Where should I eat in northwest Denver?
Start in LoHi, which has five Michelin-recognized restaurants including Alma Fonda Fina and Mezcaleria Alma, both one-star, on the same block of 15th Street. For the state's only two-star restaurant, The Wolf's Tailor, go a few minutes north to Sunnyside. Berkeley and West Highland add three more neighborhood rooms.
Northwest Denver climbs from the South Platte up into a grid of bungalows and main streets. It holds nine Michelin-recognized restaurants across four neighborhoods, and the most decorated restaurant in Colorado.
LoHi, the Lower Highlands, sits just across I-25 and the river from downtown, linked to LoDo by pedestrian bridges. Beyond it the Highlands spread north and west: Sunnyside to the north, Berkeley around Tennyson Street and Lowell Boulevard, and West Highland along West 38th Avenue. They are close on a map but not all walkable from one another, so plan one neighborhood per evening.
How we picked these
We go neighborhood by neighborhood, from LoHi outward. Within each, Michelin stars come first, then Bib Gourmands, then recommended restaurants. Treat the sequence as editorial judgement, not a rating, and note that no listing here is paid.
LoHi
Two stars, one block
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One Michelin Star
Alma Fonda Fina
Johnny Curiel's modern Mexican restaurant at 2556 15th Street, with a chef's counter. It earned a star in 2024 as the first Colorado restaurant to be starred without a tasting-menu format.
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One Michelin Star
Mezcaleria Alma
Next door at 2550 15th Street: small plates and one of the most serious mezcal programs in the city, starred in 2025. Few cities anywhere have one chef holding stars at neighbouring addresses.
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Bib Gourmand
Ash'Kara
Modern Israeli plates with plenty of vegetables, a couple of blocks from the Curiel pair, rated Bib Gourmand.
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Recommended
Kawa Ni
A Japanese pub-style izakaya a short walk away, well suited to a lighter, drinks-led dinner. Some lists place it in a different neighborhood; by its address it sits in the Highlands.
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Recommended
Wildflower
Seasonal, plant-forward shared plates inside the Life House hotel on Navajo Street, which opened in 2020. Its chef, Aiden Tibbets, took Michelin's young-chef honour for Colorado in 2025.
Sunnyside
The only two-star in Colorado
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Two Michelin Stars
The Wolf's Tailor
Chef Kelly Whitaker's restaurant on Tejon Street became Colorado's first two-star restaurant in 2025 and kept both stars in 2026. Its eclectic multicourse tasting menu is built around Colorado ingredients, and Whitaker has described grain as the restaurant's luxury item. Michelin also gave it a sustainability Green Star in each of the first three Colorado editions.
Sunnyside around it is quiet and residential. Come for the meal, book well ahead, and treat it as the evening's only stop.
Berkeley and West Highland
Neighborhood rooms
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Bib Gourmand
The Ginger Pig
Natascha Hess started The Ginger Pig as a food truck in Boulder in 2016; the Denver restaurant on Lowell Boulevard opened in 2020 and has been a Bib Gourmand since the first Colorado guide. Asian-inspired cooking with a devoted following.
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Bib Gourmand
Glo Noodle House
Ramen on West 38th Avenue in West Highland, a Bib Gourmand in every Colorado selection.
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Recommended
Hey Kiddo
Kelly Whitaker's casual, Asian-inflected shared-plates restaurant on the third floor of the Asher hotel on Tennyson Street, opened in January 2023. Launch coverage said it takes reservations only for larger parties, so expect to walk in.
Planning
Getting around the Highlands
- LoHi from downtown. Walk from Union Station or LoDo across the pedestrian bridges over I-25 and the South Platte; it takes about ten minutes.
- Sunnyside, Berkeley and West Highland. These are a short drive or rideshare from LoHi rather than a walk. Tennyson Street in Berkeley is itself walkable once you are there.
- Pair them sensibly. The Wolf's Tailor is a full evening. For a lighter night, pair Kawa Ni or Ash'Kara with a drink at Mezcaleria Alma.
- Hotels with restaurants. Wildflower and Hey Kiddo are both in hotels, which often makes them easier for a late or last-minute table.
Two ways to spend an evening
The big night: book The Wolf's Tailor well ahead, arrive early enough to settle in, and make it the only plan. The neighborhood crawl: start with a drink on 15th Street, eat small plates at one of the Bib or recommended rooms nearby, and finish across the footbridge in LoDo. Both work best midweek, when the Highlands' small dining rooms are calmer and bookings open up.
For the full city list, see Denver restaurants by neighborhood or search the directory.
Common questions
Questions, Answered
Which LoHi restaurants have MICHELIN stars?
Alma Fonda Fina and Mezcaleria Alma, both from chef Johnny Curiel, next door to each other on 15th Street. LoHi also has Ash'Kara (Bib Gourmand), Kawa Ni and Wildflower (recommended).
Where is Denver's two-star MICHELIN restaurant?
The Wolf's Tailor, at 4058 Tejon Street in Sunnyside, northwest Denver. It is the only two-star restaurant in Colorado.
Can you walk from LoDo to LoHi?
Yes. Pedestrian bridges cross I-25 and the South Platte River, and the walk takes about ten minutes.
Sources
Where These Facts Come From
Awards and addresses are checked against the sources below. We do not publish hours or prices; confirm details with each restaurant before you go. Spotted an error? Tell us.
Keep exploring
More Denver Guides
What changed in Denver's 2026 MICHELIN Guide
Milpero's star, three new Bib Gourmands, four new names and one departure.
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Ten recognized rooms in RiNo and two new Bib Gourmands on Welton Street.
South Pearl, Wash Park and Cherry Creek
Two stars in one building, a supper club, Barolo Grill and Baker's Bib.
Mexican restaurants in Denver
Three Curiel stars, pozole in Ballpark, Cherry Creek's Alteño and more.
Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese in Denver
Kizaki, Hop Alley, MAKfam, Pig and Tiger, and Federal Boulevard's Little Saigon.
Italian restaurants in Denver
Tavernetta, Barolo Grill, Olivia, Dear Emilia, Florence Supper Club and Dio Mio.
Tasting menus and chef's counters
How Denver's counter restaurants book, what they cost in time, and how to choose.