Followers of the Denver dining scene will already be familiar with Noisette, located on the ground floor of the artsy Lumina apartment building in LoHi. Since opening in 2022, chef/owners Lillian and Tim Lu have developed a reputation for delivering sophisticated fine-dining renditions of French home cooking and patisserie classics. In the process, they’ve racked up big-time accolades, including a Michelin Guide recommendation two years in a row.
This all sounds pretty fancy and pretty serious. However, the new wine bar program, which debuted in August and operates in the daytime bakery space from 5 pm every Wednesday to Saturday, offers a chance to change the perception that dining here requires dressing up and spending a lot.
In order to create a more casual, budget-friendly nighttime experience, GM and Wine Director, Amanda Davenport veers from her usual formula of French and American makers and pulls in quirkier offerings. This includes showcasing wine from different parts of the world, like varietals from Croatia, Portugal, and Hungary. Half glass prices are kept in the $7-8 range.
The food follows suit, with most items coming in under $20. A collaboration between chefs Lillian and Tim (the restaurant’s Pastry Chef and Executive Chef, respectively), the menu compliments the drink options by leaning towards choice seafood dishes.
Most can be eaten with your hands, including my favorite item – a shrimp toast. “We made it for a canapé party recently, and it was so tasty we decided to add it to the wine bar menu,” Lillian Lu explains over email. The inspiration for the dish came from her time working at the storied New York restaurant Aquavit, where the Scandinavian toast skagen was a favorite snack. Here, it gets a French update from plump pieces of diced shrimp being tossed with aioli and fine herbs, and served with triangle slices of house-made brioche.
Other worthy finger foods include the flatbread with a Pyrénées cheese base, cut into slices and adorned with some of the Lus’ favorite tangy toppings: artichoke, Niçoise olives, and optional white anchovy. Make it a full meal by adding in an order of lightly fried skate strips dipped in a preserved Tropea onion aioli.
A primo spot for after-work drinks with friends or a low-key (but still nice) date, the wine bar space retains the calming dusty rose and sage green tones that are a signature of the main dining room. It also adds whimsical touches, like a triptych of black-and-white cat photos on a brass-colored floating shelf, that can serve as conversation fodder if the small talk stalls. And your friend who is on the low ABV train? They’re still welcome: zero-proof drinkers can special request a Leitz dealcoholized sparkling rosé to keep their glass filled.
Noisette
3254 Navajo St #100
Denver, CO 80211
(Wine Bar available Wednesday through Saturday from 5 pm, during regular dinner hours. Seating is first-come, first-served — no reservations necessary.)
Disclosure: This meal was hosted. My coverage remains entirely independent.