James Beard Nominated Chef Returning to Denver With New Eatery

Chef Theo Adley has been making some of the best food in the state at Marigold, his restaurant in Lyons, since it opened in July 2022. A meal there is well worth the drive, and Marigold earned Adley a James Beard nomination for Best Chef in the Mountain Region last year. But soon, diners won’t have to leave Denver to get a taste of this talented chef’s cooking.

This winter, Adley is opening Heretík at 1441 26th Street in RiNo, in the space that was most recently home to the short-lived Koko Ni. The new concept, which is inspired by northeast Spain and southern France, will star French heritage breed “cou-nou” rotisserie chicken, the chef’s self-proclaimed death-row meal. It will be the only chicken dish on the menu, which will also include small plates focused on seafood and other poultry such as guinea fowl, squab, duck and quail.

There will be a raw bar as well, with a daily-rotating selection of oysters, fish and shellfish. Other menu highlights include the Plateau Heretík with oyster, clams, shrimp, whelks, dungeness crab, ceviche and urchins; a Spanish-style tortilla with spider crab; scallops with bearnaise and seaweed; and monkfish au poivre with grape leaf. Expect a wine program featuring selections from small, family-owned producers, primarily from the Pays Basque and Côte d’Argent regions.

The move is a win for RiNo, which was once a haven for locally-owned restaurants but has seen more chains moving in. Heretík, and its downstairs neighbor, BearLeek, which opened in July, are the kind of spots we’d like to see more of in that neighborhood (and beyond).

For Adley, the opening marks a return to RiNo, where he was once the executive chef at the defunct and still-missed the Populist. His resume also includes stints with the Little Nell in Aspen, Dunton Hot Springs, Flagstaff House in Boulder and the Squeaky Bean.

All of that experience led to a truly special spot in Marigold, and has us excited for a taste of Adley’s Heretík when it debuts.