The Best Bars in Highland & Sunnyside

1. Punch Best New Bartenders · Mak Kelly
2. Westword 2024 · Best Bar for Girls’ Night · Best of Denver
3. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar

Tucked next to chef Johnny Curiel's flagship, this agave bar doubles as a serious kitchen, and the two halves push each other into strange, good territory. The mezcal list is long and thoughtful, the cocktails inventive, and the food pulls from Mexico City's restless energy with Japanese and other detours woven in. A Michelin star and a New York Times nod followed quickly. Plan around the bar counter if you can.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Star
2. Punch Best New Bars
3. Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants

The bookstore on the corner of Tejon is not a bookstore. Push the right shelf and you're inside one of Denver's favorite cocktail bars, a speakeasy that takes both halves of the conceit seriously: a library of over 500 spirits backs a menu of originals alongside some 60 classics. No standing room means the wait is part of the deal, so arrive with patience and someone to talk to while you queue.

1. Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
2. Eater The Best Bars in Denver
3. Westword The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now

1. Thrillist The Best Bars in Denver
2. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Denver

1. Eater The Best Bars in Denver
2. Westword The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now
3. Eater Johnny burger · Denver’s 20 Most Iconic Dishes

The concept here is a Japanese jazz kissa, a vinyl-focused listening bar, filtered through a chef who thinks huitlacoche and yuzu belong on the same plate. The food runs "Nikkei-Mexa," meaning Mexican and Japanese ingredients trading places freely, and the cocktails follow the same logic: sotol meets sake, charanda meets shochu. A taco cart parks out front most nights. Small room, big sonic ambitions, and a crowd that showed up for all of it.

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in Denver
2. Westword 2026 · Best Dessert With Salmon Roe · Best of Denver
3. Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver

1. Westword The Top 50 Bars in Denver Right Now