Just One Colorado Restaurant Makes Yelp's List of Top 100 Places to Eat 2025

A spot in the Denver Tech Center is the only spot in the state that made this year's cut.

February 17, 2025

Image: lit "ambli" sign over the front of a restaurant

Ambli reopened in DTC in 2022 after a long closure following flood damage. Ambli Global - DTC/Facebook

Audio By Carbonatix

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
            "component": "23668565",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "STN Player - Float - Mobile Only ",
            "component": "23853568",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "Editor Picks",
            "component": "17242653",
            "insertPoint": "4",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - 2x Rectangles Desktop, Tower on Mobile - Labeled",
            "component": "24956856",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25 
          
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
            "component": "17676724",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          }
        ]

Throughout the year, Yelp compiles a variety of national lists based on reviews that diners leave on the site. In 2024, three Colorado spots were highlighted among the top barbecue joints in the country and the family-owned Tacos Aya Yay in Lafayette was named the best taco spot in the state.

Yelp also releases an annual list of its Top 100 Places to Eat. Last year, four Colorado restaurants were included: three in Denver — Leven Deli, Guard and Grace, and Denver Poke Company — and Tandoori Kitchen in Lafayette.

In Yelp's newly released, twelfth annual edition of its Top 100 list, only one restaurant in the state made the cut. Ambli Global, which opened at 6799 East Belleview Avenue in 2017, landed at number 96. The restaurant serves a mix of Mediterranean, Asian and Indian fare. In 2020, while it was already on pause because of COVID, a flood caused by plumbing issues resulted in damage that kept the restaurant closed until November 2022. But it clearly made a strong comeback.

Ambli originally opened as Ambli Gourmet Eatery & Wine at 600 South Holly Street in 2014, then added Ambli Global in Colorado Springs and an Ambli Global in the Tech Center three years later. The original Ambli closed in November 2020; in March 2021, Ambli Mexico debuted in Aurora's Fitzsimons neighborhood, but that location shut its doors in 2023.

Currently, two Ambli locations remain: Ambli Global in the DTC and the Colorado Springs outpost, which was rebranded as Ambli Kitchen + Bar last year.

According to Yelp, its "data science team starts by using the data generated from our community submissions," to compile its Top 100 list. "We considered both the rating and the volume of the reviews, while accounting for the overall restaurant activity in each business’s area. From the candidate restaurants, we narrowed the list down with the expertise of our community managers and Trend Expert to curate a list as quirky, interesting and unique as the Yelp community itself."

Ambli Global currently has a 4.3 rating and 221 reviews on Yelp.

Hungry for more locally-owned restaurant recommendations? Check out our Top 100 Restaurants list, which spans cuisines, neighborhoods and price points.

Molly Martin has been the Food & Drink editor at Westword since 2021. Prior to joining the staff, Molly reported on the Denver dining scene for more than a decade and contributed to Thrillist. At Westword, Molly monitors restaurant openings and closings, offers dining recommendations and reports on Denver-area food news and trends. She also publishes such annual lists as Top 100 Bars and Top 100 Restaurants, and contributes to the yearly Best of Denver edition. In 2023, she was recognized with the Colorado Restaurant Association's Outstanding Media Professional award.

A message from Molly Martin: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Denver’s evolving dining scene and the latest culinary innovations our community offers.

Support Today