18 Best Restaurants in Denver, Colorado

This dining room in Hotel Monaco is filled with fresh flowers and windows that let in natural light, making the space cheerful and bright. The focus is on true, multilayered Italian cuisine, such as grilled flatbread topped with cheese, prosciutto, truffle oil, and balsamic vinegar; or risotto made with an ever-changing and ever-pleasing variety of cheeses and fresh produce. The breads are baked in-house. The superior service and accommodating staff make for a pleasant dining experience. The large, roomy bar is available for dining, too.

With a sister restaurant in Japan (and another, Izakaya Den, next door) and owners who import sushi-grade seafood to the United States, it's easy to see why this chic sushi bar is the one Denverites count on to provide the best quality available. The sushi chefs here can meet your every request, and the cooked dishes are just as well prepared—don't miss the steamed fish baskets. Check out the tony crowd and feast your eyes on the luxurious fabrics and well-designed furniture. There's almost always a wait to get in, and parking can be a hassle, but for serious sushi-heads this is the place to be. Plan far in advance to sit at the Chef's Table for an even more elevated experience and special fresh-fish selections that are unavailable on the regular menu.

This adobe structure near Red Rocks Amphitheatre, complete with flickering luminarias and a pinyon-pine bonfire in the courtyard, is a perfect reproduction of Bent's Fort, a Colorado fur-trade center. Buffalo meat and game are the specialties. The buffalo filet mignon with prairie butter and grilled quail with huckleberry preserves are especially good. Intrepid eaters might try the buffalo bone-marrow appetizer, fiery peanut-butter-stuffed jalapeños, or Rocky Mountain oysters. Costumed characters from the fur trade wander the restaurant, playing the mandolin and telling tall tales.

This restaurant looks like a chic Italian farmhouse, with dried flowers in brass urns, hand-painted porcelain, and straw baskets everywhere. The food isn't pretentious in the least, however; it's more like Santa Monica meets San Stefano—bold yet classic, healthy yet flavorful. Duck braised with red wine; fresh pastas, including veal-stuffed agnolotti; and risotto with mixed wild mushrooms are all well made and fairly priced. The reasonably priced four-course tasting menu is the only option on Friday and Saturday, but it is a smart way to sample more of the kitchen's talents; adding the wine pairings ups the cost, but it improves the value. On weekdays, the à la carte menu is available on request, in addition to the prix-fixe menu.

This always-packed spot is worth the trip to Highland for such South American fare as shrimp and scallops sautéed with fresh herbs, coconut milk, and hot chilies or feijoada completa, the Brazilian national dish of black-bean stew and smoked meats, accompanied with fried bananas. With its vivid paintings and colorful traditional masks, it always seems to be a festive party here. It's frequented by locals in the know, especially those looking to try one of their 75-plus rums on hand.

If it's martinis and jazz you're after, come to this casually elegant space (larger and snazzier after a move to the historic Baur's Building), which features comfort foods with a twist and small plates. Live music most nights makes this a laid-back spot. The cocktail roster, printed inside old jazz albums, is one of the most intricate around, and the Sunday jazz brunch swings.

This is a cozy, casual spot for live jazz and blues six nights a week downtown. The location, in the historic Baur's Building, offers a classy setting and exceptional acoustics as well as updated takes on classic comfort food before and during shows. DownBeat magazine has named it one of the 150 best jazz clubs in the world.

You won't see the big guy very often here—or at the company's downtown Ritz-Carlton–Denver, Denver International Airport, or Vail locations, either—but that doesn't keep sports fans from packing it in, hopeful. And when the toothy-grinned former Broncos QB (and current executive vice president of football operations) John Elway doesn't show, diners console themselves with some of the best steak-house fare in town, particularly the porterhouse (big enough for half a football team) and the huge side of chunky-creamy Yukon gold mashed potatoes. While you eat, ease back into the intimately set-up, camel-color suede booths and watch waterfalls cascade over granite slabs, choose from the pricey but appealing wine list, and save room for make-your-own s'mores.

This larger space from the brothers who own Sushi Den next door, Izakaya Den is supposed to be like a Japanese izakaya, an informal and inexpensive drinking place where snacks are served. Instead, its menu is nearly identical to its sister eatery's, with a more extensive roster of tapas-style sushi offerings, and they share the same executive chef. That said, the high quality of fish imported from the owners' market in Japan is unparalleled in Denver, and several dishes—the hamachi, the crispy tuna, and the Wagyu carpaccio—are stellar.

Down the street from the REI store, on the corner along the bicycle path on 15th Street, My Brother's Bar is a homey neighborhood tavern that serves microbrews, burgers—buffalo and beef—and sandwiches of all kinds until 1:30 am. The bar's name isn't on the facade, so look for the street number.

Denver's best Vietnamese restaurant is always crowded with folks trying to get at their crispy egg rolls, shrimp-filled spring rolls, and cheap but hefty noodle bowls. With nearly 200 dishes on the menu—priced and portioned for sharing—this vast eatery has everything Vietnamese covered, including 30-some vegetarian dishes and 10 with succulent frogs' legs. It's best to go at off times to ensure a seat. Reservations are accepted for parties of six or more.

Greek immigrant Sam Armatas opened his first eatery in Denver in 1927, and his three sons use the same recipes their father did in their updated version of his all-American diner, from the famous red and green chilis to the Coney Island–style hot dogs and creamy rice pudding. The retro diner resembles a fancy Denny's, and the bar is crowded with theatergoers and hipsters after dark. Good luck choosing: the menu is 12 pages long, with Greek and Mexican favorites as well as diner classics. The chunky mashed potatoes rule, as do the pie-based milkshakes, and breakfast, which is served all day, comes fast.

Originally a food truck, the name of this taqueria showcases exactly what it specializes in: queso a la plancha tacos and seared ahi tuna tacos, with house-made salsas and tangy margaritas. Get to know your fellow diners at the communal tables or the long bar, or sit on the patio that opens from the dining area through the garage door. There's a second location in City Park.

A basic contemporary American menu offers classics done well at the Nickel, the restaurant located in the Hotel Teatro. Enjoy a top-notch burger, an entrée-sized salad, or Mediterranean-style salmon, all while kicking back in sumptuously upholstered chairs. Breakfast and weekend brunch offer some unique options like carrot cake pancakes. The room takes terrific advantage of the natural light that floods the space, making the ambience feel impressive and special. Rooftop bees provide in-house honey.

Holistic health guru Dr. Andrew Weil has opened restaurants in select locations in 17 states, and this venture in Cherry Creek, where his intensive focus is on anti-inflammatory preparations and antioxidant ingredients prepared with an international flair, has met with great success. Don't expect all-vegetarian, however; the menu offers plenty of meat, particularly lean bison and turkey, as well as fish, tempeh, and other meat substitutes. Trendy cocktails—cucumber margarita or blueberry acai mojito, for example—and natural sodas add to the appeal for the younger crowds that flock to the communal tables for small plates and thin-crust pizzas. The kids' menu is impressively healthy and appealing with its mini grass-fed burger and chicken teriyaki bowl.

Both the remodeled building and the interior space designed to house this modern grill, named after Vesta, the Roman hearth goddess, have won national architectural awards, and it's easy to see why: the sensual swirls of fabric and copper throughout the room make diners feel as though they're inside a giant work of art, and the clever, secluded banquettes are among the most sought-after seats in town. The menu is clever, too, and the competent grill masters in the kitchen put out expertly cooked meats, fish, and vegetables, all of which can be paired with some of the more than two-dozen dipping sauces that get their inspiration from chutneys, salsas, mother sauces, and barbecue. The wine list is as cool as the clientele.