The team behind upscale tasting-menu concept Beckon added the à la carte Major Tom — the name is inspired by David Bowie's "Space Oddity" — in February, and it's already making a big impression, thanks in large part to one substantial entree: the 25-ounce heritage pork chop, with its expertly rendered fat and drizzle of brown butter and red wine vinegar on top. It's pure pork perfection, plain and simple.

Bigger may be better for some things, but smaller and louder are no-brainers when it comes to instant ambience — and Fish N Beer, from Kevin Morrison of Tacos Tequila Whiskey fame, has it in spades. The kitchen hums with confident precision; grab a seat in front of the wood-fired grill and watch as oysters and other entrees are prepared with skill. The possibilities range from small bites like smelt fries straight from Lake Superior and clam chowder kicked up with andouille sausage to larger plates like the fish-and-chips basket with Ratio Mexican Lager-battered cod and Alamosa bass with spicy devil butter.

The second location of Reckless Noodles, which found success in Seattle after debuting there in 2018, opened in Capitol Hill in December 2022. It's already made a big first impression owing to fun design details like bronze mermaids hovering over the bar and a collage of rock-climbing images covering the bathroom walls. The menu was created by chef Kenny Lee, whose résumé includes notable Asian eateries Lionhead and Din Tai Fung. The star here, though, is the plate of caramelized prawns, which have a crisp, almost candied coating that's heavy on fish-sauce flavor. Squeeze fresh lime over the top before digging in, but fair warning: These will disappear quickly.

Brothers Luis and Heriberto Gutierrez opened the Italian eatery Cucina Bella in November 2022 after working in Denver eateries for over two decades. Everything from the pizza to the pasta to the desserts impresses, thanks to Luis's extensive experience cooking in fine-dining restaurants, which he's able to fully flex now as an owner. Among the many hits on the menu, one has been a customer favorite from the start, and for very good reason: The generous portion of delectably crispy calamari, which is drizzled with a slightly spicy Calabrian chile aioli, is perfect for sharing — though it's tempting to keep the whole plate for yourself.

Tinned fish has been trending on TikTok and other social media platforms, prompting the masses to go out searching for preserved mussels, oysters, herring and more as people embrace a delicacy that's been the standard in countries like Spain for...forever. It's not new to Denver restaurant menus, either, but our favorite spot for digging into this specialty is the RiNo location of Cart-Driver, where you can choose from a variety of options that are served on a tray with charred, fluffy piada bread, black-olive butter and sambal pepper relish. Add some oysters for a seafood-centric feast, or follow it up with one of the restaurant's perfectly charred pizzas.

Located in the open space of the Source Hotel's market hall, this two-year-old treasure serves high-quality sushi in an approachable, no-frills atmosphere. Temaki Den specializes in aburi sushi — or "flame seared," in Japanese — so be sure to include a charred nigiri in your order. Favorites include eggplant, scallop and wagyu New York strip. If you're going for lunch, choose one of the insanely affordable hand roll (temaki) sets, and for dinner, let the chef choose in an omakase experience, during which your server will customize the potential plates based on your food and budget preferences.

No restaurant in town embraces the beauty of the oyster more than Jax, which originally opened in Boulder in 1994 and now has five Colorado locations, plus one in Kansas City. Jax presents a rotating selection of bivalves available raw or chargrilled, and even hosts an annual festival dedicated to all things oyster. One staple is the Emersum oyster, Jax's proprietary name for the Crassostrea virginica variety of the mollusk that is sourced from a family-owned company that sustainably farms them in the waters of Virginia's Rappahannock River. Jax also recently added a second proprietary oyster, the Crackerjax, which has a salty bite balanced by a touch of sweetness.

Chef/owner Jeremy Song opened Turtle Boat, a counter-service restaurant on South Broadway, in 2017 and has been serving stellar "Colorado poki salads" ever since. What exactly does that mean? He's taken the traditional Hawaiian dish and added his own spin, with a selection of seafoods that can be heaped onto fully customizable bowls loaded with a huge selection of add-on options, from furikake and wasabi peas to seaweed salad and spicy green papaya. For a filling mix of flavors and textures, don't be scared to go all in, adding anything and everything that tempts your tastebuds. This is poke maximalism, and it's really, really good.

Pho is supposed to be comforting, reliable, stomach-filling and heartwarming, and that's exactly what you'll get at Pho Broadway, which has been satisfying customers with its clear, flavorful broth since 2017. The secret is in the traditional broth technique, which requires twelve hours' time, allowing the flavors to fully develop. It serves as the rich and savory base for sixteen different iterations of pho, from the classic P1 — packed with steak, brisket, flank, tendon and tripe — to the P14, loaded with imitation crab, shrimp, and shrimp and fish balls.

In need of a fresh start after the pandemic, chef Edwin Zoe rebranded his Boulder eatery Chimera as Dragonfly Noodle in 2022, adding a second location on Denver's 16th Street Mall later that year. This sister concept to his casual Chinese restaurant, Zoe Ma Ma, boasts noodle dishes that span Asia, from Japan to Singapore to Vietnam to Taiwan. The stars, though, are the six ramen bowls. Dragonfly Noodle is one of only two spots in town that make fresh ramen noodles in-house, and the deeply flavored broths illustrate a dedication to traditional ingredients and methods paired with just enough experimentation — like a ramen piled with tender char siu ribs and another loaded with butter-poached Maine lobster tail — to set it apart from the pack.