LoHi Mexican Spot Named One of the Best New Restaurants in the U.S.

Johnny and Kasie Curiel are having a huge year — again. The husband and wife team have been racking up honors since opening their first restaurant, Alma Fonda Fina, at 2556 15th Street in late 2023. Less than a year later, that spot earned a Michelin star.

The Curiels now own four eateries in Colorado, including Cozobi Fonda Fina in Boulder and their latest, Alteño, which debuted in Cherry Creek in March. But it's Mezcaleria Alma, which opened next door to Alma Fonda Fina last November, that's the shining star of the moment.

On Tuesday, September 9, the small, lively spot that's an ode to Mexico City was ranked among the fifty best restaurants in the country by the New York Times.
Three days later, it landed on another prestigious national list: Bon Appétit's 20 Best New Restaurants of 2025. The magazine also awarded Alma Fonda Fina the distinction of Best Beverage Program.

Writes Kate Kassin: "A pair of hungry friends could work through most of Mezcaleria Alma’s one-page menu in a sitting — about a dozen electric dishes including tender pockets of masa filled with melty cheese and applewood-smoked tuna and bowls of leaf-green kanpachi ceviche shot through with dill. The bottle list, however, would make for an eternity of great drinking without ever repeating your order. A mighty bar to one side of the open kitchen is outfitted with row upon row of mezcal and tequila, sotol, pechuga, and palmilla, glimmering and reflecting light into the terra-cotta-hued dining room. Spirits can be swirled and sipped as is, or transformed into studied cocktails like a zingy, earthy corn sour with elote mezcal, corn liqueur, corn whiskey, and a smoky Mayan liquor called pox. In the span of two years, co-owners Johnny and Kasie Curiel have opened four restaurants, each a window into Mexico’s dynamic food heritage. At Mezcaleria Alma, they’ve turned their knack for world-building to Mexican spirits. The restaurant finds a rare balance: a bar with the depth of knowledge to educate curious drinkers, and a restaurant whose food is nothing short of transportive."

Now one question remains: Will this shining star become the Curiel's second spot to earn a star when Colorado's new Michelin guide drops on Monday, September 15? We'll certainly be rooting for them.