Eating Well in Breckenridge, Colorado
Skiing and hiking are great and all, but an essential piece of any vacation is FOOD! There are no lack of excellent choices in Breckenridge. Below are some of our favorites.
Table of Contents
Breakfast
Blue Moose (540 S Main Street, 7 am – 1 pm daily) This breakfast-only restaurant has been slinging hash on Main Street for nearly 30 years and has a devoted following. For good reason! With an ultra-friendly staff, great food (including huge homemade cinnamon rolls, locally made bagels, traditional breakfast items, and some more creative choices), and quick service, it is hard to go wrong here.
The Blue Moose has a large dog-friendly patio with warmers, so it can be used (almost) year-round. After breakfast, you can even pick up some swag to commemorate “getting moosed” – perhaps a coffee cup, a hat, or a stuffed moose!
Coffee Depot (505 S Main Street, 6 am – 2 pm daily) For a quick breakfast sandwich/burrito or a pastry, Coffee Depot delivers. The small, counter-service shop on the south end of Main Street makes lots of tasty coffee treats, and also serves gelato and a few lunch items later in the day.
Columbine Cafe (109 S Main Street, 7:30 am – 1:30 pm daily) This full-service restaurant has, in our humble opinion, the best hash browns in Breck. They’re crispy on the outside, and tender and fluffy on the inside.
The Columbine serves all the breakfast classics (including an especially yummy ham steak) starting at 7:30 am each day and also serves burgers and sandwiches in the afternoon.
Cool River Coffee House and Cafe (325 S Main Street, 7 am – 3 pm daily) This hip and fun place has a bit of everything. The counter-service cafe menu includes breakfast items that are served all day, such as sandwiches, bowls, burritos, tacos, lots of bakery items, and smoothies. For lunch, they feature soups, salads, sandwiches, and more. Many of the menu items are or can be made gluten-free. They have a wide variety of coffees and other beverages (including some cocktails).
It’s a popular place and there is often a line to order. But no worries! They have online ordering so you can just pop in, grab your food, and either take it back to your accommodations or enjoy it in the (limited seating) cafe or on the patio.
Daylight Donuts (305 N Main Street, 6 am-noon daily) There is a large Daylight Donuts chain in the US, but this spot is not part of it. Breck’s Daylight Donuts is one of a kind. The walls are heavily decorated with interesting license plates, photographs, and other fun memorabilia, making guests feel at home from the moment they walk in the door.
For those seeking a quick, inexpensive “greasy spoon” breakfast, and/or a tantalizing choice of freshly made donuts, this place can’t be beat.
Casual Lunch & Dinner
Breckenridge Brewery (600 S Main Street, 11 am – 9 pm daily) The Breckenridge Brewery has been a staple in Breck for more than 35 years. In fact, they now have locations in Fort Collins and just outside of Denver. Visitors may recognize their beer (such as Avalanche Ale and Lucky IPA), as the brewery distributes many varieties to bars, restaurants, and liquor stores in 48 states in the US.
But people don’t just come for their iconic beer, they have good food as well. Choices include soups and salads, a wide variety of sandwiches and burgers, and entrees such as wild game meatloaf and fish and chips.
Try to grab a seat on one of the patios or by a window – the mountain views are lovely.
Kenosha (301 South Main Street, 11:30 am – 9:00 pm daily) If you have a picky crew, Kenosha is the place to come for lunch or dinner. Their wide-ranging menu has standard bar-fare items (including a “build your own burgers” option with a wide variety of toppings and protein choices, including vegetarian). Beyond bar food, the menu also features steaks, BBQ platters, numerous seafood offerings, a sausage & cheese platter, and more, including many gluten-free items.
In the spring/summer/fall, Kenosha opens a delightful, large back patio overlooking the mountains, and much of it is dog-friendly. Children can enjoy a couple of lawn games, and there is often live music.
Mi Casa (600 South Park Avenue, 11:30 am – 9:00 pm daily) This Mexican restaurant opened in the 1970s and is surely one of the oldest eateries in the town. It remains wildly popular, and there is often a line out the door. Customers sitting in the dining room are treated to nearly floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the mountains and the Blue River.
In addition to a wide variety of margaritas, favorite menu items include sizzling fajitas (steak, elk, veggie, shrimp, and chicken), flautas, and duck quesadillas.
Mi Casa is a quick walk from the base of Peak 9 and is a fun place to go for lunch in the middle of a ski day. Though ski boots aren’t allowed in the dining room, they are allowed in the large, comfortable, kid-friendly bar, where the full menu is served.
Ollie’s Pub (180 Jefferson Avenue, 11 am-midnight daily) Ollie’s is a typical sports bar with typical bar food (including great wings!). But its location and atmosphere set it apart, and make it a fun place to visit for all ages. The pub is in an old mining dredge, in the middle of the Blue River. Visitors walk over a bridge to gain access to it.
Prospector Gastropub (130 S Main Street, 11 am – 11 pm daily – open ’til midnight Fri-Sat) This relative newcomer to Breck has made a splash! It is “the place to be”, particularly in the evenings, (so lunch is an especially good time to visit).
Located in an 1892 former boarding house, the cozy, refined restaurant offers seasonal, often changing lunch and dinner menus with outstanding sharable dishes such as rabbit chili relleno, flatbreads, octopus tacos, and hanger steak kabobs.
Wine, beer, and a vast assortment of craft cocktails are expertly served up from the impressive bar.
Happy Hours With Great Food
Some of the places covered elsewhere in this article have terrific happy hours. These include Mi Casa, Blue River Bistro, Hearthstone, Rootstalk, and South Ridge Seafood. In addition, the happy hours listed below are definitely worth a visit:
Aurum (209 S Ridge Street, Happy Hour 4 – 6 pm daily) As a beautiful restaurant with unique, flavorful food options and great service, it’s no surprise that Aurum’s happy hour is quite popular. During high season, be sure to grab a reservation, or you may miss out. Order a few of the “snacks” for the table to share, and you probably won’t need dinner.
Favorites include crispy curried cauliflower, Korean fried chicken, and the French onion burger. Aurum also offers special prices on select wine, beer, and cocktails.
Breckenridge Distillery (1925 Airport Rd, Après Menu 2 pm – 4 pm) The distillery is the only place listed in this article to which visitors must drive, if staying in downtown Breck. But it is worth the drive! Sharable food includes hearty 420-tots, crispy pork rinds, and pan con tomatillo. The distillery staff outdoes itself with creative cocktails, such as the Genever Juice with rosemary and lemon, and the smoked Obi-Wan old fashioned, dramatically presented in a smoking whisky barrel. (The Star Wars theme continues throughout the restaurant, but in a charming, not overwhelming way.)
After the meal, explore the attached Spirits Shop, where you can taste the distillery’s products, (including a wide variety of whiskeys and bourbons, as well as gin, vodka, and more), and even take a bottle or two home, should you so choose.
Tavern Underground (200 N Main Street, Happy Hour 3 pm – 5 pm daily) This speakeasy-style tavern is located on the lower level of a restored mansion, just below the chic Carlin Restaurant. It serves up an assortment of well-done, well-priced American-style bites, such as chili cheese fries, buffalo chicken dip, and a fried chicken sandwich, alongside wine, beer, and humorously-titled inventive cocktails and sweets.
Fine Dining
Fine dining here simply refers to the quality and sophistication of the food. (And price!) There is honestly no restaurant in Breck for which one has to dress up, or where kids of all ages are not more than welcome.
Blue River Bistro (305 N Main Street, 11 am – 10 pm M-F, 10 am – 10 pm Sat & Sun) This restaurant is hard to categorize. It has excellent, elevated but well-priced brunches & lunches, which would put it solidly in the casual lunch category above. But it also features a brilliant, foodie-worthy dinner that surely belongs in this category. We’ll let you be the judge!
(To make it even more difficult, they have a delightful happy hour, sometimes with live music.) Blue River Bistro is a place at which we eat at least one meal almost every time we’re in Breck.
Brunch and lunch include such favorites as Crispy Tiger Shrimp, Thai Steak Salad, and Pork Bulgogi & Kimchi Tacos. Seasonally changing dinner choices include many lunch items, as well as such choices as Escargot, Beef Wellington, and Chilean Sea Bass.
Hearthstone (130 S Ridge Street, 4 pm – 9:30 pm daily). Housed in a gorgeous historic Victorian mansion with a multi-tiered front porch and romantic dark-wood dining rooms, an evening at Hearthstone is always a special experience. It is especially magical in the winter, all lit up.
A long-time Breckenridge favorite, Hearthstone is known for its wild game, fresh seafood, and hand-cut steaks, all prepared and cooked to perfection. In our opinion, however, the Colorado lamb, prepared in ever-changing ways, is even better (if that is possible).
Executive Chef Michael Halpin creates dishes showcasing the region, and using locally farmed ingredients whenever possible.
Be sure to bring an appetite! In addition to the entrees, Hearthstone offers noteworthy starters, such as charred octopus and lobster raviolo, and delectable desserts, such as bourbon crème brûlée and peach bread pudding.
Hearthstone also hosts a daily happy hour from 4-6 pm with an assortment of enticing small plates along with wine, beer, and cocktail specials.
Radicato (137 S Main Street, Second Floor, 4 pm – 9:30 pm daily) This modern Italian restaurant opened in 2022 and is beautifully located overlooking the Blue River Plaza (and of course, the Blue River) as well as the mountains. In the summer, the deck is the place to be.
Executive Chef and founder Matt Vawter was born and raised in Summit County, and though he left for a bit after college, he realized he wanted to raise his family here, and that his heart belongs here. In Italian, “radicato” means being deeply rooted in a place, and the restaurant strives to highlight all that Breckenridge and Colorado offer, emphasizing the connection between farmers and diners.
The seasonal menu is divided into four courses. The first three, a pane (bread) course, an antipasti course, and a primi (pasta) course, all come in sharable plates, allowing diners to have a taste of many things. For instance, a pane offering at our most recent visit was burrata and pine nuts with fresh bread. (Out of this world!) Antipasti included carpaccio as well as shishito pepper with fennel. The primi included agnolotti and gnocchi. The fourth course is the “secondi” (meat and fish), the traditional entree. A table of four, for instance, could order an item or two from each of the first three courses and then individually order a secondi, and have an amazing experience.
Radicato also offers a tasting menu and a popular happy hour.
Rootstalk Rootstalk’s Executive Chef and founder is Matt Vawter, like Radicato, above. In fact, Rootstalk came first. (Alphabetically second, hence appearing later in this post.) We would generally not feature two restaurants by the same chef/owner, but it is simply not possible to talk about the best restaurants in Breckenridge without talking about both.
Since its 2020 opening, Rootstock has easily been the most critically acclaimed restaurant in Breckenridge, and earned Chef Matt a James Beard award for “Best Chef – Mountain Region” in 2024.
Front and center at Rootstalk is the 7-course seasonal tasting menu, with optional wine pairings. At the time of this writing, the cost is quite a splurge at $149/person (without wine pairings), and it is an extraordinary experience. For a little more, guests can have an expanded tasting menu at the chef’s counter, interacting with the chefs, and watching the magic happen. Some lucky visitors (like us!) are narrated through the culinary journey by Chef Matt himself. We plan to do an entire post on the Chef’s Counter experience at Rootstalk. But for now, here are some photos from our meal:
In addition to the tasting menu, Rootstalk features an outstanding a la carte dinner menu, a short but worthwhile happy hour, and a polished, unpretentious staff. Guests will quickly realize why this place receives so many accolades, year after year. Reservations are highly recommended for any of the menus.
South Ridge Seafood Grill (500 S Main Street, 4 pm – 9 pm Wednesday – Sunday) An elegant restaurant with an inviting, casual vibe, South Ridge Seafood has been serving the freshest seafood in Breck since 1988. Originally located on South Ridge Street (hence the name), a landlord/tenant dispute forced them to move, but it was a blessing in disguise, as now they’re even more well located, right on Main Street.
Appetizers include a seafood bruschetta (pictured to the right), a heavenly smoked trout dip, oysters on the 1/2 shell, grilled calamari, and much more. Jeff & I frequently order a group of appetizers to share as our meal.
Impressive main dishes include teriyaki glazed Ahi, Dungeness crab and shrimp cakes, lobster tail, and Rocky Mountain trout. For the non-seafood lover, a Wagyu burger, a steak, and a chicken dish are available.
There are many gluten-free offerings, but this restaurant would not be the best choice for a vegetarian diner.
Don’t miss happy hour from 4 pm – 6 pm, especially in temperate weather when the rooftop patio is open and frequently features live music.
Pizza
Sometimes, on vacation, people just want an easy, inexpensive pizza. Breck has that covered in spades!
Downstairs at Eric’s (111 S Main Street, 11 am – 10:30 pm for the kitchen, bar open later). Serving quintessential bar food (pizza, wings, burgers, and sandwiches), Eric’s is a Breckenridge fixture, and a busy spot day and night. It is a sought-after destination for families with kids and spring breakers, as it has a large, lively arcade across from the dining room/bar. Small, medium, and large pizzas are popular for takeout, but their “Gigantor” is a whopping 24″, and they can’t find a box big enough for it. So that one must be eaten in-house!
Fatty’s Pizzeria (106 S Ridge Street, 11 am – 10 pm daily) Having been in business in this demanding resort town for 50 years, Fatty’s is clearly doing things right! This sports bar offers up generous portions of pizza, pasta, and other Italian fare, at a good price (particularly for Breckenridge). Our favorite is the Clam’s Casino pizza, with baby clams, garlic, onion, herbs, and some balsamic vinegar to top it off. Delicious!
Our gluten-free family member says the crust is among the best she’s had anywhere.
Giampatro’s Pasta and Pizzeria (100 N Main Street, 11 am – 9 pm daily) Founded by a Northern Italian immigrant in the mid-1990s, Giampatro’s has distinctive, thin-crust pizza that ought not be missed. It is extremely popular, both inside the restaurant and as take-out. (They even offer pizza by the slice.) But that’s not all! The restaurant has a host of delicious pasta dishes and appetizers served in generous portions. Calamari, Carbonara, and Baked Ziti are favorites in this family. (Expect leftovers.)
Tin Plate / Three Daughters Pizza (110 S Ridge Street, 11:30 – 8:30 daily, open until 9 on Fridays and Saturdays) This is actually two businesses. Originally opened as an upscale artisan pizza restaurant with a walk-up cookie shop on the south end of the building, the cookie shop has now morphed into a takeout-only traditional New York-style pizza shop. Both offer fresh, high-quality pizza, but each offers a different style and experience.
Snacks, Desserts, & Coffee Shops
Clint’s (131 S Main Street, 7 am – 9 pm daily) A popular meeting place in Breck, Clint’s is always buzzing, and is best known for its coffee drinks and wide variety of teas, as well as ice cream, and delicious bakery items, including vegan and gluten-free offerings. But if you head to the back of the little cafe, and down a few stairs, customers can also enjoy breakfast and lunch sandwiches from an open kitchen.
Crepes A La Cart (307 S Main Street, 9 am – 10 pm daily) Going to Breck without stopping by this year-round food truck for a crepe is simply not done.
Until recently, people would wait in line for an hour or more during peak times to get an individually freshly made sweet or savory crepe. A couple of years ago, the owners were able to open up a second location nearby (at 309 S Ridge Street – in the alley, open 10 am – 2:30 pm Thursday – Sunday) which has helped greatly with the lines.
The Crown (215 S Main Street, 8 am – 6 pm Sun-Thurs, 8 am – 8 pm Fri & Sat) – With a chill vibe, comfy inside seating, and two outdoor sitting areas, The Crown is a great place to hang out for a while with a cup of coffee or a cocktail, or to settle in with a laptop to get a little work done. They have an assortment of baked goods as well as light breakfast and lunch fare.
I Scream Gelato (105 Main Street, 10 am – 9 pm daily) Offering a dozen or so rotating flavors of in-house made gelato (with a wide assortment of toppings), milkshakes, and coffee drinks, I Scream Gelato is a fun place to visit to reward yourself after a long hike or a day on the slopes. They even have an arcade upstairs.
Mountain Top Cookies (128 S Main Street, 10 am – 10 pm daily) This tiny shop makes giant cookies all day long, and nearly always has a line out the door. But the friendly staff are efficient, usually making for a short wait. Choices range from traditional cookies such as chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin to creative creations like the “ski bum”, to gluten-free options, to decadent sandwich cookies with cream between them.
Cookies are pricy, but they always have a “buy 6, get 2 free special”. So go ahead, have a couple more!
This covers the all-important subject of eating in Breck. What else are you going to do?
Learn more important information about this glorious place here: Breckenridge Overview. After reading the quick overview, decide which season you’ll visit first, and read about all of the possibilities: Winter in Breck & Summer in Breck
Regardless of which season you choose, enjoy! (It would be hard not to.)
Discover more from Werthwhile Wandering
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Looks fantastic.
It really is. Thank you!
Kenosha is honestly super great. Love their elkburger and patio. It was such a blast!!!!
Thanks Max! Kenosha is really a fun place – and so friendly!
What a great reference tool when visiting Breck. Everything looks so yummy. Once again, Lisa, you have made me hungry! (One can’t ski ALL the time.) Thanks for the great pictures.
Thanks Liz! Eating is definitely a high priority for us on any trip. Ha!
Last time I was there, I absolutely loved Ollie’s Pub! I’ll have to rey the wings next time!
Yes, the wings are great, and you can’t beat the view!