The top 10 best places to get green chile in Denver

IT’s Cinco de Mayo, and that instantly gets me thinking Mexican food. There is no Mexican dish more Denver than green chile.

Not the thin, bright-green New Mexico version (no offense to Albuquerque). Not the chunky Texas chili with beans. Denver’s green chile is its own animal — thick, gravy-like, often orange-hued, pork-studded and ladled generously over burritos, fries, burgers and anything else that holds still long enough to get smothered.

Food writer Gustavo Arellano, author of “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America,” has labeled the style “Den-Mex” — a distinct regional cuisine that developed alongside the city’s Mexican American community and diverged enough from its New Mexico and Sonoran roots to deserve its own name.

Here are 10 places to do it right:

1. El Taco de Mexico – 714 Santa Fe Drive

Westword food editor Molly Martin, who publishes an annual green chile guide, has called El Taco de Mexico the “G.O.A.T.” of Denver green chile. The version here is brownish-green — not the brightest looker in the lineup — but the flavor is deep and complex, and it’s equally delicious eaten by the spoonful in a bowl or smothered over a burrito.

2. Brewery Bar II – 150 Kalamath Street

The winner of the Denver Post’s 2025 green chile bracket, beating 32 contenders in a March Madness-style reader vote. Open since 1974 as the restaurant companion to Colorado’s original craft brewers, Brewery Bar II is known for a tomato-heavy, chunky version that’s earned a wall of accolades including first place at the Highlands Ranch Chili Cookoff.

3. Santiago’s – Multiple locations

The people’s champ. Santiago’s has nine Front Range locations and its green chile sauce is sold at King Soopers and Safeway — a level of grocery-store distribution that amounts to civic canonization in Denver.

4. La Loma – 1601 19th St Suite 180

A Denver classic known for its famous green chile and fresh tortillas made in-house. La Loma prepares superb grilled specialties, chimichangas and combination plates, but the Anniversary Plate — a stuffed sopapilla, chicken flauta and chile relleno topped with green chile, sour cream and guacamole — is the way to experience the full range.

5. La Fogata – Multiple locations

Woman-owned and operated by Danette Calhoun for more than 35 years, La Fogata serves thick, orange-ish green chile that has become a defining example of the Den-Mex style.

6. Los Dos Portrillos – Multiple locations (including new downtown Denver location)

The Denver Post’s 2025 bracket runner-up, and what makes the finish more impressive is that at the time of the competition, Los Dos Portrillos was just a week out from opening its first downtown location.

7. D’Corazon – 1530 Blake Street

Featured on Westword’s annual best-of list, D’Corazon’s green chile plate comes with large chunks of pork and is thick and hearty with only faint heat — an ideal introductory bowl for anyone still warming up to the genre.

8. La Fiesta – 2340 Champa Street

One of the longest-running restaurants in metro Denver still operating in the same location under the same family, La Fiesta is housed in a former Safeway in Curtis Park and represents old-school Den-Mex at its finest.

9. Sam’s No. 3 – Multiple locations

A Denver diner since 1927 — nearly a century of service — Sam’s No. 3 approaches green chile from the breakfast-all-day angle. The Kitchen Sink Burrito smothered in Kickin’ Pork Green Chili is a DoorDash fan favorite that was named to DoorDash’s 2026 Mother’s Day brunch list as one of Denver’s standout dishes.

10. Renegade Burrito – Multiple locations

The reigning Westword Readers’ Choice winner for Best Green Chile in 2026.