A Complete List Of Colorado’s Michelin Star Restaurants

Colorado’s culinary scene is officially on the Michelin map: Five restaurants have earned Michelin stars and dozens more garnered recommendations from the esteemed guide.

On Tuesday, Colorado officially became the eighth North America Michelin Guide destination, joining New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., California, Florida, Toronto and Vancouver. Atlanta is up next.

In Colorado, the night’s biggest Michelin winner was Id Est, the hospitality group that’s led by Chef Kelly Whitaker and that’s behind Bruto in Denverand The Wolf’s Tailor. Bruto, a 15-seat chef’s counter with an omakase-style Latin cuisine and The Wolf’s Tailor, a restaurant where menus rotate with the seasons, each earned one Michelin star plus the Michelin green star, which honors sustainable restaurants.

The Wolf’s Tailor—which serves seasonal cocktails (think: a fermented cocktail with local honey crowned with an heirloom tomato foam)—also took home the exceptional cocktails award presented by Basil Hayden.

During the past year, Michelin guide inspectors have been anonymously dining in culinary hot spots throughout the state, including Denver, Boulder, Beaver Creek, Vail, Aspen, and Snowmass. Earlier this month, the guide announced nine “Bib Gourmand” establishments—places where you can get a great meal at a moderate price.

Ahead, a complete list of Colorado restaurants that have newly minted Michelin accolades.

Which Colorado Restaurants Earned Michelin Stars?

Colorado officially has Michelin star restaurants. While no restaurant in the state achieved two or three-star status, five restaurants achieved one star status.

Colorado one-star Michelin restaurants are:

• Beckon in Denver: Michelin inspectors noted that Chef Duncan Holmes’ Scandi-cool space has an 18-seat counter facing the kitchen where a focused team is hard at work. Beckon serves multi-course tasting menus that rotate with the seasons.

• Bosq in Aspen: Diners can customize a tasting menu at Bosq, where Chef Barclay Dodge and his team execute seasonal dishes focused on foraging, fermenting and sourcing from local farms, according to the inspector notes. “Even ingredients from farther afield, like lobster from New England, gets a hit of local flavor from being grilled over juniper wood,” according to Michelin.

• Bruto in Denver: Michelin inspectors were impressed by Chef Micahel Diaz de Leon’s approach to seasonality and locality, all the way down to the grains that are milled or nixtamalized in-house. “The menu, which is Mexican at its core, has a clear narrative, and is perhaps best displayed in lamb prepared two ways — as a street-style taco and ground lamb leg kushiyaki with a quenelle of mole chichilo,” the guide says.
• Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder: Michelin inspectors took note of Chef Ian Palazzola’s focus on food of the northeast Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. “Focused and distinct, the menu might showcase a lesser-known part of Italy, but the ingredients are clearly Coloradan,” according to the inspector notes.

• The Wolf’s Tailor in Denver: The creative multi-course menu at The Wolf’s Tailor impressed Michelin inspectors who say diners will find a “common thread in cooking that highlights ingredients while displaying technical precision and harmonious flavors, with fermentation a frequent motif.”

Which Colorado Restaurants Earned Green Star Michelin Awards?

From Bramble and Hare’s organic 70-acre farm that grows 250 varieties of vegetables, herbs and grain to Bruto’s fermentation program that creates umami-based ingredients, Michelin also recognized Denver and Boulder restaurants with green stars.

Here are the Colorado restaurants that received Michelin green stars:

• Blackbelly Market in Boulder
• Bramble & Hare in Boulder
• Bruto in Denver
• The Wolf’s Tailor in Denver

What are the Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurants in Denver?

Michelin highlights restaurants where you can get a two-course meal and a glass of wine and dessert for roughly $50 or so. Here’s the nine restaurants that earned Bib Gourmand status in Denver and Boulder.

• AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q in Denver
• Ash’Kara in Denver
• Basta in Boulder
• The Ginger Pig in Denver
• Glo Noodle House in Denver
• Hop Alley in Denver
• La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal in Denver
• Mister Oso in Denver
• Tavernetta in Denver

All of the Michelin ‘Recommended Restaurants’ in Colorado

Michelin inspectors also recommended 30 restaurants throughout Colorado.

• A5 Steakhouse in Denver
• Barolo Grill in Denver
• Blackbelly Market in Boulder
• Bramble & Hare in Boulder
• Dio Mio in Denver
• Dushanbe Tea House in Boulder
• element 47 in Aspen
• Fruition in Denver
• Hey Kiddo in Denver
• Guard and Grace in Denver
• Marco’s Coal Fired in Denver
• Mawa’s Kitchen in Aspen
• Mercantile Dining & Provision in Denver
• Mirabelle in Beaver Creek
• Noisette in Denver
• Oak at Fourteenth in Boulder
• Olivia in Denver
• Osaki’s in Vail
• Potager in Denver
• Prospect in Aspen
• Q House in Denver
• Safta in Denver
• Santo in Boulder
• Smok in Denver
• Splendido at the Chateau in Beaver Creek
• Stella’s Cucina in Boulder
• Sweet Basil in Vail
• Temaki Den in Denver
• Wyld in Beaver Creek
• Zoe Ma Ma in Denver and Boulder

Colorado Restaurants that Received Michelin Special Awards

Beyond the stars, Michelin granted four special awards.

• Exceptional Cocktails Award: Caroline Clark, The Wolf’s Tailor in Denver
• Sommelier Award: Ryan Fletter and Erin Lindstone, Barolo Grill in Denver
• Outstanding Service Award, Sergei Kiefel and front-of-house team, Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder
• Young Chef/Culinary Professional Award, Kelly Kawachi, Blackbelly Market in Boulder