 19. 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 20. 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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- 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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Rank 22. 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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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 25. Hop Alley
Sichuan Chinese
A sleek dining room channels Denver's Chinatown past while the kitchen reinvents it: gai lan arrives grilled with schmaltz and duck salt, dan dan noodles swim in fiery Sichuan peppercorn broth, shrimp toast gets mustard gastrique and tiger vinaigrass. Bold, playful, contemporary Chinese with cocktails that match its ambition.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Tommy Lee
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 26. Rougarou
Southern
Chef JohnDavid Wright channels the South through boiled peanuts and collard greens, then tilts the lens with hot-and-sour catfish and sorghum-glazed pork. His sister and her husband calibrate cocktails with buttermilk and benne seed, making this Five Points spot feel like a family project where tradition meets playful invention.
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- 5280 The 13 Best New Places to Eat and Drink in Denver
- Westword 2026 · Best New Bar · Best of Denver
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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 28. Rioja
Mediterranean
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
- Eater Fresh bacon · Denver’s 20 Most Iconic Dishes
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Rank 29. EDGE
Colorado
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Rank 30. Palace Arms
Inspired French
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- Punch 2025 · The Who’s Who of Beer Cool
- Westword 2023 · Best Beer Service · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Place to Get a Mug of Foam on Purpose · Best of Denver
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Rank 32. Yuan Wonton
Chinese
Chef-owner Penelope Wong runs this Park Hill lunch spot with infectious energy, moving between wonton stations and a rotating menu that pivots on her Chinese and Thai instincts. The twice-fried pork with caramelized pineapple and crispy garlic noodles arrive as proof that constraint—limited hours, small space—breeds invention.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Mountain · Penelope Wong
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: Mountain · Penelope Wong
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Rank 35. Mizuna
French/American
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Rank 36. Barolo Grill
Northern Italian
Barolo Grill anchors Denver fine dining with Northern Italian cooking that balances classical technique—spinach soufflés, handmade pastas—against seasonal invention. The wine program, steeped in Barolo and stewarded by an unusually knowledgeable staff, matches the kitchen's ambition without pretension.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service · Ryan Fletter
- Westword 2025 · Best Crème Brûlée · Best of Denver
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 37. Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails
Ukrainian Eastern European
Owner Bo Porytko elevates humble Eastern European staples—beets, buckwheat, radishes—into refined dishes like salt-baked celery root with creamed sorrel and porchetta paprikash with herbed spaetzle. Counter seating at this snug East Colfax room pairs the cooking with horilka cocktails and wines from the Balkans, all of it executed with a confidence that makes the rustic feel luxurious.
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Bo Porytko
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Bo Porytko
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Rank 38. Beckon
Contemporary
Chef Duncan Holmes's counter in a minimalist RiNo space delivers seasonal cooking of striking restraint, with vegetables and desserts that justify the focus. Seared duck with black truffle and a chocolate dessert anchored by salsify ice cream show how discipline and precision can feel generous.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outsdanding Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 39. 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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The neon-lit basement dining room signals chefs Harrison Porter and Rema Maaliki's refusal of restraint: their menu pivots seasonally through global territory, pairing fried sweetbreads with blue cheese one moment, red snapper crudo the next. Cocktails built around dates and balsamic vinegar match this restless spirit, anchored by genuine warmth and a rotating showcase of local talent.
- 5280 The 13 Best New Places to Eat and Drink in Denver
- Westword 2026 · Best Bread and Butter · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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Rank 41. Molino Chido
Mexican
Two chefs with Michelin pedigree run this Aurora taqueria where corn is ground fresh daily and the mood stays refreshingly casual despite sophisticated touches like bison tongue and tamarind. Counter seats promise a five-course tasting, but folding chairs and bright lights signal that excellent carnitas tacos and a strong margarita suit just fine.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Tommy Lee
- Westword 2026 · Best New Taco Joint · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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- Wildsam The 50 Most Essential Bars in America
- Westword 2026 · Best Wine and Vinyl Club · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Place to Drown Out Your Annoying Friend · Best of Denver
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Rank 43. Luchador Tacos & More
Mexican
Chef Zuri Resendiz's moody Whittier taquería reaches beyond carne asada with roasted rabbit barbacoa in mole and 24-hour beef cheeks in pasilla negro adobo. The tacos—octopus al pastor, ribeye with grilled cactus—anchor a menu of impressive technical depth.
- 5280 2025 · Top Mexican · Top of the Town
- Westword 2025 · Best New-School Mexican Joint · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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- Westword 2024 · Best Bar for Good Vibes · Best of Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
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Rank 45. Sunday Vinyl
Wine Bar
This Union Station wine bar takes its cue from sommelier Bobby Stuckey's Sunday-night ritual of spinning records and opening great bottles, translating that intimate celebration into a lively downtown room bathed in music. The programming is playfully eclectic—Wednesday flight nights pair wines with everything from Billie Eilish to Jimi Hendrix, turning what could be a stiff tasting into something genuinely fun.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Wildsam The 50 Most Essential Bars in America
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Rank 46. The Cruise Room
Art Deco Cocktail Bar
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. West
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
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Darren Chang and Travis Masar channel Taiwanese cooking through a lens of textural audacity and playful restraint, where fermented garlic and jellyfish sit beside dishes of disarming ease. A fried chicken thigh glistens with schmaltz rice and hot honey; a cocktail arrives spiked with rose jam and black tea—each telling the same story of serious ambition wrapped in approachable warmth.
- 5280 The 13 Best New Places to Eat and Drink in Denver
- Westword 2026 · Best New Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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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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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- Westword 2026 · Best Culinary-Inspired Cocktails · Best of Denver
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Rank 50. Guard and Grace
Steakhouse
An oak fire blazes in the open kitchen of this downtown steakhouse, where floor-to-ceiling wine towers and polished modernism frame the serious business of beef. The filet arrives with lime smashed potatoes and chili butter—a dish that justifies the setting's architectural ambition.
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Rank 51. 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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- 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 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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- Westword 2026 · Best Rooftop Restaurant · 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 55. Temaki Den
Sushi
Temaki Den rolls handmade sushi cones one at a time in a darkened stall within The Source Market Hall, where moody lighting and open sightlines match the precision of its work. Scottish salmon belly with yuzu kosho and crispy shallots, or miso-caramelized eggplant nigiri, arrive warm and intentional—the kind of small, focused menu that rewards repeat visits.
- Westword 2026 · Best First Date Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Westword 2023 · Best Sushi Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 56. Blackbelly
American
Hosea Rosenberg's polished spot puts its butchery on display: Kelly Kawachi's handiwork surfaces in house charcuterie, koji-cured pork, and agnolotti nested in mushroom brodo, while koji-forward cooking meets pastry precision in chocolate hazelnut donuts. A counter, bar, and dark wood tables accommodate everything from a quick snack to a full meal.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Hosea Rosenberg
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- 5280 The 11 Best Breakfast Burritos in Denver and Beyond
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Rank 57. Alteño
Jalisco Mexican
Chef Johnny Curiel channels his Jalisco roots through bold seafood and regional Mexican cooking, anchored by standout dishes like kanpachi tostada and braised lamb shank. The moody dining room honors traditional flavors while respecting ingredient quality with unsentimental rigor.
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Westword 2026 · Best Cornbread · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · Top Chef · Top of the Town · Johnny Curiel
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Rank 58. MAKfam
American Chinese
The narrow room hums with the casual precision of a kitchen staffed by people who grew up around stoves, serving fried wontons stuffed with crab and cheese alongside hand-shaped potstickers that taste like someone's memory made edible. Málà chicken wings and corned beef fried rice arrive with the confidence of dishes that have been thought through, not merely assembled.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Kenneth Wan
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Kenneth Wan
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 59. sắp sửa
Non-Traditional Vietnamese
The Nguyens' white dining room on East Colfax channels Vietnamese brightness through unexpected ingredients—veal sweetbreads with salsa verde, egg yolk swimming in brown butter and fish sauce—that feel both playful and assured. Cheeky cocktails like the Tiger's Milk, a gin drink perfumed with orange and dill, match the kitchen's refusal to stay still.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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- Westword 2026 · Best Mac and Cheese · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Food Truck Turned Brick-and-Mortar · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Fried Chicken Biscuit on Wheels · Best of Denver
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- Huckberry The 50 Best Dive Bars in America
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
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- Westword 2026 · Best Brewery Upgrade · Best of Denver
- Westword 2026 · Best Pro Wrestling Show · Best of Denver
- Westword 2023 · Best Beer to Drink Ringside: Helles · Best of Denver
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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 64. Kawa Ni
Japanese
A former firehouse turned izakaya where Chef Bill Taibe's Connecticut-inflected Japanese cooking trades convention for curiosity: scallop crudo brightened with grapefruit and dill, kung pao chicken karaage, kimchi udon dressed like carbonara. The bar welcomes walk-ins into a relaxed, convivial room built for drinking sake and nibbling across the menu's freewheeling range.
- Westword 2024 · Best East Coast Transplant · Best of Denver
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- 5280 2024 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 66. Noble Riot
Wine Bar
Noble Riot is a wine bar where candlelit evenings and gorgeous vintage maps of wine regions set the scene for serious drinking without the stuffiness. The wine list rewards both adventurous tasting and comfortable favorites, and the fried chicken here is good enough to be the reason you came.
- Westword 2023 · Best Fried Chicken · Best of Denver
- Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
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- 5280 2025 · Top Steakhouse · Top of the Town
- 5280 2024 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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- Esquire 2023 · The Telegraph · The Best Martinis in America
- Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
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A cramped Platte Street cantina where chef Jose Avila marries Japanese and Mexican traditions through mezcal, music, and dishes built on hoja santa and yuzu. The cocktails follow suit—sotol meets sake, charanda meets shochu—while a taco cart outside and rotating DJs sustain the sense of perpetual celebration.
- Westword 2026 · Best Dessert With Salmon Roe · Best of Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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Rank 71. Welton Street Cafe
Southern
- Westword 2025 · Best New Digs · Best of Denver
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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Rank 72. Tavernetta
Italian
Tavernetta commands Union Station's grand arrival hall with the ease of a place that knows its worth. Cacio e pepe and lamb ragù rigatoni arrive with the kind of careful execution that justifies the Frasca Hospitality Group's reputation, while the wine list rewards curiosity. An affogato with honey gelato closes the evening in a room that feels both spacious and intimate.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Denver
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- Westword 2024 · Best Vintage Spirits List · Best of Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
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- Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
- 5280 French Dip · The 17 Best Sandwiches in (and Around) Denver
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Rank 75. A5 Steakhouse
Modern Steakhouse
A5's corner room glows with retro warmth, its bar a natural gathering spot while Chef Max MacKissock tends to steakhouse classics with small, deliberate flourishes. The Denver steak from Blackhawk Farms arrives flawlessly executed, reason enough to book a table back.
- Westword 2023 · Best Steakhouse · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · Top Burger · Top of the Town
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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- Westword 2026 · Best Underground Sushi Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best New Omakase · Best of Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 77. Tocabe
Indigenous
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
- Eater Bison Indian taco · Denver’s 20 Most Iconic Dishes
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Rank 78. Xiquita
Mexican
Erasmo Casiano's Uptown restaurant layers Mexican sophistication with deliberate opacity—the untranslated menu becomes an invitation to explore, aided by staff who decipher dishes like dry-aged hamachi crudo with salsa negra and duck carnita tacos with equal fluency. Cocktails built from prickly pear and jicama match the kitchen's refusal to simplify.
- Esquire 2024 · Martini Cochinero · The Best Martinis in America
- Westword 2025 · Best New Restaurant · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 80. Dân Dã
Vietnamese
In a narrow room vibrating with order tickets, Dân Dã opens its sprawling menu onto curried beef in clay and salads layered with cuttlefish, jellyfish, and pickled lotus. The bar works tamarind and guava into drinks that meet the kitchen's unapologetic ambition with equal rigor.
- 5280 2025 · Top Vietnamese · Top of the Town
- Westword 2025 · Best Place to Dine With a Group · Best of Denver
- 5280 2024 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 81. Lucina Eatery & Bar
Pan-Latin
Erasmo Casiano and Diego Coconati turned their cooking-school partnership into this vibrant Latin spot named for Casiano's mother, where the menu roams from Mexico to Miami by way of Argentina, Peru, and Venezuela. Mofongo and mussels with chorizo anchor the repertoire, while weekend paella rotates through the kitchen's moods.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Erasmo Casiano and Diego Coconati
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Erasmo Casiano and Diego Coconati
- Westword 2023 · Best Central/South American Restaurant (not Mexican) · Best of 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
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
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Rank 83. Safta
Israeli Mediterranean
Chef Alon Shaya's first restaurant outside Louisiana channels Israeli cooking with unusual clarity—hummus arrives with chanterelle mushrooms and chermoula butter. The airy dining room, annexed to a coffee counter, pairs playful salatim and harissa chicken with genuine originality rather than nostalgia.
- Sunset 2024 · Restaurants · Where to Eat and Drink
- Westword 2023 · Best Brunch Buffet · Best of Denver
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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- Westword 2026 · Best Dim Sum Duo · Best of Denver
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Fifteen Best New Denver Restaurants
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Rank 85. 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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Rank 86. The Bindery
Italian/Israeli/Mexican
The Bindery opens before dawn and stays restless until late, a LoHi bakery-cafe where the owner's decades abroad surface in posole verde at breakfast and branzino at dinner. What emerges across the day is less a menu than evidence of an appetite that refuses to settle—smoked rabbit with cheddar and mustard gelato proof that eclecticism, here, is not decoration but conviction.
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
- Eater Johnny burger · Denver’s 20 Most Iconic Dishes
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · 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
- Westword 2025 · Best Wood-Fired Pizza (and Bread, and Lasagna…) · Best of Denver
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Rank 89. Brutø
Contemporary
Chef Byron Gomez's counter in the Dairy Block marries Japanese and Nordic traditions through a fermentation program and a mastery of the hearth that chars each course with intention. The sea urchin with butternut bisque and the non-alcoholic pairings reveal a kitchen thinking seriously about locality and narrative.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Outstanding Restaurateur · Erika Whitaker and Kelly Whitaker - ID EST
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Matt Husted, Erika Whitaker, and Kelly Whitaker - ID EST Hospitality Group
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Rank 90. Little Arthur's
Pizza
AJ Shreffler runs this spare beer bar on Seventh Avenue with the precision of a fine-dining kitchen, sourcing each ingredient for his cheesesteaks and Sicilian pies as though they were destined for a tasting menu. The sandwiches cost twenty dollars, the pizzas thirty and up, and every loaded fry and brownie arrives as evidence that ambition has no dress code.
- Westword 2025 · Best Pop-Up Turned Brick-and-Mortar · Best of Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 91. Cozobi Fonda Fina
Mexican
Corn nixtamalized daily anchors Chef Johnny Curiel's second restaurant, where handmade tortillas and quesadillas meet cochinita pibil and poblano rajas over a hickory fire. The bar doubles down on the theme with a margarita spiked elote mezcal and corn liqueur—a drink that tastes like the restaurant's entire philosophy in a glass.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- 5280 2025 · Top Chef · Top of the Town · Johnny Curiel
- Eater The Best Restaurants in Boulder
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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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Rank 95. Flagstaff House
New American
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- Westword 2024 · Best Coffee Shop for a Cause · Best of Denver
- 5280 Denver's 25 Best Coffeeshops
- Eater The Best Coffee Shops in Denver
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- Westword 2025 · Best Breakfast Burrito · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Expansion · 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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