The owners of the Hornet have already had success building a neighborhood spot on Broadway. Now they’ve done the same at Acova, which opened in the spring of 2018 in the space that was Patsy’s for almost 100 years. Extensive renovations have resulted in a contemporary, whimsical and welcoming restaurant, with ostrich heads painted on […]
Highland/Lower Highland in Denver
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After a head-on motorcycle accident derailed his career in finance, Blaine Baggao re-evaluated his professional path, ultimately launching Adobo in 2016 as a food truck that combines his New Mexican and Filipino roots. Its first brick-and-mortar is an expansive space that hosts live music and serves food into the late-night hours, with a menu of […]
Chef-owner Johnny Curiel’s first solo venture, the highly anticipated Alma Fonda Fina, opened in December 2023, and less than a year later, it earned one Michelin star. The menu is a love letter to the home-cooked traditions of the chef’s childhood and the comfort food found at traditional fondas across Mexico. Snag a spot at […]
American Elm opened in 2019 with a seasoned pro calling the shots. Taking inspiration from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where owner Bob Reiter previously lived, the restaurant is a neighborhood bistro with an elevated approach that makes it worth a trip to Highland, if that doesn’t happen to be your neighborhood. And the bar offerings are among […]
Avanti Food & Beverage was Denver’s first newfangled food hall, bringing together an ever-rotating cast of gastro-upstarts under one roof. Avanti quickly became a weekend-night and day-drinking mainstay of young professionals who are big fans of its anchor bar, which doles out a healthy mix of geeky beer and easy-drinking cocktails, plus a concise and […]
When Bamboo Sushi first landed in Denver from Portland, it operated out of a stall at Avanti Food & Beverage, giving the city a tantalizing taste of its sushi. It initially garnered praise mostly for its sustainable sourcing; Bamboo’s deep commitment to good ocean stewardship is particularly admirable in a category that relies heavily on […]
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Open since 2015, Bar Dough feels like a longtime staple in LoHi, where the Italian eatery offers pasta, pizza, small plates and a top-notch happy hour. In the summer of 2024, chef Stefy Devita took the helm, bringing a fresh take on this spot’s impressive fare.
Linda Hampsten Fox opened her LoHi eatery – part market, part all-day dining destination – in 2017. Seven years later, the menu continues to show off her passion for highlighting seasonal ingredients in unexpected ways as she composes dishes inspired by memories from her childhood, her travels and a thirty-year-plus career in restaurants.
Denver embraced Detroit-style pizza when Blue Pan Pizza debuted in 2015 in West Highland. Chef Jeff “Smoke” Smokevitch and partner Giles Flanagin now run three Blue Pan locations, serving rectangular pies built on an airy, crackly crust with Wisconsin brick cheese and a thick, tangy sauce. And while the pizza competition – Detroit-style and otherwise […]
Briar Common Brewery + Eatery opened in late 2016 in an odd, wedge-shaped building that was seemingly dropped into the middle of an intersection in the Jefferson Park neighborhood with little attention to traffic or practicality. But this strange location belies the classic philosophy (both aesthetic and culinary) that lies beyond the front door. The […]
The 2014 opening of Cart-Driver ushered in a wave of Neapolitan pizza in Denver. These perfectly charred wood-fired pies shine whether you opt for a simple margherita (called the Daisy here) or a seasonal creation. A meal in the tiny, original shipping-container location in RiNo is an intimate yet lively experience, while the newer outpost […]
Cebiche has brought a touch of Peru to the bustling LoHi restaurant district. The place has an easy vibe and a small, carefully selected menu that emphasizes quality over range; having a meal here is like dining in a friendly home in an exotic clime. Appetizers are a tasty way to get a feel for […]
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In 2019, Thuc-Nhu “Nhu” Hoang and her husband, Huy Pham, signed a lease for a space near Sloan’s Lake that they dreamed of turning into a coffee and sandwich shop. When delays pushed back the construction of the kitchen for four years, the couple ran the shop as a convenience store. In 2023, though, they […]
Since opening in November 2022, this cafe has quickly become a force in the vibrant Denver coffee scene. Owners Kristin Lacy and Vivi Lemus channeled their love for Guatemala and community into creating Convivio, named for the tradition of get-togethers centered around food and drink. Lemus focuses on her roots for Latin-inspired eats, while Lacy […]
When Rock N Lobster Roll founder Andrew Harris and bar maven Alisha Taylor opened the Devil’s Drink in a small space below the 25-room Kasa Comma hotel in LoHi, they described it as an “underworld speakeasy” with dark, moody vibes, red lighting and devilish design touches. If you’re ready to dance with the devil in […]
With antiques and oddities strewn throughout, an aisle of pantry staples and fun finds like Pocky sticks and hot sauces, as well as an appealing menu that includes “dimeroll” rolled sandwiches, Dimestore Delibar isn’t just a bar, by any means. But the cocktails alone make it a standout, whether you’re hungry or not. Chef/co-owner Tim […]
A lot of buzzy new places have opened in LoHi in recent years, but Duo, one of the city’s pioneering farm-to-table restaurants, has been holding down its corner of the neighborhood for nearly two decades. In 2023, longtime owners Keith Arnold and Stephanie Bonin passed the reins to longtime chef Tyler Skrivanek, who is excited […]
The atmosphere at El Camino is fun and welcoming, and so is the food. While the board is too heavy on things like molten cheese and too light on things like intestines to really sate a craving for authentic Mexican food, it’s also not hip like the menu at one of Rick Bayless’s upscale Chicago […]
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The late Gloria Nunez and her grandson, David Lopez, opened the original El Chingon in a strip mall in Arvada in 2010 before moving to a small space in Berkeley. In 2022, Gloria’s son, Lorenzo Nunez Jr., closed the restaurant in order to better accommodate the many fans of its Mexico City-inspired fare. A year […]
Chef/owner Justin Cucci didn’t build El Five just as a restaurant, but as an experience. It debuted in 2017 atop a five-story building in LoHi, with breathtaking views of downtown and the mountains. But the food – a variation on Mediterranean tapas – is dramatic enough on its own, making dinner a fascinating journey through […]
With luxurious blue velvet seating and a shiny copper still overhead, this is the most stylish distillery tasting room around, especially after a recent refresh of the space and the cocktail menu. The finely crafted bottled spirits from the Family Jones are a treat on their own, but they truly shine when you’re sipping them […]
This wing joint with a jam-band soul opened in West Highland in 2012 and added a Wash Park outpost in 2019. Yes, the wings are on the small side; that’s because FOTM uses only cage-free, antibiotic-free chicken, along with making other environmentally conscious moves like composting all of its food scraps and recycling its cooking […]