Denver’s ever-changing dining scene grew and changed in 2024 faster than the menu at a farm-to-table restaurant at the end of summer. Bagels, dumplings, and sandwiches remained sizzling hot, while the city’s Mexican restaurant scene fully embraced a new era of upscale, heritage-focused cooking. Asian restaurateurs continued to find a powerful voice, while hotels looked to improve the reputations of their dining amenities. Here are 15 of the biggest openings of 2024.
Alma Fonda Fina and Alma Mezcaleria
Technically, Alma Fonda Fina, from husband-and-wife team Johnny and Kasie Curiel, opened during the last week of December 2023, but when you win a Michelin star in your first year of operation, you get a week-long grace period (on this list, anyway). Plus, Alma opened a sister restaurant, Mezcaleria Alma, next door in November. Set into a small but sexy (and somewhat smoky) space in busy Lower Highland, Alma specializes in refined versions of the comforting Mexican dishes that Johnny Curiel grew up eating in Guadalajara, Mexico, while Alma Mezcaleria serves a seafood-forward menu and an in-house aging and brining program.
2556 15th. St. and 2550 15th St., Denver; almalohidenver.com
Blackbelly Market & Restaurant
There is, perhaps, no more perfect food than a sandwich, and while a lot of people were sad to see il porcellino salumi close the meaty doors to its sandwich shop and market in January, they were just as happy that Blackbelly, from Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg, moved in shortly thereafter. Like its Michelin-recommended Boulder counterpart, the market and restaurant also specializes in charcuterie and meats, alongside a quick-service breakfast and lunch menu. Think mouth-watering breakfast burritos, Italian subs and more.
4324 W. 41st Ave., Denver; blackbelly.com
Carne
Few names carry more sway in Denver than Dana Rodriguez’s — and not just because she is the chef who redesigned the menu at Casa Bonita when it was reimagined in 2023. Rodriquez is also the founder of Work & Class, Super Mega Bien and Carne, the last of which opened in July, (with Gov. Jared Polis in attendance). The steakhouse, which is meant to carry a “fun,” 1970s-style vibe, has an eclectic menu that shows off Rodriguez’s range and her travels, with everything from duck confit to Brazillia picanha steak, osso bucco, Mexican ribs and Colorado lamb.
2601 Larimer St., Denver; carne-rino.com
Dân Dã
“This is comfort food now. Maybe not 30 years ago, but it is now.” That’s how chef An Nguyen describes the menu at Dân Dã, which she opened in April with her sister Thao. Taking the classic Vietnamese dishes she learned to make with her mother in the kitchen at New Saigon, Nguyen has put her own twist on them, elevating the ingredients and technique for a more modern feel. And do-it-yourself spring rolls are plentiful, coming from the kitchen on a dramatic three-tiered tray.
9945 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora; dandavn.com
La Forêt
French food is back, but instead of the stuffy surroundings you may remember from dinners of yore, a new wave of restaurants is shaking things up a bit, with both ambiance and menu selections. La Forêt fits the category with its location inside the former Beatrice & Woodsley (still decorated with aspen tree trunks from the previous restaurant). But La Forêt is also turning out top-tier French cuisine — like its stag au poivre, a New Zealand venison filet with spice ash and peppercorn cognac — and cocktails.
38 S. Broadway, Denver: laforetdenver.com
Little Arthur’s Hoagies
A popup sub shop with a cult following for its face-sized sandwiches opened a brick-and-mortar location in August inside the Out of the Barrel Taproom. Helmed by former Bar Dough sous chef AJ Shreffler, the new spot also includes pizzas, salads and desserts. Little Arthur’s encapsulates a style of cuisine that is prevalent in Denver right now: high-concept, cheffed-up classics — usually at a higher price point — that come with premium ingredients and a steaming side of boldness that can be in-your-face (even off-putting), but always packed with undeniable flair and more importantly, deeply felt deliciousness. The menu rotates, and every sandwich is worth trying. The pizzas are on another level as well.
205 E. 7th Ave., Denver; littlearthurs.com
Magna Kainan
Diners who are familiar with what 2022 James Beard finalist Carlo Lamagna has done with his chef-driven Filipino restaurant, Magna Kusina in Portland, have been waiting a long time for his sister restaurant in Denver. Magna Kainan finally opened in late November, bringing with it the chef’s modern take on dishes like Mom’s Crab Fat Noodles, which are homemade squid ink noodles with butter-like crab fat, pickled crab and pepper chowchow relish; and the braised oxtail with tripe, bok-choy, eggplant and a bean-and-pumpkin seed dipping sauce.
1350 40th St., Denver; magnadenver.com
Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumpling
A place like Nana’s doesn’t have much precedent in Denver. It serves dim sum-style dishes but in a more upscale setting and with a swanky feel. But the dumplings here are also some of the best in Denver, which is saying a lot in a year when more than a dozen new dumpling shops open in the metro area (and following a 2023 with an equal number of new spots). Try the soup dumplings, the bit-sized, pan-fried “thumblings,” or the shu mai. Nana’s also has locations in Aurora and Boulder with at least one more location on the way in 2025.
3316 Tejon St., Denver; nanasdumplingsdenver.com
Odell’s Bagel
Born and raised in New Jersey, Miles Odell has always loved bagels. Even after he graduated from cooking school and completed a three-year program working in Michelin-star restaurants in Japan, he continued to think about them. In October, Odell opened his namesake bagel shop, and it took the game up a couple of notches in Denver, both because of his stellar, hand-rolled bagels and because of the gourmet ingredients he adds to his sandwiches, including hand-sliced lox, plum jam and salmon roe. And we just can’t stop thinking about the pastrami, either.
3200 Irving St., Denver; odellsbagel.com
Osteria Alberico
When Bobby Stuckey talks, people listen (especially if the master Sommelier is making a wine recommendation). In August, Michelin-starred restaurant group, Frasca Hospitality (which Stuckey co-founded) opened Osteria Alberico in Englewood, an upscale sibling to its Boulder pizza destination, Pizzeria Alberico. The new spot has pulled diners from the city to the suburbs, a rare reversal, with carefully made Napoletana-style pizzas, rustic pastas and large plates with roots all over Italy, including Maiale, a roasted Berkshire pork loin with peaches and mustard greens. There is also a stunning wine list — something the Frasca group is known for.
3455 S. University Blvd., Englewood; osteriaalberico.com
Pasque and Stellar Jay
The neighborhood is, frankly, not great. But the brand new Populus hotel, which boasts one of the most unusual designs in Denver with its shapes, windows, color and decor meant to evoke Aspen trees, may become a destination worth the trip. Part of the allure comes from two restaurants, Pasque, on the first floor, and Stellar Jay, on the roof — headed by Ian Wortham and Curtis Landrum, both formerly of at Tavernetta, which is part of the Frasca Hospitality Group. Pasque focuses on upscale American basics (seafood, chicken, pasta), while Stellar Jay is centered on the difficult-to-master live-fire cooking. And although the latter has received mixed reviews, the two restaurants are in a lot of people’s dinner plans — and have the potential to make a name for themselves in the sometimes overlooked world of hotel dining.
240 14th St., Denver; populusdenver.com
Saverina
Like its counterparts (see Pasque and Stellar Jay, above), Saverina is part of a new wave of hotel restaurants looking to make a name for themselves as standalone dining destinations rather than amenity afterthoughts. In this case, Saverina, inside the Kimpton Claret Hotel in south Denver’s Belleview Station, is helmed by executive chef Christian Graves, previously of the acclaimed Citizen Rail. Saverina specializes in Italian-inspired cuisine and sourdough pizza, but it is the pasta dishes — like the fettuccine with brisket ragu or the butternut squash agnolotti with sage, pomegranate reduction, hazelnuts and brown butter — that truly stand out.
6985 E. Chenango Ave., Denver; saverinadenver.com
Som Dee Thai Kitchen & Bar
Orrapan Botthaisong made a name for herself in metro Denver’s crowded Thai food scene with the opening of La Mai Thai, a fast-casual spot that serves some of the most impressive Thai food in town. But her latest effort sets the bar a little higher. Som Dee is a sit-own spot, beautifully decorated, and with a cocktail menu that pairs with a menu that consists of both classics and rotating chef’s specials designed to introduce Denverites to a much larger sampling of Thai cuisine than they are used to. One of the signatures is a ribeye seasoned with Thai spices and toasted with a sticky rice crust. Don’t miss the spicy, garlicky “Heatwave” shrimp, either.
1598 E. 17th Ave., Denver; somdeethaikitchen.com
Xiquita
Erasmo Casiano and Diego Coconati, of Park Hill’s Lucina Eatery & Bar, began the year with a James Beard nomination, so it was no surprise when Bon Appetit named the pair’s planned second restaurant, Xiquita, to its spring list of the seven most anticipated restaurants nationally. When Xiquita opened in August, its menu was dedicated to a style of Mexican cooking that uses modern techniques on heritage foods like squash, beans and corn — especially corn, which takes center stage here. Since then, dishes like Tlacoyo, a nixtamalized blue corn masa pillow stuffed with fava beans, salsa and goat cheese, have given Denver something new, and old, to chew on.
500 E. 19th Ave., Denver; xiquita.co