{"id":46765,"date":"2026-10-08T10:34:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T10:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/46765\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T10:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T10:34:17","slug":"the-2026-colorado-michelin-guide-award-winners-are-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/46765\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2026 Colorado Michelin Guide Award Winners are Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today the official 2026 Michelin Guide announced the restaurant awards for the state of Colorado, adding on 15 new entries. Some of our predictions proved true (and yours), though unfortunately a lot of the star hopefuls didn\u2019t receive one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, as with every year, there were certainly some big misses. Still, congratulations to all those being celebrated, you certainly deserve it. The award ceremony takes place this evening at Denver\u2019s Mile High Station, but you will start wanting to make your reservations now for these newly-minted hot spots right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One New Star, the Rest Still Shine<\/p>\n

\"CornCorn showcased at The Wolf\u2019s Tailor. | Photo by Jeff Fierberg<\/p>\n

In absolutely-expected news, Milpero, chef Johnny Curiel\u2019s new Mexican tasting menu restaurant in RiNo, earned a star. It\u2019s the third place in the Fonda Fina Hospitality Group\u2019s line up to receive the honor, joining Mezcaleria Alma and Alma Fonda Fina, neighbors in Denver\u2019s LoHi neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The other restaurants maintaining one star include Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Bosq in Aspen, and Denver establishments BRUTO, Beckon, Margo, and Kizaki. The Wolf\u2019s Tailor once again scored two stars for the second year in a row.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Denver\u2019s New Restaurants Gain Recognition<\/p>\n

\"OrderSaucy Pork Noodles at Pig & Tiger to go. | Photo by Casey Wilson<\/p>\n

A handful of the Michelin Guide additions came in the form of newly-opened Denver spots. Two made it on the prestigious Bib Gourmand list, which recognizes restaurants serving high-quality food at more affordable price points in the $35 range for an entree and dessert or drink.<\/p>\n

First up, Pig and Tiger, by chefs Travis Masar and Darren Chang in Five Points. In the same neighborhood, Rougarou by Mary Allison Wright and McLain Hedges, also received the same honor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Colorado\u2019s 2026 Recommended restaurant list, Denver\u2019s Washington Park neighborhood saw Mile Odell\u2019s Florence Supper Club and Quincy Cherrett\u2019s Madeline. In RiNo, Theo Adley\u2019s Heretik and Dear Emilia made the list, the latter joining sister spot, Restaurant Olivia. All four additions opened over the last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New Regions Got a Nod\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TheThe dining room of Annette in Aurora. | Photo courtesy of Caroline Glover<\/p>\n

Last year, only select Colorado counties were judged by the Michelin Guide, but this year it was announced the whole state was eligible. While we expected a little more recognition and prestige in the suburbs and mountain towns, only Colorado Springs, Aurora, Telluride, and Breckenridge gained notice.<\/p>\n

For Colorado Springs two spots made it on Colorado\u2019s 2026 Recommended restaurants list including chef Brother Luck\u2019s Four by Brother Luck and The Penrose Room at The Broadmoor. In Aurora, chef Caroline Glover\u2019s Annette received a Bib Gourmand and chef An Nguyen\u2019s D\u00e2n D\u00e3 was added to the recommended list.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Matt Vawter\u2019s Rootstalk in Breckenridge. | Photo by Yvonne Albinowski<\/p>\n

In the mountains, Telluride\u2019s The National made the recommended list. Finally, James Beard Award winner Matt Vawter received accolades for his two restaurants, Rootstalk and Radicato, which both landed on Colorado\u2019s 2026 Recommended restaurants list.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Boulder Gains a Recommended Restaurants<\/p>\n

The only change to the Boulder Michelin scene this year comes in the form of chefs Eduardo Valle Lobo and Kelly Jeun\u2019s first solo venture, Casa Juani. The new Spanish restaurant opened in the foothills this past February, and earned a spot on the recommended list.<\/p>\n

The Special Awards<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Theo Adley just opened Heretik in Denver. | Photo by Linnea Covington<\/p>\n

This year Colorado saw four special awards. The Michelin Exceptional Cocktails Award went to Kyle McNerney of Four by Brother Luck. The Michelin Sommelier Award was given to Heretik\u2019s beverage team including chef Theo Adley and Jenessa Reiman.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over in Colorado Springs, Joseph Freyre took home the Michelin Outstanding Service Award. Finally, Radicato\u2019s Cameron Baker scored the Michelin Young Chef\/Culinary Professional Award, bringing great pride to Breckenridge.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today the official 2026 Michelin Guide announced the restaurant awards for the state of Colorado, adding on 15 new entries. Some of our predictions proved true (and yours), though unfortunately a lot of the star hopefuls didn\u2019t receive one.\u00a0 This year, as with every year, there were certainly some big misses. Still, congratulations to all<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46766,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[2898,3819,3817,3820,3818],"class_list":["post-46765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-colorado","tag-colorado","tag-colorado-dining","tag-colorado-food","tag-colorado-grocery-stores","tag-colorado-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117404844931743857","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}