Best Move From Pop-Up to Brick-and-Mortar 2024 | Sap Sua | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Move From Pop-Up to Brick-and-Mortar

Sap Sua

Casey Wilson

Usually when a new restaurant opens, there's a question of it living up to the hype — and the hype around Sap Sua was big; it even landed on Bon Appétit's radar. But this opening was different, because owners Ni and Anna Nguyen spent time developing their take on Vietnamese fare through the lens of Ni's experience as a first-generation Asian American and sharing it with guests long before the doors actually opened — first from a food cart in Longmont, and later in a series of pop-ups in the Denver area. Dishes like the now-staple charred cabbage anchored the opening menu, which has continued to evolve in exciting and delicious ways.

Best New Restaurant

Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails

Molotov Kitschen

Bo Porytko has built a reputation for doing things differently, and his eatery that debuted at the very start of 2023 is different in a lot of ways. It's tiny, and the best seats surround the equally tiny kitchen just inside the front entrance, under a wall covered in cuckoo clocks. The crew has been known to enjoy shots of horilka — vodka infused with flavors like honey black currant or horseradish — with guests. But it's the food that really brings something special to the scene: playful odes to Porytko's Ukrainian heritage that make us reconsider what we know about Eastern European fare on every visit.

Best Of Denver®

Best Of

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