Don't miss the chance to support local nonprofit Project Angel Heart on April 18 during its annual Dining Out for Life fundraiser. This week, you can also score free ice cream at High Point Creamery's new shop, sip your way through a beer fest and more.
Be sure to bookmark this page — we update it weekly with the best food and drink events in metro Denver. Check out the highlights for the next seven days as well as upcoming events to put on your calendar, including the return of Westword's Out to Brunch in June and Tacolandia in July.
Wednesday, April 17
Guard and Grace is celebrating a decade in business with an anniversary party featuring fifteen small bites crafted by fifteen well-known local chefs. There will also be guest bartenders serving craft cocktails; the event benefits Roundup River Ranch. Tickets are $100 per person and can be purchased on OpenTable.
Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a chain that recently opened its first Colorado outpost at 12239 Pine Bluffs Way in Parker, is celebrating its grand opening from 4 to 8 p.m. Festivities include free pizzas, raffles, games and activities for kids and more, with 30 percent of the event proceeds going to the nonprofit SECOR Cares. With a variety of signature pizzas handmade with the freshest and finest ingredients, including 100 percent whole-milk mozzarella cheese, the brand delivers a family-friendly experience complete with several big-screen televisions, a kids’ arcade, a patio for outdoor dining and an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet, making it the perfect location to tune in to a game (hello, 2024 MLB season!) or indulge in a pizza night with family and friends.
Thursday, April 18
Get free single scoops from 4 to 7 p.m. at the grand opening of High Point Creamery's fourth location, at 7473 East 29th Place in Central Park.
Head to any of the 130 participating restaurants for the thirtieth annual edition of Project Angel Heart’s Dining Out for Life, during which 25 percent of diners' tabs will go to the organization, which provides medically tailored meals for community members with severe illnesses. New this year: The Dining Out for Life Challenge, which makes anyone who dines at three or more participating restaurants and tags Project Angel Heart in photos of the meals on social media eligible to win an exclusive happy hour at Project Angel Heart.
Saturday, April 20
Kick it ’90s style at the Arvada Beer Fest. VIP entry is at 1 p.m. and general admission begins at 2 p.m. The event takes place outdoors at Freedom Street Social and includes unlimited samples from local breweries, distilleries, seltzeries and canned cocktails, plus a live DJ and more. Tickets start at $55 and include a meal voucher for eats from the food hall.
To celebrate Earth Day, Breckenridge Brewery is releasing a special Project Green: West Coast Indiana Pale Ale (IPA) in partnership with Protect Our Rivers. One dollar of every pint or crowler sold will be donated to the organization. On April 20, the brewery and the nonprofit will host community conservation cleanups from 10 a.m. to noon at Cherry Creek, Clear Creek and the South Platte River, with a meetup party for all volunteers at Breck Brewery in Littleton afterward. For more information, visit protectourrivers.org/earthweekend2024.
Sunday, April 21
Every Sunday through the end of June, Revival Denver Public House, at 630 East 17th Avenue, is hosting a crawfish boil from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Live music kicks off at 3 p.m., and the feast is $12 per pound or three pounds for $32.
Now through Monday, April 22
Tamayo and Toro by chef Richard Sandoval are offering their third annual Viva Abejas ("Long live the bees") seasonal menu. Items such as coconut ceviche, duck confit tacos and honey vanilla cheesecake use ingredients that require bee pollination, and the special helps raise money and build awareness through partnerships with local Title 1 school Academy 360 and all 25 Boys and Girls Clubs of metro Denver. Reservations are not required, and the menu is available through Earth Day, April 22.
Wednesday, April 24
Learn how to make an espresso martini at Poka Lola Social Club. The class runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include one espresso martini.
Local Jones, located inside the Halcyon hotel in Cherry Creek, is hosting a whiskey-tasting experience with Locke & Co. The fourth event of this series will take place at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25.
Now through Sunday, April 28
Death & Co has transformed its intimate Suite 6A space at the Ramble Hotel in RiNo into an immersive cherry blossom experience called Sakura Blossom Bar, with more than 400 cherry blossoms lining the ceiling and a menu of specialty highball cocktails. Read our six reasons to check it out.
Now through May 12
Participating restaurants like the Golden Mill, Tavernetta, Noisette, Leven Deli and MAKfam are donating $1 from a select cocktail to Benevolent Spirits, a fundraiser developed to show solidarity with World Central Kitchen after seven of its team members were killed in Gaza. For the full list of local restaurants involved, visit donate.wck.org/team/574658.
Now through May 31
Four Seasons Hotel Denver (1111 14th Street) has partnered with the mezcal brand Dos Hombres, from Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston, on Montaña Escondida, a new tropical mezcal pop-up bar serving mountain-inspired Dos Hombres mezcal cocktails paired with a menu of Mexican-style light bites such as duck carnitas, crispy mushroom tacos and elote guacamole. The pop-up is open from 5 to 10 p.m. daily. Call 303-389-3050 for reservations.
Nana's Dim Sum & Dumplings is one of the places you can get a discount during Mile High Asian Food Week.
Molly Martin
April 27: Les Dames d’Escoffier Colorado is hosting its annual festival, the Big Stir, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Tivoli Turnhalle on the Auraria campus. The event honors women making an impact in the local food, beverage and hospitality industries, and will include wine, spirits and food tastings and seminars. Tickets start at $65.
April 28-May 4: Mile High Asian Food Week is back for its second year, with over 100 participating vendors offering special discounts, secret menu items, specialty menus and more.
April 30: Little Italy Night is coming back to Coperta. Book a table to enjoy red-sauce classics like fried mozzarella and chicken piccata.
May 6-12: Westword Burger Week is coming back. Expect $7 burgers for seven days from a variety of local spots dishing up everything from gourmet blends to off-menu specialties and even drink pairings. Stay tuned for a full list of participating restaurants.
May 18: Tickets are on sale now for Stranahan’s 2024 Cask Thief, during which you can taste whiskey from rare barrels. General admission starts at $75, and the event includes a catered barbecue lunch, live music, a photo op station and a chance to purchase bottles. For more information and to get tickets, visit stranahans.com.
May 18: Lotería, an annual fundraising event for Focus Points, is back at Comal. This year, it's partnering with Michelin-starred Frasca Hospitality Group for its pre-event reception starting at 5 p.m. The main event includes a multicultural feast prepared and served by Comal program participants, live music from Los Mocochetes, custom-made cocktails, dancing, a silent auction with prizes from top local restaurants, and the namesake lotería, a Mexican game of chance. Tickets start at $100.
May 30: The Colorado Restaurant Association's annual summer bash, Drink Red Wear Red, will once again take place at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Early-bird tickets are on sale now.
June 1-4: The nation’s top thirty bartenders will compete for the title of U.S. Bartender of the Year at the 12th United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG) Presents World Class Sponsored by Diagio. Visit worldclassdenver24.com for the full schedule, which includes competitions and the World Class Denver Cocktail Festival, which will take place at various venues around town.
June 8: Westword's Out to Brunch returns for its second year, with unlimited drinks, bites and entertainment at York Street Yards. Tickets start at $40 and are on sale now.
July 13: Westword's seventh Tacolandia will be back at Civic Center Park from 4 to 7 p.m. (3 p.m. for VIP), offering unlimited tacos, boozy beverages, entertainment and more. Tickets start at $35, but prices will go up as the event gets closer.
Know of an event that belongs on this calendar? Send information to [email protected].
