Three Denver restaurants are the latest to earn a Michelin star, joining a prestigious group of restaurants in Denver, Boulder and Aspen.
The Wolf’s Tailor, helmed by chef Taylor Stark, earned two Michelin stars, a first in Colorado restaurant history.
The new one-star Michelin restaurants are:
- Kizaki, a Japanese omakase restaurant in Denver
- Margot, a contemporary fine dining counter that shares a space with Kizaki
- Mezcaleria Alma, a Mexican restaurant in Denver
These newly starred restaurants, all of which have been open for less than a year, join the list of one-star restaurants in Colorado:
- Alma Fonda Fina in Denver
- Beckon in Denver
- Bosq in Aspen
- Brutø in Denver
- Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder
- The Wolf’s Tailor in Denver
Kizaki opened in April and is the fourth restaurant by Toshi Kizaki, who co-owns Sushi Den, Izakaya Den and Ototo, all within a few blocks of Kizaki. The omakase restaurant shares the “Denshu building” — which is owned by Kizaki — with Margot, which occupies a “cozy 8-seat counter” according to the Michelin news release. Margot was started by chef Justin Fulton as a pop-up restaurant three years ago, and moved into the Denshu building in May.
Mezcaleria Alma, which opened in November, is run by chef Johnny Curiel, who won his first Michelin star last year, when his other Highlands neighborhood restaurant Alma Fonda Fina was the only star added to Colorado’s lineup.
Michelin also awarded Curiel’s Boulder restaurant, Cozobi Fonda Fina, a Bib Gourmand designation, the only place to join the list this year. The Bib Gourmand category was created in 1997 to highlight restaurants that serve “recognizable” meals for a reasonable price, according to the Michelin Guide. In other words, these are restaurants with high quality food and service that don’t necessarily bend over backward for the more formal star designations.
The Bib Gourmand list features 10 restaurants in Boulder and Denver:
- Ash’Kara in Denver
- Basta in Boulder
- Cozobi Fonda Fina in Boulder
- The Ginger Pig in Denver
- Glo Noodle House in Denver
- Hop Alley in Denver
- La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal in Denver
- MAKfam in Denver
- Mister Oso in Denver
- Tavernetta in Denver
Michelin inspectors first came to Colorado in 2023 and awarded single stars to five restaurants in Denver, Aspen and Boulder. Those stars are not guaranteed year after year. Four of the five original Michelin winners — Beckon and Brutø in Denver, Bosq in Aspen, and Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder — have kept their Michelin stars over the during the past two rounds of judging. The Wolf’s Tailor, which was upgraded to two stars this year, was among that original group, at the time run by Stark and Chef Kelly Whitaker, who also took home a star for Brutø that night.
