Denver, Colorado’s largest city, is home to thriving jazz and classical music scene and numerous parks and museums. The city’s ancient “CowTown” stockyards and meatpacking factories have earned it a reputation for steaks, but many restaurants are also serving other cuisines. There’s a wide variety of cuisines available, from Italian to Chinese.
There are a lot of dining options in Denver, but it might be challenging to narrow down your choices. Fortunately, I have produced this list of the finest restaurants in Denver to assist you in locating those spots.
1. Tavernetta
Tavernetta is located next to the Kimpton Hotel Born and just across from the train platform at Union Station. It is run by Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey, Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, and Peter Hoglund, all of whom are the owners of Boulder’s renowned Frasca Food & Wine. Tavernetta is a restaurant open for lunch and dinner, profoundly influenced by the food and wine of all regions in Italy. Some of the restaurant’s highlights include fresh pasta, a wine list that is exclusive to Italian wines and was curated by Wine Director Carlin Karr, and small plates that were inspired by the culinary team’s travels throughout the boot of Italy. Tavernetta will go above and beyond your expectations regarding how hospitality can make you feel by providing an open kitchen, a seasonal outdoor patio, a complete bar, and ample private dining rooms.
2. Hillstone
Besides its headquarters here in Denver, Hillstone also has offices in New York City, San Francisco, and other large urban regions. This eatery’s fillet steaks, crab cakes, and spicy tuna rolls are legendary. We have several delicious desserts like flija, brownies, and vanilla ice cream. Delicious coffee, lemonade, and juice are available for purchase at Hillstone. Pinot grigio is not well-favoured by patrons here.
After a long day of work, patrons can unwind in the inviting setting of this establishment. The attractive workforce has made this company successful with their hard work and excellent attitudes. The staff at this eatery are known for being particularly pleasant. Customers like the low prices here. Hillstone’s great food and ambiance make it an absolute must-visit.
3. Nocturne
Nocturne may be found tucked away in Denver’s RiNo Arts District, where it is housed in a warehouse that has been beautifully renovated. At Nocturne, the culinary, drink, and musical arts are all brought together to produce a singular, one-of-a-kind, unforgettable event. Nocturne is a contemporary jazz and supper club that offers live jazz every night of the week, a carefully selected selection of wine, beer, and beverage choices, and a one-of-a-kind seasonal culinary program anchored by a three-course dinner.
The crew behind it is just as enthusiastic about hospitality as they are about music. We come to work each day to make Nocturne a unique destination for the people of Denver, the members of the staff that works for us, and you, our customers.
4. Potager
Dinner is provided five nights a week at Potager, a restaurant, and bar. Dishes like cold Morton’s orchard apricot soup, zucchini fritters from Isabelle farm, and twice-baked toasted almond and parmesan soufflé with charred apricots, basil, and saba are all made using ingredients from the local farmer’s market. Potager’s summer chopped vegetable salad with salami, provolone, and oregano vinaigrette is an excellent option for a lighter meal, as is the Red Wagon farm beet and cucumber salad with charred green onion and ricotta. In addition to the thin-crust pizza, pan-roasted Taku River fish, Triple M Bar lamb sausage stuffed with cherries and served with turnip purée from Red Wagon Farm, wilted greens, and balsamic vinegar sauce, the menu also features a variety of other options. Potagers is happy to host gatherings and parties on its spacious terrace.
5. Beckon
Beckon is the most desirable location in the neighborhood of Sacred Heart Parish. It’s possible that what you need is some tasty carrot salad, lamb, or pork. If you’re hungry, you should come here for the delicious biscuits. This bar offers a variety of tasty beverages, including red wine, white wine, and beer. Excellent coffee is waiting for you at the end of a problematic workweek.
After a long day of work, customers can unwind and enjoy themselves in the cozy setting of Beckon. Quite a few of the reviewers point out that this establishment has exceptionally well-trained personnel. The excellent service is a significant selling point for this establishment. Most individuals point out that the prices are fair compared to what you get. The feedback from the guests indicates that the interior design is very stunning.
6. Annette
Annette is a lovely restaurant that can be found in Stanley Marketplace. It is flooded in light and sprinkled with natural features, which give the space an air of sophistication rather than sterility. Even when she uses chef-driven delicacies like beef tongue, octopus, and heirloom vegetables, chef and owner Caroline Glover create dishes that feel like home cooking thanks to how she prepares fresh foods on a wood-fired grill with equal parts reverence and panache.
Annette serves seasonal, contemporary farm-to-table American meals in addition to creative cocktails. You may have a dish of grilled beef tongue with marrow toast, or you could go for something a little more experimental, like a plate of prawns and squash blossoms.
7. Corrine
Corinne Denver, named “one of the top restaurants in downtown Denver,” features a friendly neighborhood ambiance, modern decor, and honest food and drinks, ranging from robust to healthy options. Come on in and make yourself at home.
It is a dining and beverage establishment that serves traditional, straightforward American comfort food, focusing on products acquired from the immediate vicinity. Corinne is the place to go if you’re searching for an inviting atmosphere that also features authentic cuisine and drink options.
8. ChoLon
Once you enter ChoLon’s downtown restaurant, you will instantly feel more confident, attractive, and wealthy. At least, that’s the impression one gets from the room’s lofty ceilings, enormous windows, gigantic concrete pillars, marble flooring, and sleek banquettes. Lon Symensma’s flamboyant cuisine, which takes its cues from Southeast Asia’s market items and street cuisines, contributes to the lively atmosphere. His two biggest hits—umami bombs like French onion soup dumplings and an enhanced take on Singaporean kaya toast with a frothy “egg cloud” for dipping—exemplify the menu’s yin-and-yang dynamic, a delightful tension between the earthy and the ethereal.
9. The Bindery
This ambitious yet welcome café, bakery, and restaurant in a converted book bindery serve as both a family-friendly gathering spot and an adult haven throughout the day and into the night. Throughout the day, the market counter at The Bindery is stocked with a wide variety of baked goods and pantry staples. The kitchen staff gets to work every night, whipping up a storm with the season’s absolute best ingredients. Don’t be afraid to try something new; an adventure is all about. For example, the grilled tuna ribs (yes, there is such a thing) are presented with spoons for scooping out the black meat between the bones. Chef and owner Linda Hampsten Fox love highlighting the rabbit’s earthy sweetness by contrasting it with the sharper tang of mustard and walnuts.
10. Spuntino
Spuntino is the place to take your significant other for the perfect date night. It’s cozy, dimly lit, decorated with weathered wood and bright copper, and it’s owned and operated by a husband-and-wife pair who are always friendly and upbeat. On the one hand, it reeks of old-fashioned romance. On the other hand, it is an experience with a seasonal menu that occasionally colors much outside the boundaries of conventional Italian food and a wine list that is unusual and uncompromising, which makes drink nerds drool with delight.
Even the background music manages to strike a balance between being peaceful and having an edge, which is evident to anyone listening carefully. Signature dishes include creamy housemade ricotta served with pillow-soft rosemary focaccia; elk tartare; and Colorado-raised goat, which may be braised over mascarpone polenta with gremolata or incorporated into a Bolognese gracing hand-cut pappardelle. The menu is constantly evolving, but some dishes remain consistent, such as creamy housemade ricotta served with rosemary focaccia.
11. El Five
El Five, located on the top floor of 2930 Umatilla, overlooks LoHi from a vantage point far above the neighborhood. The restaurant also features an outdoor patio with breathtaking views of the Denver skyline. Traditional Spanish and Mediterranean tapas with influences from North Africa and the Middle East emphasize the menu at El Five, a Denver restaurant serving a type of food that is underrepresented in the Mile High City. Sensual and subtle, El Five is the newest Edible Beats Restaurant Group family member.
El Five is more than a restaurant, and that’s what chef/owner Justin Cucci wanted it to be. Launched in 2017, it is located on the top floor of a five-story structure in LoHi and offers spectacular views of the city and the Rocky Mountains. Dinner is a fascinating tour through the cuisines of the Asian, African, and European nations that border the sea, and it’s dramatic enough thanks to the food.
12. Barolo Grill
This longstanding Northern Italian restaurant in trendy Cherry Creek is an oasis of class in the middle of Denver’s laid-back dining scene. The tables have been covered with white linens. Beautiful antique liquor posters and flower arrangements, check. The room has a fireplace and a bar with a marble top. Soft jazz is playing in the background, so that’s good. An evening of fine dining and drinking is guaranteed. While chef Darrel Truett’s seasonal cuisine is undeniably modern, it doesn’t venture beyond Italy’s borders or into fusion territory. Despite its complexity, it is not tedious. Ramp dough, sunchoke-pecorino mixture, and marinated baby artichokes are just two possible fillings for the house specialty agnolotti dal plin. Other possible fillings include butternut squash puréed with amaretti cookies and served atop a bed of sage brown butter. If you dine at Barolo Grill, you owe it to yourself to indulge in the restaurant’s specialties, such as foie gras, lobster, and shaved truffles, when they are on the menu. If you opt for the multi-course tasting, you may even get to try them all, accompanied by beverages from owner Ryan Fletter’s legendary cellar.