2023 marked the inception of the MICHELIN Guide Colorado selection—and with it came 5 One Stars and 4 Green Stars. This year, our Inspectors have added even more to that list.
Our brand new One Star belongs to Alma Fonda Fina in Denver, where creative techniques breathe new life into Chef Johnny Curiel's family recipes to create delicious dishes like crisped pork belly carnitas on a sourdough flour tortilla and agave-roasted sweet potato with nutty salsa matcha.
Our newest Bib Gourmand, MAKFam, began as a pop-up back in NYC, where owners and married couple Doris Yuen and Kenneth Wan first met, then became a stall in a Denver food hall, and is now, at last, a full-service restaurant. The winsome, colorful space and the compact menu both celebrate the pair's Chinese American roots.
Below, explore this year's Star-studded roster and find out yourself what captivated our Inspectors!
One Star
Alma Fonda Fina
Cuisine: Mexican
Chef Johnny Curiel started off in his family’s restaurant in Guadalajara, and after years of high-end culinary experience, he revisits dishes and flavors from his upbringing with creativity and finely honed technique delivering results that are both satisfying and delicious. Resist the temptation to fixate on any one item, as the menu is littered with treasures: perfectly crisped pork belly carnitas make for a brilliant taco on a sourdough flour tortilla, while agave-roasted sweet potato with nutty salsa matcha and luxuriously creamy whipped requesón is a revelation, and vibrant seafood crudos like thinly sliced Maine diver scallop with tomatillo and apple aguachile are downright electric. No desserts are offered for the time being, so there’s no reason to leave any extra room.
Bib Gourmand
MAKfam
Cuisine: Chinese
What began as a pop-up back in NYC, where owners and married couple Doris Yuen and Kenneth Wan first met, and then became a stall in a Denver food hall, is now at last a full-service restaurant. The winsome, colorful space and the compact menu both celebrate the pair's Chinese American roots, both having been raised by immigrant families who worked in restaurants. Fried crab and cheese wontons and hand-shaped chicken and chive potstickers are inspired by Chinatown favorites and takeout staples, made with particular care and big flavor. Chicken wings with a spicy, tingly málà seasoning are favorites with good reason, and larger dishes, like the familiar-yet-inventive corned beef fried rice or spicy garlic butter rice cakes, impress as well.
One Stars
Beckon
Cuisine: Contemporary
More than just a name, it's an ethos at this ambitious RiNo dining room from Chef Duncan Holmes where staff warmly welcome you. Once inside this Scandi-cool space, diners pull up a chair at the 18-seat counter facing the kitchen where a focused team is hard at work. Diners choose between vegetarian or omnivore menu options, but in either case vegetables are a highlight, as in a porridge of Calrose rice with black truffle, pickled hedgehog mushroom, and crispy yuba. Seared quail breast with a confit leg is spot on, especially when paired with date purée and a quail reduction enhanced with orange and foie gras. Desserts are especially captivating, like a memorable chocolate dessert with a lacy cocoa nib tuile, pomegranate jam, and a quenelle of subtle-yet-spectacular nutmeg and salsify ice cream.
Bosq
Cuisine: Contemporary
At this singular enclave, Chef Barclay Dodge and his team are executing seasonally inspired cooking that focuses on foraging, fermenting and local farms. The dimly lit interior might seem moody and mysterious at first, but everything about the experience is open and accommodating, from the charmingly loquacious staff to the menu format, which allows diners to customize their own tasting of four or more courses. From hand-picked spruce tips to butter from locally sourced cooperative dairy cows, this is a concept that pays attention to details—even ingredients from farther afield, like lobster from New England, gets a hit of local flavor from being grilled over juniper wood.
Cuisine: Italian
One Star Green Star
Brutø
Cuisine: Mexican / Contemporary
This hip spot from Kelly Whitaker's Id Est Hospitality Group is tucked away in the Dairy Block's Free Market. Chef Byron Gomez runs the show here, where the team takes a serious approach to locality and seasonality, including a dedicated fermentation program that highlights both grains and produce. The mastery of the hearth as the primary cooking implement makes this operation special, and infuses each of the tasting menu's courses with distinct notes. The menu, which incorporates Japanese and Nordic elements, has a clear narrative, embodied in dishes like kombu-cured diver scallop with fermented crabapple and chamomile. The non-alcoholic pairings are especially intriguing, as in the lamb fat-washed old fashioned.
One Star Green Star
The Wolf's Tailor
Cuisine: Contemporary
Offering a dining experience as intriguing as its name, this comfortable haven blends together creativity, attention to detail, and charm. Chef Taylor Stark and his team stitch together a thoughtful, delicious multicourse menu from culinary influences near and far. Depending on the season, a meal might include a Berkshire pork dumpling with a turmeric and dill broth, inspired by the flavors of Chiang Mai, or a perfectly wood-fired Colorado spring lamb loin with cherry tonkatsu sauce, offering a Japanese twist to local products. Despite its far-flung influences, the cuisine manages to fit together perfectly, offering a cohesive style that emphasizes excellent ingredients with faultless technique. Paired with effortlessly gracious service and an in-depth beverage program of beguiling cocktails (and their dry counterparts) alongside carefully curated wines, this one-of-a-kind experience stands apart from the pack.
Green Star
Blackbelly Market
Cuisine: Steakhouse / American
Chef/owner Hosea Rosenberg is a familiar name in these parts, and Blackbelly Market is just one of the reasons why. There are plenty of spots to sip and snack here, whether at the counter facing the open kitchen, the well-stocked bar area, or the polished, dark wood tables. Take a peek at the refrigerated, glassed-in butchery room, where you may see Head Butcher Kelly Kawachi holding court. You'll taste her handiwork across the menu, and in the charcuterie boards showcasing duck rillette, pork terrine, headcheese and saucisson. Koji-cured pork is supremely flavorful, while agnolotti made of caramelized onion dough in a fragrant mushroom "brodo" is an inventive twist. For the win, order the donuts, especially the chocolate hazelnut cream with hazelnut caramel and milk chocolate-hazelnut topping.
Green Star
Bramble & Hare
Cuisine: American
It's a farmhouse-meets-lodge vibe at Jill and Chef Eric Skokan's Bramble & Hare, where wood paneled walls and wood floors keep things rustic, and chairs and loveseats are draped with fur throws for an extra dose of charm. The couple's own farm supplies most of the inspiration for the dishes on this American menu—even down to the prosciutto they age in-house from their own pigs. Those impressive ingredients aren't gussied up in this kitchen, where a smart but straightforward cooking style allows them to truly shine. Many items are married in new and creative ways. Case in point? The salted turnips served with a pistachio purée, pickled onions and that fantastic house-cured prosciutto, delivering a fantastic surprise in a well-balanced, bright dish.
Bib Gourmands
Ash'Kara
Cuisine: Israeli
Basta
Cuisine: Contemporary
Glo Noodle House
Cuisine: Ramen
Hop Alley
Cuisine: Chinese
La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal
Cuisine: Mexican
Mister Oso
Cuisine: Latin American
Tavernetta
Cuisine: Italian
The Ginger Pig
Cuisine: Chinese
Hero image: Jeff Fierberg / MAKfam
Thumb image: KARL WOLFGANG / Bosq
