# Where to eat in Aspen

> Where to eat in Aspen: Bosq's Michelin star, Element 47, how to book Matsuhisa and Casa Tua, this year's openings, and locals who can ask for the table.

Canonical page: https://aspenprive.com/aspen-restaurants/  
Updated: 2026-09-29 · Publisher: Aspen Privé (local Aspen stay planning and concierge)

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.

## Ask us for the table (what Aspen Privé arranges)

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](https://aspenprive.com/contact.html?service=dining-reservations) and we'll ask for you, and send a driver if you'd like one.

## Michelin in Aspen

- **Bosq**: One Michelin star since 2023, and the only starred restaurant in Colorado outside Denver and Boulder. The special-occasion dinner.
- **Element 47**: The Little Nell's dining room: mountain cooking with a stellar wine program. Michelin-recommended.
- **Mawa's Kitchen**: Chef Mawa McQueen's European-African cooking at the Aspen Business Center. Michelin-recommended.
- **Prospect**: Hotel Jerome's restaurant. Michelin-recommended.

## The tables everyone wants

- **Matsuhisa**: 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.
- **Casa Tua**: Northern Italian in a chalet on Galena Street. The restaurant is open to the public (booked on Tock); the upstairs club is for members.
- **Catch Steak**: A shareable, modern steakhouse with Japanese Wagyu and views of Aspen Mountain, on Hopkins Avenue.
- **Cloud Nine**: Lunch on the mountain at Aspen Highlands; a reservation is required and peak days go fast. See [après-ski](https://aspenprive.com/apres-ski-aspen/).

## What's new this year

- **Petit Trois at MOLLIE**: 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.
- **LoLa41°**: Sushi and 41st-parallel cooking at the White Elephant hotel, opened summer 2026.
- **Mawita**: Mawa McQueen's Spanish small plates and paella, at the Aspen Business Center.
- **Golden Horn**: A gastropub and sports bar reviving a historic Cooper Avenue name; easy, for everyone.

## Casual and classic

- **White House Tavern**: 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.
- **Ajax Tavern**: At the foot of Aspen Mountain: the patio, the truffle fries, the après crowd.
- **On the mountain**: Bonnie's pancakes, the Sundeck at 11,212 feet, Sam's and the Alpin Room at Snowmass. See our [Aspen Mountain](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-mountain/) and [Snowmass](https://aspenprive.com/snowmass-aspen/) guides.

## Planning a week of dinners

If you'd like the tables held, [tell us the nights](https://aspenprive.com/contact.html?service=dining-reservations) and we'll arrange them, along with a driver for the evening.

- **Book the anchor nights first**: 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.
- **Mix in a night at the house**: 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](https://aspenprive.com/private-chef-aspen/).
- **Lunch is easier than dinner**: Some of the harder tables are easier at the bar or at lunch; at Matsuhisa, the upstairs bar books just two days ahead.
- **Autumn Restaurant Week**: 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.

## Questions

**Does Aspen have Michelin-starred restaurants?**  
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.

**How far ahead can you book Matsuhisa Aspen?**  
The downstairs dining room takes reservations 30 days ahead; the upstairs room, bar and patio take them 2 days ahead.

**Can non-members eat at Casa Tua Aspen?**  
Yes. The restaurant is open to the public; the upstairs club is for members.

**Does White House Tavern take reservations?**  
No. Add your name to the waitlist and they text you when a table is ready.

**What restaurants are new in Aspen?**  
Petit Trois at MOLLIE (Ludo Lefebvre, December 2025), LoLa41° at the White Elephant, Mawita and Golden Horn.

## What Aspen Privé can arrange for this

Tables held on the nights that matter, a private chef for the nights you stay in, and a driver so nobody has to.

- [Private chef](https://aspenprive.com/private-chef-aspen/): Dinner at the house, menu agreed in advance.
- [A driver for the evening](https://aspenprive.com/contact.html?service=evening-driver) (From $210 per hour): A car and driver on call for dinner and the night out, so nobody hunts for a taxi at midnight.
- [Grocery stocking](https://aspenprive.com/grocery-stocking-aspen/): The kitchen stocked to your list before you land.
- [Après, ready at the house](https://aspenprive.com/contact.html?service=apres-ready): 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.

## Sources (checked September 29, 2026)

- [Aspen Times: 4 Aspen restaurants in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Colorado (Sept 14, 2026)](https://www.aspentimes.com/news/4-aspen-restaurants-highlighted-in-2026-michelin-guide-colorado/)
- [MICHELIN Guide: Aspen](https://guide.michelin.com/en/us/colorado/aspen_1262302/restaurants)
- [Aspen Sojourner: Notable restaurant newcomers, summer 2026](https://www.aspensojo.com/eat-and-drink/2026/07/aspen-new-restaurants-summer-2026)
- [Aspen Times: Petit Trois opens in Aspen](https://www.aspentimes.com/news/wineink-petit-trois-french-bistro-opens-in-aspen/)
- [Matsuhisa Aspen: reservations](https://www.matsuhisarestaurants.com/reservation-2/)
- [Casa Tua Aspen on Tock](https://www.exploretock.com/casatua-aspen/search/)
- [White House Tavern](https://aspenwhitehouse.com/)
- [Catch Steak Aspen](https://www.catchrestaurants.com/location/catch-steak-aspen/)
- [Aspen Chamber: Restaurant Week Autumn](https://aspenchamber.org/events/aspen-restaurant-week-autumn/)

## Related

- [Aspen nightlife](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-nightlife/): After dinner.
- [Private chef](https://aspenprive.com/private-chef-aspen/): Dinner at the house.
- [Christmas in Aspen](https://aspenprive.com/christmas-in-aspen/): What's open and when to book.

To plan or request any of this: https://aspenprive.com/plan-your-trip/ · https://aspenprive.com/contact.html