Go Now: Cart-Driver

Tucked behind Work & Class is a restaurant you should get to know. Cart-Driver opened on the corner of Larimer and 25th streets in early July, the same week as Stoic & Genuine, Rosenberg’s Bagels, and several other spots. It’s neither as big nor as visible as many of the hot eateries on Denver’s scene, but it’s a worthy destination. For one thing, the 640 square-foot-space is packed into a shipping container, and it’s urban, buzzy, and L.A.-esque. It’s also talented chef Kelly Whitaker‘s second restaurant; consider Cart-Driver a casual derivative of Whitaker’s more refined Basta in Boulder.

The menu is tiny: five pizzas, a couple rotating sides (such as knock-out seasonal crostini, pictured, and pickled veggies), a salad, and oysters. That’s it. That’s all it needs to be. The pizzas cook in 90 seconds in a custom-designed, wood-fired oven. Oysters are shucked in front of you. Cocktails and prosecco are on tap. Patrons grab dining space where they can—either at a coveted table, the rail, or on one of the two patios. Everything about Cart-Driver is efficient: The sleek, minimalist space, the order-at-the-counter service, the dinner-is-ready vibe. This is not a place for whiling away the hours, and yet, you’ll fall into the easy, nimble experience and momentarily become an essential part of the place. The energy is addictive and you’ll be back.

2500 Larimer St., #100, 303-292-3553

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