Colorado’s dining scene got a boost of Michelin star power this year as The Wolf’s Tailor became the first restaurant in the state to earn two stars while three others joined the one-star ranks.
Last year, the Michelin Guide added only one star in Colorado, which went to Chef Johnny Curiel’s Alma Fonda Fina, which serves comfort dishes of Guadalajara. Now in its third year in Colorado, the famously anonymous inspectors showed more generosity. Every previously starred spot held onto its rating, and with the three new additions, the state now boasts eight one-star restaurants and the aforementioned two-star destination.
Interestingly, the latest restaurants to clinch one-star recognition, Mezcaleria Alma, Kizaki, and Margot, are all newcomers to Denver’s dining scene, opening within the last year.
Add in the Bib Gourmands, which notes great food at a fair price, and Michelin’s recommended picks, and Colorado’s guide now features 50 restaurants across 15 different cuisines. Last year it was just 44, so things are moving up for the Centennial State. Here’s a closer look at the 2025 Michelin winners.
The Big Michelin Guide Winners
At Monday night’s Michelin reception, cheers erupted for the team at The Wolf’s Tailor and a palpable excitement filled the room when it was announced the concept earned two stars. Led by chef Taylor Stark, the restaurant made history as Colorado’s first to earn two Michelin stars. It’s part of chef Kelly Whitaker’s id est Hospitality Group, which also took home a star for BRUTO, and recognition for Denver’s Hey Kiddo and Basta in Boulder.
“We’re not an award-seeking group, but it’s really good validation for our team,” Whitaker said in an interview. “This is a win for Colorado farmers. This is a win for people who serve and cook food in the state of Colorado. We have this core principle at Wolf about defending the maker. And that’s what it’s really about.”
That wasn’t lost on Michelin inspectors who took note of the restaurant’s “rigorous commitment to local sourcing.”
Chef Johnny Curiel also had a big night, with all four of his restaurants recognized by Michelin. Alma Fonda Fina retained its one-star status, which it garnered in 2024. Its neighbor, Mezcaleria Alma, a Mexico City-inspired spot that opened in November 2024, earned a star of its own. His Boulder concept, Cozobi Fonda Fina, was the only new restaurant to land on the Bib Gourmand list. And Alteño, his newest venture inside the Clayton Hotel and Members Club in Cherry Creek, picked up a recommendation.
Earlier that day, Curiel and his team gathered at Hashtag for breakfast while waiting for the Michelin announcements to roll in. He admitted keeping Alma Fonda Fina unchanged was risky.
“We chose to go the route of not changing anything,” Curiel said. “We said, ‘This is who we are, we’re not changing anything. We’re not doing a tasting menu, we’re going to have happy hour and be who we are. We chose to stay true to that and open a restaurant next door with an a la carte menu and really good Mexican food and we got another star.”
Michelin inspectors praised Mezcaleria Alma dishes like an herbaceous kanpachi ceviche, aguachile with Santa Barbara-sourced uni, Hokkaido scallops with mandarin and crispy ginger, and tender, slow-cooked duck. For Curiel, the expanding Michelin recognition throughout the state cements Colorado’s status as a top-notch dining destination.
“All the chefs are super united,” he said. “We’re all pushing each other. I want to be successful in a room where everyone’s trying their hardest. This year was a great testament to that.”
New Michelin Star Winners
Michelin’s guide covers destinations that buy into the program. In Colorado, that includes Denver, Boulder, Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen, and Snowmass.
The new one-star restaurants in the 2025 Colorado guide include Mezcaleria Alma, which inspectors praised for channeling the creativity of Mexico City’s dining scene; Kizaki, a Japanese omakase counter led by chef Toshi Kizaki; and Margot, a contemporary fine-dining concept by chef Justin Fulton that shares space with Kizaki.
Michelin described Kizaki as a “veritable trailblazer of Denver’s sushi scene for more than four decades.” The chef opened his eponymous restaurant in April as a passionate “retirement” project. Kizaki is widely credited with introducing Japanese cuisine to Denver when he opened Sushi Den on South Pearl Street in December 1984. His omakase counter follows the edomae tradition, a 200-year-old Tokyo-style of sushi rooted in honoring each ingredient.
“A lot of people think I’m a businessman, but I’m a chef,” he said in an interview after receiving his Michelin star. “I love sushi. I don’t know anything besides sushi.”
Margot, which started as a pop-up, now has a permanent home with an eight-seat counter inside the same South Pearl building as Kizaki. Michelin praised chef Fulton’s cooking as both “global and distinctly Coloradan,” highlighting dishes like Parisian gnocchi with mascarpone and caviar.
The newly minted one-starred restaurants join Alma Fonda Fina in Denver, Beckon in Denver, Bosq in Aspen, Brutø in Denver, and Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder.
The Colorado Bib Gourmand Winners for 2025
The Bib Gourmand, according to Michelin, is “not quite a star, but most definitely not a consolation prize.” When the designation first came to Colorado a few years ago, the general benchmark was that diners could enjoy a meal at these spots complete with a drink and an appetizer or dessert for around $50. With rising dining costs, that figure has likely crept up.
Cozobi Fonda Fina in Boulder is the latest restaurant to earn the Bib Gourmand. It joins 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; MAKfam in Denver; Mister Oso in Denver; Tavernetta in Denver.
All these join the 31 Michelin-recommended places throughout the cities and counties that chose to bring the famous guide to the state. What do you think of the winners, and who did they miss?
