Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0

Not just 'restaurants in Boulder'

Eat + Drink

Specifically useful for a festival attendee: what's open, what's fast, and what's worth the wait.

Best breakfast before a screening

Lolita's Market and Deli

Killer breakfast burritos, made hot to order.

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The Buff Restaurant

A Boulder institution — Barack Obama ate here. Lots of seating, near several central Boulder hotels.

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Lucile's

Set in a sweet, historic home, for Boulder's best Cajun/Creole-style breakfast — and the beignets, baby.

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Quick lunch between films

Rincon Argentino

No-frills Argentine empanadas and sandwiches in a strip mall. Genuinely great, easy to grab between films.

Sherpa's

Owned by a former Sherpa, the founder of Sherpa Chai Tea. Nepali and Tibetan food, fast and satisfying.

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Lindsay's Boulder Deli

A straightforward deli lunch, easy to grab between screenings.

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Best coffee

Boxcar Coffee Roasters

Third-wave coffee done right, no attitude.

Ozo Coffee Company

Boulder's homegrown roaster, with multiple locations including one on Pearl Street.

The Laughing Goat

Boulder's living room — a coffee shop with live music most nights. Not a Sundance venue, just a good place to sit.

Best happy hours

Pizzeria Alberico

Neapolitan-style pizza, a solid happy hour pull.

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Cozobi Fonda Fina

Mexican, lively and easy to make a happy hour of.

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Brasserie Ten Ten

French bistro on Pearl Street, reliable happy hour crowd.

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Date-night / upscale

Frasca Food & Wine

Friulian Italian, done with an obsessive's attention to detail. One of Boulder's most celebrated tables — book ahead.

Flagstaff House

Fine dining with a view up Flagstaff Mountain that earns the prices. A genuine special-occasion spot.

Corrida

Spanish-inspired, with a rooftop that makes it easy to forget you're in a college town.

Oak at Fourteenth

Modern American with a strong cocktail program — good for a proper sit-down dinner. Closed for lunch.

Late-night food

West End Tavern

Barbecue and a rooftop, kitchen runs later than most.

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Jungle

A late-night Pearl Street spot when you want the night to keep going.

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Best bars

The Bitter Bar

Boulder's best cocktail bar, and it's not close. Dark, moody, serious bartenders.

License No. 1

A speakeasy-style bar inside the historic Hotel Boulderado.

Breweries

Avery Brewing Company

Boulder's big-flavor brewery — barrel-aged stouts, big IPAs.

Upslope Brewing Company

The locals' brewery. Unpretentious and consistent.

Sanitas Brewing Company

Named for Mt. Sanitas, the locals' quick summit up the street.

Vegetarian / vegan

The Leaf

Fully vegetarian, easygoing, does the classics well.

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Gluten-free

Sweet Sisters Bake Shop

An entirely gluten-free bakery — baguettes, cinnamon rolls, and very good pie. Not a "gluten-free option," the whole shop.

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A Cup of Peace

Gluten-free Korean food. Small operation, pickup and delivery.

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Quiero Arepas

Venezuelan arepas are corn-based, so the menu is naturally gluten-free. Find them inside Avanti on Pearl Street.

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Local Boulder institutions

The Kitchen

Community-focused farm-to-table, a Pearl Street fixture for years before that phrase was everywhere.

Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery

Cozy pub setting, if you're feeling a mid-day brew.

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Pasta Jay's

A Pearl Street standby for red-sauce Italian, easy and reliable.

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The places we'd send our friends. Coffee, cocktails, restaurants, hikes, shopping, wellness, late night. Unlock it with your email.