Denver Restaurant Week: so much potential, so much disappointment. We all want an epic dinner at a great price, but it doesn’t always work out that way. (Pay $90 for overdone pork tenderloin? Pass.)
With 258 restaurants (and counting) participating in Visit Denver’s 13th annual event Feb. 24-Mar. 5, and a new three-tier pricing system ($25, $35 or $45 per person), you’re going to need a game plan. We’re talking strategies, mission statements, road maps. This is no ordinary dinner; no, this is Restaurant Week. You have to ask yourself the tough questions, like quality of ingredient or quality of restaurant? Big, broad menu, or short and focused? Decisions like these can shake the weak to their cores.
But that’s why we’re here. We’ve scoured the menus, eaten the crappy tenderloins and perfected the tactics so you don’t have to. Here’s our restaurant week survival guide — complete with picks for each price point — so you don’t get burned.
Strategy 1: For the restaurant name-checkers
If you think $200 is better spent on your monthly utility bill than on a single dinner, you may want to consider using restaurant week as an opportunity to taste-test the fanciest, most expensive restaurant you possibly can while it’s on sale. These three spots are consistently rated among the best in Colorado (or are owned and operated by the best) — and their normal prices reflect that.
$25 Brider —The latest restaurant from the team behind Acorn and Oak at Fourteenth, Brider is a fast-fine (think fast casual meets fine dining) eatery inside the Nichols Building on Platte Street. Its regular pricing is far below that of its sister restaurants, but you get the same thoughtfulness and quality. Don’t miss the leg of lamb and crispy Brussels sprouts.1644 Platte St., 303-455-3084,
$35 Root Down — Organic doesn’t come cheap, my friends, and a single entree alone can go for almost $35 at this field-to-fork pioneer. While restaurant week choices don’t use the fanciest of ingredients — your entree options are pork, chicken or fish — you’re still getting a deal. 1600 W. 33rd Ave., 303-993-4200,
$45 Old Major—– One of the city’s meccas for meat is keeping it simple during restaurant week: you start with Hamachi crudo or beef tartare; main course is either sea scallops or a nose-to-tail plate featuring sausage, crispy pig ears and red wine-glazed pork belly. The $45 price tag may still be steep, but compared to regular prices it’s like getting a free dessert. 3316 Tejon St., Denver, 720-420-0622,
Strategy 2: Good-ingredient hunting
If you’re spending a pretty penny on dinner, you don’t want chicken. These are your best bets for premium proteins like lobster, duck, lamb and quail.
$25 Cherry Crest Seafood Restaurant & Market — This just may be your only chance to get lobster tail, soup/salad and dessert for $25 a person. Take it. 5909 S. University Blvd., Greenwood Village, 303-798-2600,
$35 Cafe Prague — This cafe doesn’t get a lot of attention (probably because it’s hidden up in Morrison) but it cooks up solid Eastern European food in a cozy setting. Their menu is very meat-centric, and Restaurant Week is no different. Choose from lamb shank in a rosemary garlic demiglace, stuffed quail with lingonberry sauce, and bohemian duck with potato and bread dumplings. 209 Bear Creek Ave., Morrison, 303-697-9722,
$45 Charcoal ٲܰԳ— You can’t go wrong with duck confit cassoulet. (It’s a scientific fact; we checked.) It just feels so rich and luxurious. Charcoal slow-cooks bacon, sausage and duck with tender cannellini beans for the perfect winter night dish. We wouldn’t kick their appetizer choices out of bed, either; mussels or pâté, anyone? 43 W. 9th Ave., Denver, 303-454-0000, charcoaldining.com
Strategy 3: What’s new?
While established restaurants may dumb down their menus for restaurant week — they’ve already got a following, after all, so who are they trying to impress? — the new kids on the block are smartening theirs up. They want to get you in to show you their best, and get you coming back for more once the deals are done.
$25 Stones on 32nd —Stones on 32nd opened last spring in the midst of a very crowded restaurant scene —both figuratively and literally, as they’re located next to the Avanti food hall. But the Colorado comfort food served here is worth seeking out. Try the green chile tater tots, poblano chicken pot pie and devil’s food cake for even-better versions of childhood favorites. 3211 N. Pecos St., Denver, 720-328-4270,
$35 Coperta — One of the best deals of the week, this top-notch Italian restaurant from Beast + Bottle’s chef Paul C. Reilly gives you a bonus course. You read that right. In addition to an app and dessert, Coperta does as the Italians do and offers both a primi (pasta) and secondi (entrée) course. Good luck choosing between the equally amazing orecchiette (small, ear-shaped pasta) with sausage and the pappardelle with tangy monkfish sauce. 400 E. 20th Ave., Denver, 720-749-4666,
$45 Hearth & Dram — This wood-fire restaurant opened just last month, so you know they’re looking to score some fans. Their menu aims big, with a fried blue crab starter, smoked sirloin with steak fat potatoes and hazelnut praline profiteroles among the Restaurant Week choices. Oh, and they have more than 300 whiskeys. So there’s that.1801 Wewatta St., Denver, 303-623-0979,
Strategy 4: If it ain’t broke …
Some restaurants use this week as an opportunity to try out new dishes, which could result in culinary epiphanies … or kitchen disasters. These selections put a good chunk of their regular menus, or in some cases their full menus, up for grabs.
$25 (Tie) Little India and Trattoria Stella — We couldn’t decide between these two because, well, they are both bribing us with booze. Little India on East 6th Avenue is opening up its full menu and washing it down with a bottle of house wine. Meanwhile, Trattoria Stella on West 32nd Avenue offers a large portion of their stellar menu, plus a glass of red or white wine. Little India of Denver, 330 E. 6th Ave., Denver, 303-871-9777, littleindiaofdenver.com; Trattoria Stella, 3470 W. 32nd Ave., Denver, 303-458-1128,
$35 Avelina — This LoDo restaurant actually covers all of our strategies. It has big-name chefs John Broening and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom (pastry) at the helm; its Restaurant Week menu features prime ingredients like lamb and short ribs; it just opened this past September; and Avelina is offering many dishes off of their regular menu. It’s a Restaurant Week slam-dunk. 1550 17th St., Denver, 720-904-6711,
$45 Downtown Denver Aquarium ٲܰԳ— OK, so it’s not offering its entire regular menu (some core meals like herb-crusted salmon and tilapia New Orleans made it on), but it’s got awesome bonuses. Forget mountain views; here you’ve got the ocean via a 50,000-gallon tank full of tropical fish — you know, just in case you wanted to look your dinner in the eye before eating it. You also score a pass to the aquarium — worth $19.50 — so you’re really getting dinner and a show. 700 Water St., Denver, 303-561-4450,