Courtesy of Denver International Airport
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Denver International Airport is one of the country’s busiest airports, sometimes with up to 8 million passengers passing through in a month. And while the travel hub’s restaurants aren’t tasked with feeding every single one of them, making sure there’s something for every potential hungry traveler is a tall task.
Fortunately, thanks to some recent additions to the facilities’ food vendors, DIA has upped its culinary game at a far faster pace than it has taken with the seemingly endless Great Hall project. Last month, we highlighted some of the best restaurants to frequent, including many of our favorite new additions. But it seems we’re not alone, as national publications are taking notice now as well.
We’ve learned that Food & Wine magazine recently released its own list of Top 10 US Airports for Food and Drink, and ranked Denver’s DIA at number three. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas came in at number two, with New York’s LaGuardia taking the top spot.
“Denver International Airport is adding dozens of dynamic, chef‑driven restaurants while refreshing older spaces across all three concourses,” reads the blurb. “In 2025, it became the first airport worldwide to host three Michelin‑linked restaurants.”
While we appreciate the recognition, F&W may want to take a closer look at their facts. For starters, the “three Michelin-linked restaurants” they named were ChoLon Modern Asian, Osteria Marco, and Williams & Graham. Now we love all three, but none are “Michelin-linked” (unless being in the same city as other Michelin-recognized restaurants constitutes a “link”).
They also may have gotten a little lost. Hey, it’s a big airport. Things start off well enough at Concourse A, which unsurprisingly gets most of the love, given the recent surge of new restaurants flooding the space. Among those namechecked aside from speakeasy Williams & Graham are Elway’s Taproom & Grill (not to be confused with the Elway’s steakhouse in Concourse B), Native American frybread favorite Tocabe, empanada empire Maria Empanada, and chef Linda Hampsten Fox’s the Bindery.
Looking at Concourse B, the publication did name the aforementioned Osteria Marco from Frank Bonanno. Then, somewhat confusingly, it adds Lon Symensma’s ChoLon Modern Asian, which in fact is located in Concourse C. Maybe they just didn’t make it that far down the train, because they looked over Root Down and Bar Dough as well.
Food and Wine had previously listed DIA among the country’s top ten airports for food and drink in its 2025 Global Tastemakers Awards. And with another thirty eateries set to open in the facility this year, our local airport is poised to get even tastier.
