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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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Feast your eyes on the intricately carved walls, pillars, and ceiling at this unique teahouse, a gift from Boulder's sister city Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Tajik artisans decorated the building in a traditional style, with ceramic Islamic art and a riot of colorful wood. The menu presents a culinary cross section of the world, with dishes including North African harissa chicken, spicy Indonesian peanut noodles, and Tajik shish kebab.
1770 13th St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Traditional afternoon tea service
- Nearly 100 varieties of tea
- Lovely patio
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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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One of Boulder's best restaurants (with three James Beard honors) serves meticulously prepared food in the style of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy, in a bustling dining room with a backlit wine wall. You choose from two prix-fixe tasting menus and might feast on dishes including an antipasto such as fish crudo; a house-made pasta with pork ragù; and lamb with hay-smoked potato.
1738 Pearl St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Informed servers and warm hospitality
- Grappa cart for after-dinner libations
- Stellar wine service and pairings
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch, Reservations essential
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This intimate eatery delivers an authentic farm-to-table experience, with a French-influenced menu that changes daily, drawing from whatever the restaurant is harvesting from its 425-acre organic farm. Diners relax in leather couches at wall-side tables, with excellent views of the kitchen, while dining on options such as house-raised Tunis lamb and house-raised Mulefoot pork. The chef-chosen six-course tasting menu is always a surprise for diners.
1964 13th St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Excellent service
- Country's largest full-scale, farm-to-table operation—certified organic
- Wine pairings
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch, Reservations essential
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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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Perched on the rooftop level of a downtown building, this sleek, modern, Spanish-inspired steak house has one of Boulder’s only unobstructed views of the Flatirons; grab a seat outdoors on the patio if you can. You can mix and match generous cuts of high-quality steak with seasonally rotating tapas for northern Spain flavor with a Boulder twist—think Vaca Vieja dry-aged tomahawk steak and a Basque-style cheesecake.
1023 Walnut St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Tapas and sharable dishes
- Informed wine and sherry list, plus Spanish-style cocktails
- Appealing brunch
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch weekdays, 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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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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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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A favorite of Boulder's many health-conscious athletes and world travelers, this homey restaurant in a historical house is owned and run by genuine Sherpas, and offers a voluminous menu with Himalayan favorites like curry and tandoori chicken. It oozes mountain culture and has a bar and library, and a chef who has summited Everest 10 times. Owner Pemba Sherpa also offers guiding services in Nepal.
825 Walnut St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Saag dip with naan bread
- One of Boulder's best patios
- Super-friendly but slow service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations recommended.
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Coffered ceilings, stained-glass windows, and mosaic tile floors create a classic setting for this fish-focused restaurant in the Hotel Boulderado. Savor happy hour at the spruce-wood bar with farm-fresh oysters and handcrafted cocktails, or stay for dinner in the dining room with its fully enclosed porch and sample a seasonal menu emphasizing local foods.
2115 13th St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Signature barrel-aged Manhattan
- Daily brunch with sweet and savory options
- Pan-seared Rocky Mountain trout
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential.
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Perennially popular, this restaurant with light-wood tables and simple decor serves delicious fish and other Japanese specialties to a packed house nightly, so grab a table or sit at the sushi bar. Try a Z No. 9 Roll, shrimp tempura wrapped in nori and rice, topped with salmon and avocado; Zanmai invented it, and other restaurants have copied it. The mochi-ice-cream dessert is excellent.
1221 Spruce St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Fun, energetic atmosphere
- Boulder's best sushi
- Hoppin' karaoke Saturday night
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
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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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This bohemian-style café two blocks west of the pedestrian mall serves bagels, muffins, pastries, and oatmeal for breakfast, and panini sandwiches and soups for lunch; do try the locally roasted, organic espresso. This is where Boulder's creative community and young tech entrepreneurs rub shoulders, sometimes literally, thanks to the tight seating. There are multiple other branches in town.
1709 Pearl St., Boulder, Colorado, 80302, USA
Known For
- Gluten-free baked goods
- Patio with mountain views
- Coffee shop featuring local beer and wine
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No reservations
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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
