These are the restaurants I’d make a reservation for when you want your dinner plans to feel like an experience—not just another stop on the itinerary.
Here’s your curated, design-forward reservation guide to Denver
This is a growing, personal list rather than a ranking. I’ll keep updating it as I spend more time eating my way through Denver. AKA I’m manifesting more trips to the Mile High City!
La Forêt
Oui oui – La Forêt is a restaurant I stalked like a nighthawk: memorizing the menu three weeks before our reservation and mentally planning exactly what I’d order. Located in the South Broadway/SoBo neighborhood on 38 S. Broadway, this French-rustic, cocktail-forward restaurant did not disappoint at all.
Upon walking in, you feel like you’ve been transported into a mini forest. If this is what it feels like to graduate into adulthood from the nostalgic Rainforest Cafe, then consider me completely on board. La Fôret trades the animatronic animals for moody lighting and tree-lined interiors. That being said, this is a romantic dinner spot, so put on something sultry and order a bottle of red wine to go with your meals.
I’ve always known French cuisine to be decadent, with each small bite carrying far more flavor than you expect. While the portions at La Forêt lean true to French dining, this is not the kind of meal you leave feeling like you need a second dinner (which you’ll soon learn, is something that I like to do). The sauces are rich, the flavors are layered, and the dishes are just *chef’s kiss*.
While their cocktail menu was impressive and what they’re known for, I opted for a bottle of wine. It felt more French.
Their menu changes monthly, so this is what I ordered off their August 2026, Summer in Provence, menu:
- The Radish, which comes with tarragon butter and smoked salt
- Fried Frog Legs, with garlic-rosemary aioli
- Escargot, with preserved lemon, herbs, garlic, and butter
- Ratatouille, with heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, summer squash, leek, and basil
- Stag Au Poivre, with spice ash, green peppercorn, and cognac
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My Brother’s Bar
No reservations needed, but worth planning into your Denver weekend, My Brother’s Bar is the oldest bar in Denver, and their burgers are fire. Emphasis on the f i r to the e.
My Brother’s Bar is a casual, historic burger-and-beer spot located on 2376 15th Street, near LoHi/Highland. Before we dive in, I must preface this by saying that whenever my partner and I travel, we like to do what we call the pre-dinner, the dinner-dinner, and the post-dinner. It’ll all make sense once I explain it.
The pre-dinner is where we eat to get our stomach going. In this case, it was My Brother’s Bar. We’ll order a drink here as well, and then go for a walk/shop until we get to our dinner-dinner spot. The dinner-dinner spot is where we feast. Drinks. Meals. Dessert. Everything. The post-dinner is when we get home to our hotel and we Uber Eats something. Is it excessive? It can be. But anyway.
This historic bar is worth going to because not only are their burgers and beer list ah-mazing, but it’s an iconic Denver stop.
I recommend ordering their iconic Jalapeño Cream Cheese Burger and their Ralphie Burger (bison burger). Order a beer to go with those burgers too. I can’t stress this enough – the Jalapeño Cream Cheese Burger might have been the best burger I’ve had in my entire life. Sorry, Pretty Good Burger in Merced, California, My Brother’s Bar claimed your throne.
After dining here, I recommend walking to Mezcaleria Alma for cocktails. Walk off that burger and reward yourself with a delicious Mexican City inspired cocktail. Read my Denver bar guide next. *wink*
Wildflower
It was pouring rain during our visit. Pouring. Thundering. Wet. Do you know what the perfect place is for such an evening? Wildflower in LoHi. I did not stalk their menu weeks prior like I did with La Fôret in case you’re wondering. This was actually my boyfriend’s pick for dinner (hats off to him!!). Located on 3638 Navajo Street in LoHi, this moody, vintage-eclectic, stylish restaurant is a 10/10. It’s also located inside the Gravity Haus hotel (a hotel that I’d like to stay at next time!). We came here after My Brother’s Bar and Mezcaleria Alma. So this was, dinner-dinner.
Their menu features seasonal, locally sourced, plant-forward shared plates, and boy were they flavorful.
Similar to La Fôret, their menu changes frequently, so this is what I ordered off their August 2026 menu:
- Stonefruit Salad, with stracciatella, salsa macha nuoc cham, pepita, red onion, and torn herbs
- Softshell Crab, with shishito mole, strawberry, turmeric, masa, and guajillo (AMAZING!!!!)
- Corn Agnolotti, with mussel brodo, corn shoots, ancho chili peppers, and huitlacoche (ALSO AMAZING!!!)
- Moulard Duck, with smoked apple, beet tartare, yogurt, and pistachio
If I could drown myself in that shishito mole, I would. The flavors were addicting. Their cocktails were just as flavorful. We ordered the Gimme Thyme (gin, wildflower honey, mead, thyme, and lemon) as well as this cocktail that I unfortunately cannot find (forgot to take a photo of the menu and I can’t find it right now on their website or Instagram) but it came with a slice of rhubarb as garnish.
This is a beautiful spot and worth the reservation!
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Stellar Jay
I’ve had my eye on Populus since it first opened its doors a few years back. I knew that if we weren’t going to stay there, we were definitely going to dine there. Their rooftop restaurant, Stellar Jay, gave me a taste of what it would be like to stay there. It’s lively, polished, scenic, and just GORGEOUS. I saw lots of birthday celebrations happening there so this is definitely the place to celebrate that. I can also see it being the spot to celebrate an anniversary, a job promotion, and anything really.
Definitely make your reservations a week or two ahead. Bar walk-ins are first come, first served.
We came here for pre-dinner (before heading out to La Fôret) and ordered their Bread Service (comes with rebel bread co. sourdough and charred onion butter) as well as their Bangs Island Mussels (comes with fennel, tomato, and saffron). For drinks, we had the Espresso Del Diablo (made with cacao infused reposado tequila, espresso, coffee liqueur, and cinnamon), La Blanca (made with mezcal, french bitter liqueur, coconut, blanco vermouth, cachaca, and coffee tincture), and the Mile High Mai Tai (made with smith & cross rum, pineapple rum, banana liqueur, lime, coconut, and orgeat).
Before we left, our amazing server Noah treated us with glasses of champagne. A nice touch.
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Where to Eat in Denver
Denver’s restaurant scene is SO slept on. Actually, Denver is SO slept on. Such an underrated city. I hope that this guide helps you decide on where to feast when visiting this city.
If you love a good cocktail, read my guide to the best bars in Denver next – because duh what’s a dinner without a cocktail before, after, and somewhere in between.
