Denver’s Best Restaurants for a Night Out with Friends

There are very few things in life better than a great meal shared with your closest friends. One of the best places to grab dinner with your buddies is in Mile High City, known for its rich and thriving food culture. Indeed, Denver has slowly morphed into a culinary melting pot, giving you a unique multitude of dining experiences that can satisfy pretty much every craving. Given the number of choices, where would one even begin? We've got you covered. Read on to discover the best restaurants in Denver for your next night out with friends!

Acorn

From the creative minds of the people behind Boulder's OAK at Fourteenth restaurant, Acorn is one of the city's must-try culinary stops. This restaurant seamlessly blends together local Colorado fare grounded in a strong Southern tradition, sending all who dine there on a culinary trip you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the city — or even the country. Be sure to try the cured Rocky Mountain Trout and the 14-day dry-aged Hudson Duck Confit.

Other than the great food, another reason to stop by here with a couple of friends is its proximity to the Mission Ballroom. Acorn is located in the Source Hotel, so be sure you and your friends stop by the next time you go out to see a show.

Mead St. Station

If you're looking for something a little more casual, USA Today recommend restaurant Mead St. Station. The restaurant, established in 1994, is a Coloradan institution. They specialize in rustic no-nonsense American food where everything is made from scratch. Be sure to grab their famous Mead Street Burger with a healthy serving of sweet potato fries.

As an added bonus, if you and your friends happen to drop by on a Tuesday night then you should enter their weekly rock n' roll bingo night. Foxy Bingo’s guide on how to play 75-ball points out how it's especially fun for groups – the more friends you convince to join, the bigger the prize pool! So, be sure to grab some friends before heading on over to the Mead St. Station for a night of fun and food.

Root Down

From culinary whiz Justin Cucci, who also happens to be behind culinary hotspots Linger and Ophelia's Electric Soapbox, Root Down is your one-stop-shop for good conscious eating. Root Down prides itself on its sustainability practices that both benefit the environment and produce delicious food. They have a 4,000 square-foot garden in the middle of the city that accounts for 20% of the seasonal vegetables they use in their restaurant. They provide diners with non-GMO fed cows, and all their seafood is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, assuring that their diners get the best and most humane products. Their menu also indicates where the ingredients on the items are sourced, letting you know just what you're eating and how it was grown.

Be sure to try the Three Chile Chicken and their Flat Iron Steak with meat sourced from Callicrate Meats.

Colfax is our very own Cinderella story. From drug deals to delicious farm-to-table restaurants. Colfax has transformed into a modern day Kim K, all without losing its street cred. It's still that eclectic street where hole in the wall coffee joints exist next door to dilapidated buildings. But, that's exactly what makes Colfax so amazing... that and also the fact that it's home to 4 of our favorite music venues..

Tasty Colfax is an event that celebrates the randomness of Colfax. It sheds light on a multifarious area that is growing and rapidly becoming a hub for foodies and hipsters alike. Which is why we jumped on the opportunity to stuff our faces, jam out to music and explore this ever expanding food haven.

With 22 stops on our list we set out with determination. At around our 5th stop we started to get a little sluggish, but that didn't stop us from hitting all the marks. A few standouts were New World Cheese, The Good Son, Annie's Cafe and Bar, Tommy's Thai, The Humble Pie Store, Bastien's Restaurant, Fat Sully's Pizza and Denver Biscuit Co.

With a list like that it's hard to not make Tasty Colfax an annual tradition. Count us in for next year...and the year after that. Who knows what our eclectic, evolving street will become by then.

Getting served some top notch beer cheese curds from New World Cheese.

Ain't nothing better than good old fashioned BBQ from Annie's Cafe and Bar.