1. Maria Empanada
On a busy corner of South Broadway, Maria Empanada is an oasis of deliciousness and charm. Empanadas come from the ovens morning to night, both sweet and savory. The menu also includes veggie-filled "tartas" made from an old family recipe, as well as Spanish tortillas made with organic eggs. There's a limited selection of wine and beer to pair with these Argentine delights. Nothing fancy here. The empanadas come in a basket that you take to the table yourself. The whole place opens up to the sidewalk and there are tables outside, though the traffic somewhat diminishes the appeal of sitting there. Nothing, however, diminishes the excellent empanadas and friendly ambiance of the place.
2. Acorn
The ambiance is industrial chic with exposed bricks and pipes and graffiti on the walls. The menu is contemporary creative with comfort-food overtones. Acorn is one of the anchoring businesses at The Source, one of Denver's early multi-vendor halls for food and drink. An offshoot of Boulder's popular Oak at Fourteenth, Acorn excites and satisfies with an unexpected combo of flavors and textures. If you're a burger lover, go for the oak-grilled double cheeseburger with shallot aioli and provolone. You can add avocado, bacon or a fried egg if you like. Lunch plates include vegetarian selections such as kale and apple salad and endive and blood orange salad, as well as heartier fare such as pork belly pastrami and Korean grilled chicken. There's an expansive beer and cocktail list. Acorn is open for dinner only on Sundays.
3. Old Major
The restaurant does its own butchering and cures the meats in-house (you can see the curing room from the dining area). While the emphasis is surely on meals that meat lovers will enjoy it, meat is not the only choicce. There are also seafood selections, including oysters, and veggies, so any group with diverse culinary preferences can come together in Old Major and enjoy a meal out. Standouts on the menu: the nose-to-tail large plate and fried chicken small plate; did we mention the pork-fat fries? The beer list is deep and eclectic, the cocktail menu decidedly creative.
4. LeRoux
Chandeliers and candlelit table define LeRoux's elegant space. Even the bar gets candles as evening arrives. Several seating areas provide intimacy for a romantic occasion or simply a dinner at which conversing is not made impossible by the cacophony experienced at so many restaurants today. It feels a bit old school in that regard, a return to what fine dining used to be, yet it's also casual and contemporary. Dishes are prepared meticulously, a perfect melding of complex and delicate flavors in an exquisite presentation. The chicken liver mousse might be the best in Denver, and if you want a show-stopper, go for the Wagyu beef tartare presented with a flourish of smoke. The saffrony bouillabaisse piled with mussels, scallops and octopus surprises with a tweak of peppery heat, and for those who love ChoLon's soup dumplings, LeRoux's French Onion short ribs provide a delicious reunion.
5. Beckon
Beckon is an experience, an evening conducted much like a symphony. The tempo rises and falls as eight or nine courses appear, but everything, including the synchronized plating of courses and placement of plates before guests, is deliberate. Beckon is available by prepaid ticketed reservation only at $95 per person and likely to be sold out weeks in advance. Just 18 diners sit down at each of two sessions per evening. The chef's table experience is approximately two-and-a-half hours of small plates prepared and presented in view of guests, each dish created to be savored and remembered. When you make your reservation you're asked if there's anything you can't or won't eat, but the menu remains a mystery until the food appears before you. Adult beverages are extra, including the option of a wine or beer pairing for $65 per person. The menu changes with each moon.
6. Fruition Restaurant
Chef Alex Seidel opened Fruition Restaurant in 2007 with a seasonally driven menu of upscale comfort food and a well-curated wine list. It was an instant success. Dishes may include such options as cheeses from Fruition Farm, gnocchi with blue crab or sunchoke salad. While the term "farm-to-table" is overused, Seidel made it a reality here when he started his 10-acre farm south of Denver. Trendy descriptors are not what Seidel is about. Rather, he's about relationships. Fruition Farms has been what he calls an education in understanding how to grow crops, make cheese and raise animals and how to harvest these foods. "Farm-to-table," Seidel says, "is all of those processes and understanding what goes into the relationship between producer and end user. This hands-on experience has helped us create a viable, long-lasting relationship between farm and restaurant." For more than a decade, Fruition has done just that.
7. Tavernetta
Light-colored woods and stylish contemporary furnishings give Tavernetta, just outside Union Station, an appealing Northern European vibe. Unlike Frasca, its acclaimed sister restaurant in Boulder, Tavernetta draws inspiration not from one region of Italy but from areas across the country, with added inspiration from neighbors Austria and Slovenia, among others. Cloud-like gnocchi is a standout, but whatever seasonal dishes are on the menu will likely be memorable. For couples seeking a romantic interlude, there are options for two to share, along with a nicely curated wine and "aperitivi" list. Tavernetta is a place to splurge, to savor, to indulge and to find utter satisfaction in a meal artfully conceived, flawlessly served and presented. If you just want drinks and appetizers or dessert, find seating for two by the lounge fireplace, Tavernetta's most romantic spot.
8. Work & Class
As its name suggests, Work & Class is down to earth and deliberately reflective of the owners' own working-class roots. The exceptional food, however, makes it in any class. The food is a melding of American and Latin and the dishes are meant to be shared. Don't skip the cornbread. For desserts, it may be hard to resist the warm chocolate brownie but it's not the only temptation. There are a ton of craft beers; a nice selection of wines by the bottle or glass; and, most impressively, an expansive list of whiskey, single malts, vodkas, tequilas and a lot of them from Colorado small-batch distillers including Laws, Leopold Brothers and Woody Creek. Show up when you're ready; no reservations are taken. One caveat: Work & Class is loud. Very loud. If you want dinner with conversation, this is not the best choice.
9. Il Posto
Il Posto moved from its cramped Uptown area to an airy, modern space in Denver's trending culinary neighborhood, RiNo. Trendy, in any case, isn't what owner-chef Andrea Frizzi is going for. Il Posto's menu emphasizes simple, fresh, local, seasonal and authentic. Frizzi tells a story of working in a Washington, D.C., restaurant and refusing to serve a TV celebrity the dish he requested because it was not authentic (after the ubiquitous "Do you know who I am?" the celebrity caved, accepted what Frizzi made him and became a regular). Here, the Northern Italian menu changes frequently, which Frizzi calls "cooking in the present." Many ingredients come from Colorado purveyors while others are flown in from Italy.
10. Olive & Finch Cherry Creek
Olive & Finch features three meals a day made-from-scratch and made-to-order. Bread is baked daily, sauces are house-made, juices are pressed on site and the restaurant's chefs cure and smoke the meats. Like the original Uptown location, this one in Cherry Creek is designed to be a gathering place for locals and visitors, morning to night. Breakfast and lunch are served all day (no need to get up at the crack of dawn). The morning menu includes house-made hashes, biscuit or beignet sandwiches as well as expected and unexpected egg combos. Lunchtime sandwiches are served on a variety of bread, along with soups and salads. After 11 a.m., there's steak, poultry and fish added to the options. Pair your chosen dishes with espresso or other coffee drinks, Colorado craft brews, wine or cocktails; fresh-pressed juices are customer faves, with good reason.
Here are a few more ideas for what to do in the area: Top 10 things to do in Colorado
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