The 10 Best Restaurants In Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Known worldwide as a winter ski resort and popular destination for its scenic Rocky Mountains location, Steamboat Springs Colorado boasts a stellar dining scene. It offers local diners and the après-ski crowd everything from classic comfort food to upscale French-inspired eats. Read on for our highlights of the city’s best local restaurants.
Opened by successful local restaurateur Rex Brice in 2012, Laundry is appropriately located in the former home of the Steamboat Laundry, a gorgeous building dating back to 1910, faithfully renovated to combine original features and modern urban-rustic style. Laundry cooks up small plates of upmarket comfort food-inspired fare offered alongside an extensive drinks menu featuring everything from specialty tequilas and house-infused vodkas to classic and contemporary cocktails. Share a selection of small plates with friends like the popular potted chicken liver pâté with fig jam or shoestring potatoes, teamed with some cured meat and cheese platters, and finish with a slice of key lime pie with macadamia nuts and meringue.
Mahogany Ridge Brewery & Grill is a casual but stylish venue which teams chef Jason Salisbury’s sophisticated pub grub-style eats alongside Mahogany Ridge’s award-winning beers brewed in-house. Try the signature ahi tuna ceviche appetizer with mandarin oranges, avocados, wasabi cream and wonton chips, or a range of ‘dipping entrées’ like elk sirloin and Caribbean jerk-spiced duck breast served with homemade sauces.
Wild mushroom fondue, grilled bread and house marinated olives | Courtesy Adam Larkey Photography
With dishes like corn beef hash, country-fried Yampa Valley steak and 13 different types of eggs benedict, it’s no wonder the Creekside Café is a favorite local breakfast joint. Award-winning food and drinks aren’t the only pull at Creekside, a charming dining room leads out on to an equally delightful patio overlooking Soda Creek, perfect for enjoying a lunchtime salad, sandwich or burger on warm summer days.
A relative newcomer to Steamboat Springs’ dining scene, Aurum Food & Wine first opened its doors in late spring 2014 with owner Phillips Armstrong and executive chef Chase Wilbanks at the helm. Chic but unpretentious, Aurum Food & Wine boasts a prime location in downtown Steamboat Springs, with seasonal new American eats like hoisin BBQ duck wings and eight hour braised short rib with wild mushroom faro risotto waiting to delight diners, while a spacious deck with comfy couches and a fire pit overlooking the Yampa River is perfect for sampling a glass or two from Aurum’s extensive wine list.
Café Diva, which started out in 1998 as a tiny wine bar serving just appetizers and has grown into one of the most raved about restaurants in town, is a cozy and elegant restaurant offering creative French-Asian inspired cuisine. Located in the heart of Steamboat Mountain Village, Café Diva chef Kate Rench crafts popular dishes like peanut butter and bacon sandwiches (Asian braised pork belly, Thai peanut sauce and spicy Sriracha on raisin nut toast) and surf and turf (elk tenderloin with diver scallops) served alongside an extensive, sommelier-selected wine list.
A homey, welcoming restaurant open every day, Winona’s serves hearty portions of all-American fare and sweet treats. Its world-famous homemade cinnamon rolls have made it one of the best-known restaurant and bakeries in Steamboat Springs. Breakfast comes in the form of omelets, waffles and specialty dishes like chorizo hash, while Winona’s lunchtime menu offers diners a number of salads, sandwiches, wraps and burgers. Indulging a sweet tooth is easy with deserts like Winona’s signature homemade carrot cake and Reese’s Peanut Butter pie with Oreo cookie crumb crust.
Bistro C.V. is the brainchild of chef Brian Vaughn, who established the restaurant with the idea of offering a sophisticated new take on Rocky Mountain cuisine built around local and seasonal flavors. With upscale, yet approachable dishes like yellowtail ceviche tacos with red chili slaw or Colorado chicken with saffron-cauliflower puree, kale, black garlic and greens from local Elkstone Farm, chef Vaughn has quite rightly dubbed his restaurant a slice of ‘Manhattan in the mountains’.
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A true ‘ranch-to-table’ restaurant, E3 Chophouse is owned by baseball player brothers Jeff, Adam and Andy LaRoche. Serving classic steakhouse fare in a stylish, rustic space with riverside patio seating, guests can choose from dishes like E3’s own filet mignon of the massive 24 ounce porterhouse steak alongside other choice offering like elk strip loin with parsnip puree and cherry stout mole or Colorado rack of lamb with mint chimichurri.
Conveniently located a short bus ride from the slopes, The Rusted Porch is a warm and welcoming restaurant that specializes in classic American comfort food. Dubbing itself a ‘Western social house’, a wood-bedecked lodge-like space with cozy booths welcomes guests to try signature burgers like the Porch Pounder (a ground chuck patty topped with five slices of bacon and cheddar cheese) and decadent desserts like hard cider float. Its daily happy hours are popular with the après ski crowd.
A family-owned restaurant in operation for over 30 years, Harwigs is located in one of Steamboat Springs’ oldest buildings, a downtown property that served as Harwigs Saddlery and Western Wear until it became a restaurant in the early 1980s. It serves creative French-inspired contemporary American fare. Harwigs’ menu focuses on local ingredients and changes with the seasons featuring dishes such as escargot with red wine garlic butter and lemon or roasted Yampa Valley chicken with artichoke heart and potato au gratin. An extensive, award-winning wine list featuring predominantly varieties from France and California awaits to delight any visiting wine lovers.
