12 Best Brunch Places in Denver

Give us an overview.
Sometimes brunch service at this RiNo gem is jumping, sometimes it’s quiet—but whoever’s here is sure to be up on the latest enthusiastic press chef-owner Kyle Foster and his wife-partner Katy Foster have received. Their in-the-know customers include industry pros: always a good sign. Regardless of who's eating alongside you, you're in for a seasonal study in the New South, from New Orleans–style yakamein and banana-pecan bread in molasses-butter sauce to boiled-peanut hummus with crudités and fried chicken atop schmaltz waffles.

Any must-try drinks on the menu?
While the wine and beer lists are carefully sketched out for food-friendliness, you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to have at least one glass of brunch-only milk punch—or any other classic Southern cocktail, for that matter, be it a French 75, a Sazerac, or, most obviously, a Julep. Seasonal Old Fashioneds with sorghum syrup and black-walnut bitters or lemon tea and peach bitters might be a bit too potent by daytime standards, but then again, who’s judging?

What are the dishes that we need to order?
One word: Benedict. The components change frequently—softshell crab on housemade English muffins one day, collard greens and beet hollandaise on cornbread the next—but the satisfaction it guarantees as a staple dish does not. Three more words: Kentucky Hot Brown. The open face sandwich is piled high with juicy smoked turkey and bacon on Pullman loaf beneath a fluffy, still-bubbling blanket of Colby Jack Mornay sauce garnished with a dollop of tomato jam. The rest is gravy, literally and figuratively.

Any thoughts on the staff?
You’ll probably get to meet at least one of the Fosters, but even if you don’t, you’ll generally be taken care of as though they, and you, were family. Some servers retain the polish of a fine-dining background, some take a looser approach, but they’re all well-grounded in the concept of Southern hospitality and can regale you with stories that will make you feel right at home.

What else should we know?
Come dressed up a little—not because you have to, but because every day here feels like Derby Day. And bring the kids if you’d like. Though Julep’s less appropriate for them during dinner—when the lights dim and the menu abounds in the likes of snails, frog legs, aspic jelly, carrot stems, and dandelion greens—brunch is decidedly more casual.