Aurora’s Culinary Scene Is Lighting Up in Colorado

Denver has the buzz and Aspen has the bucks — and they’re both in Colorado’s Michelin Guide — but insiders know that the best food can often be found in the Denver suburb of Aurora, the state’s third-largest yet often overlooked city. A must-see (and eat) destination in its own right, Aurora has the most diverse population in the state. About one in five Aurora residents was born outside of the United States, and more than 160 languages are spoken in the city’s public school system, contributing to a food culture rich with international cuisines.

Start a visit savoring house-roasted single-origin Ethiopian coffee at HiRa Cafe & Patisserie. The cakes are light as air, and the true standouts are the hearty breakfast entrees including enkulal firfir — eggs scrambled with peppers, onion, and tomatoes — and chechebsa, flatbread pieces with berbere-spiced butter and honey.

Havana Street is about a four-mile stretch with more than 150 global restaurants, markets, and food trucks, referred to as Korea Town Aurora. Restaurateur J.W. Lee has found success with the 15 spots he’s opened in the Denver metro area in the last seven years, including Tofu Story (his first iteration is in NYC) brings in-house production of the curd to Colorado, and Lee’s Seoul Korean BBQ & Hot Pot, next door, is beloved for offering individual hot pots, opening up brothy delights to vegans and others who don’t want to share a communal dish.

Eateries abound along historic Colfax Avenue, the longest commercial street in the city, and Aurora has more than its fair share. Downtown, Mango House combines a medical clinic, shops, and services for immigrants with a refugee-run food hall of seven kitchens serving Syrian, Nepalese, and Somali cuisine. Urban Burma (Colorado’s first Burmese restaurant) is a favorite, with outstanding nan gyi thoke (chicken curry noodles) and laphet thoke (fermented tea leaf salad).

Further along Colfax, the newly opened La Plaza Colorado has turned an abandoned K-Mart into an entrepreneurial marketplace. A fleet of food trucks fills the parking lot while shipping containers are being built out into 24 food hall kitchens. Inside visitors will find a bar, market stalls, live music, and more. 

On Dallas Street, a 1950s aviation manufacturing facility is now home to Stanley Marketplace, a buzzy community gathering place with more than 50 local businesses including Caroline Glover’s James Beard Award-winning Annette and her newest venture, Traveling Mercies. Start upstairs at the latter for fresh-from-the-sea oysters and a glass of bubbles, then decide on dinner from Annette’s small but focused menu of shared plates including chicken liver pâté with cherry mostarda and charred cucumber succotash. Wind down the evening with live music and a Lowrider Mexican Lager at Latin-owned Cheluna. Physician Javier Pérez traded lab equipment for brewing barrels and with his wife Jennifer, a former school counselor, opened the art-filled space in 2016. Cheluna has been awarded bronze, silver, and gold medals at The Great American Beer Festival for their carefully crafted brews.

There’s more to do than just eat in Aurora, which has 8,000 acres of open space within the city limits offering winter sports, reservoirs, hiking, biking, swimming, and wildlife viewing. A robust public art scene features dazzling murals along Colfax Avenue and sculptures throughout the city. November 1-3 the inaugural Aurora Borealis Festival launches, with interactive illumination installations and an array of entertainment including concerts, performances, and cultural experiences. And while lodging was historically a weak link in Aurora’s appeal to visitors, recent additions such as the boutique Benson Hotel & Faculty Club and the sprawling Gaylord Resort have expanded options.

Where locals eat

Long before Hawaiian-born Chance Horiuchi worked for the Havana Business Improvement District, she and her friends made the drive from Northern Colorado for Aurora’s food offerings. “We’d hit up all the global international markets and then plan for breakfast, brunch, dinner, and maybe happy hour,” she said. “And then load our cars with coolers full of our purchases before driving back.” One of her favorite things is to grab takeout and head to the reservoir at Cherry Creek State Park. “I’ll eat a dumpling on the paddleboard.”

Horiuchi loves the build-your-own spring rolls at Dân Dã, an opinion shared by Westword Food & Drink Editor Molly Martin. “Aurora is one of the most exciting places to dine in Colorado,” says Martin.  “You can find everything from Korean fried chicken and Cuban sandwiches to platters of Ethiopian fare and steaming bowls of pho. One of my go-to’s is Banh & Butter, a bakery and cafe opened by Thoa Nguyen in 2022 where her banh mi and crêpe cakes shine, and Dân Dã, opened in April by her sister, Ann.” 

Annette chef-owner Caroline Glover and her husband, Nelson Harvey, extoll the Korean fried chicken at Funny Plus. “We used to get it every Thanksgiving,” laughed Glover. “But there’s so much here. You really can’t go wrong.”