Though a few of Denver’s most beloved spots for budget grub are temporarily closed due to the pandemic — looking at you, Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs — these 16 are holding down the fort as reliably as ever. (It helps that the majority did bang-up takeout business to begin with.) From gut-busting breakfasts to burgers and bánh mì, they’re all about giving diners their money’s worth. And if we somehow missed your favorite dine-on-a-dime spot, show it some love in the comments or send us a tip.
16 Mainstays for Affordable Eats in Denver
Filling fare for under $15
A number of Denver restaurants are open for takeout-and-delivery service. For updated information on coronavirus cases in your area, please visit the Colorado Department of Public Health website. Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines.
16 Mainstays for Affordable Eats in Denver
Filling fare for under $15
Though a few of Denver’s most beloved spots for budget grub are temporarily closed due to the pandemic — looking at you, Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs — these 16 are holding down the fort as reliably as ever. (It helps that the majority did bang-up takeout business to begin with.) From gut-busting breakfasts to burgers and bánh mì, they’re all about giving diners their money’s worth. And if we somehow missed your favorite dine-on-a-dime spot, show it some love in the comments or send us a tip.
A number of Denver restaurants are open for takeout-and-delivery service. For updated information on coronavirus cases in your area, please visit the Colorado Department of Public Health website. Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines.
Tocabe, An American Indian Eatery
With locations in Berkeley and Greenwood Village, one of the nation’s few American Indian restaurants serves customizable fry breads, grain bowls, and more that showcase ingredients from indigenous and local producers — from wild rice and wheatberries to blue corn and red quinoa. Topping options are near-endless, but signature combos streamline the process for indecisive types: The Fancy, for instance, combines braised bison and chili beans with cheddar, lettuce, hominy salsa, ancho-chipotle sauce, and sour cream.
Ruth Tobias
Chickee's Lil Kitchen
This no-frills Sunnyside eatery has been serving made-to-order Mexican and Cajun classics from its walk-up window for more than 40 years. Open for breakfast and lunch only, it’s known for its gumbo, weekend-only boudin balls, and custom breakfast burritos smothered in green chile.
Comal Heritage Food Incubator
This acclaimed nonprofit kitchen in RiNo trains immigrant and refugee women in the business of restaurant operations — but the real beneficiaries here are Denver diners. In addition to regularly changing lunch menus featuring the likes of chicken fajitas and pork ribs in salsa verde, Comal has just begun offering weekly dinner kits built around entrees like cow’s feet tacos and marinated pork shoulder steamed in banana leaves; serving four to six people, they’re a steal at $60.
Ruth Tobias
Quiero Arepas
With three locations including the flagship in LoHi, this hit specialist in Venezuelan-style arepas stuffs its masa pockets with the works. The Pabellon, for instance, comes with stewed beef, black beans, cheese, sweet plantains, and guasacaca — a cilantro-laced, guacamole-like sauce — while the Reina Pepiada is filled with chicken-avocado salad in citrus mayo.
Quiero Arepas/Facebook
Denver Biscuit Company- Stanley Marketplace
The newest of four enormously popular Denver-area locations, this may be a dedicated daytime spot, but its biscuit sandwiches and platters are so enormous and filling there’s generally more than enough left over for later. Breakfast for dinner, anyone?
From the Hip Photo
Zoe Ma Ma
Like the Boulder original, the Union Station outpost of this Taiwanese counter joint maintains a menu that’s as comforting as it is concise, with dumplings, bao, and noodles being the staples. Longtime crowd favorites include za jiang mian (fresh egg noodles in ground pork sauce with veggies) and the “CPR”: chicken and potatoes over rice.
Ruth Tobias
Bourbon Grill
In Denver’s huge new pack of chicken shacks, this humble longtimer still leads. Platters of grilled or blackened bird over rice are its bread and butter, accompanied by optional sides like egg rolls or mac-and-cheese, but it also slings wings in five flavors.
Ruth Tobias
Pete's Kitchen
Though legendary restaurateur Pete Contos passed in 2019 and pandemic-era regulations have forced his family to limit operating hours to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (it’s usually open 24/7), this classic diner hasn’t otherwise changed a bit in decades: The menu’s still giant. The portions are still giant. And yet the prices are still paltry.
Ruth Tobias
El Taco de México
Last year, this Lincoln Park taqueria received a James Beard America’s Classics Award to show for the comida its dedicated crew has been cranking out with the best of them for 35-plus years. At around $9 and $12, respectively, the burritos and taco platters here aren’t the cheapest in town — but they’re well worth the extra handful of pennies.
Ruth Tobias/Eater
Pizzeria Locale
The fact that this fast-casual pie parlor was founded by the guys behind Frasca Food & Wine makes its price point all the more surprising: From the famous Mais with ham, corn, and crème fraîche to the Supreme with pepperoni, sausage, onions, and peppers, not one 11-inch option cracks the $10 mark, and on Mondays, Margherita pizzas go for $5. (Three other locations in the Highlands, Central Park, and Hale spread the wealth.)
Cherry Cricket
Prices at Cherry Creek’s long-lived and long-loved hamburger hub (along with its Ballpark sibling) have crept up slightly with the times, but only slightly: From snacks and salads to the sizeable selection of sandwiches, most menu items still hover around the $10 mark. A bowl of the legendary pork green chile, meanwhile, goes for just $6.
The Cherry Cricket
Vinh Xuong Bakery
Meatball, tofu, pork, and all, Denver’s standard-bearer for bánh mì serves up eight versions of the staple Vietnamese sandwich (not to mention three gluten-free alternatives) — not one over $6.75. May as well take two.
Courtesy of Feed Media
Pho Duy
Speaking of Vietnamese food: Though the local competition has grown tenfold over the years, fan loyalty to this Federal Boulevard fixture never wavers. Steaming bowls of pho (including a vegetarian option) take center stage, of course, but myriad vermicelli bowls and rice plates also await.
Maria Empanada
Lorena Cantarovici puts all the heart and soul of her native Argentina into the hand-crafted and hand-held stuffed pastries on which she’s built an mini-empire. Though some locations are temporarily closed due to the pandemic, the Platt Park original is still churning out 15 different types at $4 a pop, including breakfast versions stuffed with scrambled eggs and potatoes, and various meats as well as staples like chicken with chimichurri and creamed spinach with parmesan as mozzarella. For a change of pace, there’s stellar tortilla española.
Ruth Tobias
Amira Grill
Despite its low profile in a nondescript University Hills strip mall, this Lebanese cafe has found a following over the years for not only familiar Middle Eastern fare — shawarma, shakshuka, falafel — but also the lesser-known manaeesh. Think pizza, only with toppings like lamb, lebne, tahini, za’atar, and honey.
Ruth Tobias
Garibaldi Mexican Bistro
One of Denver’s best (not to mention unusually vegetarian-friendly) Mexican kitchens just so happens to be located inside an Englewood gas station. It’s perhaps best known for its quesadilla-like quekas and tostada-like tlayudas, but regulars fill ’er up with off-menu specials like weekends-only pozole and lamb barbacoa as well.
