The Top 93 Cocktail Bars Near Stella's Cucina
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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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- 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 7. 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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- 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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- 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 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 15. 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 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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- 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
- 5280 French Dip · The 17 Best Sandwiches in (and Around) Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
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Rank 21. 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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- Esquire 2023 · The Telegraph · The Best Martinis in America
- Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in 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 2025 · Best Distillery to Visit If You Have a Shamrock Tattoo · Best of Denver
- Westword 2023 · Best Distillery Taproom · Best of Denver
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- Westword 2025 · Best New Bar Where Everything Is $5 · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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- Westword 2025 · Best New Neighborhood Bar · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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- Westword 2025 · Best Distillery for Cocktails, With or Without Booze · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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- Westword 2026 · Best Bar Programming · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
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Rank 34. Major Tom
New American
Chef Duncan Holmes's cosmic-themed restaurant next to his Michelin-starred tasting menu concept offers a looser, more playful take on the same kitchen's ambitions. The concise à la carte menu—savory babka, hanger steak, overnight cabbage with red miso—reads like proof that serious cooking doesn't need to take itself seriously.
- Westword 2023 · Best Pork Chop · Best of Denver
- 5280 2024 · Best for Filling Bellies · The 23 Best Bars in Denver
- 5280 2025 · The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 37. Mister Oso
Mexican
At Mister Oso, a spare dining room fills with the clatter of a kitchen unafraid of Latin American detours—ceviches, salads, ambitious sides—where tacos are the vehicle, not the destination. Smoked lamb cheek wrapped in tortilla with pickled onion and avocado salsa, coconut rice in cast iron bridging sweet and heat, suggest a chef cooking with real invention.
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Rank 44. Hell or High Water Tiki
Tiki Cocktail Bar
A tiki bar hidden on the mezzanine of a deliberately haunted spirit house, this place commits fully to its theme with phallic totems and the general aesthetic of a gay pirate ship. The tropical cocktails arrive built with surprising ingredients, and the intimate party atmosphere rewards those willing to embrace the flamboyance.
- Westword 2023 · Best Use of a Leopard Speedo · Best of Denver
- Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
- 5280 2024 · Best for a Big Night Out · The 23 Best Bars in Denver
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- Westword 2024 · Best Coffee Shop for Conversations · Best of Denver
- 5280 2024 · Best for Catching Multiple Buzzes · The 23 Best Bars in Denver
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Rank 47. 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
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Rank 49. Bodega
American
Cliff Blauvelt's boisterous Sunnyside breakfast spot moves fast and keeps it simple: killer burritos, a bacon-egg-and-cheese on a Kaiser that shouldn't work but does, and a burger that's genuinely among Denver's best. Lines form early for the rotating sandwich menu, and the whole vibe is pure neighborhood casual—exactly the kind of place that makes people loyal.
- Westword 2023 · Best Breakfast · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Place to Escape for a Midday Meal · Best of 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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- Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
- Eater The Best Bars in Denver
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver
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Rank 59. 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 64. 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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Rank 67. Emerald Eye
Caribbean Cocktail Bar
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- Westword 2024 · Best Place to Drink With a View · Best of Denver
- 5280 2024 · Best for Day Drinking · The 23 Best Bars in Denver
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
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- 5280 2025 · Top Distillery · Top of the Town
- Westword 2026 · Best Place to Worship Whiskey · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best New Spirits Tasting Room · Best of Denver
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Rank 76. 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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Rank 77. Reckless Noodle House
Vietnamese Noodles
A Capitol Hill noodle shop with playful decor and a drink program that's clearly taken seriously, Reckless pulls from Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai and Chinese kitchens with equal confidence. The cocktail menu splits between classics and house inventions, and the kitchen rewards adventurous orders just as much as the bar does.
- Westword 2023 · Best Shrimp · Best of Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best West Coast Transplant · Best of Denver
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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 83. Ay Papi
Caribbean Cocktail Bar
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