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One Denver restaurant was awarded a Michelin star Monday, joining the nine other starred restaurants in Denver, Boulder and Aspen. Milpero, in the River North neighborhood, deepens the pool of Michelin restaurants in those cities, but did not expand the map during the guide’s first year offering stars statewide.
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Receiving a Michelin star is one of the highest honors in the fine dining world, but the guide doesn’t go just anywhere. In 2023, Colorado brought Michelin to the state with a three-year contract and roughly a half-million dollars pledged annually from a state fund that Denver, Boulder, Aspen and Snowmass Village, and Vail and Beaver Creek contributed to, along with $135,000 from the Colorado Tourism Office.
That meant cities with notable culinary scenes like Aurora, where chef Caroline Glover had won a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Mountain Region in 2022, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction wouldn’t get a look. At the time, Bruce Dalton, CEO of Visit Aurora, told The Colorado Sun that making that large of an investment that would benefit a small subset of the city’s many diverse eateries didn’t seem worth it.
During the past three years, seven restaurants in Denver were awarded one star, and the city’s The Wolf’s Tailor became the state’s first two-star restaurant in 2025. Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder and Bosq in Aspen were also awarded stars.
The exclusive, three-year contract expired this year, replaced by a single statewide agreement that includes a $100,000 annual commitment from the Colorado Tourism Office.
Which restaurants in Colorado received Michelin stars?
Milpero, a Mexican restaurant serving tasting menus by Chef Johnny Curiel, joins the list of nine starred restaurants in Colorado, all of which kept their stars this year:
- Alma Fonda Fina, Denver
- Beckon, Denver
- Bosq, Aspen
- Brutø, Denver
- Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder
- Kizaki, Denver
- Margot, Denver
- Mezcaleria Alma, Denver
- The Wolf’s Tailor, Denver
Curiel’s Alma Fonda Fina was awarded a star in 2024, and his other Denver restaurant, Cozobi Fonda Fina, received a Bib Gourmand in 2025.
Glover’s Annette in Aurora, as well as Pig and Tiger and Rougarou, both in Denver, received a Bib Gourmand, an award created in 1997 to recognize restaurants that highlight “simple yet skillful cooking at an accessible price,” according to the guide. So far, 10 other restaurants have received a Bib Gourmand in Boulder and Denver:
- Ash’Kara, Denver
- Basta, Boulder
- Cozobi Fonda Fina, Boulder
- Ginger Pig, Denver
- Glo Noodle House, Denver
- Hop Alley, Denver
- La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal, Denver
- MAKfam, Denver
- Mister Oso, Denver
- Tavernetta, Denver
What do the stars mean?
In the most literal sense, a star means that the food is consistently impressive.
Michelin inspectors, as the anonymous taste-testers are known, evaluate a restaurant according to five criteria: ingredient quality, harmony of flavors, mastery of culinary techniques, how the chef’s personality shines through their cuisine and consistency.
Inspectors don’t take into account a restaurant’s decor, service or wine list, and in recent years have tried to shake the guide of its reputation that only fine dining places can be awarded. And they’ll dine at a restaurant “as many times as it takes to get the complete picture,” according to the Michelin Guide’s own online magazine, visiting a restaurant during weekdays and weekends, busy times, slow times, and throughout all of the seasons to check for that consistency part of the equation.
So far in Colorado, the guide has stayed pretty true to its fine dining reputation, though. Seven of the nine starred restaurants offer tasting menus — a changing selection of dishes that the chef presents each night. Mezcalaria Alma and Alma Fonda Fina, both in Denver, are the exceptions to the rule, offering steady, seasonal menus.
What the stars mean for a restaurant is major: business.
And that means a lot during a time when keeping the doors open has never seemed harder. Last year, rising food, labor and operational costs sent members of the Colorado Restaurant Association to the Capitol, where the industry successfully persuaded lawmakers to pass the Restaurant Relief Act.
While a star can give a restaurant a much-needed boost, it can also increase the pressure to maintain Michelin-level menus, and all of the costs associated with perfectly sourced ingredients. And if a star is removed — stars are only guaranteed for the single year they are awarded — that can have as much of an impact in the opposite direction.
For now, Colorado chefs can keep aiming for a coveted star, hoping that anonymous inspectors will stop by for a meal or 10.
This is a developing story that will be updated.