9 Best Restaurants in Boulder and North Central Colorado, Colorado

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.