There are many reasons to enjoy the fruits of Restaurant Week, from great deals to special menu items to trying new places. This year the list boasts 307 spots. Most are in Denver, but a handful reside outside the metro area. The event starts on Friday, March 7, and goes until March 16. Pursue the whole list at denverrestaurantweek.com.
Good Deals During Restaurant Week
Steuben’s in Uptown offers a great bang for your buck. For $35 you get three courses, including the Connecticut or Maine lobster roll. On the normal menu, both run $36. With that in mind, during Restaurant Week you’re also getting a salad or bowl of clam chowder, and the restaurant’s addictive banana pudding. 523 E. 17th Ave., Denver, steubens.com
Now is the time to try Magna Kainan if you haven’t already. Run by chefs Carlo Lamagna and Max Mackissock,the Filipino restaurant offers three courses for $45. When picking the first one, choose two of the dishes from seven. For example Sugpo, or Skull Island, prawns, and Repolyo, a charred cabbage with a sweet chili glaze and chicken skin gremolata. The second course has three dishes to pick from, including crispy lamb neck, crispy pork belly, and mussels in a tamarind broth. The meal finishes with Bibingka, a dessert featuring a rice cake with smoked gouda and salted egg caramel. 1350 40th St., Denver, magnadenver.com
Table 6 has also stepped into Restaurant Week with a $55 menu featuring most of chef Aniedra Nichols’ current entrees. This ranges from Ginger Honey Glazed Icelandic Cod to the Forger’s Pie, as well as a special dish for the week, Grilled Beef Coulotte. But before that, start the meal with your choice of Pepper Popper Tots, Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup, or a Butter Lettuce Salad. For dessert get the chef’s take on cherries jubilee with chocolate beignets, cherry sauce, and vanilla cream. Or on the lighter side, the panna cotta with kiwi sauce sounds delightful. 609 Corona St., Denver, table6denver.com
Restaurant Week Special Menus
On the Italian side, chef Paul C. Reilly’s Coperta boasts four-courses for $45. It’s a Restaurant Week deal that should be taken advantage of since almost every option is special to the event. Start with Black Olive-Polenta Fritters or Broccoli Caesar. The second course features Bucatini All’Amatriciana or Bustiate, which is pesto siciliana with sun dried tomatoes, currants, and almonds. The final savory course can be Papperdelle with a duck leg ragu, or the vegetarian option, Gnocchi alla Romana with truffle and mushrooms. Finish the meal with a simple chocolate budino. Take a look at the amaro list too, it’s the perfect way to cap off a meal. 400 E. 20th Ave., Denver, copertadenver.com
We’re also excited about the $45 meal at The Bindery in LoHi where chef Linda Hampsten Fox also made some new menu items for Restaurant Week. For example, the Passionfruit Habanero Aguachile and Birria soup. For the second course she offers Brown Sugar Braised Pork Shanks With Mole Verde or Frutti di Mare Risotto, aka seafood risotto. Dessert features Chocolate Basque Cheesecake with orange and ginger compote, or the Whipped Tahini Cake, which both sound delicious. 1817 Central St., Denver, thebinderydenver.com
Explore New-To-You Places
Restaurant Weel also gives us an opportunity to explore places on our must-try list. For example, Cuba Cuba, a lively eatery inside a historic home in the Golden Triangle that’s doing a $25 special. The limited menu includes the Cuban Caesar, a Cuban chorizo-beef hamburger, and tres leches cake. Bonus, the hamburger isn’t on the normal menu so you’re getting something extra special. 1173 Delaware St., Denver, cubacubarestaurants.com
Last year Bill Taibe brought his Connecticut hot spot Kawa Ni to Denver, and if you haven’t been, now is a good time. During Restaurant Week the Japanese eatery offers a three-course meal for $55. The only trick with this one is getting a reservation. Still, if you can wait it’s worth it to order the best broccoli salad ever, the Shaved Broccoli Miso Goma, which is $16 on the regular menu. Each course has multiple options. For the second, we’re eyeing the Kung Pao Karaage, also $16. Follow that with Beef Curry Udon ($25) for a complete meal. And don’t forget, you can always order more dishes off the menu. 1900 W. 32nd Ave., Denver, kawanidenver.com
Okay, Mercantile isn’t new to us, but it did just get a complete refresh we can’t wait to check out. The menu is $55 per person and starts you out with chef Alex Grenier’s little gem salad or a charred Caesar. For the second course pick from Pork Belly Carbonara, Black Bass with fennel soubise, or Duck Confit with lentils. The third course features bread pudding or tres leches cake. Because this restaurant strives to use as many local ingredients as possible, you can really taste Colorado in each bite. 1701 Wynkoop St., Denver, mercantiledenver.com
Restaurant Week Beyond Denver
Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings is a really good deal. For $35 you get a three-course meal, with five choices offered for each course. The first includes Red Sea Chili Wontons and Jumbo Crab Rangoons, and both usually cost $20. For the second course find items such as the Signature Bao ($14) and Dumpling Roulette ($17) which includes one of each of the six dumplings. The last course features the dessert buns, ranging from $8 to $12 in house. The only catch, it’s the Aurora location participating in Restaurant Week. 2495 S. Havana St., Aurora, nanasdimsumanddumplings.com
Another great deal outside of Denver is The Fort in Morrison. Not only does the space offer an experience due to the setting, but the Western-style cuisine tends to run on the more expensive side. For Restaurant Week $45 will get you three courses, starting with original house salad, pumpkin walnut muffins, and dinner rolls. After that, choose from Jack Daniel’s BBQ Brisket, the game meat platter with bison and quail, or Spaghetti Squash Puttanesca, the vegetarian option. Cap off the meal with the decadent Spotted Dog Pudding, complete with caramel rum sauce. 19192 CO-8, Morrison, thefort.com
Head to Boulder to take advantage of the $45 dinner at chef Dakota Soifer’s Cafe Aion, a Spanish-Moroccan eatery on The Hill, near the university. The main crux of this three-course menu is paella, and for the main dish choose from the vegetarian option, or the house mix, which includes chicken and mussels. Before that indulge in crispy cumin cauliflower, hummus with flatbread, or mussels with house-made chorizo and fennel. 1235 Pennsylvania Ave., Boulder, cafeaion.com
