214 Best Restaurants in Colorado, USA

This tiny but friendly café serves breakfasts so scrumptious that there's a line out the door most days. It's well worth the wait, especially for the elaborate skillets, including one with chicken-fried steak. The burgers are above average, as well, with a hefty roster of toppings from which to build your own. Kids are particularly well catered to with Mickey Mouse pancakes and yogurt with granola for less than $7.

This is the place for that big night out and other special occasions in the area. The menu isn't terribly adventuresome, but the kitchen does turn out fresh-fish specials and top-notch steak, chicken, prime rib, and shrimp in simple, flavorful sauces. The decor is awash in stained glass, wood beams, exposed brick, and hanging plants, with dark nooks and crannies and ends of aging barrels as art, all of which combine for an intimate atmosphere. The real draw is for wine fans who want to try a more obscure bottle from the extensive, domestic-heavy roster.

Well executed in a shipping container in the trendy RiNo Art District, this restaurant seats guests at a communal table or at one of the two bars, where you can watch the line cooks shred pork for the tender cochinita pibil (a savory slow-roasted Yucatán favorite) or cut off haunches of citrus-zesty short ribs—meat comes priced by weight, from a quarter to a full pound. In keeping with the name, the rest of the menu is indeed "regular folks' food," but turned up a notch: think shrimp and grits or cheesy tomato mac spiked with chipotles. Happy hour is a big deal from 5 to 6 Wednesday through Sunday, with $6--$8 snacks and $5 beers. There are no reservations or groups over seven, but if you do have to wait, the drinks are only $5.

Zino has earned a loyal fan base for its house-made pastas and wood-fired pizzas. The two-story restaurant has a large bar, ideal for lighter bites or a cocktail. In summer, dine alfresco on the riverside patio or keep busy with a game of bocce on the regulation-size court.