The Best Bites We Tried at Denver Restaurants in 2024

"How often do you eat out?" That's one of the questions I'm asked frequently about my job as Westword's food and drink editor. The answer: a lot. Sometimes I'm out three or four nights a week at various events or visiting new restaurants. Other weeks, I have more free time to hit up an old favorite for lunch or meet a friend for happy hour.  Even weekend meals are often dictated by what's on my running list of places I want to try or drop by again.

It can all become a blur...so each month, I round up my favorite bites. Now, as we get ready to welcome 2025, I revisited those lists.

Here are my top five bites of the year, plus a look back at other dishes that stood out in 2024:

Xiquita: Pato taco
500 East 19th Avenue
The much-anticipated Mexican restaurant from the team behind Lucina debuted in Uptown at the end of July and has consistently impressed since then. Masa takes center stage, and diners at the bar have a view of the tortilla-making process. There's a lot to explore on the menu, but if you go for just one thing, order the taco de pato. "It's an evolution of Lucina's pato con mole," says co-owner Erasmo Casiano, and it's a damn delicious evolution. The warm tortilla nixta is topped with housemade mole and a pile of shredded and fried duck. Pickled red onion, fresh lime and dots of sweet-potato cream add a bright pop to this decadent take on a taco. Bonus shoutout to the Tezcalate, a chocolate, corn-shaped dessert from pastry chef Hannah Lavoy.
MAKfam: Málà wings
39 West First Avenue
There's a good reason that the wings from MAKfam won the People's Choice award for Best Wings at the 2024 edition of Ace Eat Serve's Wings & Whiskey event: They're a crowd-pleaser. The batter is shatteringly crisp, and the meat underneath is tender, juicy and falls easily from the bone while maintaining just enough bite. The best part, though, is the pile of málà seasoning and scallions on top, which adds freshness and plenty of numbing heat from Sichuan peppercorns. Get the wings alongside the stir-fried greens of the day. Another must-try on the menu: the málà mozzarella sticks, but you have to show up during happy hour from 2 to 5 p.m. to get a taste of those.

Note: MAKfam is closed for holiday break starting December 24; it will reopen at 11 a.m. on January 4.
Hey Kiddo: K-Town popcorn chicken
4337 Tennyson Street
Admittedly, I was really loving fried chicken this year; others that made the best-bites cut include the simple, family-style bone-in chicken at Wishbone in Westminster and the classic, Southern-style fried chicken that's long been a staple at Duo in LoHi.

At Hey Kiddo, the lively third-story eatery from the award-winning Id Est Hospitality group, the menu rotates often, but there are some staples, including the K-Town fried chicken. While you can opt for a whole or half bird, the popcorn chicken bites are a shareable snack and, at $13, an ideal way to experience what this group does on a budget. Pro tip that a Hey Kiddo bartender shared with me on one visit: Pile your popcorn chicken on top of whatever salad is on the menu when you visit.

And if you're visiting in December or January, be sure to swing by the rooftop space for a winter pop-up that includes a hot toddy bar, where I recently sipped an excellent hot buttered libation spiked with Macallan Scotch.
Little Arthur's: Pizza
205 East Seventh Avenue
In August, popular hoagie pop-up Little Arthur's moved into the kitchen at Out of the Barrel Taproom and introduced an expanded menu, including giant pizzas. The price tag for these pies may look high at first, but after breaking it down to cost per square inch, we found that they're pretty on par with other pizza joints in town.

Then I tasted them. The twenty-inch pies are meant to be shared — just one or two slices is more than enough per person. The toppings — most notably, the imported cheeses — are indeed delicious, and the sauce offers just enough brightness to balance everything out. The most impressive part, though, is the texture of the crust, which is super-thin but also crisp enough to avoid any flop and flavorful enough that you're happy to eat the end.

While the pies are my current favorite in town, I'm also a big fan of the salads topped with mountains of cheese, the crispy piles of fries and the desserts made with care.
Mezcaleria Alma: Everything
2550 15th Street
Is it kind of cheating to name an entire meal the best bite of the year? Maybe, but there are no rules here, and I'm still dreaming about everything I ate during Mezcaleria Alma's opening weekend. Located next door to its Michelin-starred sister restaurant, Alma Fonda Fina, it has a vibe — and menu — all its own. While Alma pays homage to the Mexican fare that chef Johnny Curiel grew up eating, Mezcaleria Alma is inspired by the vibrant cuisine of Mexico City.

Every dish I tried was a winner. There were truffles and uni and mole and burrata and dry-aged fish from Mexico. It was a memorable meal to cap off a memorable year, and I'm planning to go back for another taste ASAP in 2025.

Here's a recap of my other favorite bites of the year:

January
Kawa Ni: Shaved broccoli miso goma
Urban Cafe: Persian float
Da Sauce: Italian beef
Cantina Loca (closed in April): Molcajete
The Bindery: Brunch featuring an open-faced porchetta sandwich with duck egg on sourdough
February
Duo: Fried chicken
Hop Alley: Chef's counter featuring foie gras
Nana's Dim Sum & Dumplings: Pan-fried thumblings
White Pie: Spicy G Sicilian pizza

March
Dio Mio: Charred cabbage
La Forêt: Pomme purée
Brunson Meat Co.: Dry-aged steak
Sushi Den: Chef's counter
Brutø: Scallop from chef Byron Gomez's first menu
April
Right Cream: Smashburger (available only on Wednesday and Thursday)
Samosa Shop: Lamb smashburger
Roaming Buffalo: $3 barbecue sammies (available only on Saturday and Sunday)
Monarch pop-up: Various pizzas
Sunday Vinyl: Fries with dry-aged beef tallow and Comte cheese

May
Gusto: Caesar salad
Wok Spicy: Mapo tofu
Domo: Tonyu (soy milk) dipping udon
June
Kumoya: Late-night ramen
Ace Eat Serve: Ice cream topped with chile crisp
Revival Denver Public House: Crab pretzel
Crown Burgers: Chili burger (half red, half green)
Gray's Coors Tavern in Pueblo: Slopper
Blackbelly Market: The Little Piggy sandwich (capicola, soppressata and ham)
Split Lip: Washington Goop Burger
Olive & Finch: Bucatini (available only at the Cherry Creek location for dinner)

July
O Lien Kitchen: Bún Bò Huế
Luchador Tacos & More: Octopus taco
The Greenwich: Beef carpaccio
The Bindery: Smoked rabbit pecan pie
Pete's Kitchen: Gyro melt
August
Redeemer Pizza: Chicken Caesar hoagie
Señor Bear: Patatas bravas
Maria Empanada: Classic ground beef with sweet chile mayo sauce
Gyros Town: Appetizer sampler and a Syrian-style shawarma

September
Steve's Snappin' Dogs (closed in October): Alabama Slaw Dog
Pete's Kitchen: Chile relleno and eggs
Stone Cellar Bistro in Arvada: Foie gras lollipop
Cluck: Fried chicken for a Publix chicken tender sub dupe made at home
Nick's Garden Center cafe in Aurora (open seasonally only): Green chile
October
Wildflower: Octopus carpaccio
Registan Kabob House: Samsa
Jasmine Syrian at Mango House in Aurora: Chicken shwarma
Odell's Bagel: Pastrami lox bagel
Dew Drop Inn: Parisian-style mussels and Samurai Fries
Romeo's in Salida: Chicken-fried steak

November
Spice Room: Masala Onion Bloom
Chivis Tacos: Any street tacos
China Cafe II in Aurora: Green beans
Thank Sool Pocha in Aurora: Kimchi fried rice
Osteria Alberico: Mortadella corn dogs
Barolo Grill: Pasta with truffles
Wishbone Family Restaurant in Westminster: Fried chicken
December
Kickin Chicken in Lakewood: Chicken katsu
Misfit Snack Bar inside Middleman: 50 Layer Caesar Salad
Vine Street: The OG wings and a Date Night Burger
Som Dee Thai Kitchen: Som Dee Steak

For more dining inspiration, check out the recently updated edition of our Top 100 Restaurants list.