Dozens and dozens of restaurants will open their doors for the first time in 2025 — most of which we don’t even know about yet (although their owners are surely planning away). But we do have details of some of them, and it makes us hungry. Here is a list of eight of the most anticipated openings of 2025 — along with two more without addresses that are in the works.
Amorina
Chef Max Mackissock of the Culinary Creative Group plans to open Amorina, a cocktail bar and small-plates restaurant in Cherry Creek, on Jan. 7. In addition to cocktails, it will feature a hand-stretched mozzarella bar, pizzas, crudo, prosciutto and pasta. The cheese bar will offer a choice of either burrata, mozzarella di bufala (made with buffalo milk), or fresh-pulled fior de latte (mozzarella made with cow’s milk) and various sides, oils and accompaniments.
231 Clayton St., Denver; theculinarycreative.com
Boombots Pasta Shop
If anyone can make pasta taste better than it already does, it’s Cliff Blauvelt, whose sandwiches at Odie B’s (formerly Bodega), like the Dirty Denver, made with green chile-braised short rib, cheese curds and crispy onions, are somewhat of a religious experience. Boombots will take a similarly “playful” approach with dishes like Dirty Martini Bucatini, made with a vodka sauce puttanesca; Pastrami Agnolotti, inspired by a Reuben sandwich; and Smoked Duck Green Chile Mac. The fast-casual spot will have a patio; it is slated to open in the summer.
2647 W. 38th Ave., Denver; instagram.com/boombots_pastashop
Outside Pizza owners Ryan and Ashley Grillaert (from left) and Cerebral Brewing owners Dan McGuire and Sean Buchan. (Provided by Cerebral Brewing)
Cerebral Brewing/Outside Pizza
Cerebral Brewing is one of Denver’s most loved and respected breweries. Outside Pizza, from Ashley and Ryan Grillaert, has an ardent group of followers for the Neopolitan-style pies they serve from a vintage trailer. Together, they plan to open inside a 4,000-square-foot, high-profile former church off Highland Square. The space, Cerebral’s third metro-area taproom, will include a built-in pizza oven, a second-story mezzanine and a sunny patio. It’s going to be very busy.
3257 Lowell Blvd., Denver; cerebralbrewing.com/location/west-highlands/
Denchu
Brothers Toshi and Yasu Kizaki will add to their South Pearl Street empire this spring when they open Denchu, an omakase-style Japanese restaurant where Toshi Kizaki will be able to show off his skills at preparing sushi and other dishes. Denchu will join Sushi Den, Ototo and Izakaya Den, which are considered to be some of the top Japanese restaurants in metro Denver.
1551 S. Pearl St., Denver; sushiden.net
Chef Ty Leon makes bison mortadella at Restaurant Olivia in Denver on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. It will be served at Leon’s new restaurant, Emilia, in 2025.
Emilia
Partners Ty Leon, Austin Caron and Heather Morrison, who landed on the Michelin Guide’s list of recommended restaurants in Denver for the past two years with their first spot, Restaurant Olivia, will open a second concept called Emilia in 2025. The 3,700-square-foot space will be on the ground floor of The Current office building. Emilia takes inspiration from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy — home to Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic vinegar and prosciutto di Parma. One menu item to keep your eyes out for: bison mortadella, which we profiled here.
3615 Delgany St., Denver; instagram.com/emilia_ristorante/
Leven Downtown
Leven Downtown (not to be confused with Leven Supply, which opens in January) is a new, full-service restaurant coming from Leven Deli owner Anthony Lygizos. It will be on the ground floor of the 30-story Block 162 development. The menu draws from Italian and Mediterranean cuisine and includes cured and aged meats, dry-aged steaks, stuffed pasta with house-made pastrami, sourdough crust pizzas and salads. It is targeting a summer opening.
1520 California St., Denver; eatleven.com
Fresh bread loaves at Reunion BrCo.d Co, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
Reunion Bread
Ismael De Sousa and his staff already turn out amazing breads, pastries and other confections inside a nearly empty market hall with an oven that isn’t made for what they do. So when Reunion Bread moves into a brand new, flagship location on busy South Pearl Street next summer, De Sousa will finally be able to truly showcase the talents (along with cakes, tarts and creampuffs) that got him named to Bon Appetit’s 2019 list of the best new restaurants in America.
1250 S. Pearl St., Denver; reunionbread.square.site
Risica
Fine dining chef Andrea Frizzi — who ran Il Posto from 2007-2024 — is taking a different approach with Risica, which he plans to open in Edit, a luxury apartment building in RiNo. In addition to Neapolitan-style pizza baked in a Marra Forni brick oven, the casual spot will feature small plates like beef carpaccio, seasonal crudo, crostini, oysters and white cannelloni bean hummus. Frizzi also plans a drinks menu with cocktails under $12 and glasses of wine under $8.
3463 Walnut St., Denver; instagram.com/risica_denver/
And two to grow on…
Spencer White, Alex Figura and Lulu Clair — the owners of Dio Mio in RiNo, and Denver darling Redeemer Pizza — announced in late December that they are planning to open a pasta restaurant in the spring of 2025 somewhere in the Washington Park neighborhood. The spot will be called Johnny Bechamel’s. More details are expected in January.
And Bakery Four, which has been wowing customers at its flagship shop on Tennyson Street and its bagel outpost, Rich Spirit, in Wheat Ridge, hinted on Instagram that it is planning another location — this one on the east side of central Denver. More to come in 2025.