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Top New Hotspot Restaurants In Denver

It seems new bars and restaurants open in Denver faster than you get get to the bottom of a laundry basket. New culinary talents are serving up everything fancy drinks, daring wines, street food and, in true Denver fashion, more beer than you can image!
Ale House at Amato's
Kellee Roberts and Melissa Ward at Ale House at Amato's (credit: Sarah Carpenter)

Ale House at Amato's

2501 16th Street
Denver, CO 80211
(303) 433-9734
breckbrew.com
Breckenridge Brewery headed to Highlands for it's newest spot, the Ale House at Amato's. This new brewery hot spot has 42 beers on tap and 37 of them are Colorado brews including 15 signature Breckenridge beers. You can enjoy beer battered food and brews of choice on either their rooftop or main level patio; both offer amazing views of downtown and the mountains. Hop on the 16th Street Mall Shuttle and take the pedestrian bridges to relax at the Ale House if you're tired of the downtown scene.

Tag Raw Bar
Tag Raw Bar (credit: Sarah Carpenter)

Tag Raw Bar

1423 Larimer Street Suite 010
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 996-2685
tagrawbar.com/
Denver's first raw food and drink bar is Tag Raw Bar in Larimer Square. Chefs Sam Freund and Shaun Motoda and "Cocktail Magician" Joshua Smith are the magic team. "Raw" food means it comes straight from the source, no cooking. The menu includes the Ahi Cube, and Belgian endive leaves stuff with apples, walnuts and gorgonzola. The menu also includes "Almost Raw" dishes including Kobe beef tataki with arugula pesto, tomato relish and kogane. The drinks include raw juice infusions.

Lou's Food Bar
Lou's Food Bar (credit: Sarah Carpenter)

Lou's Food Bar

1851 West 38th Avenue
Denver, CO 80211
(303) 458-0336
lousfoodbar.com
Frank Bonnano, owner of fine Denver dining sites Mizuna and Osteria Marco, branched out to Highlands with Lou's Food Bar on 38th Avenue. It's American food with a French twist and a bit more modern than many of the other neighboring spots. Bonnano transformed the old biker bar into a restaurant with a clean, diner feel (right down to Mason jar glasses) but the menu boasts gourmet creations including escargot with gruyere gratinee and Lou's housemade sausage. Don't skip the wine list, it's about four times as large as the food menu.

Bittersweet
Bittersweet (credit: Sarah Carpenter)

Bittersweet

500 East Alameda Avenue
Denver, CO 80209
(303) 942-0320
bittersweetdenver.com
Bittersweet started its life as a gas station but is now a 60 seat restaurant with a focus on creating meals that go straight from the farm to the table. You'll find healthy and simple dishes like the Alscacienne tart with spring vegetables and Haystack Mountain goat cheese. Bittersweet also challenges your taste buds with dishes like Barramundi with manila clam fiddle head fern salad, English pea puree, and Worcestershire Beurre Blanc sauce. The restaurant promises seasonal menus based on what's growing in the garden.

Street Kitchen Asian Bistro
Street Kitchen Asian Bistro (credit: Sarah Carpenter)

Street Kitchen Asian Bistro

10111 Inverness Main Street
Englewood, CO 80112
(303) 799-9800
streetkitchenasianbistro.com
Nín chi-le ma? That is just one out of six ways to say "Have you eaten today?" as posed in Mandarin on the window and menus of Denver Tech Center's Street Kitchen Asian Bistro. The bistro serves up six types of Asian food, all street style. The menu boasts Chinese rangoons filled with blue crab and goat cheese, spicy tuna roll wrapped in avocado and shaved jalepenos, and Kare Laksa with shrimp, tofu, poached egg, and pineapple served with rice noodles and a spicy coconut curry broth. Best time to go is lunch.

- Sarah Carpenter lives in Littleton, where she was born and raised. She spent a decade in Downtown Denver, and its surrounding neighborhoods, going to school for writing, working in the service industry, and getting to know Denver's diverse culture. She has a passion for travel writing, local and afar, focusing the story on its people, culture and region.

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