Dining Right in Denver: Meals to remember in the Mile High City

Beautiful arrangement served at one of Id Est Hospitality Group’s Michelin star restaurants, The Wolf’s Tailor

Denver was a food city before Kelly Whitaker earned his first Michelin star, but it’s certain the Duncan, Oklahoma, native and his wife Erika have brought additional attention and traffic to their adopted city. The Whitakers’ Id Est Hospitality Group—the new owners of Midtown Oklahoma City’s nonesuch—now have two Michelin stars, one for Bruto and one for The Wolf’s Tailor. The couple are also the 2024 James Beard Award winners for Best Restaurateur, so starting a Denver trip at an Id Est Hospitality concept is a timely and delicious way to get to know the Mile High City.

“My goal as a restaurant owner is always to prioritize sustainability,” Kelly Whitaker says. He has said elsewhere that his driving force as a chef—he’s a two-time James Beard nominee as a chef, too—is to promote zero-waste cooking and sustainability practices. “We have seen firsthand how a chef counter can elevate a city’s dining culture with our work through our chef counter and Michelin awarded restaurant Bruto,” he says. “You have an opportunity to tell a deeper story and take a guest with you on a journey with this style of restaurant.”

Call Me Pearl bar at the Rally Hotel in Denver’s LoDo District

Oysters on the half shell served at Denver’s Call Me Pearl

That style also includes in a similar way The Wolf’s Tailor, where Chef Taylor Stark oversees a kitchen that creates beautiful, thoughtful cuisine tied to changing themes in a tasting menu format. Sister concept Bruto has “Top Chef” alum and Costa Rican native Byron Gomez as executive chef. Whitaker’s cerebral approach to food shows throughout menus, layout, concepting, name, etc. Bruto’s name is related to brutalism as an architectural style, which serves as a peek into how Whitaker’s brain works: Everything is intentional.

Lest you think all of the Id Est spots are too highbrow for a raucous good time, you’ll need to check out Hey Kiddo and Ok Yeah. Located in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood, the two-for-one (sort of) concepts are in stark contrast to the tasting menu sisters: loud (in a good way), energetic, rollicking, almost a concretized ADHD of a dining experience—but the food and booze are serious without losing playfulness. Hey Kiddo isn’t fusion; it’s a celebration of diversity, so you’ll find chicken liver mousse on Texas toast alongside rotating kimchi and cioppino. The bar is stellar, as are all Id Est bars, and you don’t need a reservation for Hey Kiddo or the 16-seat Ok Yeah, a bar tucked into the back of the building with an odd but wonderfully quirky view of the neighborhood.

In terms of Denver bars, the new Call Me Pearl in the Rally Hotel in the LoDo District poured some of the best cocktails of the trip, including a Mezcal-based espresso martini that converted this Mezcal avoider into a fan. The space is stunning, beginning with the striking bell-shaped chandelier that dominates the room. Soft furniture provides a nice spot for happy hour, or you can choose banquette or bar seating for Chef Stephen Greer’s focused menu that includes raw oysters and caviar.

“Top Chef ” alum Byron Gomez prepares a dish at the Michelin award-winning concept Bruto - Photograph by Jeff Fierberg

Pickled White Asparagus Tart, Bison Carpaccio, and Badger Beet Tartare served on driftwood at one of Id Est Hospitality Group’s Michelin star concepts, Bruto

Chef Dana Rodriguez received a James Beard nomination for Super Mega Bien, a spot that is as fun and whimsical as the name and Brandon and Tana Anderson’s joyful interior design imply. Her second RiNo District concept is Carne, and as that name suggests, you’re going to want to go full carnivore. It has non-meat options, but you definitely want the grilled achiote octopus, Argentinian bife de chorizo, Brazilian picanha and Colorado lamb. It’s a worldwide atlas of red meat and seafood, and even the vegetables deserve some of your attention.

Another company shaping Denver’s dining scene—and like Id Est, Boulder as well—is Frasca Hospitality Group, founded by Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey along with partner Peter Hoglund. They have a metaphorical (maybe literal) trophy case the size of that one you remember near the principal’s office from high school, and it’s full of awards, including multiple James Beard Awards.

Frasca’s Sunday Vinyl in the 16th Street Mall is directly across the street from its Italian sister concept Tavernetta. Designed around the idea of a European wine bar, and inspired by the owners’ habit of playing music for each other on Sunday evenings early in Frasca’s history, Sunday Vinyl features a remarkable sound system to pair with the stellar wine list and food menu. Do not leave without ordering the Parker House rolls and salt-roasted beets. We stayed until close, at which point our server offered to place us in the middle of the dining room and crank the sound system. The word “percussive” doesn’t do justice to the audio experience. No, everyone doesn’t get that experience, but phenomenal customer service is what this place does.

Dry Aged Tartare with Crispy Potatoes served at Hey Kiddo in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood

One of the most pleasant surprises of the trip was Point Easy, an as yet lesser-known dining option that still managed to be packed with local diners and happy hour drinkers when we arrived. It’s a neighborhood restaurant in the best sense of the word, but the food is straightforwardly dining destination quality. That includes the best Bolognese we’d ever experienced, and what were easily the most interesting, delicious cocktails of the trip, combined with an adventurous wine list that included Valdiguie by the glass and Gevry-Chambertin by the bottle.

One of the easiest aspects of traveling to Denver is the rail service from the airport. Regular visitors know that Denver’s airport and red-eyed bronco statue feel like they’re in another part of the state entirely. However, once you land in Denver, it’s a very quick walk to the train terminal, where you can catch a ride to The Crawford Hotel for $10. It provides a nice view of different parts of the city, and if you’re staying at the hotel in Union Station, it’s the most convenient option.

Denver iconic Union Station—built in 1881—reopened after a massive renovation in 2014 with The Crawford as one of its new offerings. The 112 rooms, including suites, got a redesign last year, updating the look and feel of the rooms, creating a lobby space and adding other amenities to an already award-winning hotel. Snooze is located on the ground floor, so you can grab breakfast or brunch at the restaurant that helped drive the brunch craze all over the country. The convenient location of The Crawford puts myriad dining and drinking options within easy walking distance, too, and when the trip is done, you simply jump back on the train for the ride back to the airport.