Restaurant in Denver, United States
Denver's most serious counter. Book early.
Beckon is Denver's most decorated tasting menu restaurant, holding a 2024 Michelin star and an OAD Top Restaurants in North America nod for 2025. Chef Duncan Holmes runs an 18-seat counter in RiNo where a fixed vegetarian or omnivore menu places vegetables at the centre of the cooking. Book well ahead — this is a hard reservation — and bring an appetite for a kitchen that earns its $$$$ price.
The common assumption about Beckon is that it's another ambitious farm-to-table concept with seasonal vegetables as decoration. It's not. Chef Duncan Holmes has built an 18-seat counter restaurant in RiNo that operates as a genuine decision point: you choose vegetarian or omnivore before you sit down, and from there the kitchen takes full control. Vegetables are not a concession here — they're central to both menus, and the technique applied to them is the same technique applied to the meat courses. That reframing matters for how you approach the booking.
Beckon earned a Michelin star in 2024 and an Opinionated About Dining Leading Restaurants in North America recognition in 2025. For Denver, that combination places it in a narrow tier of venues where the cooking warrants serious attention. If you're calibrating against national comparators, the format and ambition sit closer to Lazy Bear in San Francisco or Smyth in Chicago than to anything else currently operating in Colorado. The gap between Beckon and the next tier down in Denver is meaningful.
The space reads as Scandi-cool: clean lines, a counter facing an open kitchen, 18 seats. This is a deliberate configuration. You're watching the kitchen work throughout the meal, which changes the pace and the tone. It's not performative in the way some chef's tables feel — the counter exists because the format requires proximity, not because proximity is the gimmick. For a special occasion, that intimacy works well. For a business dinner where you need conversational privacy, be aware that counter seating means your neighbour is close.
The staff configuration is worth noting: General Manager Allison Anderson Holmes, Wine Director Jake Henriksson, and sommeliers Laney Shorthair and Devon Fanning make up a team that is unusually well-resourced for a room this size. Service at Beckon has been consistently described as warm rather than formal, which matters for how the evening feels , this is not a room where you'll feel surveilled or stiffened by the occasion.
Because Beckon operates on a fixed tasting menu with no à la carte option, the seasonal rotation question is the most practically useful thing to understand before you book. The menu changes with the season, which means the experience you read about in a winter review may share little with what's on the counter in late spring or early autumn. Dishes cited in current editorial coverage , including a porridge of Calrose rice with black truffle, pickled hedgehog mushroom, and crispy yuba, and a seared quail breast with date purée, foie gras-enhanced quail reduction, and orange , reflect a specific window. The architecture of those dishes (aromatic depth, textural contrast, vegetable technique at the centre) is more stable than the specific ingredients, and that architecture is what the Michelin recognition reflects.
Practically, this means that first-timers don't need to time their visit around a specific season as much as they need to accept that the menu is a moving target. The kitchen's approach to vegetables , treating them with the same discipline and creativity as the protein courses , is the consistent throughline. Desserts, based on available descriptions, tend toward technical showpieces: the cited chocolate dessert with cocoa nib tuile, pomegranate jam, and nutmeg-salsify ice cream is the kind of closer that makes the price feel justified.
The wine program is substantial for a room of this size: 550 selections, 1,450 bottles in inventory. Pricing sits at $$$, with many bottles above $100. Strengths run through France (Burgundy and Champagne in particular), California, Italy (Piedmont), and Portugal. For a counter-format tasting menu, the pairing route is the more sensible choice than building your own list unless you have a specific bottle in mind , the sommeliers know the menu's seasonal shifts and can pace accordingly. If you want to bring something significant, call ahead rather than assuming corkage is available.
For reference on what a strong regional wine program looks like at this level nationally, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg and Le Bernardin in New York City both operate with comparable depth-to-room-size ratios. Beckon's list competes credibly in that context.
Within Denver's $$$$ tier, Beckon's closest structural peer is Brutø, which also runs a fixed tasting menu format with serious technique. The choice between them comes down to format preference: Brutø has a slightly larger room and a different flavor orientation. Beckon's 18-seat counter is more intimate and the vegetable-forward philosophy more pronounced. If the counter format appeals and you want the Michelin credential, Beckon is the clearer choice. The Wolf's Tailor operates in the same price tier with more flexibility , it's a better option if you want à la carte ordering or a less structured evening.
If price is a constraint, Margot and Hey Kiddo offer strong contemporary cooking at lower price points, though neither matches Beckon's format or recognition. For a special occasion where the tasting menu format is acceptable, Beckon justifies the premium over those options. Wildflower is worth considering if you want a hotel-restaurant setting with comparable ambition.
For broader Denver dining context, see our full Denver restaurants guide. If you're planning a full trip, our Denver hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the city.
If Beckon is on your list because you're building a tasting menu itinerary across US cities, the relevant comparators include Smyth in Chicago, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, and The French Laundry in Napa for formal tasting benchmarks. For contemporary counter-format experiences internationally, Jungsik in Seoul and César in New York City offer useful reference points on how this format operates at different price tiers. Beckon holds its position in that company more comfortably than its Denver location might suggest.
Book Beckon if: you want the most technically serious tasting menu in Denver, you're comfortable with a counter format, and you can plan far enough ahead to secure a reservation. The Michelin star and OAD recognition are earned, not honorary , the cooking justifies both. Don't book it if you need à la carte flexibility, a large private table, or a room that works for loud celebrations. For everything else a special occasion requires, this is the right address in Denver.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beckon | Contemporary | $$$$ | Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America (2025); WINE: Wine Strengths: France, Burgundy, Champagne, California, Italy, Piedmont, Portugal Pricing: $$$ i Wine pricing: Based on the list\'s general markup and high and low price points:$ has many bottles < $50;$$ has a range of pricing;$$$ has many $100+ bottles Selections: 550 Inventory: 1,450 CUISINE: Cuisine Types: American, Californian Pricing: $$$ i Cuisine pricing: The cost of a typical two-course meal, not including tip or beverages.$ is < $40;$$ is $40–$65;$$$ is $66+. Meals: Dinner STAFF: People Wine Director: Jake Henriksson Sommelier: Laney Shorthair, Devon Fanning Chef: Duncan Holmes General Manager: Allison Anderson Holmes; More than just a name, it's an ethos at this ambitious RiNo dining room from Chef Duncan Holmes where staff warmly welcome you. Once inside this Scandi-cool space, diners pull up a chair at the 18-seat counter facing the kitchen where a focused team is hard at work. Diners choose between vegetarian or omnivore menu options, but in either case vegetables are a highlight, as in a porridge of Calrose rice with black truffle, pickled hedgehog mushroom, and crispy yuba. Seared quail breast with a confit leg is spot on, especially when paired with date purée and a quail reduction enhanced with orange and foie gras. Desserts are especially captivating, like a memorable chocolate dessert with a lacy cocoa nib tuile, pomegranate jam, and a quenelle of subtle-yet-spectacular nutmeg and salsify ice cream.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| The Wolf's Tailor | New American, Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Tavernetta | Italian | $$ | Unknown | — | |
| Brutø | Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Alma Fonda Fina | Mexican | $$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Safta | Israeli Cuisine | $$$ | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Beckon operates as a fixed tasting menu only — no à la carte, no substitutions beyond the vegetarian or omnivore track choice. You're seated at an 18-seat counter facing an open kitchen at 2843 Larimer St in Denver's RiNo district. The room is spare and deliberate: this is a kitchen-forward experience, not a scene. Book well ahead; at $$$$ per head with a Michelin star earned in 2024, it fills up.
There's no ordering — Beckon runs a single fixed tasting menu with a vegetarian or omnivore choice made at booking. Vegetables are a through-line on both tracks regardless of which you select. Desserts have drawn particular attention from reviewers. If you want à la carte flexibility, Beckon is not the right room.
The space reads as Scandi-cool and the format is a Michelin-starred counter tasting menu at $$$$ pricing, so dress accordingly: smart, put-together, but not black-tie. Think elevated dinner-out attire rather than suit-and-tie formality. Overly casual dress would feel out of place at the counter.
The Wolf's Tailor is the closest local comparison — also counter-forward and vegetable-focused, but with a more experimental, less classically structured approach. Brutø covers serious technique at a lower price point. Tavernetta is the right call if you want a polished special-occasion dinner without the fixed-menu commitment. Alma Fonda Fina and Safta serve strong food but operate in entirely different cuisines and formats.
At $$$$ with a 2024 Michelin star and an Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America listing for 2025, Beckon earns its price tier relative to the Denver market. The value case is strongest if you want technically precise tasting-menu cooking; it's weaker if you'd prefer to order freely or skip wine pairings. Comparable nationally-priced counters in larger cities often carry longer waits and harder reservations — Denver gives you the format at better availability.
Yes, if the counter-tasting format suits you. Beckon earned a Michelin star in 2024 and an OAD Top North America listing in 2025, which means the cooking is being validated at a national level, not just locally. The vegetarian track is treated with the same seriousness as the omnivore menu, which is rarer than it should be at this price point. If you want to choose your own dishes or skip a multi-course commitment, look at Tavernetta instead.
Yes, straightforwardly. The 18-seat counter format, Michelin-starred kitchen, and $$$$ price point all signal occasion dining. The configuration is intimate rather than celebratory-loud, so it works better for dinners where the meal itself is the focus — anniversaries, milestone birthdays for serious food enthusiasts — rather than large group celebrations. For parties larger than four, the counter layout creates practical constraints.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
