The Best Things We Ate Last Year

As the food and drink editor for Westword, I get a lot of feedback about the local dining scene. Sometimes that means hot tips about new places or great dishes. But I also hear complaints that Denver's restaurants are somehow lacking.

Yes, the Mile High's food scene is very different from that of, say, Chicago or New York. It's a much younger city, with a different demographic, and smaller in population while sprawling in size, with our favorite places to eat often spread far apart. Is there room for improvement? Always. But as I scrolled through the hundreds of food photos I snapped in 2023, I had a very hard time narrowing down my favorite bites.

These ten picks tell a hopeful story. Independent chefs and owners are finding ways to bring their visions to life, despite a ton of challenges. For many, that means opting to operate outside of Denver city limits, or moving into spaces that are smaller than what they originally envisioned. But it rarely means cutting corners when it comes to culinary quality and creativity.

Here are the ten best bites I had last year in Denver (and beyond), in no particular order:
One of the very first restaurants to open in 2023 was Molotov Kitchschen + Cocktails. I've been a fan of chef Bo Porytko's cooking since his days at Rebel Restaurant (I still dream about the pig head feast I had there not long before it closed). While he originally wanted to open a big Eastern European restaurant and market, he scaled back his plans when the tiny To the Wind space became available — which also happens to be just a block from his other eatery, Misfit Snack Bar. This borscht made with sour cherries from the opening menu made a strong first impression, and on my visits since, Molotov has continued to deliver fun, interesting food in an equally fun, interesting atmosphere.
Snipeburger was born from the ashes of a kitchen fire at King of Wings. Owners Eddie Renshaw and Evan Pierce had already been experimenting with a burger concept before they were forced to shut down their Wheat Ridge wings and beer joint for what ended up being over a year thanks to permitting delays. But setting up a flat-top and serving up these lacy smashburgers kept the wing business alive. The place reopened in March, and there are plans to add a King of Wings in Golden soon. Plus, the Snipeburger has lived on as well — you can score one at King of Wings on Tuesdays from 4 to 7:30 p.m. I went for the double, which was more than meaty enough for me, but you can stack away if you really want to get crazy.
Am I saying you should drive to Longmont specifically for chocolate pudding? No...but you should drive to Longmont to eat. I did just that in March, and my first stop was the decade-old Rosealee's Pizzeria, which impressed me so much with not only its East Coast-style pies and sausage knots but also its hospitality that I added it as a bonus pick on our ten best pizzas list. And as another bonus, there's something just so pure and nostalgic about the chocolate pudding, which is made using co-owner Amy Ross's great-grandmother's recipe. This bite was a nice reminder that often, simple pleasures really are the best.
Sắp Sửa was definitely one of the buzziest openings of the year — it even got a shout-out in Bon Appétit, and the item that's been written about a lot is the cabbage, so that was high on my list to try when I visited shortly after the restaurant's debut. The whole meal was a hit — a friend and I sampled about half the offerings on that trip — but my favorite of the night was the crispy veal sweetbreads dusted with gochugaru (Korean chile flakes) and served over the best part: a salty, savory and sweet fish sauce caramel. It can be tough to snag a reservation here, but popping in for a seat at the bar and a few small plates is a great way to experience this spot.
Chef Matt Vawter worked in Denver under Alex Siedel for years, but in 2020, he decided to move his family back to Summit County where he grew up, opening Rootstalk in Breckenridge and adding Radicato in the summer of 2022. When I ate there last year, I got a taste of what plenty of mountain air can do for a chef — and it was damn good. I've eaten a lot of scallops over the years, but these impeccably seared beauties paired with gnocchi in a caper-studded sauce have basically ruined all other scallops for me.
From pandemic pop-up to brick-and-mortar, it's been quite a journey for Matt Dulin and his wife, Lindsey Judd, owners of GetRight's, which finally debuted its Wheat Ridge location in May after nearly a year of delays (more permitting problems...). The menu includes some staples, such as loaves of sourdough as well as a variety of sweet pastries like the decadent, cream-filled maritozzi, but one of its most popular items has also become one of my personal favorites: the jambon beurre. The French classic consists simply of an expertly made fresh baguette with sliced ham and a generous spread of high-quality butter, and GetRight's gets it very, very right. The shop is closed until January 17 while the owners take a well-deserved break in Italy, but you should plan to stop by after they return.
Blackbelly will celebrate a decade in business in 2024, and it's evolved a lot since it opened in Boulder. In the last year alone, it unveiled an expanded butcher shop and retail space, which is where I noshed on this hefty, well-balanced Cuban sandwich loaded with roasted pork and ham that's cured in-house. Just before closing out 2023, Blackbelly's owners announced plans to open a market outpost in Denver, where it will take over the Il Porcellino space on Tennyson Street in February.
Mr. Hao's, on East Hampden Avenue just before you cross into Aurora, had long been a favorite, so when it was replaced with Meet & Eat Bistro in 2022, I was a little bummed. But when I finally made it to Meet & Eat last year, I was excited to find a stacked lineup of traditional Sichuan dishes, including steamed eggplant with salted egg yolk in a savory, soy-based sauce and crispy fish with cabbage, a mild take on the more common, chile-loaded Sichuan fish. While I've eaten mapo tofu at a variety of spots, the version here was a standout, thanks to the pleasantly soft tofu texture and a generous dusting of powdered Sichuan peppercorn on top. Since debuting in the summer of 2022, Point Easy in Whittier has quickly become a favorite. It's got the vibes of a neighborhood joint, but instead of sticking to the expected, it throws in some culinary surprises that make it destination-worthy. The meal I had there last April was one of my best all year; my favorite dish of the night was the pappardelle with tender rabbit, walnuts and creamy mascarpone. Point Easy is closed for a holiday break through January 10, and this dish isn't on the current lineup — but you really can't go wrong with any pasta here. If you want to taste a similar dish with a different spin, head to the Bindery in LoHi for the rabbit cannelloni, which is filled with poblano chiles and sharp cheddar.  Stone Cellar Bistro opened in Olde Town Arvada in 2022, but I finally got there last year and had a meal that impressed from start to finish. Did I totally over-order after the first few dishes were so good? Yes. Did I have any regrets? Nope. This is the kind of place where you can dig into fried chicken and a cocktail at the bar or go big with a multi-course feast complete with foie gras and beef tartare. As the year ended, Stone Cellar was doing some fun specials like Thursday fried chicken happy hours and Wednesday burger nights, so keep an eye out for new 2024 plans once the staff is back from holiday break on January 8.

Hungry for more recommendations? Check out our list of the 100 restaurants we can't live without in 2024.