10 New Denver Restaurants with Stylish Interiors

For design lovers, a restaurant’s aesthetic is nearly as important as its menu. Sure, there are times when an eatery’s interiors are the least of your concerns—like when you need to snag a quick sandwich between back-to-back meetings, cure a sudden bout of hanger by carb-loading with fresh pastries, or soak up the previous night’s tequila shots with the warm hug of a breakfast burrito. But for the evenings when you want to impress a date, savor precious kid-free time, or celebrate a milestone, a restaurant’s atmosphere can make or break a meal.

Luckily, several of Denver’s newest additions to the culinary scene serve up serious style alongside flavorful bites and sips. Here, 10 of our favorite new eateries that speak to all five senses.

Tamayo

When Chef Richard Sandoval decided to overhaul his long-standing Larimer Square restaurant, he viewed it as a way to “honor [Tamayo’s] rich history while creating a more modern, vibrant, and elevated atmosphere that matches the evolution of our cuisine and Denver’s dynamic dining scene,” he says. Tamayo 2.0 debuted in March after a two-month closure.

The sophisticated redesign, led by Denver’s DeLorenzo Productions, leaned into Mayan artistry and the landscape of Mexico in the main dining room with playful tassel chandeliers, ceramic flowers, and handwoven wall coverings. The upstairs dining area and patio also received a glow-up with pops of blues, pinks, and yellows that lighten and brighten the space and direct diners’ focus to the views over the city and toward the mountains. One thing has remained though: the tile mural behind the main bar. “It’s a piece that has always grounded the space,” Sandoval says, “and continues to serve as a visual link between our past and present.” 1400 Larimer St.

Alteño

Chef Johnny Curiel’s fourth restaurant (it joins his Michelin-starred spot Alma Fonda Fina, Mezcaleria Alma, and Cozobi Fonda Fina in Boulder) may be his most personal: It was inspired by the food traditions passed down from Curiel’s father. When Alteño (which translates to “highlander”) opened in Cherry Creek North’s Clayton Hotel & Members Club in March, it did so with a look befitting the Jaliscan Highlands region of Mexico where Curiel spent his childhood. “The space was designed to sing with the food,” says Agatha Strompolos, founder of Denver-based Agatha Jane Interior Design. “[It] mirrors the menu in that there is a huge focus on celebrating the earth’s natural bounty and being in tune with the land.”

Handmade Tonalá ceramics, leather details, and dark, earthy tones (butter yellow, charcoal black, muted Mayan blues) that mimic Jalisco’s landscape bring the Highlands to life in Denver. One wall is decorated in leather fringe from a traditional mariachi uniform, while another elicits thoughts of home with doilies sourced from Mexico and handwoven tortilleros (baskets typically used to keep tortillas warm). Denver artist Delton Demarest painted a striking mural on velvet that hangs above the 12-seat bar. With Jalisco being the birthplace of tequila, it’s the perfect perch from which to enjoy a sip from Alteño’s selection of 60-plus agave spirits. 249 Clayton St.

Le Colonial

The flavors of 1920s Saigon arrived in Cherry Creek in November with the opening of Le Colonial, an upscale Vietnamese restaurant with locations all over the country (and sister restaurant to Le Bilboquet). Designed by Knauer Incorporated and Le Colonial creative director Darrah Ferrari Wahlstedt, the 6,000-square-foot space transports diners to another era and place. Velvet banquettes, handpainted murals, a gold-leaf ceiling, and brass light fixtures blend together influences from Paris, Marrakesh, and the Far East. To connect with Vietnamese culture’s appreciation for the outdoors and natural materials, the space brims with large tropical plants, floral arrangements, and woven rattan furniture. From the fringe silk lampshades that hang overhead to the Moroccan floor tiles underfoot to the trinkets on the built-in shelves, each element adds to the restaurant’s eclectic charm. Best enjoyed with a lychee martini in hand. 255 Fillmore St.

Sorry Gorgeous

With a name like Sorry Gorgeous, it would be illegal to have an interior design scheme that’s anything less than chic. Luckily local design firm Maximalist was up for the task. They outfitted the new rooftop bar, which opened on the 12th floor of the Novel RiNo apartment building in October, with cobalt blue hues, plentiful plant life, and ethereal lighting to make it feel like “a sky garden in the clouds, a floating oasis,” says Abigail Plantier, founder and principal designer at Maximalist. Studio Adelia, a Denver-based architectural lighting design company, chose a series of hanging globelike pendants to emit a warm, moonlit glow throughout the space, while an ombre metal bar face was constructed by local Ironbound Metal Works. A jade-velvet banquette snakes throughout the space, and foliage selected by Denver’s Plant Riot is tucked into its curves. Guests can pull up a plush armchair or patterned stool to one of the many cocktail tables inside or head to the patio to take in unobstructed sunset and mountain views—either way, this swanky spot sets the scene for date night. 1350 40th St. (entrance on Walnut Street)

Pasque

Colorado has no shortage of places where you can be one with nature, but they don’t often boast a menu of perfectly plated, vegetable-forward dishes and complex cocktails that cost more than $15 a pop. Pasque, one of two restaurants inside the Populus Hotel, which opened in October, offers all of the above. The eatery’s earthy look “is intended to mimic the distinctive nature of Colorado forests,” says Heather Wildman, principal and design director of Wildman Chalmers Design. The restaurant includes materials that are meant to mimic the colors and textures found on a walk through the woods: brown-stained concrete floors with flecks of pebbles, native plants scattered throughout, dining tables carved from natural stone and wood, and a ceiling built from repurposed snow fencing sourced from Wyoming. But Pasque’s most eye-catching element is a tapestry—made of 500 sheets of reishi mushroom leather—that hangs above the bar. 240 14th St.

Two Hands

Australian-inspired eatery Two Hands has a presence in New York, Texas, and Tennessee, but its first Denver location—which opened on Tennyson Street last summer—was designed to feel distinctly Colorado. “For us, this meant a clean, chic [take on] cabin vibes,” says Two Hands CEO and founder Henry Roberts. “We went for minimalism and earthy tones with pops of [our brand’s signature] blues and greens.” Roberts worked with Austin architects Studio ELES and Brooklyn-based interior designers at Sarah Carpenter & Studio to transform a third of Tennyson Street’s Lantern building, which sat vacant for several years after enduring fire damage, into a light and airy cafe and restaurant with a Scandinavian feel. Ash wood envelops most of the dining room, while ocean blue- and terracotta-hued zellige tiles wrap the coffee and cocktail bars. From a mounted mule deer head to framed retro ski photos, mountain-inspired decor pieces—many of which Roberts scored at Brass Armadillo Antique Mall—line the walls and built-in shelves. Finally, to give the restaurant a lived-in, homey feel commonly found in Australian cafes, local experts from the Plant Room outfitted the space with plenty of potted greenery. 3985 Tennyson St., Suite 120

Corsica Wine Bar

 

The design inspiration for RiNo’s Corsica Wine Bar, which opened in April 2024, blends two aesthetic fantasies: “a coastal ’70s hotel with an intense color scheme and some salt-worn patina and a European grandma’s house,” says Drew McConnell, creative director at Corsica and its sister restaurant, Barcelona Wine Bar. Occupying a former factory building that sat vacant for years, Corsica’s cozy dining room features exposed brick walls, mustard-hued upholstered bench seating, and dozens of artwork and framed photographs—many of which were snapped by McConnell while traveling around Italy and France. Several details were found closer to home: The in-house design team sourced much of the decor and dishware from local resale shops and created a reclaimed-glass-block divider wall in the dining room after noticing how light filtered in through the building’s existing glass-block bricks. From the exterior mural—which New York–based artist Keya Tama completed during the 2023 Denver Walls festival—to the preserved wood ceilings, Corsica brims with conversation pieces. “It’s important that the restaurant maintains a sense of discovery that doesn’t vanish after the first view,” McConnell says. “It needs to be exciting at first glance, but someone who wants to look closer should never run out of details to discover.” 2801 Walnut St.

The Goldfinch

At the Goldfinch in Platt Park, a blend of rich hues, leather-upholstered lounge seating, and sculptural light fixtures create a decidedly chic ambience—a far cry from the psychedelic motifs one might expect to find at a cocktail bar named after a vision experienced during an ayahuasca trip. “This little golden bird presented itself to me while I was essentially floating in the universe,” says Iain Chisholm, who co-owns the Goldfinch with fellow Denver local Steven Cook. That experience with the yellow fledgling lives on in the bar’s moniker as well as on its walls, which display art pieces that nod to Chisholm’s apparition. Warm wood wall treatments and steel bar shelving (fabricated by local blacksmith Jason Gatz) feel at home in the 1923 industrial brick building, while mustard velvet bar stools, fringe-trim lamps, and conversation nooks set a moody jazz club vibe. 1842 S. Broadway, Suite 103

La Forêt

When Beatrice & Woodsley closed during the pandemic, Denverites wondered what would happen to the iconic enchanted forest-esque space, featuring dozens of real floor-to-ceiling aspen trunks, that the beloved restaurant occupied for 12 years. Five years later, the fairytale lives on at La Forêt, a French restaurant that debuted in the South Broadway space in March 2024. New owners Mike Huggins and Lenka Juchelkova embraced and expanded upon the woodsy interiors: Live plants and foliage are sprinkled among the aspen tree pillars, new tree-branch chandeliers dangle from the wood ceilings, and two tree sculptures crafted with lumber reclaimed from the former space seemingly grow from the dining room floorboards. “From the decor to the menu items, everything is supposed to have a rustic and earthy feel,” says Diana Feldman, the restaurant’s marketing director. “La Forêt actually means ‘the forest’ in French, so creating a cohesive environment that reflected the theme was important.” 38 S. Broadway

Kumoya

You’d never know that Kumoya, a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar that opened in October 2023, took over a pizza and pasta spot that had stood on the same LoHi corner for 15 years. The dark, heavily wooden space has been completely transformed into an elegant, sexy, and, in some ways, whimsical space. Local interior design firm Maximalist intended it to be a “love letter to Japan,” says founder and chief experience curator Abigail Plantier.

Of the restaurant’s three distinct spaces, the front dining room and sushi bar is the most contemporary. It mimics “the precision of the knife,” Plantier says, with a metallic ceiling, marble bar face, wood counters, and indigo booths. The back lounge shifts into a more romantic look, with moodier lighting, velvet seating, and a palette of plums and whites. Curving, cloud-like light fixtures add a fluidness that contrasts against the original, now-lightened brick walls. And the bar area—“an homage to the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossom,” per Plantier—features soft pink walls and a restored Art Deco bar capped by Belvedere granite. It’s a place well suited to whatever night you’re seeking: a romantic date, a quick nightcap with a friend, or a place to show off while closing a business deal. 2400 W. 32nd Ave.