The Best Places to Get Green Chile in Denver, 2025 Edition

Denver now has two Michelin-starred Mexican eateries: chef Johnny Curiel’s Alma Fonda Fina and Mezcaleria Alma. Alongside other newer additions to the scene, like Uptown’s Xiquita and La Diabla in the Ballpark neighborhood, these restaurants pay homage to the cooking techniques and ingredients so central to traditional Mexican cuisine. 

But there’s one dish you won’t find on the menu at any of those spots: green chile. At least, not the version that’s become a staple at most Mexican restaurants in Denver — the gravy-like, often orange-hued, pork-studded substance that’s typically used as a sauce to smother burritos, fries and tortilla-wrapped burgers, aka Mexican hamburgers, which are one of the hallmarks of Den-Mex cuisine. 

That’s right: Denver has its own subgenre of Mexican eats, as coined by Gustavo Arellano, Ask a Mexican columnist and author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. And Colorado-style green chile, preferably made with the state’s own Pueblo chiles, is the cornerstone of that cuisine. 

But these days, you can find a wide variety of green chile options in town, spanning heat levels and hues, with varying levels of viscosity. There are even spots specializing in New Mexico-style green – which is different, but also delicious.

Still, some people will say you can only get good green chile in New Mexico, land of the famous Hatch chiles, where the green tends to be thin and fiery. Others are loyal to Pueblo, where homegrown chiles are used for a gravy-like green that tops that city’s infamous Sloppers.

But there’s plenty of great green chile right here in Denver if you know where to look. 

And now you do: Here’s our 2025 guide to the best green chile in the metro area. (If you prefer to make your green chile at home, we have a recipe for you!)

The G.O.A.T.

El Taco de Mexico
714 Santa Fe Drive
There’s no denying the power that El Taco de Mexico’s green chile has over local diners. It’s been a favorite for over four decades, as evidenced by not only by numerous Best of Denver awards for its chile supremacy, but also by the James Beard Foundation, which named it an American Classic in 2020.

The women running the kitchen at this counter service spot are a no-nonsense bunch who work some serious magic as they prepare giant pots of green chile daily. El Taco’s version is deeply flavored, with a dark-greenish-brown tint and a bright edge that perfectly contrasts with rich burrito fillings like carnitas or chile rellenos when it’s used as a sauce. But we love that this green is equally delicious eaten by the spoonful when you order a bowl, along with a side of some chunks of tender pork.

El Taco de Mexico, never change. 

For the classic Den-Mex experience

La Fiesta
2340 Champa Street
Housed in a former Safeway in Curtis Park, La Fiesta is one of the longest-running restaurants in metro Denver that’s still operating in the same place, under the same family. The Herreras have overseen this cavernous eatery for over six decades. Here, you can always find a table or bright orange booth to settle into for a gab session over classic, roux-thickened green chile that’s ladled over burritos, Mexican hamburgers, eggroll-style chiles relleno and other heaping plates of Den-Mex goodness. It’s got just enough heat up front to ward off a chilly day, but it won’t leave you sweating – even if you gobble down your whole plate in a hurry. 

For a gravy-like chile

Tamales by La Casita
3561 Tejon Street
This five-decade-old north Denver staple was founded by former Colorado state senator and passionate tamale-maker Paul Sandoval, and his family continues to carry on his legacy today. The counter service spot still specializes in tamales, which are one of the many items you can order smothered in La Casita’s heat-forward green chile. On the thinner side and studded with small pieces of pork, scant bits of tomato and visible diced chiles, it excels as a gravy-like sauce. Bonus: Tamales by La Casita also has an outpost on Concourse C at DIA, where you can score green chile and more on your way in or out of town. 

Chakas Mexican Restaurant
6265 East Evans Avenue
This full-service restaurant — with a full bar — is tucked into a south Denver strip mall. Inside, friendly servers bring out smothered plates for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While you can get its green chile in plate form, which includes large pieces of pork, its gravy-like consistency makes it ideal for blanketing burritos, rellenos and even pork chops. 

D’Corazon
1530 Blake Street
Over two decades ago, this spot spun off from a Las Delicias then located in LoDo, and it remains a favorite place to take visitors for an exemplary Colorado-style green chile. Thick and hearty with only faint heat, this is an ideal intro to the dish. Plus, D’Corazon offers a vegetarian version for any of your meat-free friends. 

Chula on Broadway Cocina Mexicana
3866 South Broadway, Englewood
It’s not often that a new Den-Mex place opens with old-school vibes, but that’s exactly what Myrna Soltero Diaz created when she transformed a former 4G’s outpost into Chula in 2023. The green chile here has a heat that builds slowly and is just the right thickness to cling to one of our favorite smothered options on the menu, the crispy chile relleno nachos.

If you think New Mexico green chile is better

Adobo
3109 Federal Boulevard
Blaine Baggao started his business as a food truck before opening this spacious brick-and-mortar, where he combines his Filipino roots with his New Mexican upbringing for a menu that offers the best of both. His gluten-free, vegetarian-friendly green chile, made with Hatch chiles (of course), can be enjoyed in a bowl with the option to add a protein (go for the smoked carnitas) or in other forms, including one we haven’t seen anywhere else: chile cheese wontons. 

Santo
1265 Alpine Avenue, Boulder
Chef Hosea Rosenberg’s Michelin-recommended restaurant is his ode to his home state of New Mexico. Come here for straight-up chopped New Mexican green chiles in breakfast burritos or on a burger, or order a bowl of the green chile stew, which includes an ingredient you never find in the Colorado version: potatoes. 

If you like it hot

Brewery Bar II
150 Kalamath Street
The original Brewery Bar opened in the Tivioli Brewery in the 1950s and moved to its current space in 1974. A divey spot decked out in sports memorabilia, it offers giant beers that are always cold and green chile that’s always hot — even if you order the half mild, half hot option. Loaded with tomatoes and pieces of pork, it’s unapologetically chunky and downright craveable.

Efrain’s of Boulder
2480 Canyon Boulevard, Boulder
The original Efrain’s opened in Lafayette over three decades ago, but its namesake owner now only operates the Boulder outpost. Despite the changes, including a new location in 2022, the pork-studded green chile remains as fiery as ever, with a heat that hits hard from the very first bite. But there’s also depth behind the spice that’ll keep you going back for bite after bite. 

If you like to eat it straight

La Pasadita Inn
1959 Park Avenue West
For three decades, this small, family-owned eatery has been serving some of the city’s best Mexican eats from a location that sits like an island bordered on all sides by roads. The green chile, which we enjoy ordering by the bowl to fully appreciate its flavor, has distinctly roasty notes and a sneaky heat that builds with each bite – which we suspect comes from the small flakes of red chile throughout.

The Brutal Poodle
1967 South Broadway
Why does this heavy-metal bar serve one of the best bowls of green chile in town? Why the hell not?! While the Poodle does bar fare like burgers and wings quite well, the sour cream pentagram-topped green chile is the star. Available with slow-cooked pork or in a vegetarian version, sided by flour or corn tortillas, it’s served in a large, deep bowl big enough to warrant asking for a to-go container. While the menu warns of the heat level, this isn’t the kind of spice that starts strong. Rather, it builds as you spoon bite after bite of the velvety smooth chile into your mouth.

If you’re craving a diner stop

Hits the Spot Diner
5637 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood
Every single classic diner in Denver has its own take on green chile, and pretty much every single one will do the trick when you need a fix — particularly if you’re fighting a hangover. But our favorite diner green chile is the gluten-free version at this fourteen-year-old joint. Among the rotating pie cases and plates of pancakes, the green chile is the unexpected standout, with a nice warming heat level and a finely tuned balance of chopped chiles, tomatoes and pork. 

A South Federal favorite 

Playa Azul Mexican Restaurant
1423 South Federal Boulevard
South Federal is packed with Mexican eateries, though many are taquerias. If you’re on a green chile hunt in the area, we love the version at this seafood-centric spot, which you can get in a molcajete (a piping-hot stone bowl) or on a plate loaded with slow-cooked pork and paired with rice and better-than-average refried beans.

For a Mexican hamburger fix 

La Fogata
8090 East Quincy Avenue
5670 East Evans Avenue
Sure, you can get the thick, orange-ish green chile at La Fogata smothering a variety of items, but if there’s one place to start — and one place where you must try the Den-Mex staple Mexican hamburger — it’s here. The burger itself is chargrilled, giving some nice smoky notes to the whole concoction, which comes wrapped in a tortilla and ladled with a generous amount of that warming, stick-to-your-ribs chile. 

For the greenest green chile in town

La Loma
McGregor Square, Greenwood Village and Parker 
Savina’s Mexican Kitchen
1801 Broadway and Castle Rock

A Brinkerhoff family divorce has divided one homegrown green chile franchise, but fans need not worry. In the split of the marital assets, the La Loma eateries at McGregor Square, in Greenwood Village and Parker got the name, while the flagship across from the Brown Palace as well as its Castle Rock spinoff became Savina’s Mexican Kitchen. But the two sides got shared custody of the recipe for Grandma’s Green Chile created by Savina Mendoza, matriarch of the family that opened the original La Loma in 1973. We love this thick, smooth, stew-like green chile paired with the crispy mini rellenos for the ultimate Den-Mex snack.

If you miss Benny’s

El Tejado
2651 South Broadway
Miss the addictive green chile at Benny’s? Although that cult cantina never returned after the pandemic shutdown (its location on East Seventh Avenue remains tantalizingly empty), you can relive the glory days at El Tejado, which is going stronger than ever, attracting the type of post-night-out crowds that used to fill Benny’s as well as Mexican families and many more fans. On its expansive menu, El Tejado has not one, not two, but three green chiles, including an incendiary hot. But the standard is what reminds us of the green at Benny’s: actually orange, with chunks of pork and chiles (not as slippery as those at Benny’s), with a sweetness and building heat. It’s great smothering anything, but even better on its own.

For a fast-food-style green chile fix

The Original Chubby’s Burger Drive-Inn
1231 West 38th Avenue
For many, the green chile at this Chubby’s is the gold standard. Generations have grown up on the stuff and remained loyal to Stella Cordova’s place, even as she passed on and relatives opened their own versions of Chubby’s over the years. While this green chile may not stand up to others on this list, when eaten straight, there’s no denying the appeal of a fast, affordable plate of fries smothered in the thick, gravy-like sauce or a burrito swimming in the stuff for less than $10. 

Santiago’s
Multiple locations
We’ve left Santiago’s off our best green chile list in the past because, while the family-owned chain has become a local institution, its green chile falls flat on its own (read: bland, underseasoned, lacking any actually noticeable pork). But we can fully appreciate the space that Santiago’s fills for so many who line up day after day for its quick, cheap breakfast burritos, which are often ordered by the bagful and shared with coworkers in offices and on construction sites all over the metro area. Such generosity deserves to be rewarded.

Did we miss your favorite? Send your best green chile suggestions to cafe@westword.com.