Denver Specialty
Establishment
neighborhood
Wooden Spoon
2418 W. 32nd Ave., Highlands
Everything in this family-run, neighborhood LoHi café is amazing, from their breakfast pastries (prepared fresh on-site each morning, they typically sell out quickly) to their coffee, to their flour-less apricot oatmeal bars. Their egg sandwich, served on toasted brioche—which you can customize with add-ons like bacon, Swiss, or arugula—gets a special shout-out. The space itself is as charming as you would expect, and the absence of WiFi fosters a community vibe you didn’t realize you were craving.
Huckleberry
4301 Pecos St., RiNo
This local coffee roaster began without a brick and mortar shop open to the public, but soon expanded into this flagship space thanks in part to a successful Kickstarter campaign. True to their creed, you’ll find some seriously good coffee inside, as well as a comfortable, bright space with colorful accents and outdoor seating. If you’re interested, you can also sign up to take one of their coffee workshops, which are designed to teach everything from brew methods and extraction basics to milk steaming to sensory evaluation.
Marczyk’s Fine Foods
5100 E. Colfax, Park Hill
Pete Marczyk is something of a hero to Denver foodies. His tiny, long-standing, homegrown grocery store stocks locally grown produce, imports the very best cheeses (plus a selection of great local options), and bakes their own breads, but Marczyk is probably best known for being one of the area's best butchers, as he does everything in-house and flies in gorgeous cuts of fish. The deli section has excellent sandwiches and delicious pre-made foods, and on weeknights in the summer (check the calendar) they grill hamburgers on the sidewalk outside. There's a second location up the street, too.
The Source
3350 Brighton Blvd., RiNo
Culinarily—and culturally—speaking, The Source is probably one of the most important developments Denver's seen in the past few years. Occupying a spacious former brick foundry, it's packed with some of the best restaurants and food vendors in town, and topped off with a few office spaces (Slow Food makes their Denver headquarters here), so depending on when you arrive, you'll see people going out for drinks or dinner, doing their daily shopping, or heading to work. Right when you walk in, you'll find Comida, a Mexican spot with a great happy hour and tacos, and Acorn, the Denver restaurant from Oak owner/chef Steven Redzikowski that's easily one of Denver's top fine dining establishments. There, ask for a seat in the mezzanine, which has beautiful views of the mountains during the day. People drive from across town for the baguettes and ciabatta at Babette's bakery, and you can see cuts of meat hanging through the plexiglass from her next-door neighbor, Western Daughters Butcher. Across the way, there's a small-but-mighty art gallery, Svper Ordinary, and Mondo Market, where you can pick up spices, oils, vinegars, and other pantry items. Meanwhile, in…
Sweet Action Ice Cream
52 Broadway, South Broadway
This quirky spot on South Broadway makes their own ice cream on site (using local Colorado dairy, no less), and they're known for great, quirky flavors like Stranahan's whiskey brickle, Vietnamese coffee, and champagne and strawberries. They've been on South Broadway for years, and though they don't have another location, you can find their ice cream in many of the smaller groceries around town. Their vegan ice cream is excellent, also.
Marczyk’s Fine Foods
770 E. 17th Ave., Uptown
Pete Marczyk is something of a hero to Denver foodies. His tiny, long-standing, homegrown grocery store stocks locally grown produce, imports the very best cheeses (plus a selection of great local options), and bakes their own breads, but Marczyk is probably best known for being one of the area's finest butchers, as he does everything in-house and flies in gorgeous cuts of fish. The deli section has excellent sandwiches and delicious pre-made foods, and on weeknights in the summer (check the calendar) they grill hamburgers on the sidewalk outside. There's a second location up the street, too.
Little Man Ice Cream
2620 16th St., LoHi
It's nearly impossible to miss Little Man, not only because of the line that snakes around the block, but because it's housed in a two-story silver milk carton. The mix of flavors here is delightfully all over the board, with nostalgia-inducing fluffernutter and whopper malt alongside strawberry balsamic and Earl Grey—though, in our not-so-unbiased opinion, you're doing it wrong if you don't get the famous salted Oreo. Regulars know that when the lines get unbearably long in the summer, you can fast-track by ordering from one of two small stands that they set up on the sidewalk, which offer a smaller selection of flavors (almost always including salted Oreo).
Crema
2862 Larimer St., RiNo
This cool coffee shop was an early comer to RiNo, and it's still a reliable neighborhood caffeine-pump all week long—you'll always find people typing away on laptops, or local artists and business owners getting together for meetings (particularly in the summer, when you can sit on a lovely outdoor patio). They're known for great coffee, but it's a mistake to skip the food here, particularly the brunch—we love the sweet potato waffles, the pork belly banh mi sandwich, and the everything cookie, which is packed with Oreos and pretzels.
Queensberry Coffee
3408 Navajo St., Highland
This cute little coffee shop first opened on Navajo in the center of a residential neighborhood, offering table space for workers, a small-but-perfect menu of snacks like yogurt and granola or pastries, and tons of natural light streaming in through wide windows in the front. Expect perfectly roasted Boxcar espresso in the hands of expert baristas.
Black Eye Coffee
3408 Navajo St, LoHi
This cute little coffee shop first opened on Navajo in the center of a residential neighborhood, offering table space for workers, a small-but-perfect menu of snacks like yogurt and granola or pastries, and tons of natural light streaming in through wide windows in the front. They recently opened a second location in Capitol Hill with a totally different identity, swapping their rustic hipster aesthetic for a more contemporary feel, and staying open into the evenings to serve small bites and alcohol. The one thing that's consistent: Perfectly roasted Boxcar espresso in the hands of expert baristas.