The 6 Most Historic Restaurants in Boulder
Bon Apétit named Boulder the best food town in America, and Livability, Food & Wine Magazine, Forbes, and BuzzFeed all put it on their top cities for food lists. In addition to these honors, Boulder has a plethora of fun and amazing historic restaurants to visit. Here are the top six rated historic restaurants in Boulder, Colorado, based on the most recent TripAdvisor reviews:
1 – Chautauqua Dining Hall
Since 1898, the Chautauqua Dining Hall has been a part of life in Boulder. Enjoy Colorado Bistro food at breakfast, lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, and happy hour while taking in the beautiful views from the wraparound porch. The Dining Hall has a full bar with beer, wine, and spirits made in the area to go with your meal.
2 – Roadhouse Boulder Depot
The Roadhouse Boulder Depot is in the historic Boulder Train Depot. It adds a modern touch to the historic building and serves as a place for the whole Boulder community. The Roadhouse Boulder Depot is a restaurant run by Vine Concepts. It has a good “roadhouse” style menu and focuses on customer service and the community.
As University of Colorado Boulder alumni, the Shipp brothers, Terry, Dan, Mike, and John, took their knowledge of restaurants and coupled it with their understanding and appreciation for the Boulder community.
3 – Hotel Boulderado
Hotel Boulderado has provided Rocky Mountain elegance in the heart of downtown Boulder since 1909. Discover the allure of a true historic landmark, complete with Victorian heritage and modern mountain style.
The dining options at Hotel Boulderado are diverse and appealing. Spruce Farm & Fish and The Corner Bar signature dishes are available for indoor and outdoor dining, room service, to go, and delivery.
4 – The Sink
The Sink is many things to many people: it’s the last stand of Old Boulder, a repository of college memories, a Tuesday ritual for pizza lovers, the place where they first met their college sweetheart, a gallery of oddball art, one of the best restaurants in Boulder, CO, and the list goes on. The Sink is a favorite stop for both locals and tourists, thanks to its iconic ceiling that has been photographed by generations of graduates and the celebrities who have checked it off their Boulder bucket lists.
Since 1923, we have been a favorite of the community and have welcomed a great number of University of Colorado students and alumni. This is where the locals congregate, whether they are in the mood for a satisfying Boulder dinner or a quick soup and salad at lunch.
5 – Gold Hill Inn
In January 1859, a group of prospectors panned and dug their way up Four Mile Creek in search of gold traces. They discovered the first real proof that their search was fruitful as they approached what is now the town of Gold Hill. With the formation of Mountain District #1 Nebraska Territory, the town site began to grow.The miners first constructed a settlement of log houses and shacks, then the service buildings, school, stores, and boarding houses.
The Wentworth Hotel, a three-story luxury log building, was built in 1872 with the intention of attracting tourists to the town. Many early figures stayed at the Wentworth Hotel, including Clarence Darrow and Eugene Field, who wrote several poems about Gold Hill, including Casey’s Table D’Hote.
The hotel was renamed Bluebird Lodge in 1920 and operated as a private vacation spot for women from the Chicago area who worked as teachers, nurses, and so on. Mrs. Sherwood was the original creator and a Hull House protégé as well as a humanitarian. The vacation spot became so popular that a dining hall, also made of logs, was built next to the Bluebird Lodge in 1924. Since women’s “rights” had improved by the late 1950s, the “single” vacation was no longer desirable or necessary. Many of the women in Gold Hill had purchased their own cabins.
Barbara and Frank Finn purchased the hotel and dining hall from the Holiday House Association in 1962. The dining hall was transformed into the Gold Hill Inn, and the adventure began.
photo via: Gold Hill Inn
6 – Dark Horse
Dark Horse is a restaurant that has been in business since 1975 and serves a variety of meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It offers a selection of appetizers, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and sides. The eatery serves cheeseburgers, onion rings, roast pork sandwiches, roast turkey, and Caesar salad. Corn dogs, chicken fingers, and fish and chips are all on the children’s menu at Dark Horse. It provides space to hold a variety of special events, including reunions and graduation parties. Additionally, reservations for the restaurant can be made online. The bar run by Dark Horse has televisions and billiards tables. Additionally, it coordinates a number of live music events.