Proto’s Pizzeria Napoletana

This pizzeria opened its first restaurant in Longmont over ten years ago, with the stated mission of bringing true Neopolitan-style pizza to the Front Range. Now it’s turned into a mini-chain, with several outposts in Colorado and Idaho. But the Platte Street location is the only one in Denver, and it’s a beauty. Located in […]

The Pub on Pearl

A sports bar where local teams and the occasional Hawkeye game (both owners hail from Iowa) dominate the TV screens, Pub on Pearl sits like an oasis between the I-25 corridor and Wash Park. Despite being butted up against the highway, the bar has a pleasant wrap-around patio where both people and dogs are welcome, […]

Punch Bowl Social

The original Punch Bowl Social opened on Broadway in 2012 as a premier fun zone for adults. The newer Stapleton location, at 3120 Uinta Street, continues the tradition in a breathtaking space built into the former airport’s control tower. Bowling, karaoke, vintage video games and shuffleboard are just a few of the diversions, but both […]

Q House

Traditional Taiwanese and Sichuanese ingredients and techniques are at the heart of Q House, which earned a James Beard Award nomination for Best New Restaurant in the spring of 2019. The upscale eatery has turned tingly Sichuan peppercorns, head-on shrimp, beef tongue and pig ears from exotic ingredients into craveable everyday fare.

Q’s

Chef/owner John Platt creates eclectic dishes full of clever ingredient combinations that not only taste great but are visually stunning. The eatery sits in the historic Hotel Boulderado, and the service is suberb. Pay attention to the side dishes — Platt does.

Qdoba Mexican Grill

What is it with this town and burritos as big as your head? Qdoba is yet another homegrown fast-casual chain offering Chihuahua-sized burritos, both handheld (filled with ingredients like spicy queso or mango salsa) and smothered (in chipotle cream sauce or red chile). Setting Qdoba apart from its competition is its broader menu: In addition […]

Qdoba Mexican Grill

What is it with this town and burritos as big as your head? Qdoba is yet another homegrown fast-casual chain offering Chihuahua-sized burritos, both handheld (filled with ingredients like spicy queso or mango salsa) and smothered (in chipotle cream sauce or red chile). Setting Qdoba apart from its competition is its broader menu: In addition […]

Quality Italian

The Denver outpost of the NYC-based eatery opened in early 2017 and has been holding down its Cherry Creek spot with housemade pasta and decadent steaks since then. Diners can get bistecca “Italian style,” topped with truffle or Gorgonzola and horseradish butter, but the spot’s claim to fame is an enormous circular chicken parmesan, topped […]

Que Bueno Suerte!

Walk into Que Bueno Suerte! and you’ll marvel at the space’s glitziness, with velvet booths and bar stools, glass panels engraved with Mayan-style figurines, and glowing fluorescent tubes rescued from the old Session Kitchen days. The menu is devoted to regional Mexican fare, and the classics come with elevated touches such as lamb necks, and […]

Queen City Collective Coffee

Queen City Collective Coffee, which shared a Baker neighborhood space with Novel Strand Brewing Company for years, relocated in spring of 2024 – but it didn’t go far. It set up shop inside nearby Town Hall Collective, where it now has its own space dedicated to turning out some of the best non-boozy brews in […]

Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant

Denver’s thriving Ethiopian population supports a surprising number of restaurants devoted to the complex, spicy and warming cuisine of the east African nation. But none stand out quite as much as Zewditu Aboye’s Queen of Sheba, a one-woman show. Meals here start with tart, springy injera and progress through stewed legumes and vegetables into an […]

Queensberry Coffee

Located in an old brick building on Navajo Street, Queensberry Coffee (formerly called Black Eye Coffee Shop) has somewhat of a chemistry-lab aesthetic. The shop uses a pour-over station – a minimalist operation for brewing single cups at a time – and offers a rotating selection of four types of beans at a time.

Quiero Arepas

Quiero Arepas is aptly named. The arepas made in this gourmet truck by chef Igor Panasewicz, who was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, are crave-worthy: golden, griddled corn cakes stuffed with an array of smoked meats, fresh cheeses, savory vegetables and more, wrapped in foil and served piping hot. The menu changes at every stop, and […]

Quiero Arepas

When you only make one thing, you’d better make it right. Igor and Beckie Panasewicz had compiled more than a decade of experience serving Venezuelan cuisine from their food truck and at the Avanti food hall when they finally opened their own Platt Park brick-and-mortar in 2019. Their experience shows in the restaurant’s succulent meats, […]