214 Best Restaurants in Colorado, USA

A popular oyster bar serves as the foyer to the ever-busy Jax, whose brick-lined back dining room packs in the crowds, especially when there's a ball game at Coors Field three blocks away. A dozen different types of oysters are freshly shucked each day, and main courses make use of fresh catches flown in from both coasts such as ahi tuna, scallops, snapper, and shrimp. There are a couple of meat dishes and the sides are fun, too: buckwheat waffles, fries tossed with maple sugar, and radish kimchi. The same savvy seafood roster is served at the Boulder, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs locations.

Between the appealing kids' menu and the memorabilia that suggests Elvis has not left the building, Johnny's is all about fun and family. Breakfast (until 2 pm), lunch, and dinner are served daily, and they are all budget minded and large portioned. The menu is mostly what you'd expect—comfort food like meat loaf and mashed potatoes, burgers, milkshakes, and biscuits and gravy—but they also do an above-average rib eye and some tasty Mexican, as well as a popular list of hot "dawgs." A pie happy hour happens from 3 to 5 pm daily, with $2 off slices.

Prices are reasonable at this casual, bustling Nepali and Indian restaurant with dark wood walls, red booths, and a wood bar in the center of the room. Kathmandu has received accolades for its vegetarian food, but everything is good on a full traditional menu that spans the gamut from starters like momos (dumplings) and samosas to aloo gobi (cauliflower and potatoes), tandoori chicken and lamb, and curries. Friday night features an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet.

The smell is enticing as a thinly sliced Wagyu sizzles on a 1000° Hot Rock at the table in this dark sushi restaurant near the base of Snowmass mountain. Kenichi has been operating in Aspen since 1991, so Snowmass locals are happy to have their own outpost of the institution. Start with a warm dish like miso black cod before diving into sushi. Be sure to order whatever special roll the chefs have concocted, or if you're sticking with a warm entrée, try the pan-seared duck with a caramelized blood-orange soy glaze.

This 1930s homestead was once part of a working cattle ranch, and cowboy memorabilia is strewn throughout, nicely blending with stylish throw rugs, antler chandeliers, and a trophy mount. The gorgeous and massive stone fireplace is a cozy backdrop for dessert, or sipping an aperitif or after-dinner coffee. The seasonal five-course menu emphasizes local ingredients, including farm-raised game and fresh fish.

This rustic bar and grill has local microbrews on tap and big portions of home-style dishes like piled-high burgers, sandwiches, and giant, stuffed burritos perfect for skiers, hikers, or cyclists recovering from a day on the mountain. The central location, pleasant outdoor patio, and live music keep the place hopping both après-ski and après--night ski.

Locals pack out this small restaurant, famous for its Baja-style tacos. Favorites include the Dos Dynamite Diablos: two roasted Hatch green chilies stuffed with mozzarella cheese and hormone- and antibiotic-free top sirloin. Fun fact: Kip's started operating out of a caboose on the side of the highway in 1996. In summer, request a spot on the deck overlooking the main street.

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.

Located in the Morefield Campground, this simple restaurant in a covered outdoor terrace with picnic tables serves a hearty all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast with sausage every morning. Coffee and beverages are also available. It also offers lunch and dinner.

Combining an upscale atmosphere with cozy Italian charm, this Vail Village spot makes its pasta daily using real Pivetti flour from Italy. The flavors are bold and authentic, complemented best by a bottle of wine from the restaurant's expansive cellar. Try the Ravioli Tre Funghi, made with fresh pasta and coated in a light cream sauce featuring the perfect hint of truffle oil. 

The sound of sizzling rib-eye fajitas waft through the second-story dining room and vibrant bar where Mexican art and an impressive wine program elevate the unexpected Tex-Mex menu. Ask the in-house sommelier to recommend affordable Spanish or Mexican wines to pair with the grilled Spanish octopus with bay-leaf aioli and pickled Fresno chilies. Dine during the day to appreciate the hand-carved wooden chairs, paintings, and festive dishes and tile imported from Mexico. Top-shelf margaritas, chips and queso, and enchiladas on the outdoor patio offer a more traditional, albeit expensive, experience.

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.

The restaurant's steel-gray, orange-and-red contemporary decor belies the fact that it's one of the most authentic Italian restaurants in the city. Chef-owner Frank Bonanno summons the memory of his Italian grandmother to re-create small-town Italy through wild boar with pappardelle, goat-stuffed caramelle (pasta shaped like candy wrappers), and house-cured capocollo and homemade cheeses. His tiramisu and chocolate sorbet have to be tasted to be believed. Service, overseen by Jacqueline Bonanno, is as impeccable as it is at Bonanno's many other restaurants (Mizuna, Osteria Marco, Salt & Grinder, and Denver Milk Market, to name a few), and the wine list is agreeably priced and heavy on interesting Italians.

An Estes Park institution since 1989, Mama Rose's consistently serves no-nonsense Italian meals, including the house specialty: hearty lasagna concocted with house-made meatballs and sausage. There are also plenty of lighter options, including vegetarian and gluten-free entrées, as well as build-your-own pasta from three noodles, six sauces, and nine meats and vegetables. The spacious Victorian dining room with decorative woodwork and fine art harkens back to an earlier era, minus the formal dress code. You can also dine outside on the patio with views of the Big Thompson River. Reservations are recommended in the summer.

Pizzerias often claim to serve authentic Neapolitan pizza, but in this casual, brick-lined place, it's true: Marco's pies come out of the coal-fired ovens with a crispy-crackly crust, generously topped with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil, and just the right amount of homemade sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes. If New York--style is more your thing, they have that, too (try the Bronx, with meatballs), and they offer a thicker, Sicilian-style pan pizza as well. A freshly made cannoli is the only way to finish. There's a second location in Englewood that is usually less crowded.

Although you shouldn't expect to see celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa in the kitchen of his hopping restaurant in an 1887 Victorian house with an elegant downstairs room and a more casual, limited-menu upstairs space, his recipes and techniques are unmistakable. Nobu's sushi rolls and his new-style sashimi are marvelous, his hot dishes delectable, and his prices astronomical.

The park's rugged terrain contrasts with this relaxing space just off the lobby of the Far View Lodge. The well-regarded dining room is upscale, but the atmosphere remains casual. A wall of windows affords wonderful Mesa Verde vistas. The menu varies from cedar-brined pork chop to Korean barbecue New York strip steak, which you can enjoy with an array of local wines (try Cortez's own Guy Drew).

The coffee is full-bodied at this coffeehouse and café where all profits go to local charities. Amish baked goods reign on the menu with plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Stop here for artisanal cocktails and tasty tapas before dinner, and it just might end up being your dinner spot. The rum is divine (ask for a free tasting)—there's a light and a dark, both skillfully distilled on-site in copper stills from Portugal using fresh local-spring water (come by between noon and 5 Wednesday through Saturday for a distillery tour). Try the rum straight or in an inventive cocktail, such as the local favorite Maharaja, which blends chai spices with ginger and lime.

This casual lunch and dinner stop prepares its meat and fish with a deft hand and the age-old way—over an open wood fire. The menu changes often, but usually includes popular dishes such as the spring pea bruschetta, a fall-off-the-bone pork chop with charred okra succotash and cornbread crumble, and a whole Rocky Mountain trout with grilled pole bean salad and smoked almond milk. For dessert, splurge on a s'mores pie. From the dining room, you can watch chefs prepare your food in the open kitchen, but summer has the better view, with foodies and families alike congregating on the patio overlooking Gore Creek.

Comic books, murals, film posters, and board games embellish the simple pleasure of smooth coffee at this eclectic coffeehouse downtown. The coffee is roasted in-house and a pop-up bakery is usually stationed at the front but runs out of goodies fast. Not to worry; a cereal bar offers a snack to pair with your brew. Game nights are hosted in corners of the shop where black lights create a fun mood.  

The aroma of garlic and tomato sauce saturates this tiny, unpretentious eatery. Pastas, including standards like ravioli with homemade sauce and penne rigate with luscious meatballs, are consistently excellent. If you don't have time for a sit-down lunch, stop at the deli counter for sandwiches or take-outs of imported cheeses and olives.

Colorful flags hang from the ceilings over the simple tables and chairs that surround a large fireplace at this little local-favorite eatery. Tucked into a strip mall by the highway on the west side of town, it serves wonderfully tasty, authentic Nepalese, Tibetan, and Indian food: try fish kawab (marinated overnight and then baked in a tandoor) with a side of buttery naan.

It's best to arrive when this place opens for lunch on sunny winter days, since the light-wood tables at this tiny, casual, slope-side restaurant fill up fast with hungry skiers. Patrons squeeze in for soft pretzel rolls with dipping sauces, sandwiches, and snacks, as well as the several beers on tap from Fort Collins–based New Belgium Brewing. It's also busy in the late-afternoon après-ski period and during dinner.

This upscale steak house is arguably Telluride's best. Here you can choose your meat (sirloin, filet mignon, and succulent bison rib eye are among the choices), then your topping (think caramelized onions, blue cheese, or glazed wild mushrooms), and then your sauce (anything from béarnaise to chimichurri).

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.

Located within the Camel's Garden Hotel at Chair 8, Oak serves mouthwatering barbecue and southern fare. Fill up on the likes of gumbo or a Carolina-smoked pulled pork shoulder sandwich, along with creative salads, veggie dishes, and southern sides like fried okra and red beans and rice.