Where to eat before you see a show in downtown Denver

With eight venues and nearly 6,800 seats to fill, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts has a regular stream of performances for theatergoers of all tastes. But deciding where to eat before the show can be a constant struggle.

While the recent exit of Church & Union and its pre-show prix fixe menu may pose a slight bump in that road, the downtown dining scene is diverse enough to satisfy a wide variety of tastes (and budgets) within a 15-minute walk of the Arts Complex (tops). Options abound for a pre-show splurge to mark a special occasion, a quickie nosh before curtain time, and everything in between.

Since the DCPA recommends patrons arrive at least 30 minutes before their show starts, it’s important to plan your evening backwards from there. For higher-end restaurants, you’d be well advised to give yourself a couple of hours for dinner, and also let your server know you’re Broadway-bound (so to speak). Most restaurants in the Central Business District and LoDo are familiar with the drill and happy to oblige.

Chez Maggy
1616 Market St. 
Explicitly designed with the theater crowd in mind, the four-course prix fixe menu ($75) at celeb chef Ludo Lefebvre’s outpost in the Thompson hotel is also tailor-made for Francophiles: From escargots à la bourguignonne and steak tartare to trout almondine and crème brûlée, it’s a compendium of classics to kick off your culture crawl. (Note that the staff recommends reserving your table for 5 p.m. sharp.) 

Chopstickers
1617a California St.
In a mad rush to make it to the show on time? This quick-casual Chinese kitchen is among your best bets. In no hurry at all? It’s still one of your best bets. From killer potstickers and water-fried bao to dandan noodles and pork belly over rice, the small but mighty menu doesn’t miss, filling you up but good for a pittance.  

Gaia Masala & Burger
1530 Blake St.
Gyro calzones? Paneer pizza? Tikka masala burgers and cheesesteaks? Coming right up at this blast-and-a-half of an Indian fusion joint, where the service is fast, the price is right, and the business hours are the cherry on top: it’s open until 3 a.m., so you can return post–curtain call to rehash the evening over some mango-chili margaritas and gulab jamun.  

Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar
1539 17th St. 
Choose your own adventure at this long-standing seafood specialist, whose menu has the advantage of versatility. By all means, pop in just to crush some oysters and a dirty martini, or plan ahead for a blowout complete with stacked shellfish platters and caviar service. On Sundays, a bowl of cioppino for two comes with a bottle of wine for $90—call it an early-bird special for the matinee crowd. 

Olive & Finch
1000 14th St.
Location, location, location, as they say: Mary Nguyen’s eclectic all-day cafe and bakery sits smack in front of the Arts Complex, so it’s a no-brainer in terms of convenience. It doesn’t accept reservations, but it does do a brisk takeout business. That means if the house is already packed with parties digging into five-spice sticky ribs, steak frites, and chicken schnitzel, or taking advantage of its $32 three-course prix fixe menu, you can grab sandwiches and sweets to go, then find a primo place to perch outside and people-watch prior to showtime. 

Pony Up
1808 Blake St.
Aside from making the meanest French dip in town (not to mention a rocking cocktail), this beloved bar has a whole lot going for it from a theatergoer’s perspective. For one thing, it hosts happy hour until 7 p.m., so it’s a prime location for pregaming. For another, the kitchen’s open until 1 a.m., guaranteeing you can get your grub on after the show as well as before. And from 11 p.m. to closing time, you can do it with a half-priced bottle of wine to boot.    

Red Square Euro Bistro 
1512 Larimer St.
Long among the most overlooked and underrated restaurants in Denver is this Eastern European hideaway, where the hearty likes of pierogi and pelmeni, goulash and golubtsi, schnitzel and stroganoff go down easy accompanied by a shot of vodka (or two, or three). The bar stocks around 90 labels from across the globe—Iceland, Ireland, and Italy as well as Poland, Russia, and Ukraine—while making its own infusions in flavors like beet, fig, and horseradish.

Rioja 
1431 Larimer St.
Laying the foundation for fine dining on Larimer Square when it opened 22 years ago, this Mediterranean mainstay hasn’t lost a drop of mojo since. The space is as spruce as ever. The pork belly with curried garbanzo bean puree and the artichoke tortellini remains worthy of their fame. And the Old World–centric wine list is relevantly thoughtful. Plus, the staff is a well-oiled machine when it comes to accommodating theatergoers. Provided you’ve allotted yourself ample time, they’ll even proffer a four-course tasting menu that, at $85 per person ($120 with wine pairings), is a damn good deal, from the first bite of tuna tartare with saffron aioli to the last beignet stuffed with goat cheese and figs.

Sam’s No. 3
1500 Curtis St. 
This landmark diner stays open until 8 p.m. from Wednesday through Sunday, which isn’t an invitation for you to show up nonchalantly at, oh, 6:30 p.m. and expect to be out by 7. Not only is there often a wait for a table, but it could take you a solid 15 minutes just to scour the colossal menu. A two-pound combo burrito and a pint of Coors Banquet? A meatloaf melt and a mocha shake? Or just a good old Greek omelet and a cup of joe? There’s no wrong answer, really—though considering the portion sizes, coffee’s not a bad idea to keep you from snoring through the whole performance.

Tavernetta
1889 16th St. 
Given the Frasca Hospitality Group’s renown for high-touch service, you can rest assured that the team at this suave Italian destination in Union Station will watch the clock on your behalf while minding every other detail that makes for a meal to remember. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the show before the show. This one involves such dazzling seasonal dishes as paglia e fieno (“straw and hay”) pasta in rabbit ragu; branzino a salmoriglio herb sauce with potatoes, artichokes, and olives; and peach-yogurt semifreddo with basil. A celebratory glass (or bottle) of wine goes without saying.

Trybal
1670 Champa St.
Once you figure out how to get into this self-styled “African speakeasy” (it’s not as tricky as it might seem), you’re in for an immersive experience to rival any stage production—sultry decor, mood music, tropical cocktails, and all, right down to the small but satisfying menu of skewers, jollof rice, and the like. Better still, it’s open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, so it’s a sure thing for a recap over a nightcap.

Honorable Mentions 

Coohills 
1400 Wewatta St. Ste. 100
A few months ago, this contemporary American go-to for Ball Arena attendees launched a $50 three-course prix fixe menu that proved such a success with Nuggets and Avs fans it’s now being offered year-round. In summer, there’s no place like a table on the patio overlooking Cherry Creek to savor seasonal dishes such as chilled asparagus with white miso bagna cauda and Jidori chicken with the herb sauce known as zhoug, spring peas, and pickled raisins.   

Corinne 
1455 California St.
Though it’s not specifically billed as a pre-theater amenity, the three-course prix fixe menu at Le Méridien’s signature New American restaurant is essentially just that. Granted, the price isn’t exactly fixed, depending instead on your choice of entree—think rigatoni in wild mushroom bolognese ($43) or Scottish salmon in soubise with beluga lentils and grilled broccolini ($55). But either way, you’re getting a soup or salad and a dessert into the bargain. 

EDGE
1111 14th St.
Within spitting distance of the DCPA, this steakhouse at the Four Seasons hotel offers complimentary valet parking to any guest with theater tickets and a tab exceeding $75. That won’t be hard to rack up. Even the cheapest chop here’s going to run you close to $50, and that’s without an à la carte side, never mind an appetizer, dessert, or drink. (That said, the $20 bread service is worth every penny.)

The Nickel
1100 14th St.
Want to make a whole staycation of it? Book the Theatre Nights package at the Hotel Teatro just across the street from the Arts Complex, and you’ll not only get a priority dinner reservation at its New American restaurant but a tour of the DCPA’s backstage studios and a discount on valet parking for the night.  

Osteria Marco 
1453 Larimer St. 
Where to go with the kids in tow? Just as the DCPA offers plenty of family-friendly fare, so does Frank Bonanno’s subterranean Italian spot, including charcuterie platters, pizza, and cannoli for dessert—and matinee ticket holders should know it’s open for lunch on Saturdays.

Stellar Jay
240 14th St.
The trouble with booking a pre-theater table at the Populus hotel’s rooftop restaurant is that the dramatic views could outperform whatever spectacle you’re about to witness onstage. But that’s a first-world problem to be sure, so go ahead and drink in that panorama along with an apricot daiquiri and a passel of small plates such as ricotta gnocchi in broccoli pesto and beef carpaccio with sunflower emulsion. 

Tamayo
1400 Larimer St. 
What’s better than a margarita to jumpstart a night on the town? A free margarita, that’s what. At Richard Sandoval’s modern Mexican standby, all you have to do to score one is show your server your ticket when you purchase an entree (our money’s on the shrimp-and-crab enchiladas in creamy guajillo sauce).