Molly Martin
Audio By Carbonatix
Denver’s food scene is no stranger to national attention, with Michelin stars and several James Beard Award winners.
Local eateries are now receiving a specific nod for the Mexican food renaissance that’s elevated the cuisine well above our Den-Mex roots. The New York Times recently released its 41 of the Greatest Mexican Restaurants Across the United States, with two Denver restaurants — La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal and Alma Fonda Fina — making the list.
La Diabla chef José Avila has been drawing attention since he opened the Ballpark neighborhood spot in 2021, including a spot on the Time’s 2023 list of America’s 50 Best Restaurants. It was also Westword’s Best New Restaurant in the Best of Denver 2022 and landed on our 2023 list of the ten best taco joints in town, not to mention a Michelin Bib Gourmand mention.
The Mexico City native has built the restaurant around the traditional dishes of his hometown. The Times has plenty of praise for Avila’s signature dish, calling the restaurant’s pozole negro “formidable” and describing it as rich and restorative. It also points diners toward La Diabla’s guisados, a category of stews and braises that can be ordered as tacos or costras, which are griddled disks of cheese that stand in for tortillas. Among the dishes the Times singled out is the huachinango, featuring red snapper with pineapple butter and citrus slaw.
“This belongs to every past and present hand behind La Diabla — and everyone who has shared a bowl with us,” the restaurant wrote on Instagram.
Johnny Curiel’s Alma Fonda Fina, meanwhile, has become one of Denver’s most decorated Mexican restaurants in remarkably little time. Chef Curiel opened the intimate LoHi restaurant with his wife and business partner, Kasie, in December 2023, drawing inspiration from the fondas run by his family in Guadalajara.
Since then, it’s been listed among 35 of the Best New Restaurants in America by Esquire, the Time’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025, a Michelin star, and multiple Best of Denver mentions in Westword over the years, including Best Mexican Restaurant, Best New Chef’s Counter, Best Avocado Margarita, and more.
The Times notes that Curiel has been on a “several-year hot streak,” and it’s hard to argue with that assessment. In addition to Fonda Fina, Curiel has expanded his restaurant empire, most recently with the 16-seat tasting-menu restaurant, Milpero. (“By the time you finish reading this sentence, Johnny Curiel may well have opened another restaurant,” the article quips.)
For the Times, Alma Fonda Fina represents the refined but welcoming side of contemporary Mexican cooking. Noted in the article are dishes such as the duck carnitas and the agave-roasted sweet potato.
“I cannot even begin to say how amazing making this list feels, not only because we are fortunate to have made it, but for the stage and awareness that it shines in our culture,” Curiel wrote on Instagram. “Proud to be next to so many badasses!!”
What do you think of the spots that made the list, and what other Denver restaurants are on your own “greatest” list for Mexican food? Drop us a line at editorial@westword.com.
