Best Pho To Go 2020 | Now Pho | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
Navigation
Courtesy Now Pho

Pho Le was a favorite stop for Vietnamese noodle soups on Federal Boulevard for years, but the compact restaurant, known for its late-night service, recently changed hands. Now Pho didn't miss a beat, though, and its rich, beefy broth is as good as that of its predecessor. But for something extra-special, the kitchen offers a unique style called Pho Two Bowls, in which the broth comes in a piping-hot stone bowl still bubbling from the stovetop, and you add toppings to your own liking. While you can't take the hot stone bowl home with you, Now Pho's menu is otherwise available for pick-up and delivery through ChowNow (or just call the restaurant for pick-up).

nowpho.com
Molly Martin

There's only one Ohana Island Kitchen, the unique and traditional Hawaiian lunch and dinner joint on the 15th Street hill in LoHi. In the summer of 2016, Louie and Regan Colburn started selling their poke out of a side window across the street; they settled into a full brick-and-mortar eatery six months later. There you can choose from two simple offerings — shoyu poke or spicy poke — both made with sushi-grade ahi tuna. Glistening, ruby-hued cubes of fish are marinated in soy, ginger and sesame for the former, and spicy mayo with masago (salty fish roe) for the latter. You won't find a long list of additional sauces or mix-ins; the Colburns keep their recipes pure so the fish is the star. Accept no substitutes: Ohana is open for takeout, curbside pick-up and delivery through DoorDash and UberEats.

ohanadenver.com
Mark Antonation

A new Thai restaurant that opened in Lakewood took a deep dive into the country's cuisine. Farmhouse did it not with a voluminous menu, but with a selection of house specials bold with herbs, spices and other imported ingredients that make each dish shine. The Floating Market noodle soup packs a surprising punch of chiles in its rich, brown broth loaded with rice noodles and slow-cooked beef (or pork — your choice); northern Thai kao soi balances sweet coconut milk with complex curry and sports both soft and crispy noodles; and the hang leh curry offers a whirlwind of spicy, sweet, sour, salty and bitter tastes that are the hallmark of Thai cooking. The kitchen does a great job with the standards, too, from pad Thai to panang curry to pineapple fried rice. Pick-up and delivery orders can be placed on the Farmhouse Thai website.

farmhousethaieatery.com
Mark Antonation

One of the longest-standing Thai restaurants in Denver, Taste of Thailand has been famous for its "flu shot soup," a chicken (or tofu) wonton soup loaded with Southeast Asian spices and garden-fresh herbs and veggies. While the restaurant makes no claims to the broth's actual curative properties, it will certainly make you feel better in mind and soul. After moving from its longtime home in Englewood, Taste of Thailand has won new converts in Denver. It's currently open with abbreviated lunch and dinner hours for pick-up or delivery. While there's plenty on the menu, don't miss the soup.

tasteofthailand.net
Mark Antonation

Chef Christopher Lin's menu, rife with traditional Taiwanese and Sichuanese ingredients and techniques, has just kept getting better since Q House opened on East Colfax Avenue two years ago. You can experience the "ma-la" balance of numbing heat in dishes as deceptively simple as bang bang chicken salad or as challenging as beef tongue and tripe with Chinese celery or a fiery bowl of Chong Qing chicken, bristling with toasted chiles and hiding crunchy bits of fried chicken skin. Q is the Taiwanese way of describing food with the perfect bite, and that's exactly what you'll find in a Q House pick-up order.

qhousedenver.com
Mark Antonation

There's a whole lotta ramen out there right now. But Ramen Star's stands out because chef/owner Takashi Tamai is building beautiful broths in several different styles: light shoyu, miso (regular, spicy and veggie), kimchi and the signature umami tonkotsu. Beyond the broth, Tamai also makes fresh noodles daily, a real rarity in Denver. Ramen Star is open for pick-up and has started its own delivery service. Customers who spend at least $20 on takeout will be entered into a lottery, and everyone will win something — from free toppings to a whole bowl of ramen.

ramenstar.com

Savory Vietnam's chef/owner An Nguyen grew up watching her mom, Ha Pham, run the kitchen at her family's restaurant, New Saigon. After time off for college, she returned to the restaurant, learning every cooking station and every sauce on the eatery's extensive menu. Now she has her own kitchen and is turning out a stunning assortment of soups, salads, stir-fries, hot pots and other Vietnamese dishes both familiar and rare that you can enjoy to go, including a make-your-own spring roll tray, complete with whole, deep-fried crabs, shrimp paste, rice noodles and fresh greens. Most of the restaurant's dishes travel well, and it's currently offering delivery and pick-up.

savoryvietnam.com

Best German/Eastern European Food To Go

Cracovia

Courtesy Cracovia Restaurant & Bar Facebook page

Lester and Maria Rodzen opened their Polish restaurant twelve years ago, serving the cuisine of their home country in a stylish suburban setting. Housemade sausages, homey soups and hearty entrees fill the menu, with Slavic classics like pierogies, cabbage rolls, hunter stew and potato pancakes drawing expats from all over Eastern Europe and Russia. Equally comforting are the barszcz (beet soup), golonka (roast pork hock) and a dessert of jelly-filled paczki, the doughnut-like pastries so hard to find after Fat Tuesday elsewhere in Denver. Call the restaurant for takeout or delivery.

cracoviarestaurant.com
Barolo Grill

Since 1992, Barolo Grill has been creating exquisite Italian fare in Cherry Creek — first under founder Blair Taylor, and then under former general manager Ryan Fletter, who bought the place in 2015. Summer trips to Italy for the whole staff keep the team boned up on current culinary trends, and the sure guidance of executive chef Darrel Truett ensures that every plate of pasta and each entree comes out as pleasing to the eye as to the tastebuds. Barolo Grill, and its more casual sister, Chow Morso, are continuing to serve loyal customers with pick-up food options, wine and beer by the can and bottle, and a changing selection of handmade pasta and other kitchen essentials for Italian home cooking.

barologrilldenver.com chowmorso.com
Kristin Pazulski

In the age of sleek, modern coffeehouses adorned with succulents and white tile and swimming in every kind of alternative milk, it's refreshing to see a coffee shop that doesn't look the same as the rest. For eight years, Weathervane Cafe has called Uptown home, and in turn has provided a second home for its patrons. Today the cozy cafe, formerly a carriage house, has plenty of homey options to go: delicious coffee, awesome baked goods and a variety of curiosities, gifts and art, all of which can be ordered online at weathervanecafe.square.site for pick-up.

weathervanecafe.com

Best Of Denver®

Best Of