The 38 Best Restaurants in Denver

Welcome to the Eater 38, a seasonally updated guide to restaurants that represent the growth and ingenuity of Denver’s culinary community. Since its launch in 2012, this map has traced the city’s evolution from what many outsiders dismissed as a cowtown to an ever-growing, prismatic dining destination that has earned a place in the national conversation for its youthful energy and freewheeling creativity.

Any given update, then, is designed to reflect what’s defining and redefining the scene now. Spanning a variety of cuisine types, price points, and neighborhoods, it centers on the cornerstones of the landscape while highlighting more recent arrivals that are extending Denver’s horizons. The fact that it can’t include every place fitting those descriptions is the nature of the beast; removal from the Eater 38 doesn’t mean that a restaurant isn’t still important and won’t return in the future.

Note, too, that while the map — which is organized geographically from north to south — may include the occasional Boulder establishment as well as food trucks with fixed addresses, it does not typically include bars, bakeries, or mobile or pop-up vendors. It also does not include restaurants that are less than four months old, so here’s a shoutout to some dynamite newcomers that may well appear in the next edition: magical Mexican tasting-menu concept Milpero, Basque-influenced banger Heretík, Asian-inflected French chef’s counter Petit Chelou, swanky Spanish spot Casa Juani, Mediterranean small-plates lounge FiNO, rotisserie shack Chicken Riot, coastal Mexican kitchen Ash and Agave, and Japanese concept Uchiko. Additionally, for all the latest dining intel, subscribe to Eater Denver’s newsletter.

New this update: Thirteen restaurants join for the first time — Bearleek, Bosphorus Turkish Restaurant, Com Nha, Dear Emilia, Johnny Bechamel’s, Malinche Audiobar, Mango House, Mar Bella, Molino Chido, Ochag, Pig and Tiger, the Porchetta House, and Rougarou, along with two returnees: Potager and Tofu Story. The restaurants departing the list (for now) are Beckon, Carne, Hey Kiddo, Kawa Ni, Kiké’s Red Tacos, La Diabla, Lucina, Restaurant Olivia, Safta, Sushi by Scratch, Tavernetta, Tocabe, Wildflower, and Yemen Grill.