Denver is a city in the midst of reinvention—simultaneously outdoorsy, artsy, high-tech, and rugged.
The Mile High City’s food culture reflects this—rooted in bison and green chile, but now riffing on sushi, vegan bites, ramen, and avant-garde small plates.
Locals are spoiled by close access to farms, ranches, and craft brewers, which is why even the simplest eatery takes pride in its sourcing.
Denver’s most-loved restaurants straddle the old and the new, serving comfort with a creative spark and a hearty dose of Rocky Mountain spirit.
Snooze, an A.M. Eatery
Snooze changed the Denver breakfast game. The original Ballpark location (and now, several others) is always busy, with a crowd ranging from families to hungover millennials.
Here, pancakes are artful—pineapple upside-down, blueberry Danish, sweet potato, and more—all fluffy and often stacked.
Healthy options abound, but most guests indulge with signature Benedict flights or breakfast tacos and thick-cut bacon.
The staff, somehow, is always cheerful, and the vibe feels like brunch as it should be: convivial, laid-back, and soaked in sunshine.
Root Down
Set inside a converted filling station, Root Down blazed the trail for Denver’s farm-to-table, globally inspired restaurant boom.
From the funky retro interiors to the garden visible from the dining room, the place radiates eco-conscious cool.
Regulars return for imaginative small plates and mains—crispy Brussels sprouts, vegetable-flecked curries, Seared Colorado lamb, and creative cocktails featuring house-made syrups.
Root Down is fiercely committed to local ingredients and allergy-friendly menus, so everyone feels cared for. There’s always a hum here, a sense that you’re part of something forward-looking and unmistakably Denver.
Buckhorn Exchange
You can’t talk Denver local favorites without nodding to the state’s oldest continuously operating restaurant.
Buckhorn Exchange is part museum, part hunting lodge, part steakhouse—in business since 1893, stuffed to the rafters with taxidermy.
It’s kitsch, but it’s also authentic Colorado. Local families come for the game meats: elk, buffalo, quail, alligator (yes, really), and—the bravest for Rocky Mountain oysters.
The steaks are legendary and so are the servers, whose knowledge and dry wit are as dependable as the iconic whiskey menu.
City, O’ City
Denver’s younger, artsy side shows up at City, O’ City—the city’s most beloved, creative vegetarian joint.
In a hip, mural-splashed setting near the State Capitol, locals crowd in for chicken and waffles (vegan style), inventive pizzas, “seitan wings,” and spectacular breakfast burritos.
There’s a bar, kombucha on tap, cold-brew flights, and always, always a line out the door at lunch.
Non-vegetarians swear by it—proof that in Denver, plant-based doesn’t mean missing out on flavor or fun.
The Cherry Cricket
In Cherry Creek and across town in Ballpark, The Cherry Cricket is an unpretentious home for one of Denver’s favorite meals: burgers, built your way.
The Cricket’s legend has grown over decades—no-frills booths, classic bar feel, and a menu that lets you construct your own Frankenstein’s monster of a burger (with everything from peanut butter to jalapeños to a fried egg).
Locals return for the sense of nostalgia, the top-notch bar food, and that feeling that, in a fast-changing city, some places are anchored in tradition and a shared love of good company.
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