Known for breathtaking mountain vistas and outdoor adventure, Colorado Springs also impresses foodie visitors with an appetizing array of dining options showcasing regional flavors. Locally-sourced contemporary American cuisine dominates menus accented with international flare spanning street tacos to dishes inspired by the Himalayas. Trendy converted warehouses feature exposed brick walls and hipster vibes alongside cozy mountain lodges and family-run diners serving home cooking classics for generations.
| Restaurant Name | Cuisine/Highlights |
|---|---|
| The Broadmoor’s Penrose Room | New American, upscale dining, and views |
| Blue Star | Seasonal menus, steak, and patio dining |
| The Warehouse Restaurant | New American, happy hour, and brunch |
| Craftwood Kitchen | Regional cuisine, hearty dishes |
| The Principal’s Office Pizza & Pub | Wood-fired pizza, craft beer |
| Marigold Café & Bakery | European-style café, French/Italian pastries |
| Marmalade’s Restaurant | Eclectic menu, intimate dining |
| Shugas | Sports bar, pub-style menu |
| The Famous | Gastropub, comfort food |
| Shame & Regret Restaurant & Bar | Seasonal fare, craft cocktails |
| Nepal’s Café | Himalayan/Nepali cuisine |
With so many tantalizing restaurants, choosing where to eat in Colorado Springs challenges the most seasoned food lovers. Whether celebrating special occasions or simply looking to sample local specialties, this curated list spotlights 12 of the best restaurants demonstrating Colorado Spring’s scrumptious and eclectic food scene.
The Broadmoor’s Penrose Room
Name and Location: The elegant Penrose Room restaurant crowns the soaring atrium inside The Broadmoor luxury hotel and resort at 1 Lake Avenue in Colorado Springs.
History and Significance: Open since the Broadmoor’s founding over a century ago, the refined Penrose Room restaurant carries historic significance as the hotel’s original main dining room named for Spencer Penrose; established to set fine dining standards befitting the property’s Five-Star awards since 1957.
What to Expect: Sophisticated seasonal tasting menus paired with an extensive, award-winning wine program create memorable elevated dining experiences surrounded by Italian Renaissance opulence under ornate chandeliers, murals and soaring pillars.
Visitor Information: Dinner reservations recommended. Smart casual dress code enforced. Valet parking available at the hotel. A la carte breakfast and Sunday brunches served as well.
Expect unmatched romance and refinement plus extraordinary views at The Broadmoor resort’s signature Penrose Room, an opulent venue with flawless service and innovative New American tasting menus worthy of 5-diamond accolades since the 1930s. Between nightly dancing and Sunday brunch champagne, the talented culinary team artfully infuses local ingredients into seasonal dishes like seared scallops with corn pudding and venison accented by huckleberry demi. With upscale suites and award-winning golf onsite, lovers find paradise at The Broadmoor.
Blue Star
Name and Location: Blue Star restaurant resides along the row of hip eateries, bars and boutiques lining Colorado Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs.
History and Significance: Since 2004, Blue Star established itself as a contemporary local dining institution anchored within the burgeoning South Tejon Street creative district; gaining acclaim for upscale seasonal menus fusing global flavors.
What to Expect: An intimate modern rustic setting greets diners seeking creative dishes that artfully transform Colorado ingredients into unexpected delights across changing daily dinner and weekend brunch menus plus craft cocktails.
Visitor Information: Dinner nightly; brunch weekends. Reservations recommended via OpenTable. Street parking available otherwise use nearby garage.
Housed in a stylishly converted 1895 brick warehouse, popular Blue Star wows diners with creative seasonal menus focused on veggies and masterfully prepared steaks. Handmade pastas shine bright, like the Colorado lamb pappardelle tossed with preserved lemon and aged ricotta. The impressive wine list offers 450 varieties best paired with wood-fired treats and handcrafted desserts like brown sugar cake with malted milk chocolate mousse. Enjoy creekside patio dining in summer watching clouds drift by Pikes Peak.
The Warehouse Restaurant
Name and Location: The Warehouse Restaurant resides near downtown Colorado Springs within the cozy stone-and-timber Old Colorado City historic shopping district at 25 W. Cimarron St.
History and Significance: Housed inside a converted 1890s warehouse since 1977, this local landmark eatery helped spur Old Colorado City’s revitalization, staying popular for balcony seating overlooking the bustling district lined by Victorian-era storefronts.
What to Expect: Hearty American breakfast plates, bison burgers, steaks and comfort entrees that feel like home define the menu downstairs while the top floor fine dining experience impresses with rotating continental plates and Rocky Mountain elegance.
Visitor Information: Serving daily breakfast, lunch, dinner plus Sunday brunch. Reservations recommended for balcony level. Street parking available.
Touting exposed original brick walls covered with work by local artists, hip Warehouse Restaurant built its loyal following on unbeatable happy hour deals and farm-to-table New American dishes like shrimp and grits or pork osso buco. Handcrafted cocktails get creative with ingredients like jalapeño simple syrup and smoked pineapple puree. And the weekend brunch menu tempts with choices like Dame Smith Benedict featuring smoked salmon. Arrive early on weekends to beat crowds.
Craftwood Kitchen
Name and Location: Craftwood Kitchen brings seasonal modern American cuisine to southeast Colorado Springs within the Cheyenne Crossing neighborhood’s shopping center off Powers Blvd & Woodmen Rd.
History and Significance: Since 2017, executive chef Andy Ingram helms the cozy kitchen inside this standout suburban eatery focused on responsibly sourced regional ingredients transformed through finessed culinary techniques into seasonal dishes both hearty yet refined.
What to Expect: Ever-evolving dinner and weekend brunch menus means vibrant Colorado lamb, masterfully grilled steaks and dapper desserts await patrons in the minimally adorned contemporary dining room or al fresco sidewalk patio.
Visitor Information: Dinner nightly plus brunch weekends. Reservations recommended via OpenTable. Street and lot parking adjacent to shops.
Housed in a chic industrial space fusing distressed wood, steel beams, exposed ductwork and concrete floors, Craftwood Kitchen celebrates Colorado flavors from local farms. Their seasonally inspired regional cuisine spotlights hearty dishes like braised Colorado lamb served with farro verde, roasted delicata squash and fig demi-glace. And you can’t miss out on prepared tableside guacamole, fresh oysters or Signature Craftwood potatoes layered with bacon jam and aged cheddar ready for dipping.
The Principal’s Office Pizza & Pub
Name and Location: The Principal’s Office sits inside the 1916 Ivywild School transformed event space off S. Cascade Avenue just south of downtown Colorado Springs.
History and Significance: Paying homage to the schoolhouse relic’s administrative history, The Principal’s Office emerged alongside the 2016 Ivywild campus restoration; recapturing classrooms converted into a pizzeria plus underground pub and beer garden anchored by Bristol Brewing Company’s operations.
What to Expect: Families gobble cheesy specialty pizzas baked on-site while adults indulge draft IPAs and hearty pub grub inside old offices or within the tree-enclosed year-round heated patio lined by twinkling lights.
Visitor Information: Open daily for lunch and dinner; no reservations. Parking lot on site. Well-mannered dogs allowed outdoors. Access playground nearby!
Paying homage to Ivywild School, a converted historic 1916 elementary school now housing artisan shops and eateries, The Principal’s Office playfully embraces the building’s academic legacy through chalkboard menus listing detention specials. But the decadent wood-fired pizza and craft beer selection earn straight As, with delicious options like the Smoky Mountain pie with tender pulled pork, peppadew peppers and mozzarella. The cozy bar keeps things lively, with bingo, trivia and games.
Marigold Café & Bakery
Name and Location: Marigold Cafe & Bakery brings Parisian patisserie charm to downtown Colorado Springs at 4605 Centennial Blvd.
History and Significance: Opened in 2016 to fill the dessert void following beloved Swiss shop Shugas closure, Marigold wooed the loyal sweet-toothed set by recreating French and continental confection favorites alongside New American menu development rounding out a fresh neighborhood hub.
What to Expect: Lunch and weekend brunch visitors swoon over sumptuous layers of creamy gateaux, flaky croissants, tart tatin, or brioche while dinner fans find pleasantly surprising takes on comfort cuisine mains channeling 1970s dinner party throwbacks.
Visitor Information: Open daily 7AM–9PM. Street parking available otherwise use paid city garage behind. Dinner reservations advised for parties over four via OpenTable.
This European-style café charms patrons with exposed brick walls, pressed tin ceilings and bouquets gracing rustic wood tables at its downtown location inside a carefully preserved 1890s building. Made-from-scratch French and Italian pastries tempt from glass cases while the seasonally-driven lunch and dinner menu impresses with standouts like Thai curry mussels, Chinese chicken salad and Midwest pork chops topped with Chipotle peach glaze and served with ginger fried rice.
Marmalade’s Restaurant
Name and Location: Marmalade’s brings farm-fresh cuisine to the historic Pine Creek village north of Colorado Springs at 7350 Pine Creek Rd not far from I-25’s exit 135.
History and Significance: Making weekend drives out to their cozy cottage bistro worth the trip since 2015, husband-wife owners source seasonal specialties from their proprietor farm while paying homage to the community’s agricultural roots through sourcing local partners as well.
What to Expect: Weekly changing menus means veggie-centric dishes shine bright in summer when greens and berries burst with flavor then heartier Colorado lamb and packed root mashers take over once snow blankets their fields out back.
Visitor Information: Weekend breakfast and lunch only; first come first served. Cash preferred though cards accepted. Outdoor seating available. Furry friends welcome on leashes!
Enchanting Marmalade’s delivers big flavors and intimate dining experiences inside a cozy 1887 Victorian cottage lavished with period antiques and local art. From vegan phyllo strudel to Marmalade’s famous sustainable sea bass in parchment accented by roasted grapes, the eclectic seasonal menu surprises while the award-winning wine list tops over 300 varieties. Weekend brunches bring live jazz performances and signature cocktails like Blood Orange Mimosas. Don’t skip dessert—the chocolate bread pudding is sublime!
Shugas
Name and Location: Shugas sustains European cafe culture within a cozy exposed brick storefront spanning 722 South Cascade Avenue along Colorado Springs’ hip South Tejon Street creative corridor.
History and Significance: Founded in 2001 after brothers David and Scott Schuler spotted a dessert shop void following their Swiss childhood, Shugas endures as a local haunt thanks to delicious housemade truffles, cakes and pastries ideal for gifting too.
What to Expect: Display cases brimming with triple chocolate mousse cake, strawberry cheesecake or pistachio macarons entice visitors to stay, sip coffee on velvet couches and nibble delicate cookies in this sublime Old World haven sending sweet tooths into bliss.
Visitor Information: Open for breakfast and lunch daily; cash preferred. Metered parking along Tejon otherwise city garage across street. Carefully selected wholesale sweets available.
Directly across from the Broadmoor World Arena, lively sports bar Shugas packs in crowds with an inexpensive pub-style menu perfect for families and friend gatherings. Go big devouring house specialties like the offensive lineman—a three-pound burrito stuffed with spiced meat, veggies, cheese and just about everything else. Or share buckets of boneless wings with ranch for dipping along with baskets of crispy fries sprinkled with Shugas seasoning. With large banquet seating and big screen TVs broadcasting games, Shugas makes an ideal sports bar.
The Famous
Name and Location: The Famous Steakhouse occupies an 1880s Victorian building one block off major downtown Colorado Springs Tejon Street restaurant row at 31 N. Tejon St.
History and Significance: The current structure housed bordellos, saloons and hotels after its construction while sheltered prohibition-era speakeasies operated covertly below ground until Famous ownership legitimized operations here in 1974 quickly growing acclaim.
What to Expect: Couples indulge intimate candlelit dinners in red leather booths inside its historic walls swirling classic martinis followed by indulgent cuts charred over an oak grill served tableside alongside live piano players crooning relaxing sets under an ornate stamped tin ceiling.
Visitor Information: Dinner only Tuesday through Saturday; reservations recommended. Valet parking or adjacent city garage. Smart casual dress code enforced.
A steam-punk inspired gastropub, the acclaimed Famous specializes in comfort food classics with a creative twist, like the Bernie sandwich featuring mac ‘n’ cheese between garlic Parmesan Texas toast. Even tacos get wild creative treatment stuffed with Korean BBQ steak or Buffalo cauliflower. Of course, their 20 ever-rotating craft brew taps help wash it all down. Thanks to an ever-changing chalkboard menu, every visit here in the hip Ivylwild neighborhood brings new flavors to try with friends.
Shame & Regret Restaurant & Bar
Name and Location: Shame & Regret Restaurant & Bar brings elevated pub fare and old-timey装饰to a downtown storefront at 7 East Bijou Street in Colorado Springs.
History and Significance: Open since 2021, this new gastropub destination rounds out Colorado Springs’ downtown dining scene; channeling cheeky Victorian-era décor with naughty names nodding to its seedier predecessor watering hole once allegedly operating from the subterranean space.
What to Expect: Handcrafted cocktails get the party started in the gilded bar before patrons tuck into reimagined comfort food classics ranging from fried chicken sandwiches heaped with house slaw to juicy burgers dripping cheddar plus savory weekend brunch specials.
Visitor Information: Lunch, dinner and weekend brunch daily; first come, first served. Validated parking in adjacent garage otherwise metered street parking where available.
Bringing a cheeky downtown gastropub vibe, Shame & Regret champions scratch-made seasonal fare focused on shareables and craft cocktails inside an artsy exposed brick space scattered with velvet settees. Go traditional with steak frites or get adventurous nibbling fried goat cheese fritters drizzled with orange blossom honey followed by cast iron roasted mussels simmered in homemade beer broth. Happy hour sees specials on creative bar bites like deviled eggs six ways to pair with draft IPAs or snag discounted bottles on Wine Wednesday.
Nepal’s Café
Name and Location: Nepal’s Cafe brings the rich flavors of Nepali and Indian fare to a casual cafe storefront at 1625 S. Tejon Street along downtown Colorado Springs’ dynamic Ivywild restaurant row.
History and Significance: Open since 2012, the family-run Himalayan cafe shares treasured old family recipes offering an authentic taste of South Asian cuisine prepared from heirloom spice blends and techniques. Their dedication earns them consistent top area restaurant rankings for this global comfort food niche.
What to Expect: Pair fragrant signature curries, savory stuffed dumplings or cumin-laced lentil soup with flavored lassis while soaking up homey décor amid friendly staff and regulars happy to guide first-timers on this Masala-fueled journey.
Visitor Information: Open daily for lunch and dinner with easy street parking. Order takeout online powered locally by Secret Fork Society. Cash tips for exceptional service appreciated.
Named “Best Himalayan Restaurant” by publications like Fodor’s and the Gazette, authentic Nepal Café transports diners to the slopes of Everest through Nepali family recipes perfected over 30 years. Savor traditional dishes like Linchpin sekuwa (Nepali-style kabobs) or sink forks into hearty curries and stir fries bursting with ginger, garlic and spices reminiscent of Kathmandu bazaar eats. Gorge on unlimited lunch buffets or stop by for cooking demos from the owner adding modern twists to Old World specialties honoring her home country.
Conclusion
With cozy bistros, family-friendly pubs and fine resort dining all making names for themselves on the Colorado Springs culinary scene, visitors enjoy an eclectic array of palate-pleasing options. Foodies find familiar comfort foods increasingly enhanced by regional meats and produce plus international spice for flair. And local restauranteurs focus on creating welcoming, inspired spaces as stimulating as the artful dishes gracing tables nightly. Through fresh takes on classics to cuisine spanning the globe, discovering new favorite restaurants always top’s travelers to-do lists for uncovering a destination’s delectable personality.