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At the only independent restaurant in Boulder licensed to make and sell its own house-cured meats (you can see some in the windows), those seeking a sophisticated yet casual culinary experience away from downtown will delight in food known for farm-to-table freshness. Chef Hosea Rosenberg, a Top Chef winner, crafts a changing menu using ingredients from local farms and ranches. Blackbelly's market serves quick service weekdays for breakfast and lunch. Full-service dinner is available daily.
1606 Conestoga St., Boulder, Colorado, 80301, USA
Known For
- A hyperseasonal menu that constantly changes
- Dry-aged beef, house-made sausages, and salumi
- Creative small plates
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch weekends, Reservations essential
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Boulder's most opulent restaurant has formal service and thoughtfully prepared food, served in a sophisticated space with oversized windows and tables with crisp, white tablecloths. Executive chef Chris Royster has fresh fish flown in daily and is noted for the exquisite combinations of ingredients on his daily-changing menu, which might include Wagyu ravioli; Colorado lamb rack, loin, and shank; or Maine lobster soup. Choose between the four-course menu or multicourse chef's menu with optional wine pairings.
1138 Flagstaff Rd., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Stunning views overlooking the Front Range
- Award-winning wine list
- Fanciful food presentations
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed. Mon. No lunch, Reservations essential
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With a menu that changes monthly, Seasoned takes its name to heart with its always-changing ingredients from local farms. The creative dishes, created by chef-owner and Michelin-star veteran Rob Corey, reflect influences from North, South, and Central America and feature Colorado specialties like lamb, trout, and bass.
205 Park La., Colorado, 80517, USA
Known For
- Creative cuisine
- Colorado lamb, trout, and bass
- Attentive service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. No lunch Wed.–Sat. No dinner Sun.
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This farm-to-table restaurant inside the Elizabeth Hotel has a full wine market, so you can select bottles on-site at retail price for your meal. It all adds to the homey yet hip, slightly retro vibe and look—complete with tile floor and wood throughout—that matches well with food that is some of the city's best, including the Wagyu beef burger, bison bourguignon, and elk Wellington with puff pastry.
378 Walnut St., Fort Collins, Colorado, 80524, USA
Known For
- Perfect charcuterie board
- Bowerbird Coffee Shop by day, unpretentious wine market by night
- Weekend brunch
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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An Estes Park staple since 1972, this family-run outfit is where the locals go for breakfast. Try a double-cheese omelet, huevos rancheros, or grits before heading into the park in the morning. The owners are happy to pack a lunch for you—just place your order along with breakfast, and it will be ready when you leave. This homey spot also serves lunch and dinner, with specialties such as house-smoked pulled pork, house-made meatballs, and rib eye cut on-site. Expect a wait in summer.
401 W. Elkhorn Ave., Colorado, 80517, USA
Known For
- Hearty breakfast
- Huge portions
- Picnic lunches to go
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.–Thurs.
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Blending authentic farm-to-table with a cozy, old-fashioned farmhouse vibe, this small restaurant—sister to the Black Cat Farm to Table Bistro—boasts its own nearby organic farm, whose produce shapes the daily-evolving menu, even down to a special corn used to make polenta. The food is wildly innovative yet consistently delicious. Watch staff in the tiny, open kitchen, which aims to have as little waste as possible.
1970 13th St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Extensive organic farm
- Genius cocktails, including a farm-to-glass program
- Great charcuterie boards
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch, Reservations essential.
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Vermont-based Dedalus Wine Group has taken over the day-to-day operations of Boulder’s finest sandwich shop and the best place in town for a quick meal. The café--gourmet grocery store is small, with only a few tables, but impressive; sample the exquisite charcuterie and cheese trays, European-style sandwiches, and premade dinners, including roasted organic chicken. Snag a bottle of wine in what claims to be Colorado's tiniest liquor store, and don’t pass up a latte from Boxcar Coffee, which shares the space.
1825 Pearl St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Extensive cured meats selection
- Well-rounded international wine selections by the bottle
- Cheese-centric picnic lunches in wooden baskets
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No reservations
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If you want to sample some local brews, check out the Estes Park Brewery, which has been crafting beer since 1993. The food is no-frills (beer chili is the specialty), and the menu includes things like pizza, burgers, sandwiches, and house-made bratwurst. Not sure which beer you will like? Head downstairs to the tasting area to sample a variety of brews on tap, like the popular Stinger Wild Honey Wheat or the balanced Estes Park Gold amber ale.
470 Prospect Village Dr., Colorado, 80517, USA
Known For
- Local beer
- Pool tables
- Laid-back atmosphere
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About 10 miles from downtown Boulder on the dirt road going through the historic region of Gold Hill, this humble cabin hardly looks like a bastion of haute cuisine, but its six-course prix-fixe dinner (or three-course option) is outstanding. Entrées change daily but have a mountain gourmet theme, and may include roast duck or leg of lamb.
401 Main St., Gold Hill, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Generous portions well worth the price and drive
- Dish with trout that is broiled, smoked, and stuffed
- Bluegrass and roots music
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Jan.–Apr.; Mon. and Tues. May–Oct.; weekdays Nov. and Dec. No lunch, Reservations essential
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Foodies, first dates, and business diners flock to this bustling restaurant on Pearl Street Mall for seasonal cuisine that centers around a creatively used oak-fired oven and locally sourced meats and vegetables. The menu includes small and large plates, with staples like apple and kale salad and a roasted half chicken. Sit at the chef's counter for kitchen views.
1400 Pearl St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Some of Boulder’s best cocktails
- Perfect Wagyu crudo
- Chef's counter with kitchen views
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch, Reservations essential
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The first American craft brewery to can its beer, Oskar Blues is a Lyons hot spot for beer, pub grub, and music. Try Dale's Pale Ale or any of the other robust beers brewed nearby in small (20-barrel) batches. In the basement, a "juke joint" hosts live music and an arcade has old-time games; there's a bluegrass jam Tuesday night.
303 Main St., Lyons, Colorado, 80540, USA
Known For
- Creative burgers
- Cajun dishes
- Bourbon balls for dessert
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This Pearl Street café's locally roasted coffee is unmatched, with about a dozen blends, so you can expect all of Ozo's five locations to be packed. The decor is simple, centering around local art, and the food at the pastry counter is simple, too—coffee is the star. Ozo boasts its own training center, accredited through the Specialty Coffee Association of America and open to anyone who wants to study.
1015 Pearl St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Cholaca Mocha with pure, liquid cacao
- Artfully crafted espresso and coffee drinks
- Tasty breakfast burritos
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner, No reservations
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For comfort food in a historic atmosphere, stop by this charming, bustling café with diner counters, some boxy booths, dozens of tables, and an inviting, year-round patio. Operating in its current location since 1933, it serves a wide selection of breakfast food all day, such as omelets, Benedicts, biscuits and gravy, hotcakes, steak and eggs, and burritos, while lunch features delicious sandwiches, soups, salads, and burgers.
218 Walnut St., Fort Collins, Colorado, 80524, USA
Known For
- Legendary cinnamon rolls
- Top-notch breakfasts including homemade hash browns
- Award-winning Bloody Marys
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner, No reservations.
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With a name like The Farmhouse, it’s only fitting that this cozy, farm-style restaurant in a 130-plus-year-old home has its own quarter-acre chicken coop. Savor seasonal, locally inspired menus with tasty, from-scratch comfort food like fried chicken and biscuits, skillet chicken potpie, and green chile mac and cheese. It's in a tiny, hip district where, for example, a former shed is now a clothing store.
1957 Jessup Dr., Fort Collins, Colorado, 80525, USA
Known For
- Pork-belly bites with grits and molasses gravy
- Brunch with blue-corn pancakes
- S'mores doughnuts
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon., Reservations essential
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A Boulder classic with a bright, cheery, and hip vibe, The Kitchen offers elegant, relaxed meals with great service, emphasizing local food in a community atmosphere. The menu changes seasonally, but you can always count on tasty combinations, such as salmon with bok choy or roasted carrots with locally sourced ricotta. After dinner, get cocktails Upstairs (that's the name and location) in the swanky lounge.
1039 Pearl St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- An affiliated nonprofit that builds gardens for kids
- Menu perfect for sharing
- One of the nation's greenest restaurants
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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Since 1923, students have flocked to this spot on the Hill, where Robert Redford worked briefly as a janitor in the 1950s while studying at CU; tables fill a labyrinth of rooms, and caricatures and murals decorate the walls. The broad pub-food menu includes the Sinkburger, smothered in barbecue sauce, and the POTUS pizza, named after former president Barack Obama, who ate here in 2012.
1165 13th St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Boulder's oldest bar and restaurant
- Cowboy Reuben with 10-hour-smoked brisket
- CU grads and patrons write their names on ceiling
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As the name hints, the café is set up inside three repurposed train cars, including an old circus train from the late 1800s. It serves locally roasted coffee, frozen yogurt, light food such as homemade mini-doughnuts and sandwiches, and kava, a Pacific Island beverage made from the ground roots of the kava plant. Splurge with a malt or go healthy with a green smoothie with chia seeds.
101 Rte. 119, Nederland, Colorado, 80466, USA
Known For
- Pick your own toppings for fresh-made mini-doughnuts
- Spicy green chile, Colorado's favorite dish
- Affogato with hot espresso over frozen yogurt
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
