How to Find New Denver Restaurants - QUICKLY!
Can't keep track of all the new restaurants in town? This list will help.
I’m often asked, “What new restaurants have opened in Denver?” You’d think I’d always have a great answer, but in reality it’s a bit sad. I’m terrible at thinking on the spot, and these days, my brain often feels like a lumpy, leaky garbage bag of mush. So, usually, the only restaurants I remember are the last few places I happened to eat. Fine I guess, but I’d like to do better.
At the start of this year, I began tackling this problem more methodically. What if I didn’t have to rely on a chaotic jumble of new restaurant info – trapped in my head, DMs, and inbox – and could rely on an efficient, useful system? I knew just keeping a list of names wouldn’t cut it. No, I needed sorting, filters, and grouping options to make the data truly usable. And that could only mean one thing: SPREADSHEET TIME, BABY! (Yes, I’m that girl.)
I fired up my favorite program and got to work figuring out what data would be most useful to track. As I asked friends and family for feedback, one thing became clear – this could be helpful to others. Like my sister-in-law, a busy mom who loves discovering new spots on date night but doesn’t have time for research. Or my mother, who doesn’t live in Denver but always wants to know what’s opened since her last visit so she can try something different. And, of course, many of my friends – brilliant at their jobs, but who have (sometimes funny) mini meltdowns when tasked with picking a fun place for a group lunch or dinner because they can never remember what’s around the office.
So, in a move that might prove to be either very smart or very dumb (I’m still not sure), I decided to make my work publicly available as a community resource.
With that, I’m excited to share my New Denver Restaurants List for 2025
My hope is if you’re ever curious about what new restaurants might be cool to check out, you can pull up this list and get the info you need in less than a minute. Or, if you’re the type of person who likes to be the first in line for new places, you can track upcoming hot spots and be ready when the doors or reservations open.
I’m aiming to update this list at least once a week, continually adding spots that have opened up or were just announced. I’ve created some preset views so there are multiple ways to sort the list – just click “Views” in the upper-left-hand corner. Right now you can filter by:
Calendar quarter of the opening (default setting)
Neighborhood
Open vs. not open (sorted by the newest opening first)
Date added to list (newest at bottom)
And here's where you come in
This list is only as good as the data that is available. Anytime someone fills out the companion restaurant submission form to notify me about a new place, it helps keep the list as fresh and relevant as possible.
Recent data shows that Denver is losing more restaurants than we’re gaining. To give new places a better chance of surviving:
Help spread the word by sharing this email, restacking on Substack, or posting on social media about this project so we can tap into everyone’s knowledge.
If you’re a restaurant owner, publicist, industry leader, or a fan of a new spot not already on the list, please fill out the submission form to get them added.
Additionally, since you are among the first to see this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the project. Give it to me straight, if there’s one thing I could do to improve the list, what would it be?
Thanks in advance!
New on the site
Sushi by Scratch Restaurants Debuts in Denver with $195 Omakase Menu
Based on all the DMs I received, more than a few of you saw the sneak peek of my visit to Sushi by SR on my IG Stories. Here’s the full rundown and my final thoughts on the $195 omakase experience from LA-based Scratch Restaurants Group, now finally in Denver. I’ll also post a Reel in the next few days. [Hosted]
See ya soon!
Laura