While outdoor recreation might be the number one industry in Crested Butte, the restaurant scene isn’t far behind. After all, cuisine is where we debrief the adventure and fuel for the next one.
Fortunately, various new dining establishments have opened doors to provide nourishing, creative fare. Here’s where to go.
The Hideout CB
A new local gathering hub with a laid-back, ski culture-inspired ambiance, The Hideout fills the upper-story space of the late Last Steep Bar and Grill. Come summer, the freshly renovated and spacious patio swells the 49 indoor seats to 170 heads total.
Chef, General Manager, and co-owner David Wilkins dialed in recipes for three months before opening the doors in November 2023.
Korean and Mexican flavors inspire the eclectic American cuisine, which focuses on delivering a “shareable experience and a menu built on speed,” said Wilkins. Any dish, including to-go orders, is ready in 15 minutes.
At the bar, the crafted keg cocktails reach the table in 5 minutes. When dining with my partner, our favorite was the Uzuloma, which has local Anthracite gin, yuzu, lime, and grapefruit.
To obtain such efficiency, Wilkins has his former Divvy Ghost Kitchen food truck (which closed in April 2023) parked in the back as an ancillary kitchen, while the interior of the property’s historic shed was retrofitted into a commercial fridge and freezer.
In addition to sourcing high-quality greens, Wilkins wanted to build plates that are friendly to prevalent food preferences like gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan with details like tamari instead of soy sauce and a gluten-free batter for the crunchy fried chicken sandwich — one of Wilkins’s personal favorites.
While surrounded by neighbors and families of all ages, we started off dinner with Deviled Eggs topped with the house-made chili crunch sauce — which is not too sweet or too spicy — and a veggie-loaded, refreshing Local Gem salad coated in the delicious ginger lime vinaigrette dressing. They don’t skimp on the greens.
Next, we shared the Bao Lettuce Wraps, a unique dish among local restaurants. Our options included doughy buns, marinated mushroom, bulgogi steak, pickled red onion, jalapeno, daikon radish, lime slaw, cucumber, cilantro, and the orange Bang bang sauce with a honey mustard base. Mixing and matching the array of colorful garnishes was fun, and the combos were rich in flavor.
Closing out the night, the fresh-out-of-the-oven miso chocolate chip cookie and ice cream was gooey, warm, and sweet but salty — it was the hardest item to share.
208 Elk Ave
11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily, walk-ins only
Montanya Distillers Tasting Room
Montanya Distillers has long been a staple in Crested Butte. Founder Karen Hoskin launched it in Silverton in 2008 and opened a distillery and tasting room inside Bonez two years later.
Eventually, Montanya Distillers relocated into an independent distillery and started a small restaurant on Elk. Most recently, the bright, airy tasting room and comfortable patio (open from June to October) underwent a huge shift in December 2023 when Sean Richards, Renee Newton, and Megan Campbell acquired the business.
For 11 years, Newton worked at Montanya, eventually becoming the head of the distillery and co-owner. Newton said, “At Montanya, we only use fresh ingredients for innovative cocktails with flavor profiles from around world,” like coconut from the Caribbean, chai from Nepal, and spices from New Orleans, where Newton is from.
A new, simplified menu of light, savory options complements the extensive cocktail list, including creamy artichoke dip, the Bijou Board loaded with meats and cheeses, and grilled cheese sandwiches with soup.
In September, the brand launched a Grappa, its first and sole non-rum libation, made with the leftover grapes from Gunnison-based Buckel Family Wine.
It also debuted its Pineapple Habanero rum, which is one of the most popular cocktails. It’s sweet but with a kick, and it’s served alongside passionfruit, fresh-squeezed lime, agave, and mint.
Don’t overlook another extremely popular choice for a torch-blown cocktail: the Maplesmoke Old Fashioned, which combines homemade black pepper cherry bitters (soon to be distributed in Colorado) with a cherry bark-smoked glass.
As for sippers, Newton’s personal favorite is the dark, three-year-aged Exclusive Rum, which starts in a bourbon barrel before finishing in a local wine barrel from Buckel. It delivers a dry finish of cinnamon, red wine, honey, and vanilla.
One of the most unique orders is to-go cocktails in a Capri-style package to enjoy lakeside or on a summit.
204 Elk Avenue
3-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, walk-ins only
Yukihana Sushi and Sake Bar
Top-notch sushi in a high-altitude mountain town? Chef Paul Jung has achieved the unthinkable at Yukihana Sushi and Sake Bar, located adjacent to Kochevar’s Saloon, which opened doors alongside co-owner and chef Shawn Most in December 2023.
Each delicacy is made with the highest quality ingredients, from 258-pound tuna (that Chef Paul carves and stores in a -50 degree freezer) to real crab and wasabi, premium Tamanishiki rice, and Japanese A5 Wagyu — he proudly showed us the cattle’s nose-printed certificate.
Chef Paul’s culinary career started 30 years ago in Korea, followed by two decades in the U.S., including a 2014 Best Chef award in Boston for his innovative Toro Jalapeño maki sushi roll, resurrected on this menu.
Creating bright works of art on each plate — such as light pink hamachi slices decorated with flowers, roe, and delicate radish — Chef Paul said, “Presentation with garnish and color is just as important as flavor — you eat with your eyes first, then your nose, then your mouth and taste.”
One of the most decadent, premium details among the sushi is the three grades of Bluefin tuna, including dark Maguro, medium-fatty Chutoro, and the lightest-toned, fattiest: Otoro, a butter-of-the-ocean that is slippery and divine.
On the side, we had a bowl of ground-up Japanese wasabi plant instead of the typical powder-based wasabi I’ve tried at other sushi restaurants. With a cooked green chili texture, the spicy yet fresh garnish includes the plant’s root, stem, leaves, soy sauce, and salt.
To cleanse the pallet between each bite and type of fish, Chef Paul helps pair your meal with saki: The extensive menu features three tiers across dry, crispy, smooth, cold, and hot. Among our favorites, the Ancient Shrine was dry with a sweet touch, and the longer, crisper finish offers a great cleanse.
As a starter, the miso soup is a hit: It’s dressed with seaweed, soybeans, scallion, shallot, and bonito (small tuna) that’s shaved, smoked, and dried.
The small grilled Korean short ribs are loaded with flavor, contrasting the Salmon Lover roll and Elk Ave. One of the chef’s favorites, this seared roll has spicy tuna and a lime cleanse, offering a unique contrast to other rich profiles.
“The food is not only the food — it’s a learning experience, cultural, and is truly from my heart. When you visit, you’re family,” said Chef Paul. As each group finishes and rises to leave, he yells, “See you tomorrow!”
127 Elk Avenue
5 -9 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Two Twelve
When your waitress says she came out of restaurant retirement to experience a new venture, your ears perk up.
“I was so excited about this totally new farm-to-table concept coming to Crested Butte,” said waitress Jackie Just, an Ayurveda wellness coach and private health home cook, who led us through a premium experience at Two Twelve, a fine-dining establishment centered on a 6-foot-wide open fire hearth that touches ingredients on every dish.
After waiting for approval from the Crested Butte Fire Department for two years, Two Twelve opened in July, providing a relaxing space of refined, elevated comfort.
Co-owner and chef Anthony Nelson has studied cuisine nationwide, including cooking on a 10-foot fire hearth in Virginia. At Two Twelve, he is “dedicated to bringing things back to the primal way of cooking, utilizing our region’s bounty seasonally, using technology,” said Nelson, partnering with Farm Runners in Hotchkiss to source ingredients.
General Manager Jason Henry also serves as the sommelier, a service that no other Crested Butte restaurant currently offers: We enjoyed a glass of the well-rounded Italian Montepulciano d’Abruzzo with hints of plum.
Focused on shareable dishes, the most popular starter is the blue corn muffins, served with a cooked-down brown butter steeped in sage.
But the Bangs Island mussels surprised us — they became a must-order in our book. Served in a warm, spicy bowl of Peruvian anticucho broth (made from marinated beef heart) and yellow aji Amarillo hot chili pepper, it’s no wonder Just’s patrons typically take the broth to go after finishing the shellfish.
While many folks are excited to see a menu with Tomahawk steak and the Black Angus Filet — which sold out the night we dined — the moist, generously sized fire-roasted chicken can’t be overlooked. Blanketed in Chef Nelson’s unique, kicking green chili mole blend and topped with a cooling Cotija cheese, the dish is filling and rich.
Between the chicken and bone-in bison topped with a shirt plum blueberry sauce, there wasn’t a dish that lacked a blend of sweet and spice.
212 Elk Avenue
5-9 p.m. daily
Additional newcomers
The Bruhaus CB
The Bruhaus, which opened in fall 2024, fills the freshly renovated space of a former Elk Ave staple, the Brick Oven Pizzeria and Pub. Owned by the Mark Walter group, the new sweeping fire-lit patio and outdoor bar offers a variety of beers and plates.
Anthracite Spirits & Tasting Lounge
This new tasting lounge and local distillery, which opened in June 2023, fills the space previously occupied by the Tobacconist. Anthracite Spritis & Tasting Lounge‘s collection includes the Red Lady Bitter Liqueur, award-winning Mountain Dry Gin, and Anthracite Vodka.
billy barr
A refined yet cozy lobby bar and lounge with fireplace seating, billy barr is nestled in Elevation Hotel & Spa at the base of Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Opened in February 2023, the consumables center on cocktails, charcuterie, and a light breakfast menu.
The gathering space is decorated with vintage mountain decor, such as historic snowshoes. It is named after longtime local environmental and snowpack researcher billy barr, a reclusive mountain man who prefers spelling his name using lowercase letters. He lives in the remote ghost town of Gothic and works for the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.