Eleven Spots to Get a French Onion Soup Fix in Denver

As the official start of winter nears on December 21, we’re all in on soup season. From green chile to a big piping hot bowl of Bún Bò Huế to happiness-inducing pho, nothing is quite as comforting as a soup fix when the weather cools down.

French onion soup began as a peasant dish — onions are cheap and easily accessible, after all. Its modern form began to evolve in Parisian cafés in the 18th century. These days, the simple combination of caramelized onions and slow-cooked broth, combined with bread or croutons of some sort and a rich, cheesy topping, is a popular staple at restaurants of all kinds.

In Denver, many eateries offer a traditional version, while a few spots have taken a more creative approach to their takes on the classic.

Here are eight of our favorite places for a French onion soup fix in Denver:

Bistro Vendôme
2267 Kearney Street
After moving out of its longtime spot in Larimer Square on New Year’s Day 2023, this French eatery has settled nicely into its new home in Park Hill. French onion soup has long been a staple on the menu, and its current iteration is an herb-forward, beefy broth topped with broiled Gruyère over crunchy croutons.

Brasserie Brixton
3701 Williams Street
This unstuffy neighborhood eatery is hardly French in the traditional sense, with a playful menu that takes cues from around the world. The offerings change often, but there are a few staples, including the French onion soup, which doesn’t stray from the classic preparation. It leans on the sweet side and comes topped with a slice of bread completely covered with a mix of Swiss and Gruyère cheeses. Pair it with a baguette and butter for an indulgent comfort-food fix.

Bull & Bush Brewery
4700 Cherry Creek Drive South
This English-style pub is over fifty years old, and part of its longtime appeal is that its food is as good as its selection of brews. Along with Colorado-style mashed potatoes smothered in green chile and prime rib, the French onion soup is a customer favorite. It offers a slight twist on the traditional take, with a pile of crispy fried onion strings atop the Gruyère cheese. Pair it with a Man Beer or Stonehenge Stout at a table by the fire for a completely cozy escape. 

Chez Maggy
1616 Market Street
In 2022, celebrity chef Ludo Lefebvre opened his first eatery outside of California in the Thompson Hotel. Chez Maggy is a French brasserie that offers some very rich options, including its classic French onion soup crafted with veal stock, toasted croutons, and a cap of broiled Gruyère.

Chop Shop Casual Urban Eatery
Three metro Denver locations
Chef/owner Clint Wagness has grown his upscale, fast-casual concept to three locations, with outposts in Lowry, Broomfield and on South Broadway in Englewood. A staple through the years, though, is the Onion Bliss soup, which he makes using a sous vide method, vacuum-sealing and cooking onions in a low-temperature water bath to coax out every last ounce of flavor as they are slowly caramelized over 72 hours. It’s served with a thick layer of bubbly Gruyère studded with herbs with crostini on the side rather than wallowing in the broth, which is rich, sweet and umami-packed.

La Forêt
38 South Broadway
This French spot with a rustic edge opened in the former home of Beatrice and Woodlsey in March 2024. The enchanting space feels like a magical forest, complete with real Aspen tree trunks. Settle in with a cocktail and enjoy a piping hot bowl of its traditional French onion soup made with veal broth, seasoned Gruyère and croutons.

Le French
4901 South Newport Street
846 Albion Street
We love this spot for the Senegalese spin it puts on many dishes, but both locations also do excellent renditions of straightforward French classics. Its vegetarian-friendly version of French onion soup is made with vegetable broth loaded with caramelized onions and then topped with baguette croutons and Gruyère.

Williams & Graham
3160 Tejon Street
This award-winning, speakeasy-style LoHi bar not only serves some of the best cocktails in town, but also offers some stellar bites. It recently brought back its fan-favorite French onion soup for the season, so now is the time to get a taste of its version, which is loaded with ciabatta and melty Swiss cheese.

French Onion Soup-Inspired Dishes

BearLeek
2611 Walnut Street
This buzzy new RiNo eatery opened in July, and among our favorite bites so far is its French onion soup tartlet, a flavor bomb that’s topped with an indulgent dollop of taleggio fondue. 

Pony Up
1808 Blake Street
We appreciate Pony Up for many reasons, including its selection of French dips and the fact that you can order them until 1 a.m. (2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays). The current menu includes not only straight-up French onion soup, but also a dip inspired by it that is loaded with roast beef, Gruyère, thyme and crispy onions and served with French onion au jus. Oui, oui!

ChoLon Modern Asian Bistro
1555 Blake Street
Chef/owner Lon Symensma’s French tribute to Chinese xiaolong bao is one of the most celebrated dishes in Denver. The little packages pack all the goodness of French onion soup into expertly folded wrappers for a truly satisfying bite. The trick to making these soup dumplings? The oniony broth is cooked down and enriched to the point that it forms a gelatin when chilled, allowing it to be scooped onto circles of dough — along with pungent Gruyère — before being sealed with pinched pleats. A few minutes of steam liquefies the soup inside the delicate pouches so that they burst on your tongue in a cascade of savory sweetness. Now you can also get a taste of these when you’re traveling at the new DIA ChoLon inside concourse C.