5 Popular Restaurants Around Denver's Union Station

Denver's Union Station neighborhood sits deep within the city's history, anchored by its striking 1914 Beaux-Arts train station, which succeeded a railroad depot dating back to 1881. Trains and buses from the station still transport people throughout the Mile High City on a daily basis, bringing travelers, workers, boutique shoppers, bar hoppers, and hotel guests into the surrounding blocks and streets. Along with all that busy-buzzing life and energy comes hearty appetites. 

Fortunately, the revitalized Union Station neighborhood, part of the larger LoDo (Lower Downtown) historic district, brims with repurposed brick warehouses and modern spaces cradling chef-driven restaurants and lively bars. Here's a peek inside five popular restaurants sharing Denver's culinary bounty, each well-loved by locals, commuters, and sojourners. 

Some carry name-claim and fame from James Beard awards, while others dole out the likes of handmade Italian pastas, tapas, and hearty old-fashioned breakfasts. One even occupies a significantly historic former firehouse.

Drawing from, and speaking to, the heart of Denver's culinary persona is Mercantile Denver, known for seasonal ingredients and modern interpretations of American comfort food. It perches within Union Station on Wynkoop Street, opening in 2014 with an ambiance and menu that encourages sharing and gathering. The kitchen is helmed by James Beard Award winning chef Alex Seidel and chef Alex Grenier, who curate and create a broad array of dishes to facilitate the hybrid-style setup. By day, Mercantile Denver operates as a café and provisions market, while evenings shift toward more formal dining. 

With strong ties to local farmers and producers, the menus reflect that mindset, starting with a Provisions Board stuffed with cured meats, cheeses, house pickles, jam, and house mustard, available during the day, happy hour, and into the evening. Between the lunch and dinner menus, expect to find things ranging from a Mercantile Kewpie Burger to Fried Chicken Bánh Mì, Brick Chicken with garlic confit pommes puree, and Poached Monterey Black Cod featuring lemongrass, coconut, lemon orzo, dill, and chili.

The Mercantile drinks program features a daily happy hour with Colorado draft beer, plus small-bite snacks such as Co Fromage Cheese Dip infused with caramelized fennel and saba. A Mercantile High Five cocktail comes alive with Lambrusco and a fernet menta shakerato. 

A short walk from Union Station, Tavernetta Italian ristorante rests comfortably in the shadow of the historic station, with a fireplace lounge overlooking the train tracks. Pale stone and rich wood accents bring a smoothing, understated persona, complete with an open kitchen bustling with Italian verve and vigor. The entire operation centers on the food, wine, and culture of Italy, with handmade pastas and breads, and an Italian-directed wine and spirits list. As expected in the Mother Country, the menu at Tavernetta encourages lingering long and dining with gusto.  

Also in line with Italian meal structures, multiple courses keep the dinner goodness evolving and flowing throughout the evening. Per La Tavola (for the table) selections include specialties such as Burrata with Trapanese pesto, or Fritto Misto with prawns, calamari, market fish, aioli, and lemon. Among the handmade pastas, Tavernetta offers Agnolotti with braised bison and black truffle; Rigatoni with lamb ragù and pecorino Romano; and Tagliatelle with Maine lobster and Calabrian chili. On the larger-plate side, secondi courses offer Branzino with olive, potato, artichoke, and salmoriglio, plus Porchetta Arrosto with salsa verde. 

Patio, bar, and lounge areas are available for walk-ins, allowing impromptu dining with similar menu options, while happy hours and a dolci (after dinner) dessert and drink menu tops off the evening. A two-course lunch available Monday through Friday keeps things light for shoppers and travelers.

Stepping back from fine dining is the casual breakfast feast from Snooze, taglined as "an A.M. Eatery". In other words, it covers daytime territory spanning breakfast and brunch hours from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Tucked into Union Station, the schedule and menu informs its customer base, geared toward early train arrivals or departures, as well as hotel guests at the onsite Crawford Hotel. It's also a handy spot for downtown workers, early shoppers, and anyone carving a sit-down breakfast instead of quick-stop coffee-shop fare. 

Snooze is part of a larger chain that includes six Denver restaurants, including this one at Union Station. Classic breakfast foods really shine at Snooze, with chefs sizzling up myriad egg dishes, Benedicts, pancakes, breakfast plates, breakfast tacos, and cocktails. The menu highlights its Pancake Flight, with a signature combination of Pineapple Upside Down, Sweet Potato, and Strawberry Shortcake pancakes. 

The Ham Benedict III stacks up with shaved ham, poached cage-free eggs, and smoked cheddar hollandaise, while Southern-style toasted biscuits rest beneath a blanket of house-made rosemary sausage gravy. Cajun-style cheesy grits and Mexican-inspired breakfast tacos and burritos keep the spicy love flowing. Leaning into later brunch hours are smash burgers, grilled cheeses sammies, and roasted tomato soup. It might be worth a trip to Snooze just for the spectacularly crafted "Bacon But Different" rashers rubbed with brown sugar, chili flakes, cayenne, and in-house sriracha maple syrup.  Snooze, an A.M. Eatery joins our list of 10 popular restaurant chains that started in Denver, with several list-mates that may surprise you.   

Resting within the oldest remaining structure in the Union Station neighborhood is Woodie Fisher Kitchen & Bar. Patrons can almost feel the siren songs of Denver's past when dining in this storied space once belonging to Hose House No. 1 fire station, established in 1881. The legacy of yesteryear's volunteer firefighters lingers through the neighborhood focus and bar-and-grill menu at Woodie Fisher, named for one of the city's earliest fire foremen, Redwood "Woodie" Fisher. It's a place where locals, workers, baseball fans, and visitors alike congregate, share meals, and root for the home team. We've easily placed this eatery on our list of five Denver restaurants near Coors Field that locals love.

The food menu here is unpretentiously broad, stretching from burgers and pizza to seafood, steaks, and pasta, interpreted by chef Franco Ruiz with overall commitments to fresh, local ingredients, and a sustainability focus. Lighter breakfast fare brings house-made granola, smoked Scottish salmon, and steel-cut oats to the table, before moving into familiar breakfast platters, omelets, and a challah French toast specialty. The brunch repertoire on weekends expands to include dishes like Alaskan King Crab Benedict and lunch-focused sandwiches. 

What's known as the all-day menu features a Woodie Fisher Burger loaded with applewood-smoked bacon, crispy onions, and Worcestershire aioli, while additional options range from red-wine-braised Angus beef short ribs to grilled salmon, penne pasta, and three types of pizza pies. Signature cocktails connect past to present through monikers such as the 5 Alarm Fire Margarita, the Back Draft Barrel-Aged Manhattan, and the Smoke Jumper Old Fashioned. 

Back inside Union Station, Spanish and Portuguese tapas and and pintxos tumble across tables at Ultreia, a split-level space lined with Dutch-landscape murals, terrazzo floors, marble, tiles, and a massive multi-globed iron chandelier. At the center of this enterprising restaurant is James Beard Best Chef Southwest Jennifer Jasinski, who also landed a later semifinalist spot for Outstanding Chef. Nodding to its location inside the century-plus train station, the Latin-based Ultreia name translates as "onward," referring to the Camino de Santiago, an old Spanish pilgrimage route. 

The food at Ultreia follows the shared-plate traditions of the Iberian Peninsula, incarnating across the menus as boards, tapas, pintxos (bite-sized bar snacks popular in the Basque Country of northern Spain), and raciones (larger plates). There's also a curious collection of five Fishwife Tinned Fish selections, comprised of tinned fish such as smoked salmon, smoked tout, and more, served with pan de cristal, carmona olive tapenade, Calabrian aioli, and lemon.

Dotted throughout lunch, dinner, and happy hour menus, you'll find loads of handheld, sharing-size, and "tools required" specialties, including Bacon-Wrapped Dates with goat cheese and pimentón drizzle; and Patatas Bravas served with salsa brava and aioli. From the brunch menu, Gambas al Ajillo shrimp appears with chili-garlic butter, while the dinner menu includes Trucha Navarra, a pan-seared trout dish with jamón serrano and artichokes. For dessert, there's Basque cheesecake with amontillado sherry whip and PX sherry reduction, along with churros con chocolate y caramel. Ultreia understandably landed on our Tasting Table list of the 22 best restaurants in Denver.