The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Haykin Family Cider
-
-
-
- Westword 2024 · Best New Coffee Shop · Best of Denver
- Eater The Best Coffee Shops in Denver
- 5280 Denver's 25 Best Coffeeshops
-
-
Rank 5. 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
-
- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
-
-
-
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
-
Rank 10. 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.
- Westword 2025 · Best Place to Dine With a Group · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · Top Vietnamese · Top of the Town
- 5280 2024 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
-
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 2026 · Best International Food Hall · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best International Food Hall · Best of Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
-
-
-
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 2023 · Best Central/South American Restaurant (not Mexican) · Best of Denver
-
Rank 15. 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
-
-
-
-
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.
- Westword 2023 · Best Southern/Soul Restaurant · Best of Denver
- 5280 2025 · Top Fried Chicken · Top of the Town
- Westword 2024 · Best Soul Food · Best of Denver
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Rank 27. Viva! Mexi Coffee Shop
Mexican
-
-
-
-
-
- Westword 2024 · Best Coffee Shop for a Cause · Best of Denver
- 5280 Denver's 25 Best Coffeeshops
- Eater The Best Coffee Shops in Denver
-
- 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
-
Rank 34. 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 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Bo Porytko
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Bo Porytko
-
Rank 35. BaekGa
Korean
- Westword 2025 · Best Homestyle Korean · Best of Denver
- 5280 2024 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
-
-
- Huckberry The 50 Best Dive Bars in America
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
-
Rank 38. 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
-
-
-
-
-
- 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
-
- 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
-
-
-
-
-
-
Rank 50. 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
-
-
Rank 52. 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
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
-
Rank 53. 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
-
Rank 54. 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
-
-
Rank 56. 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
-
-
-
- Westword 2026 · Best Dim Sum Duo · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Fifteen Best New Denver Restaurants
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in Denver
-
A Park Hill institution since 1994, Spinelli's is a neighborhood market where you skip the grocery aisles and head straight to the deli counter for outsized sandwiches that are equally at home on a picnic blanket or stuffed into a backpack for Red Rocks. A few tables let you linger, but these are built for takeout.
- Westword 2023 · Best Sandwich Shop · Best of Denver
- 5280 Muffuletta · The 17 Best Sandwiches in (and Around) Denver
-
- 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
-
- Westword 2026 · Best Ethiopian · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
-
-
-
Rank 65. 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
-
-
-
Rank 68. 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
-
-
-
-
-
Rank 73. 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
-
-
- 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
-
-
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- Westword 2026 · Best Culinary-Inspired Cocktails · Best of Denver
-
Rank 78. Brasserie Brixton
Rustic French
A North Denver bistro channeling Montreal's unpretentious wine bars, where steak frites and chicken fricassee share a small menu with more playful turns—blood sausage wontons, a remarkable burger. Rustic room, well-made cocktails, natural wines that taste like thought.
- Westword 2024 · Best Restaurant for a Breakup · Best of Denver
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Denver
-
- Westword 2025 · Best New Taco Joint · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
-
-
-
-
Rank 83. 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.
-
-
-
-
Rank 87. Welton Street Cafe
Southern
- Westword 2025 · Best New Digs · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
-
-
-
- Westword 2025 · Best Upscale Thai Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
-
A neighborhood Greek-American diner tucked into a quiet Congress Park block that's been feeding regulars since 1979, where you can order omelets and burgers alongside avgolemono and other familiar standards. The owner kept the bones of what made the place work, and it shows in the kind of cooking that doesn't need to announce itself.
- Westword 2023 · Best Soup for a Hangover · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Banana Pudding · Best of Denver
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
-
- 5280 The 11 Best Breakfast Burritos in Denver and Beyond
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
-
Rank 93. Bastien's Restaurant
Steakhouse
A gleaming Googie-style landmark from 1958 with a sunken bar and servers who've been pouring drinks since the Carter administration, Bastien's is the kind of mid-century steakhouse where you dress up and the martinis taste like they're mixed with purpose. The sugar steak is famous for a reason, but the real draw is the time-warp atmosphere—a family operation that's been going since the 1930s and shows no signs of trading its neon sign for anything modern.
-
- Westword 2026 · Best Cafe That’s Also a Bakery · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Pastries at a Coffee Shop · Best of Denver
-
-
-
-
-
Rank 99. 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 2023 · Best Sushi Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Westword 2026 · Best First Date Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
-