· The Guide · Aspen, Colorado ·
Aspen Restaurants.
The list, organized by cuisine. Click any restaurant to read more.
The list, organized by cuisine. Click any restaurant to read more.
Fifty kitchens of Aspen — Italian, French, American, and Asian. Hotel rooms at the Jerome and the Little Nell, members-only lounges, James Beard finalists, the burger that locals defend in any argument, and the sushi counter inside a Victorian house. Each entry below opens to its full description.
From a coastal Italian kitchen at the St. Regis to a Roman trattoria, the Italian Alps, a Milanese institution, and a pizza counter with NYC roots — the rooms in town that take pasta seriously, slice prosciutto tableside, and pour wine until the candles are low.
Opened December 2025 at The Snow Lodge inside The St. Regis Aspen Resort — the third U.S. location of the celebrated coastal Italian restaurant by Altamarea Group, after the James Beard Award–winning flagship on Central Park South and the Beverly Hills outpost.
Brand Executive Chef PJ Calapa runs the kitchen. The menu carries the Marea canon: the renowned fusilli with red-wine-braised octopus and bone marrow; astice — butter-poached Maine lobster with soft burrata, tomato, basil, eggplant al funghetto; branzino with sea bass tartare, pistachio, Calabrian chile. For Aspen specifically, Chef Calapa created the Rotolo Bianco — delicate white Bolognese layered with Tuscan kale, ricotta, Parmesan, fennel, tarragon — designed for the altitude.
Award-winning wine program by Senior Brand Director Francesco Grosso. Dinner Wednesday–Monday 5pm–10pm; closed Tuesdays. Closed for spring; reopens June 8 for summer.
A culinary gem celebrating the flavors of Italy's alpine north. Wooden paneling, handcrafted tables, fur pelts, and antler chandeliers — the room itself reads like a dispatch from Cortina.
The menu features earthy mushrooms, fontina cheese, wild boar, and rustic pizza. Signatures are the tableside Cacio e Pepe and the prosciutto sliced in the dining room.
Opened in early 2025 in the former Main Street Bakery space. The Milanese institution — first opened in 1935 — now joined Aspen alongside locations in NYC, Palm Beach, the Hamptons, Paris, and Milan.
Full-service Milanese-style menu focused on fresh Rocky Mountain produce and ingredients. Beautiful old-world space with outdoor patio. Coffee, wine, cocktails, pastries — full breakfast through dinner.
The newest outpost of NYC's beloved Rubirosa, opened December 2025 at The Residences at The Little Nell — steps from the Aspen Mountain gondola, in the former Chicas space.
The signature Tie-Dye Pizza, housemade pastas, the S'mores Sundae — alongside soups, local meats, and freshwater fish. Seats 200, transitions effortlessly from morning to lively après-ski. Fire-pit tables, sun-soaked patios, easy slope access.
A historic stone-walled dining room one flight below Hyman Avenue, woman-led and locally owned since 2009. Owner-sommelier Jill Carnevale curates the wine list herself; Chef Miguel Diaz runs a kitchen of house-made pastas and Mediterranean-inspired Italian-American plates.
Sixteen years in one room. Same family. Same kitchen. The Artichoke Heart Bruschetta has been on the menu in some form since opening; the pasta is rolled fresh every morning; the wine list runs roughly 2,500 selections with serious depth in Italy. The patio opens toward Aspen Mountain in the warm months. One of the rooms that explains why Aspen is still a town worth eating in.
The Nantucket-born global bistro and sushi bar brings its jet-set sensibility to the mountains, opening June 15 inside the new White Elephant Hotel on Main Street. Sushi and sashimi at the center, Mediterranean-Asian seafood around it, and the signature LoLa bar program — plus a hidden lower-level speakeasy.
Named for the 41st parallel — Longitude-Latitude — the menu travels from Japan to Portugal to Spain. One of the few polished hotel breakfasts in town, an all-day rhythm from 8 AM, a sixty-seat climatized patio facing the mountains, and a cocktail list built for a crowd that orders a second round. A stylish new dining anchor with East Coast pedigree.
A hidden gem with culinary roots in Rome — fresh pasta, rich tomato sauce, fragrant herbs. Warm colors and soft lighting build the cozy, welcoming room visitors return to for a romantic dinner or a quiet meal with friends.
The menu is built on local ingredients from ethical and organic sources — elk, venison, and trout. Casa Tua is consistently busy: book a few days out.
Hours change with the season; lunch a few days a week, dinner times shifting through winter and summer. Worth the call.
A long-running, more casual Italian option on Mill Street — pizzas, pastas, and the kind of room you can walk into without a reservation when the bigger Italian dining rooms are booked.
The downtown slice-shop institution. Aspen's late-night go-to when the dining rooms are closed and what you actually want is a slice eaten standing up.
An approachable but refined room in the heart of Aspen, serving contemporary Mediterranean and coastal Italian — lobster, oysters, crudo, grilled octopus, branzino, and expertly grilled prime meats. Beautifully renovated in late 2024, with wine-lined walls, custom furniture, and a downstairs wine room.
The ethos is simple, high-quality cooking: grilled octopus salad with artichokes and cherry tomatoes, salmon with cauliflower purée, hamachi crudo. An elegant, romantic setting built for special occasions, paired with a deep wine list and hand-crafted cocktails.
Most of these rooms book out a week in advance during high season; the most-talked-about tables fill up a month ahead. Call early. Sit at the bar if the dining room is full. The food is the same.
From a Parisian bistro by a Michelin-starred chef to a sheepskin-draped alpine dining room out of Chamonix, a James Beard finalist serving Afro-Caribbean–French across from the airport, and a second-floor room pairing French technique with Pan-American flavor and a view of Ajax — the French rooms in Aspen are intentionally varied, and quietly some of the best meals in town.
A long-standing favorite of locals and visitors — refined French cooking with local ingredients sourced when available. Begin with royal osetra caviar, Alaskan king crab, or a Hudson Valley foie gras terrine.
Entrees include calf's liver, Colorado rack of lamb, and a Boulder natural rotisserie chicken. Ask the sommelier to pair. Desserts — house biscotti with espresso ice cream, gelato and sorbetti — are simple and beautifully done.
Walk through the velvet curtains and you're suddenly in Chamonix. The room is dark and decked out like a European ski chalet — sheepskin-draped chairs, copious candles, vintage travel posters.
The menu is just as alpine: velvety foie gras terrine, bubbling cheese fondue, sweet and savory crêpes. A fancy choice for après-ski that turns into dinner, or a date night that stretches into a second bottle of Bordeaux. Reservations fill up the moment they open, sixty days in advance.
A Parisian-inspired bistro from Chef Ludo Lefebvre — James Beard finalist, the man behind the Michelin-starred Trois Mec in Los Angeles — opened for the 2025/2026 winter inside the boutique MOLLIE Aspen hotel.
Beautifully designed room, excellent service, classic bistro cooking. Brunch on weekends is a quiet highlight: frittata, latte, the small Parisian touches that make the meal feel like a short trip elsewhere.
Chef Mawa McQueen — James Beard finalist — grew up in the Ivory Coast and trained in Paris, cooking among North African immigrants and absorbing the cuisines of Morocco, Algeria, Egypt. Her kitchen tells a food story rather than just existing for profit.
The winter tasting menu is a four-course $95 dinner that feels special but not stuffy: plantain bread board, escargot en croûte, oxtail au Bourguignon. Earlier in the day, breakfast and lunch lean lighter — granola packets to go, hot cocoa, lavender matcha. One of the few Aspen spots genuinely worth the short drive out of town.
A long-running Aspen favorite for elegant French and Mediterranean dishes in a refined ambiance. The kind of room you choose when the meal needs to feel polished but not stiff. Strong on seafood, well-executed classics, and a dining room that reads warm rather than formal.
Maybe the most beautiful room in Aspen to spend an evening — one flight up from Cooper Avenue, with big windows facing Ajax Mountain and a glow that turns the whole space golden after dark. Chef-owner Laurent Cantineaux, Paris-trained under Guy Savoy, Troisgros, and Daniel Boulud, cooks French technique through a Pan-American lens, and the kitchen is genuinely delicious — precise, generous, never fussy.
It is, quite simply, one of the most romantic tables in town. Candlelight, a serious cocktail program, a resident DJ playing softly every night, and a view that does half the work for you. If you are looking for the place to propose and don't know where, this is our warmest recommendation — tell the Betula team in advance and they will make the night unforgettable. A meal here is best lived, not described.
The widest section by design — Hotel Jerome and Little Nell flagships, a Michelin-starred dining room above a quiet street, the iconic members-only club, the tavern at the foot of the gondola, and the hand-pulled noodles served from a Snowcat in the woods.
The Michelin Guide–recommended dining room inside the historic Hotel Jerome. Chef Rob Zack — who began his career at the Jerome nearly twenty years ago — leads the kitchen with seasonal, ingredient-led cuisine and custom artwork from photographer David Yarrow whose dramatic Western portraits echo the spirit of the Rockies.
Three meals a day, à la carte. Breakfast highlights: huckleberry skillet cake, the bagel with cream cheese and house-smoked salmon, chicken-fried steak. Lunch and dinner lean Mediterranean: lumache pasta with pesto and stracciatella, Colorado lamb loin with caponata and babaganoush, beef tartare, house-smoked pastrami sandwich. A Pre-Theater Menu is offered daily at 5pm.
The heartbeat of the Jerome — designed to feel exactly as it sounds. An open, expansive space for guests to relax over small plates and creative drinks from the lobby bar. A century of artifacts on the walls, fireplaces lit through winter, leather banquettes for hours.
Contemporary American tapas, desserts, creative cocktails, and an extensive hot chocolate menu. Open daily 7am–11pm. The order to know: warm sourdough pretzel bites in front of the fireplace.
Aspen's favorite watering hole for well over a century. The 19th-century saloon remains the town's social hub — ski bums rub elbows with socialites over craft beers, vintage-inspired cocktails, and arguably the best burger in town. Look for the original Chinoiserie Chippendale till at the back, signed by every bartender to work the J-Bar over the decades.
Order the J-Rita (margarita with Cointreau and orange juice) or the Aspen Crud — a milkshake of vanilla ice cream and bourbon. Classics: the J-Bar Burger ("the Kitchen Sink") with cheese, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and applewood smoked bacon. Open 11:30am–2am.
A speakeasy-style cocktail bar in the basement of the historic Aspen Times building, next door to the Jerome. Named after Harriet — wife of the Jerome's original developer Jerome B. Wheeler — Bad Harriet celebrates powerful women throughout history through innovative craft cocktails, avant-garde techniques, and refined presentations.
À la carte service available with a $25 deposit reserving your seat (applied to your final bill). Walk-in seats at the bar on a first-come, first-served basis.
The New York coffee company's first location outside Manhattan, set inside the Jerome. Specialty espresso, beautifully done filter coffee, and a small pastry program — the kind of pre-ski stop that makes the morning feel less like a hurry.
The flagship dining room of The Little Nell — Aspen's only Five-Star, Five-Diamond ski-in, ski-out hotel at the base of Aspen Mountain. Michelin Guide–recommended; named for the atomic number of silver, a nod to the town's mining history.
Colorado Contemporary cuisine from Culinary Director Matthew Zubrod — local wagyu, house-made pastas and breads, seasonal produce. The wine cellar — a 2026 Silver Star winner from Star Wine List — runs more than 600 references across the world's great regions, with separate awards for Best Long Wine List, Best Italian, Best Austrian, and Best Sparkling. Breakfast, lunch, après, dinner. Dinner Wed–Sun 6–9 pm.
Glamorous-yet-easy. Sits at the base of Aspen Mountain, beside the Silver Queen Gondola. By day: the best lunch in Aspen on a sun-soaked patio. By afternoon: one of the most sought-after happy-hour scenes. By evening: one of the best bars in town.
The truffle fries and Ajax Wagyu double cheeseburger have earned their reputation. Wagyu Bolognese is the other order. Pristine raw bar selections — oysters, shrimp, crab — for après. Open daily lunch 11:30am–5pm, dinner 5pm–10pm.
The intimate counterpart to Element 47 — a sommelier-led wine room inside The Little Nell where the program is the menu. Pairings, by-the-glass curation, and rare bottles you can taste before you commit.
The only Michelin-starred restaurant in any Colorado ski resort town. Chef Barclay Dodge — a 2024 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Chef — leads the kitchen with a "new world cuisine" approach built on locally sourced ingredients.
Two tasting menus only, dinner only. Sleek contemporary dining room indoors; lovely outdoor deck for summer evenings.
Aspen's iconic members-only lounge and dining club. Classic alpine elegance, a lively après-to-late-night scene, and a clientele that has been showing up for decades. The kind of place that runs the town's social calendar in private.
The dining experience that has nothing to do with downtown Aspen. A backcountry cabin at the end of a snowcat ride or a cross-country ski trail in the Castle Creek Valley. Reservation, transportation, and meal are all part of the package.
The kind of dinner that becomes the trip itself — not because the food is the most refined in town, but because no other meal in Aspen happens like this.
An elevated dinner destination — locally owned by Maryanne and Harley Sefton. Executive Chef Mark Connell turns Rocky Mountain bounty into precise dishes; master sommelier Jonathan Pullis runs a bold, dynamic wine program.
At the end of Meadows Road, on the forty-acre Aspen Meadows Resort just north of downtown. Floor-to-ceiling windows look over the Rocky Mountains and the Roaring Fork River. Chef Jason Thompson's New American menu uses seasonal, locally farmed ingredients.
A local favorite for more than thirty years, directly across the street from Hotel Jerome. Hearty American dishes in a cozy, low-lit setting — the kind of dining room that doesn't need to reinvent itself, because the regulars come back for the same dishes year after year.
A London Gentleman's Club–meets–Aspen dining room. Sophistication, romance, classic prime steaks, table-side Caesar salad, an extensive wine list. Many seafood options too — the Colorado striped bass with Himalayan red rice, pine nuts, horseradish crème fraîche, and micro-beet salad is a local favorite.
Recently expanded to a second location in downtown Boulder. Perfect on a cold snowy night.
A cozy gem in Aspen's bustling food scene — famous for the Honor Burger: fresh ground chuck, white cheddar, tomato, and spicy slaw on a perfect bun. Sit in a corner table or at the bar. Pair with an expertly crafted cocktail. The kind of place visitors return to every trip without thinking about it.
Founded by Wendy Mitchell of Avalanche Cheese Company — Meat & Cheese does double duty as a "World Farmhouse" restaurant and Aspen's go-to fine foods shop. Start with charcuterie, move to the rotisserie chicken board with crispy roasted potatoes and mixed greens.
Strong plant-based program too: chickpea stew with house harissa, braised leeks and fennel. No reservations — join the line queue on Yelp before you walk over.
Has been feeding Aspen for decades. People still come for the baby back ribs — tender, smoky, in portions big enough to guarantee leftovers. You'll see hardhats hanging next to Moncler jackets. No reservations, wet wipes, soda in souvenir cups — refreshingly casual for Aspen.
South Carolina barbecue at the base of the Buttermilk ski area. House-smoked meats: pulled pork, smoked ribs, BBQ chicken, beef brisket. The bar specializes in American whiskeys and playful frozen cocktails. Open early for breakfast in winter — a convenient stop before the slopes. The kind of family-friendly room locals come back to over and over.
Aspen-style fast food: high-quality burgers, truffle fries, tuna and falafel burgers, Lulu Wilson's famous Kale Salad, soft-serve and spiked shakes. Outdoor seating year-round, ice-skating in winter, mini-golf in summer. The walk-in meal that works with kids in tow.
Approachable American cuisine using local Colorado ingredients that shine in every dish. The kind of room that lets the produce and the proteins do the talking, in a setting that reads as warm and unfussy.
The W Aspen's all-day après-ski program, led by Executive Chef and F&B Director Christian Quiñones — born and raised in Puerto Rico, winner of MasterChef Latino. New winter salads, après-driven small plates, a long bar, and the buzz that keeps the place moving from afternoon into night.
Aspen's organic food and juice bar — the morning stop for plant-based bowls, cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and a clean meal between dinners that won't feel clean. The kind of place locals fold into a long week of richer rooms.
Downtown Aspen's go-to Mexican / Tex-Mex room, opened summer 2022 on the second floor of Mill Street Plaza (former Jimmy's Restaurant space). Mountain views from the dining room and the outdoor patio.
Tex-Mex classics: tabletop sizzling fajitas (steak arrachera, achiote chicken), house-made tortillas, ceviches and aguachiles, grilled steaks and seafood. Cocktails, an extensive agave spirits selection, a long wine list. Lively bar scene, festive room. Daily happy hour 3–5pm in the bar.
One of the rooms on Aspen's so-called "Restaurant Row" along Hopkins Street. A modern Mexican restaurant with a hip, beautifully designed interior that stays true to Mexican craft and color. Popular for a reason — the room is full most nights of the week.
From a Nobu sushi counter inside a 120-year-old Victorian to a ramen bar locals book three nights a week, Thai noodles, dim sum, pho, and a French-Indonesian dining room with grilled satays — the Asian rooms in Aspen are unusually deep for a mountain town, and consistently among the most reliably excellent.
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's flagship in Aspen — set inside a 120-year-old Victorian house, with bamboo-adorned ceilings and a sleek walnut cocktail bar. The full Nobu canon: exotic sushi and sashimi, sizzling hot dishes, the black cod that everyone orders, the new-style sashimi that put the chef on the map. Sake brewed exclusively for the restaurant in Japan.
Chef Nobu's newest Aspen room — a global take on his signature style, set in a sleek space perched above the legendary Belly Up music venue. Travel-inspired plates: Japanese pizzas, elevated sandos, and dishes that move beyond the classics at Matsuhisa down the street.
The room is tighter, the energy higher, the late-night crowd one of the better people-watching scenes in town.
An Aspen favorite since 1991. Contemporary Asian cuisine with a strong focus on sushi and sashimi: inventive rolls, Wagyu cooked tableside on a 1,000° hot rock, lively atmosphere for date nights or celebratory groups. The kind of room that stays consistently excellent across decades.
A polished take on global fusion cuisine — prime steaks, creative sushi, and seafood sourced from local and organic farms whenever possible. The ultra-chic setting includes dramatic fire-and-water design accents.
Chef Frank Lu's signature dishes are worth pre-ordering: the Peking duck, the Wagyu tomahawk steak, Frank's Truffle Kale Fried Rice. New-style sashimi, homemade dim sum, Japanese hot rock specialties round out the menu.
Landing in Aspen from Nantucket — Lola 41 brings its globally inspired menu and stylish, buzzy atmosphere to the mountains. Sushi, steak, cocktails, and design-forward décor. An instant hotspot for both après-ski and late-night dining.
One of the key restaurants in Aspen — especially when the temperature drops. Locals come multiple times a week (ask about the annual Bowl Club membership) for soup dumplings, poke, and tonkotsu ramen that feels genuinely restorative after a long day outside.
Low-stakes, high-reward — works just as well solo as it does with friends. Also one of the best takeout options in town.
Chef Cédric Vongerichten (Jean-Georges' son) and Ochi Latjuba bring their celebrated French-Indonesian cooking to Aspen — a full-time home after years of sold-out pop-ups at The Little Nell.
Chalet coziness with tropical ease: crackling wood fire, open kitchen, Indonesian craft details. Lobster noodles, peekytoe crab fried rice, charcoal-grilled satays, bright curries. Comfort with a little adventure, especially after a day on the mountain.
One of Aspen's quieter Japanese rooms — sushi-bar focus with an izakaya bent. The kind of place to sit at the counter, order omakase, and let the chef pace the meal.
A unique mix — pho on one side of the menu, sushi on the other. Dine in or take away. The midweek lunch when you want a hot bowl of broth or a quick maki and a fast walk back to the office or hotel.
Authentic Thai cooking — curries, noodle dishes, classic spice profiles — with a full bar and patio seating. The lighter dinner option when you want flavor without ceremony.
A delightful family-friendly fusion of Chinese cuisine and dim sum. Casual, reliable, the kind of room that fills with families and groups on weeknights and stays consistent across the seasons.