The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Rise & Shine
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Rank 2. 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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- 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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- 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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- 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 11. 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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Rank 13. 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 14. 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 2023 · Best Wishes for a Smooth Opening · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Entree to Order If You Actually Get Into Casa Bonita: Taco Salad · Best of Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Denver
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Rank 17. 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 18. 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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- 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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- 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 23. 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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- Westword 2026 · Best Slice of Pie · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Shop for Pie Lovers · Best of 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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- 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 33. Burrito Express
Mexican
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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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Rank 37. Com Nha Kitchen & Bar
Vietnamese
In a quiet Denver pocket, Com Nha serves Vietnamese bar food—snails with salted egg, wings stuffed with pork and lime—designed less for nutrition than for sharing over outsized cocktails. The philosophy is legible in every dish: pho shots with beef broth, a three-liter soju tower, fries crowned with brisket and a runny yolk, each bite an invitation to linger.
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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 43. 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 2023 · Best Chicken Wings · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Comeback · Best of Denver
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Rank 44. Coffeegraph
Indonesian
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Rank 45. 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 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Emily Thompson
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Rank 46. 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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- Westword 2024 · Best New Restaurant in a Convenience Store · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Banh Mi · Best of Denver
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Rank 48. 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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- 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 52. 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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- 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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- Westword 2026 · Best No Rules Pasta Shop · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
- Westword 2025 · The Fifteen Best New Denver Restaurants
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Rank 57. 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 58. EDGE
Colorado
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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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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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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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- 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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- 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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Rank 67. 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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- Westword 2026 · Best Pickle Pizza · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Pizza on Wheels · Best of Denver
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Rank 72. Star Kitchen
Dim sum Chinese
Strip-mall dim sum spot where the carts start rolling early with dumplings, shrimp balls, chicken feet, and enough sticky rice to justify showing up before the doors open on weekends. Arrive with a hungry group ready to work through family-style plates and chase everything with chile oil, because this is the real draw—the dinner menu that follows is an afterthought.
- Westword 2023 · Best Chinese Restaurant · Best of Denver
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
- Eater The Best Chinese Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 75. 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 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
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Rank 79. 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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Rank 82. 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
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Denver
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 85. El Taco De Mexico
Mexican
Since 1985, this stripped-down Santa Fe Drive taqueria has drawn steady crowds for its straightforward tacos and everything drowned in a bright, tingling green chile that defines the place. No frills, minimal service, maximum devotion—the James Beard Foundation named it an American Classic in 2020, and you'll understand why the first time you taste the salsa.
- Westword 2023 · Best Mexican Breakfast · Best of Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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Rank 86. The Cruise Room
Art Deco Cocktail Bar
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. West
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
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- Westword 2026 · Best Sunny Day Lunch Spot · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
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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 91. 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 92. 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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Rank 94. 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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