Amass

Jefferson Park is an up-and-coming part of Denver — but has it arrived as a dining destination? Amass was opened in the fall of 2014 by chef-owner Joe Troupe, formerly of Lucky Pie Pizza & Tap House, who took over the space in a new residential development that Corner House had vacated following an eighteen-month […]

Atelier by Radex

For a chef who’s been in the restaurant business as long as he has, Radek Cerny still manages to bring a sense of fun and whimsy to some seriously French cuisine. At Atelier, you can luxuriate in rotating classics like rillettes, escargot, foie gras and lobster, but Cerny also has a way with Western favorites […]

Banh & Butter Bakery Cafe

Pastry chef Thoa Nguyen dreamed of running her own Parisian-style Asian-fusion bakery for years. One of the daughters of the former owners of New Saigon, she grew up in the restaurant business. Now she’s running the show at this spot, which excels not only in sweets such as crepe cakes and croissants, but savory options […]

Bistro Barbes

Jon Robbins combined his experience as Mizuna’s chef de cuisine and his time in Michelin-starred French kitchens to launch Bistro Barbès in Park Hill in 2014. The tiny eatery transcends neighborhood-joint status with a menu that touts exacting French technique while experimenting with ingredients introduced to Parisian fare by North African immigrants. Over the past […]

Bistro Vendome

Bistro Vendôme rises above kitschy French shtick with an alluring menu and warm hospitality typical of the restaurants run by chef Jennifer Jasinski and business partner Beth Gruitch. Timeless classics like onion soup, steak frites and escargot vie for attention alongside more modern, seasonally driven creations, giving guests plenty of options. The eatery also introduced […]

Brasserie Brixton

French-ish and 100 percent fun, Brasserie Brixton could be your neighborhood hang, but it’s also the kind of place where going big comes with big rewards. Housed in a building that’s over 130 years old and once held a neighborhood market, it’s got an innate charm that’s matched by a menu full of familiar temptations, […]

Chez Maggy

“Lots of French butter” and “a kickass burger you’ll have to eat with a knife and fork”: That’s what celebrity chef Ludo Lefebrve promised would appear at his first restaurant outside Southern California. And Chez Maggy, which opened inside the Thompson Denver hotel in February 2022, has delivered. The butter is so fancy that it […]

Coohills

The first thing you’re likely to notice upon entering Coohills, the French restaurant that opened at the edge of LoDo in November 2011, is the show-stopping chandelier, a six-foot-tall contortion of twirls and spirals, twists and tangles, twigs and roots laced with white lights. They’re grape vines. Tom Coohill, the chef at his namesake restaurant, […]

Daniel’s of Paris

Since 1992, Daniel’s of Paris has turned authentic French pastries and a host of other European bakery favorites in a modestly sized shop in a fairly obscure Aurora strip mall. The croissants here are flaky, light and baked fresh with or without a dark-chocolate-filled center for a pain au chocolat, and the signature cinnamon rolls […]

Epernay

Epernay opened in early 2013 right in front of the Denver Performing Arts Complex, a place that can certainly use spots that serve stylish, quick snacks before and after shows. And Epernay definitely has the stylish down: The dining room features frosted glass, a bamboo divider and a wall-sized underwater photo that makes you feel […]

Indulge French Bistro

Indulge is a warm, happy house, with a curtained dining room, a marble-topped dwarf bar and what look like furnishings from a Normandy farmhouse restaurant unloaded into an abandoned Italian trattoria – which this space used to be. Chef/owner William Wahl’s family runs a restaurant in France, Au Vrai Normand, and after a stint with […]

Jacques

In September 2023, Brasserie Brixton co-founder chef Nick Dalton and friends William Steck and Simon Rochez debuted their take on a neighborhood French bistro in LoHi. The space is decked out with luxurious deep-green booths, marble-topped tables and plenty of gold accents. While Jacques feels upscale enough for a special occasion, any reason is a […]

Katherine’s French Bakery

Let them eat cake – for breakfast. Sure, the French call it pastry, but Katherine’s takes the yen for cake seriously, as evidenced by the crowds that gather here early in the day, enjoying huge almond croissants dusted with powdered sugar and big spiky things made of meringue, as well as coffee and even real […]

L’Atelier

Radek Cerny, the man behind legendary hot spots Papillon Cafe and Radex, has returned with French-inspired L’Atelier. The place is almost ludicrous in its excesses, with giant plates, fawning service, bright, spartan decor, and a nine-course tasting menu. But what saves it from going totally over the edge is the firm hand with which Cerny […]

La Forêt

La Forêt, which opened in March 2024 inside the former home of iconic Denver spot Beatrice & Woodsley, honors the previous tenant in a way that’s part homage and part fresh start – and 100 percent gorgeous. Dining here is like entering a real-life enchanted forest, complete with (yes, they’re real) aspen tree trunks. The […]

La Merise

La Merise is aptly named for the neighborhood that surrounds it. “Merise” means “wild cherry,” and while you may not find anything even vaguely outlandish in the Cherry Creek ’hood these days, you will find classic French fare at this garden-level restaurant. Menu items include the foie gras and escargots to start; follow up with […]

Le Central

Le Central has been giving Denver a sit-down history lesson on the breadth of French cuisine — from the haute to the basse — since 1981. Over the years, chefs and cooks from far-flung locales have passed through this kitchen, but owner Robert Tournier has always kept a close eye on the proceedings. At dinner, […]

Le Grand Bistro & Oyster Bar

Robert Thompson opened Le Grand in mid-2011, taking over a big, historic spot downtown that most recently had held Baur’s. And with this restaurant, he resurrected some more recent history: that of his first major restaurant effort in town, the still-revered Brasserie Rouge, which was located in the IceHouse. Like the board at Brasserie Rouge, […]