106. Mezcal
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 322-5219
Address: 3230 E. Colfax Ave.
Insider Pick:
Description: This authentic taqueria/cantina serves homestyle regional cuisine from across Mexico. With an extensive menu ranging from red chile posole and mole rojo to fish tacos and tampiquena, Mezcal has won a devoted local following. The restaurant is warmly decorated with Mexican wrestling posters and Moroccan lamps, and the margaritas are excellent. More than 270 tequilas are available. Happy hour takes place 7 days a week 4–6 p.m.
107. Morrison Inn
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 697-6650
Address: 301 Bear Creek Ave.
Description: This is a fun, Americanized restaurant in an 1885 building smack in the heart of the foothills town of Morrison. It’s known for custom-made (not premixed) margaritas and for its designation as a beginning—or ending—spot for motorcycle riders, mountain bikers, and hikers. The fare is standard Mexican served for lunch and dinner daily.
108. Pinche Tacos
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Insider Pick:
Description: Serving Mexican comida de la calle (street food) from a trailer, Pinche Tacos offers a full menu of delicious breakfast, vegetarian, beef, pork, and chicken tacos. Tacos are served on locally made corn tortillas and everything is made fresh daily. Check the website for their Facebook page and additional street locations.
109. Pinche Taqueria
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (720) 502-4608
Address: 3300 W. 32nd Ave.
Insider Pick:
Description: The food cart proved so popular that Pinche Tacos opened these brick-and-mortar restaurants. They add a contemporary twist to Mexican street food using authentic regional recipes and local products whenever possible. Their specialty? Street tacos, of course.
110. Playa de Oro
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 433-5777
Address: 3551 W. 38th Ave.
Description: Playa de Oro is known for its crispy, golden brown chile rellenos—poblano chiles stuffed with Monterey Jack. They also serve a wide array of other Mexican dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner Monday through Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. Prices are incredibly low to very reasonable.
111. Rosa Linda’s Mexican Cafe
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 455-0608
Address: 2005 W. 33rd Ave.
Description: You say you want a neighborhood restaurant? Check out this one. Run by the Aquirre family since 1985, Rosa Linda’s is a small, plain place with great burritos, enchiladas, and soft chile rellenos. It wins awards for its shredded beef burritos, chile rellenos, and other specialties. There are a few tables on the sidewalk. Open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
112. Table Mountain Grill & Cantina
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 277-9898
Address: 1310 Washington Ave.
Description: Enter the restaurant at the modern adobe-style Table Mountain Inn for Southwestern dishes that range from prime rib of buffalo to cowboy chops and grilled salmon. For lunch, choose among buffalo burgers, chicken, salads, and daily specials—all spiced and prepared with Southwestern flair. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner served daily. Brunch is available Saturday and Sunday.
113. Tamayo
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (720) 946-1433
Address: 1400 Larimer St.
Insider Pick:
Description: A perennial downtown favorite, Tamayo merges Old Mexico flavors with a modern twist to create delicious contemporary Mexican cuisine. The patio is a nice place to relax and sip one of their more than 100 tequilas as the sun sets. Open for lunch Monday through Friday and for dinner every night.
114. Taqueria Patzcuaro
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 455-4389
Address: 2616 W. 32nd Ave.
Description: A casual restaurant in a Spanish-speaking pocket of the Highland area, Taqueria Patzcuaro draws fans from all over the city with traditional Michoacán dishes as well as its green chile and soft tacos.
115. Bonnie Brae Tavern
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 777-2262
Address: 740 S. University Blvd.
Description: The crowds! The noise! The pizza! This astoundingly popular neighborhood pizza joint was founded in 1934 and is always busy. It’s a fun place, but don’t come here if you’re in a hurry. Bonnie Brae serves lunch and dinner daily except Monday. Takeout is available.
116. Cafe Colore
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 534-6844
Address: 1512 Larimer St.
Description: Cafe Colore has a menu that’s built around a clever gimmick: Pizzas come with sauces of red, green, or white, the three colors of the Italian flag. Other Italian entrees, plus calzones, are available. You can enjoy eating outside on the patio in good weather.
117. Lucky Pie Pizza & Tap House
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 825-1021
Description: Choose from a dozen innovative pizza entrees or create your own from a selection of meats, cheeses, and toppings. Offering traditional Neapolitan-style pizza with a twist, Lucky Pie combines old-world with top-quality local and Italian ingredients. The menu includes a fine selection of cheeses, soups, salads, charcuterie, and other entrees. Beer aficionados will be happy with the 21 rotating taps of craft beer, both local and from around the world. Lucky Pie offers 25 wines by the glass and a full bar, including original, handcrafted cocktails.
118. Marco’s Pizzeria
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 296-7000
Address: 2129 Larimer St.
Description: Naples is the birthplace of pizza, and Marco’s serves authentic Neapolitan pizza, New York pizza pies, and a nice variety of salads. Combining Italian flour and cheeses with fresh local produce, this pizzeria turns out some of the best pizza in Metro Denver. A second location is in Englewood at 10111 Inverness Main St. (303-790-9000).
119. Parisi
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 561-0234
Address: 4401 Tennyson St.
Description: Parisi is a combination grocery, Italian deli, trattoria, and pizzeria—and it excels in all areas. Simone Parisi, who grew up in Florence, makes pizza in the true Italian tradition, meaning you order a rustica or Margherita, not pepperoni and mushroom. The crust is medium-thick, the tomato sauce chunky, and the mozzarella fresh. Multicourse dishes from the more formal trattoria are equally fresh and delicious. Enjoy your meal in the recently renovated building or have your feast packed to go. You can also find authentic Italian groceries on the shelves in the shop. The deli and pizzeria side is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, and the trattoria is open Wednesday through Saturday for dinner.
120. Pasquini’s Pizzeria
City: Denver, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 744-0917
Address: 1310 S. Broadway
Description: A nifty little pizzeria with an artsy interior and mosaic-topped tables, Pasquini’s serves New York–style thin crust, sauceless bianca, and thick-crust Sicilian-style pizzas and individual pizzettas with interesting toppings. Also on the menu are calzones and subs. The original Pasquini’s is nestled amid the antiques stores on South Broadway at Louisiana Avenue. The latest is a hipster-style neighborhood joint in the Highland neighborhood. Takeout and delivery are available. For area location information, check out their website.