9 food and drink trends to watch in Denver in 2024

Staying on trend is a never-ending chase, and no one wants to be left behind.

While the Mile High City seems to catch on to trends in the culinary world a little later than New York City or L.A., social media sites like TikTok and Instagram help speed things up. So we’re getting out our crystal ball to predict what will be hot this year with restaurants and bars.

Here are nine food and drink trends you might catch a glimpse of in local kitchens in 2024.

MSG

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a food additive used to enhance flavor, and local spots like MAKfam and Death & Company are embracing the ingredient to dispel the common misconception that MSG is any worse for you than anything else.

Denver cocktail bar Death & Co., on the ground floor of the Ramble Hotel in RiNo, recently introduced its Wavelength cocktail with Chardonnay barrel-aged gin, bitters, sherry, tomato, passion fruit and MSG.

MAKfam, a Cantonese restaurant that opened in October, has a playful piece of art on its wall featuring the slogan “It’s better with MSG,” as well as a riff on a gin martini dubbed “MSGin” with Chinese plum brine and MSG.

“We’re proud to say we use MSG in our food, and I feel like there’s a lot of negative connotation with it, but you could say the same thing about sugar, and we want to take that idea back,” co-owner Kenneth Wan previously told The Denver Post.

Espresso martinis

The espresso martini’s recent revival has given diners a pep in their step, whether you prefer the caffeine-infused cocktail for a jolt of energy before dinner or paired with dessert to end the meal. Denver restaurants aren’t missing out on this three-bean trend, and nearly every drink menu boasts some sort of rendition of the creamy cocktail.

Logan Street Restaurant & Bar is a particular date-night favorite with a classic espresso martini on the menu. Or you can shake it up with a tequila-based Espresso Martinez with Fruitful Coconut Liqueur, 477 Coffee Liqueur, Bluegrass Cold Brew, Aztec Chocolate Bitters and agave syrup at Cantina Loca.

Out-of-state chefs and brands

Denver is on almost everyone’s radar these days, and an increasing number of out-of-state chefs and brands continue to expand here to get a piece of the Mile High pie.

Whether it’s for a shot at a Michelin star or just to enjoy the vast outdoor activities we have to offer, the transplants just keep coming. This year, Portland-based chef Carlo Lamagna plans to open Magna Kainan, a Filipino restaurant in RiNo. Also, Le Colonial, a Vietnamese-French, fine-dining restaurant with locations in Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, is opening its first Denver spot in Cherry Creek. And South Carolina-based 5th Street Group is expanding  its Church and Union, an upscale, New American concept, to Denver in June 2024.

Texas-based gas station chain Buc-ee’s is getting in on the action, too, with its first Colorado outpost opening in Johnstown this March, and Chicago-based Portillo’s is also eyeing Colorado for a first-time expansion.

Global sandwiches

Denver’s sandwich game is having a bit of a renaissance. More and more bakery owners with culinary backgrounds are having fun in the kitchen, combining their bread skills with their savory appetites. In turn, sandwiches are leveling up from the usual turkey and ham stacks with global influences.

Congress Park Market, owned by Spinelli’s, features a Japanese egg salad sandwich ($13.99) with shallot and rice vinegar on a homemade Shokupan loaf by chef Michael Neale, who previously worked at the upscale Chinese food restaurant Hop Alley. GetRight’s, owned by former chef Matt Dulin, experiments with sandwich and pizza specials every week, like a recent French-inspired, scrambled egg sandwich with black truffle on a fresh-baked croissant.

Fancy mocktails

Bartenders take their mocktails as seriously as a shaken martini or expert Old Fashioned these days, especially as more diners take their turns at Dry January.

Denver restaurants like Rooted Craft Kitchen in Highland have created zero-proof elixirs that make it easy to forget why you ever needed to add alcohol to it in the first place. Level up your mocktail game with the Yuz Me Up ($10) with yuzu, Fresno peppers, rice wine vinegar and tonic.

“Having interesting non-alcoholic beverages is a must for any restaurant in 2024, with more people choosing not to consume booze yet still wanting a well-crafted cocktail,” said Rooted co-owner and beverage director Scott Ericson. “Our shrubs have an intensity of flavor, with a bite. The vinegar does a great job of taking the place of the alcohol.”

Sustainable sourcing

Michelin doled out sustainability awards to Denver restaurateur Kelly Whitaker’s Bruto and The Wolf’s Tailor in Denver, as well as Blackbelly Market and Bramble & Hare in Boulder at the guide’s inaugural ceremony in Colorado this year.

They were recognized for their above-and-beyond sustainable practices, like Blackbelly’s in-house butcher program and work with local ranchers and farmers, or Bruto’s food-waste management through fermentation and its in-house milling process.