Restaurants in Commerce City

The realization of a shared dream between two friends, Mile High Vienna Stand serves up Windy City–inspired eats at 5,280 feet, including Chicago-style hot dogs crowned Denver's best in 2011 and 2012 by the Denver Westword. After spending his boyhood summers in Chicago, where he never missed the chance to grab a dog before a ballgame, owner Sonny Jarock was unable to escape the scent that had defined his youth. Eventually, memories evolved into ideas, and ideas into reality in 2008, when Sonny and his buddy, Jeremy Williamson, transformed an abandoned Baker neighborhood building into the first MHVS location.

Since swinging open their doors in 2008, Sonny and Jeremy have expanded to a second location right outside Coors Field, the home ballpark of the Colorado Rockies. On the large patio with views of the first-base entrance, customers can munch on polish sausages, juicy Italian beef sandwiches, and Chicago-style hotdogs before heading into games. Both stands accompany meals with friendly staffers, who are available to dish out facts about Chicago-style food or help solve any pickle-spear-related riddles.

After years spent working in other restaurants and bakeries, Jyll Tuggle had a dream to open her own neighborhood eatery where folks could gather to enjoy quality cuisine and hearty conversation. That dream became Under The Umbrella Cafe and Bakery, a cozy brick-walled eatery that quickly won the Denver Post’s endorsement for its light, homemade fare and friendly, local vibe. Families can frequently be found filling seats in the kid-friendly confines, drawn in by a menu peppered with house-baked cinnamon rolls, filled croissants, breakfast burritos, and grilled sandwiches served with a choice of side such as homemade potato salad. Denver-based Pablo's Coffee fills cups with heady brews as laptops luxuriate in the waves of free WiFi and area psychics flock to read their futures in the loose leaves used to steep steaming cups of Sterling tea.

As guests walk through The Broker Restaurant, they'll catch a glimpse of the gleaming metal of a massive, circular vault door, swung open in an inviting fashion. But this isn't some prop or gimmick—it’s a relic from the building’s original tenant, the Denver National Bank. The iconic restaurant resides within the original bank vault, which was built in 1903 and designed to securely safeguard deposited items such as jewelry, sensitive documents, or family keepsakes.

Today, diners sit in the very booths formerly used by bank customers to count gold or the years until the bank might finally turn into a restaurant. Surrounded by dark cherry wood, they feast on dry-aged, prime cuts of beef, fresh Alaskan seafood, and tender Colorado lamb. Servers commence each meal with a complimentary 1.5-pound bowl of steamed Gulf shrimp, which remains a trademark of the historic restaurant.

Showcasing Zocalo Restaurant & Bar’s laid-back atmosphere, yellow-brick walls play off the vibrant red, yellow, and green banners hanging from the ceilings. The restaurant’s owners, Rafael and Mario Vargas, use recipes gathered from Mexico City, their birthplace, for the eatery's dishes, such as the specialty tampiqueña, chili con queso, and crispy rellenos. Their bartenders pair the tasty plates with draft or bottled beers or specialty margaritas. With two locations, Zocalo Restaurant & Bar helps Mexican-cuisine lovers replace pub-crawls with back-and-forth trips for nachos.