Take a Spring Break Staycation at Ultreia

Spring break may have the college kids dreaming of rowdy pool parties and shots, but Denver adults in need of a more sophisticated, close-to-home escape should shirk their workaday duties at Union Station’s four-month-old Iberian hideaway, Ultreia. The elegant jewel box of a restaurant serves festive Spanish- and Portuguese-inspired sips, snacks, and small plates starting at 11 a.m., so no one will look at you funny as you hoist a luxuriously thick glass goblet brimming with one of the menu’s Gin Tonics (try the cucumber- and rose-petal-garnished La Rosa)…even if it is just half past 12. James Beard Award–winning chef Jennifer Jasinski and executive chef Adam Branz’s savory tapas and pintxos—paper-thin slices of rosy, aged Spanish hams; fried and salted Padrón peppers; pan con tomate; and tender pork ribs with Basque chiles—are just the things for soaking up the booze before you get carried away and book a flight to Bilbao. Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop St., 303-534-1970