Evenings · Dining
Where to eat in Aspen
Not a ranking. What each of Aspen's important tables is for, how hard it is to get, what's new this year, and how to plan a week of dinners.
Not a ranking. What each of Aspen's important tables is for, how hard it is to get, what's new this year, and how to plan a week of dinners.
For a small town, Aspen eats at an international level. Bosq holds the only Michelin star in Colorado outside Denver and Boulder, and Element 47, Mawa's Kitchen and Prospect at Hotel Jerome are Michelin-recommended. The hard part is getting in: Matsuhisa books its downstairs room 30 days ahead, and holiday weeks fill early everywhere. Book the nights that matter when you book the trip. We live in Aspen and have good relationships with its restaurants and the people who run them. Ask us for the table.
Distinctions from the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Colorado (announced September 2026, reported by the Aspen Times). Openings from Aspen Sojourner (July 2026), the Aspen Times and the restaurants. Booking windows from each restaurant or its reservation page. Popularity and what people say come from local coverage and public reviews; we don't rank on opinions.
Paul Montiel · Aspen · Updated September 2026
We live here, and we know Aspen's restaurants and the people who run them: the managers, the maître d's, the teams on the floor. When a table is hard to get, that relationship is what helps. Matsuhisa, Bosq for a birthday, a table for twelve on Christmas Eve, Cloud Nine for lunch: tell us the nights and we'll ask for you, and send a driver if you'd like one.
The first Matsuhisa, opened in 1998 in a Victorian house; demand never really has a slow season. Downstairs dining takes reservations 30 days out; the upstairs room, bar and patio 2 days out.
Northern Italian in a chalet on Galena Street. The restaurant is open to the public (booked on Tock); the upstairs club is for members.
A shareable, modern steakhouse with Japanese Wagyu and views of Aspen Mountain, on Hopkins Avenue.
Lunch on the mountain at Aspen Highlands; a reservation is required and peak days go fast. See après-ski.
Chef Ludo Lefebvre's Parisian bistro, opened December 2025: its first outpost outside Los Angeles. MOLLIE's rooftop agave bar, Petit Familia, followed in 2026.
Sushi and 41st-parallel cooking at the White Elephant hotel, opened summer 2026.
Mawa McQueen's Spanish small plates and paella, at the Aspen Business Center.
A gastropub and sports bar reviving a historic Cooper Avenue name; easy, for everyone.
An 1883 miner's cottage and Aspen's lunch line for more than a decade. No reservations: add your name to the waitlist and they text when your table is ready. Go early or late.
At the foot of Aspen Mountain: the patio, the truffle fries, the après crowd.
Bonnie's pancakes, the Sundeck at 11,212 feet, Sam's and the Alpin Room at Snowmass. See our Aspen Mountain and Snowmass guides.
If you'd like the tables held, tell us the nights and we'll arrange them, along with a driver for the evening.
Pick two or three nights that matter and book them when you book the trip, especially December 20 to January 4, X Games weekend and Presidents' week.
A private chef for the first evening or the busiest night of the week is often the best dinner of the trip, and nobody drives. See private chef.
Some of the harder tables are easier at the bar or at lunch; at Matsuhisa, the upstairs bar books just two days ahead.
Aspen's first autumn Restaurant Week (September 21–27, 2026) offered $45, $75 and $95 prix fixe menus at more than 25 restaurants. Watch for it next September.
Yes. Bosq has one Michelin star (since 2023), and Element 47, Mawa's Kitchen and Prospect at Hotel Jerome are Michelin-recommended in the 2026 Colorado guide.
The downstairs dining room takes reservations 30 days ahead; the upstairs room, bar and patio take them 2 days ahead.
Yes. The restaurant is open to the public; the upstairs club is for members.
No. Add your name to the waitlist and they text you when a table is ready.
Petit Trois at MOLLIE (Ludo Lefebvre, December 2025), LoLa41° at the White Elephant, Mawita and Golden Horn.
Tables held on the nights that matter, a private chef for the nights you stay in, and a driver so nobody has to.
Dinner at the house, menu agreed in advance.
A car and driver on call for dinner and the night out, so nobody hunts for a taxi at midnight.
The kitchen stocked to your list before you land.
Come in from the mountain to the fire lit, something warm to drink and a spread laid out: set up while you ski by our chef or caterer, from groceries already in the house.
A birthday or anniversary at the residence: the table, the chef, the flowers and a photographer.
The holiday week at the house: the tree up, the table set, lessons booked and every evening planned.
From the aircraft door to a warm, stocked house, with nothing to carry and nothing to chase.
A short email when something worth knowing happens: new openings, closures, Restaurant Week dates.
Only what we promise here. Unsubscribe any time; we never share your address.Aspen Times: 4 Aspen restaurants in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Colorado (Sept 14, 2026) · MICHELIN Guide: Aspen · Aspen Sojourner: Notable restaurant newcomers, summer 2026 · Aspen Times: Petit Trois opens in Aspen · Matsuhisa Aspen: reservations · Casa Tua Aspen on Tock · White House Tavern · Catch Steak Aspen · Aspen Chamber: Restaurant Week Autumn — checked September 29, 2026.
Tell us your dates and the nights that matter. We'll book the tables and a driver, and a chef for the nights you stay in.
Plan the dinners
