Another season, another round of fresh restaurant trends and experiences: Latin dim sum! Down with menus! Zero-waste! Sustainability! Just give us a hamburger! No, simply give us foie gras terrine!
There kind of was something for everybody, from super-sophisticated French food plus walk-up pizza dividers to seriously good Chinese and skillet list-worthy pita and hummus. There were fresh offerings from recognized Denver chefs (Hi, Dana Rodriguez and Max MacKissock! ) ) And welcome imports from different regions (Thanks to coming, Alon Shaya and Shake Shack! ) ) .
Here, for the eating enjoyment, would be the ten hottest restaurants that opened in Denver this year.
Casual
Famous Original J’s, 715 E. 26th Ave., Denver, 720-420-9102; famousoriginaljs.com
Pizza is private. It’s everyone’s favored food, but how we like it changes from person to person. That saidit’s difficult to imagine anyone not enjoying the New York-style pieces at J’s, the walk-up pizza pub from the Rosenberg’s Bagels & Delicatessen team. We wake up at the middle of the night craving the snowy pie. If you harbor ’t yet tasted exactly the creamy ricotta-topped pieces, well there’s New Year’s resolution for you.
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Shake Shack, 1509 Park Central Drive, Highlands Ranch, 720-452-1007; 2995 Larimer St., Denver, 720-543-8609; shakeshack.com
Yesit’s an East Coast-based hamburger chain. Plus it’s not economical by fast-casual standards: a basic ShackBurger will set you back $5.49, and the crinkle cut chips are $2.99 and should you receive a shake — get a shake! — it’s another $5.29. But this diehard In-N-Outter must acknowledge it’s a excellent hamburger, and judging from the lines out the doorothers concur.
Not-so-casual
Beckon, 2843 Larimer St., Denver, 303-502-5800; beckon-denver. com
Is Denver prepared for an all-chef’s counter, $95/person tasting menu-only restaurant? Time will tell, however, kudos to fighter Duncan Holmes (previously of Frasca Food & Wine) for giving it a go. The more formal counterpoint to Call, which garnered plenty of best-new-restaurant praise last year, serves eight imaginative, constantly-changing courses in a dinner party type of experience. What’s new here? Dinner is ticketed and prepaid online.
The Wolf’s Tailor, 4058 Tejon St., Denver, 720-456-6705; thewolfstailor.com
Is The Wolf’s Tailor a Japanese restaurant? Italian? A zero-waste, design-forward hot place? What about those tasting menus? However you classify it,” The Wolf is tough, plain and easy, and it’s worth checking out a restaurant that’s the consequence of allowing a person ’s — in this case, chef Kelly Whitaker’s — imagination run wild. Because sometimes you need pasta using koji-fermented turnips for dinner.
Morin, 1600 15th St., Denver, 303-623-0534; morindenver.com
If it comes to dining, “fancy French” really are just two quite polarizing words. Some people live for the technique and richness of beef marrow custard, while some fear the pretense. Morin attempts to please both camps, helping the refined food you’d expect from a French restaurant and also out of realized chef Max MacKissock, however at a comfortable space (it was that the Wazee Supper Club for even 40-some years, after all) and also decidedly un-snooty support.
In-between
Safta, 3330 Brighton Blvd., Denver, 720-408-2444; eatwithsafta.com
Can pita and hummus really be good? Yes. Yes they could. And so is the rest of the menu at two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Alon Shaya‘s very first restaurant outside of New Orleans. Located within the Source Hotel, the modern Israeli Safta could be the very best restaurant to have opened Denver annually.
Super Mega Bien, 1260 25th St., Denver, 720-269-4695; supermegabien.com
Chef Dana Rodriguez has already become something of a legend about the Denver dining scene — that the dishwasher whose hard work and amazing talent earned her a function as sous chef and partner at Rioja, followed by a James Beard nomination because of her very first solo restaurant, Work & Class. So, yeahshe may do pretty much anything she wants from the kitchen. This year, “anything” meant launching a pan-Latin dim sum restaurant, even among the most fun restaurants to eat at in the city right now.
Bamboo Sushi 2715 17th St., Denver, 303-284-6600; bamboosushi.com
Technically Bamboo opened at the bottom end of 2017, however, it warrants a place because of its innovative takes on sushi and dedication to sustainable fish. (The Portland-based Bamboo bills itself as the planet ’s certified-sustainable sushi shop.) Whether you go for moral or hedonistic reasons (count us team hedonist), you’ll like super-fresh fish at a fair price.
Q House 3421 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, 720-729-8887; qhousedenver.com
Q House started out pretty under-the-radar, however its own can ’t-miss modern Chinese food soon got people talking. And speaking. Word spread that dishes such as General Tso’s fried eggplant, Chong Qing chicken and smoked salmon grilled rice were really so great, and since people tend to like things that taste really great great, the Q on Colfax is now something of a dining destination.
And now, here are seven restaurant to look forward to in 2019.
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