The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Firehouse Theater Company
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Rank 2. BaekGa
Korean
- Westword 2025 · Best Homestyle Korean · Best of Denver
- 5280 2024 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 6. Call Your Mother
NY-Style Bakery
- 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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Rank 8. 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 10. 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
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 11. 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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- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
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Rank 13. 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 14. 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 2024 · Best Latin Restaurant · Best of Denver
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A refugee community center in Aurora hosts six rotating food stalls whose menus shift unpredictably, requiring the visitor's patience and rewarding it with ful mudammas, weh da nah curry, doro wot, and momo that speak plainly to their origins. The fluorescent anonymity of the space dissolves the moment a dish arrives.
- Westword 2024 · Best International Food Hall · Best of Denver
- Westword 2026 · Best International Food Hall · Best of Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 16. 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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- 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
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
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Chef Caroline Glover's cooking at this Aurora kitchen trades flash for clarity: roast chicken with bitter greens, steak frites with grilled onion butter, seasonal vegetables treated with the care of main courses. The wine list and cocktails are pitched to match her restraint, making dinner feel like a conversation rather than a performance.
- Westword 2023 · Best Happy Hour · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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Rank 22. Viva! Mexi Coffee Shop
Mexican
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Rank 23. 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.
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 26. Bánh & Butter Bakery Cafe
Asian-fusion Bakery
Pastry chef Thoa Nguyen runs this bright corner bakery where croissants and crepe cakes share shelf space with banh mi and jambon-beurre sandwiches. It's the kind of casual spot where you queue at the counter for coffee and a buttery pastry, or sit down for something more substantial, all rooted in Nguyen's vision of marrying French technique with Asian flavors.
- Westword 2023 · Best East-West Bakery · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Breakfast Sandwich · Best of Denver
- 5280 Bánh Mì · The 17 Best Sandwiches in (and Around) Denver
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Rank 28. Tofu Story
Korean
The dining room at Tofu Story smells of sesame and ferment, a Korean kitchen that makes its own tofu and builds entire stews around its silken texture. Soy-marinated crab and braised monkfish share the menu with rice cakes and short ribs, all meant to be chased with soju or the brewery's own rice lager.
- Westword 2024 · Best Tofu Menu for Non-Vegetarians · Best of Denver
- Westword 2026 · Best Place to Watch Tofu Being Made While Eating Tofu · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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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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- Westword 2024 · Best Vintage Beer List · Best of Denver
- 5280 Pork Tenderloin · The 17 Best Sandwiches in (and Around) Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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- Westword 2024 · Best New Coffee Shop · Best of Denver
- Eater The Best Coffee Shops in Denver
- 5280 Denver's 25 Best Coffeeshops
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- Westword 2025 · Best Custom Cake Shop Serving Hong Kong Eats · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
- Eater The Best Chinese Restaurants in Denver
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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 34. Restaurant Olivia
Italian
At Restaurant Olivia, house-made pasta is the vehicle for assertive flavor combinations that swing from traditional Italian to inventively cross-cultural—bronze-die gemelli with Umbrian sausage, ricotta gnocchi with coconut lobster bisque and black garlic. The room hums with a kind of easy confidence, matched by cocktails designed to provoke rather than merely please.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- 5280 2024 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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The fortress-like exterior on a side street near MLK Boulevard gives way to genuine warmth and a kitchen that knows its business with fried chicken, gumbo, and collard greens shot through with ham hock and cabbage. This is a no-frills neighborhood spot where the soul food is built on real technique and care, not nostalgia.
- 5280 2025 · Top Fried Chicken · Top of the Town
- Westword 2023 · Best Southern/Soul Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Soul Food · Best of Denver
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Rank 39. Kizaki
Japanese
Chef Toshi Kizaki, a Denver sushi pioneer now in his seventies, commands a intimate counter where edomae tradition meets restless innovation. The omakase unfolds through his own hands—marbled tofu, precisely formed nigiri, seared black-throat perch—each course a statement of ingredient and craft refined across four decades.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 40. 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.
- Westword 2025 · Best New-School Mexican Joint · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · Top Mexican · Top of the Town
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 41. Mizuna
French/American
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Rank 42. Mar Bella Boqueria
Tapas Spanish
Chef Johnny Curiel's Spanish tapas counter in Cherry Creek trades the reservation frenzy of his other projects for a low-lit room where diners can drift between traditional pan con tomate and creations like coffee-braised oxtail in piquillo peppers. Saffron martinis and wines from lesser-known Spanish regions anchor a menu that reads like an argument for restraint and specificity over spectacle.
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Rank 44. 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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- Westword 2026 · Best Ethiopian · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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- Punch 2025 · The Who’s Who of Beer Cool
- Westword 2025 · Best Place to Get a Mug of Foam on Purpose · Best of Denver
- Westword 2023 · Best Beer Service · Best of Denver
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Rank 49. Le French
French
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Aminata “Ami” Dia and Rougui Dia
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
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- Westword 2025 · Best New Taco Joint · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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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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- Westword 2026 · Best Cafe That’s Also a Bakery · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Pastries at a Coffee Shop · Best of Denver
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Rank 61. 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 62. Palace Arms
Inspired French
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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 Upscale Thai Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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Rank 67. 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 69. Margot
Contemporary
An eight-seat counter where Chef Justin Fulton stages a seasonal tasting menu that braids local Colorado ingredients with global technique—think caviar-crowned gnocchi alongside dry-aged duck with cherries and truffle. Warm service and a basket of olive oil brioche baked fresh for each guest set the tone for cooking that feels both refined and unpretentious.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Westword 2026 · Best New Tasting Menu Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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Rank 70. 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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- 5280 The 11 Best Breakfast Burritos in Denver and Beyond
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
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Rank 75. 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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- Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
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Rank 80. 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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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 2026 · Best Sushi Restaurant · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
- Eater Banana cream pie · Denver’s 20 Most Iconic Dishes
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In a Wash Park dining room lit by a vintage Pizza Hut lamp, chefs Figura and White play with Italian tradition—squid ink fettuccine with rock shrimp, pizzas topped with sunflower seed pesto—while anchoring every meal with a hoagie salad and Nutella icebox cake. Their sly approach to craft suggests they're having more fun than the tongue-in-cheek name lets on.
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