Your Essential Colorado Food Bucket List: 50 Things You Must Eat and Drink in Denver

I’ve written a lot about the Denver dining scene and one thing’s for sure — it’s not is boring. Eater called Colorado the world of new American cuisine and while approachable small plates and farm-to-table dishes are ubiquitous throughout the city, there are a few more interesting, must-have Colorado food and eating experiences in the Mile High.

These are the quintessential meals and dishes that define Colorado dining from the signature dishes to the iconic restaurants (no Rocky Mountain oysters required). How many have you checked off your Denver dining bucket list?

1. Put your pinkies up for tea at the Brown Palace

2. Indulge in Salted Caramel Oreo ice cream from Little Man (yes, it is worth waiting for and snapping a photo with that iconic milk bottle, but if you are impatient they also run an ice cream empire with adorable outposts all over town).

3. Dine at Linger, the city’s only “eatuary” (a former mortuary turned restaurant)

4. Visit the local Top Chef restaurants – Carrie Baird’s Bar Dough and Hosea Rosenberg’s Blackbelly Market

5. Toss back an edible flower shot at the Refinery in LoDo

6. Have a big, juicy burger from Cherry Cricket

7. Create your own Cheers at Denver’s oldest bar, My Brother’s Bar

8. Do a brew tour at Coors (it’s free and comes with three free beers) or make a DIY craft beer crawl

9. Splurge on sushi from Izakaya Den or Uchi (flown in fresh from Japan daily)

10. Subject yourself to the worst Mexican food ever in a strip mall at Casa Bonita just to see the indoor cliff divers and Black Bart’s hideaway from South Park (yeah, it’s real)

11. Get a smothered green chile breakfast burritos from Santiago’s

12. Enjoy a margarita from the Rio (there’s a limit of two for a reason!)

13. Make your own burrito bowl at Illegal Pete’s with all the fixin’s

14. Experience Voodoo Donuts (it is open 24/7 for all the late night cravings)

15. See how strong Denver’s brunch game is at Snooze (get the pancake flight), Sassafras, or Lucile’s (don’t miss the beignets)

16. Run for the Roses (choose your drink by card) and dine in the Dairy Block, Denver’s coolest microdistrict

17. Experience Denver’s robust food hall scene (there are now more than a dozen!) at one of the OGs, Avanti Food & Beverage

18. Grab late night grub at Denver Diner (the fry plate is big enough to share)

19. Transport yourself to little Asia with legit pho from any of the numbered joints on Federal

20. Have an authentic dim sum brunch at Star Kitchen

21. Try some of Colorado’s best green chile from Sam’s No.3

22. Experience frontier and cowboy cuisine in the form of wild game from the Fort

23. Treat yourself to late night happy hour at Hapa (the multiple orgasm rolls and the Mork & Mindy are always crowd pleasers)

24. Get down on a crazy hot dog from Biker Jim’s (Jackalopes may not be real, but their meat sure is tasty)

25. Experience the wonder of Pad Thai pig ears from Euclid Hall

26. Embrace the ramen (Uncle or Osaka) and poke bowl from Ohana trends

27. Challenge your inner Man vs. Food with a giant biscuit sandwich from Atomic Cowboy (featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives)

28. Experience Southwest’s best Tex Mex with tacos from Tacos de Mexico, Tacos Tequila Whiskey or Torchy’s (two Denver natives and an Austin import)

29. Make it an unlimited meat feast at Rodizio Grill, our local version of Fogo de Chao

30. See Denver’s incredible revitalization at Union Station (personal favorites include Tavernetta and Mercantile)

31. Taste the fusion confusion and flavor explosion of cooking with pop rocks at Los Chingones or one of Chef Troy Guard’s other outposts (lowkey my fav chef)

32. Pour yourself a flight of local microbrews at First Draft (an innovative taproom tracked via swipe cards)

33. Toss back a pickle shot at Retro Room (garnished with a scorpion if you’re brave)

34. Channel your inner lumbersexual with cocktails at Forest Room 5

35. Be transported to the Caribbean at Cuba Cuba

36. Visit one of our local speakeasies at Williams and Graham (one of the top 50 cocktail bars in the world) or Green Russell

37. Dine al fresco under the stars in Larimer Square, Denver’s most historic neighborhood

38. Tuck in for a night of games at Punch Bowl Social (or 1up)

39. Drink wine on tap from Infinite Monkey Theorem (Colorado actually has more than 80 wineries as identified in this Colorado wine guide)

40.Sign your name on the ceiling of the Sink in Boulder (even Obama’s done it)

41.Sample boozy shakes from Steuben’s

42. Experience authentic vegetarian cuisine at City o’ City

43. Gorge on the homemade pitas at Safta.

44. Pair Asian cusine with Ping Pong at Ace Eat Serve

45. Taste shareable local favorites from Work & Class in trendy RiNo

46. Eat oysters and chicken liver from Cart-Driver after meandering the RiNo murals

47. Appreciate exceptional butchery with charcuterie from Beast and Bottle

48. Try Colorado’s signature pizza, Beau Jo’s with honey to dip the crust

49. Dine on oysters at the iconic Jax Fish House or Angelo’s who has the best late night happy hour in town

50. Embrace your inner flower child at raw food night at Root Down (a four-course vegan dinner)

Food in Colorado is… Different

enver’s food scene is a high-altitude smorgasbord that’s equal parts creative, comforting, and occasionally, completely unhinged (we’re looking at you, Rocky Mountain oysters). But that’s the beauty of dining in the Mile High City. It doesn’t just feed you—it tells you a story, lets you in on an inside joke, and dares you to try something just left of center.

From green chile evangelists to craft beer geeks, brunch devotees to donut pilgrims, Denver’s got something for every kind of eater—except the indecisive. So bring your appetite and maybe a stretchy pair of pants, because crossing off all 50 of these is a culinary adventure that might take a few weekends (or a few lifetimes). Either way, it’s worth the trip.

Am I missing anything? What are your must-have meals in the Mile High?

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