In this month’s cheat sheet a Pan-Latin rooftop restaurant with million-dollar views, an audio bar still finding its groove, and an African speakeasy with a techy twist on entry.
This is an excerpt from the New Denizen newsletter on Substack, published one month after subscribers receive the list. Subscribe for free to be the first to get my curated lists of new restaurant openings and recommendations.
I keep a list of all the new and upcoming restaurant openings in the Denver area. Every few weeks I filter through them to find the ones you actually need to know about. October brought a particularly varied crop of new concepts inspired by world cuisines. Here are the most noteworthy spots to open their doors in the last month:
New restaurant concepts
1. Cimera – RiNo: Million-dollar views for this new Pan-Latin restaurant
The Source Hotel + Market Hall opened in 2018 with buzzy restaurants like Alon Shaya’s Safta, now a Denver staple for Mediterranean and Israeli fare. While additions like Temaki Den have kept drawing diners to the complex off Brighton Boulevard, it still gives off lonely island vibes in an area known more for car traffic than foot traffic. LA-based Stockdale Capital Partners, which bought the property for $62 million in 2022, is betting its revamp of the rooftop bar and restaurant, which features Pan-Latin cuisine, will bring a brand new jolt of energy to the block.
- Vibe: Expansive vistas have long been a highlight of the top floor spot at the Source, and the space now features a colorful mural by Aaron Petz to match the pretty mountain views. Painted in vivid shades of green and red, the artwork spans three walls of the dining room, depicting scenes from a mountain village community, nicely complementing the live greenery found throughout space and the warm wood accents.
- What’s on the menu: Hospitality veteran Tom Dillon helped develop the concept, bringing on Peruvian chef Diego Muñoz — an El Bulli alum — and Denver chef Geoff Cox, who spent over a decade at Hop Alley, earning it a Michelin Bib Gourmand. The menu draws inspo from Mexico, Central, and South America, and features a number of raw dishes, small plates like tacos, skewers, and empanadas, as well as heartier offerings such as steaks, noodle saltado, and roasted cauliflower. Beverage director Adam Griggs matches the food with cocktails featuring floral and tropical twists on classics like daiquiris, mojitos, and pisco sours, alongside a Latin-focused wine list.
2. Malinche Audio Bar – Highland: Where you can give Mexican-Japanese cuisine a spin
This new restaurant from Jose Avila, the chef behind the Michelin Bib Gourmand pozolería La Diabla, has been one of this year’s most anticipated openings. It comes off as equal parts bar and small plates restaurant, offering what the chef calls “Nikkei-Mexa” cuisine alongside mezcal-forward cocktails in a stylish setting hoping to win over cocktail lovers and audiophiles alike.
- Vibe: The space is already small – it only fits about 35 people – but with all the sound-damping touches, including rustic adobe walls and mismatched hanging fabric panels, it feels even more womblike. A few tables sit just inches from the massive front speakers, but the sound is well calibrated, so you won’t blow out your eardrums even if you’re squeezed into a table right next to them. However, the lively atmosphere and full-volume chatter of the fellow guests makes it difficult to focus on the music. Also, service hasn’t found its rhythm in the first few weeks: during a recent visit the sequencing was bumpy, with the server asking for an answer on dessert (multiple times) before all the savory dishes had even arrived.
- What’s on the menu: The menu oscillates between earthy, grounded ingredients and lighter, seafood-forward dishes. Malinche bills itself as a cultural exchange between Japanese techniques and Mexican flavors — a promising idea that the restaurant will need to push further on to fully sell. The tempura de hoja santa is the best item, a giant chip-and-dip with huitlacoche cream, and while the maitake al copal gets a lift from the salsa macha, it falls short on the copal smoke or ponzu notes. The sabana de atún, a flattened tuna pancake with a fruit leather-type texture, is a pass in its current form. The bar is stocked with various types of mezcal, and the more intriguing cocktails weave in squash and corn flavors, though drinks can be shy on flavor: the epazote y “wazabi” barely registers wasabi, and the tomatillo drink lacks tang, though the logo-stamped edible wafers are a fun flourish.
3. Insee Father Noodle House – Highland: Approachable Thai food lands on Platte Street
Another new spot on Platte Street (just down the street from Malinche Audio Bar), this casual Thai restaurant opened on the last day of October and is a follow-up to owners Ounjit Hardacre and Dueanphen Rungrueang’s neighboring eatery, Daughter Thai Kitchen & Bar. The lower-cost, more approachable sibling focuses on noodles and rice plates and is named in honor of Hardacre’s father.
- Vibe: The spacious interior pairs rustic wood tables, benches, and chairs with well-weathered walls and traditional Thai décor. Blue-and-white patterned plates line one of the largest walls, and the slightly ramshackle feel gives the space the charm of a restaurant that’s been around for years.
- What’s on the menu: The bowls and rice plates all come in under $20, and most of the noodle dishes are served in a soup or stew format. The beef noodle soup, seasoned with Thai spices, gets top billing on the menu, alongside comforting dishes like a tom yum noodle soup with ground pork and Ka Noom Jeeb Thai dumplings — marinated pork and shrimp wrapped in vegetables, reminiscent of shu mai. Vegetarians may want to skip this one, as every dish on the opening menu features meat, chicken, or seafood.
Bars, cafes, and coffee shops
4. Trybal African Speakeasy – Central Business District: A taste of Africa with a techy twist to getting in
Offering a taste of African cuisine in downtown Denver, this new speakeasy brings a swanky nightlife lounge swagger to the heart of the city — a potential new destination for pre- or post-theater drinks, just a few blocks from the performing arts complex. But, like any real speakeasy, entry isn’t as simple as waltzing in: visitors must first do some homework and answer a trivia question about African culture on the restaurant’s website to receive a QR code, which is then scanned at the door to gain access.
- Vibe: The space features plush velvet seating and dramatic lighting that illuminates everything in undulating shades of blues, reds, and greens that draws attention to the bar design. Art sourced directly from Africa lines the walls, tying the restaurant theme into the decor.
- What’s on the menu: Drawing inspiration from across the continent, the menu offers nibbles of African favorites like beef, chicken, and shrimp suya, fried plantains, and West African jollof rice. The centerpiece, called the Motherland Plate, combines meat, salad, and starch on a wooden board shaped like Africa. Cocktails lean tropical, including the Soursop Silk with soursop, coconut cream, and spiced rum, alongside beer and wine available by the glass.
5. Bad Peach Cafe – Aurora: A playful new drink spot springs to life at Stanley Marketplace
A new addition to Stanley Marketplace, this drink café is run by Angela Chung, owner of Chi Lin Sian Eatery. Setting up in the storefront next door to her restaurant, Chung focuses on beverages made without artificial ingredients. Drinks are crafted with pure cane sugar, real fruit purees, and fresh milk, drawing inspiration from across Asia to offer fun takes on teas, milk drinks, and fruit-forward creations.
- Vibe: Bright, bold, and playful, the cafe’s electric pink palette and black all-caps logo give it a pop-culture vibe that would be right up the alley of die-hard Blinks (BLACKPINK fans). Each drink is served with a pink sipper and branded cup just begging to be photographed and posted to Instagram.
- What’s on the menu: Drinks include the Taiwanese Pineapple Cake, made with green tea, pineapple juice, and shortbread crumbles, alongside oolong and Thai milk teas and matcha lattes. Optional homemade tea jelly can be added to increase the QQ of any drink. The small sandwich menu offers a Korean-style chop cheese with kimchi and gochujang mayo, as well as a pork belly, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with pickled daikon.
Expansions and upgrades
6. Crêpe Therapy – Boulder: Mawa McQueen’s crêperie concept reaches the Front Range
Mawa McQueen celebrated the grand opening of her third Crêpe Therapy Café near CU Boulder’s East Campus by checking off a bucket list item: dancing onstage as a marching band trumpeted the opening of her latest restaurant. The Boulder location, the largest yet, is designed as an all-day spot for made-to-order crêpes. While McQueen also runs the Michelin-recommended Mawa’s Kitchen, the crêpe cafés have become the most profitable and fastest-growing part of her business. She shows no signs of slowing down: in addition to the two existing locations in Aspen and Snowmass, new cafés at the Limelight Hotel in Boulder and in Denver are already in the works.
- Vibe: The space feels casual and welcoming, with a mix of seating ready to accommodate solo visitors, lunch dates, and groups of college students. For the first time, the café is rolling out a student level of their membership program called the Self-Care Society. Starting at $28 a month for students, members get perks like bottomless drip coffee and exclusive discounts.
- What’s on the menu: The menu offers a mix of sweet and savory crêpes, including a signature rotisserie chicken and cheese option for the Boulder location and the “Gen Alpha,” a matcha crêpe with Nutella, banana, and salted caramel. Crêpes are made to order and can be customized if none of the recommended options strike your fancy. Served in handheld sleeves, they can be a little tricky to eat with one hand, so requesting a to-go box or a fork can help you along with eating it.
One final craving
I recently stopped by The Easy Vegan stand on the final day of the season for City Park Farmers Market, and I couldn’t resist ordering the classic pierogi platter. The handmade pierogi are filled with potato and chive and arrive with ruby kraut, caramelized onions, sour cream, and applesauce. And while pasta and potatoes always feel like a winning combo, these pierogi are seared to a golden-brown perfection, giving them a slightly nutty, toasty flavor. Not much could make me happier on a beautiful autumn day! This makes me even more excited for when owners Alexi Mandolini and Taylor Herbert launch their full service bar and restaurant, Mother Other, sometime in 2026.
ICYMI: Last month, I shared the high-octane restaurant that parked itself in Denver, a satisfying small-business alternative to corporate salad chains, and a pepper dish that caught me by surprise.✨Read it here✨