10 Of The Best Winter Park Restaurants

Whether the perfect ending to your alpine adventure is an elegant pot of Gruyere fondue or a finger-lickin’ slab of barbecue ribs, Winter Park restaurants have got you covered. Here are 10 town favorites to get your dinner quest headed in the right direction.

Classy Cuisine

Alberto’s
72287 US Hwy. 40
Winter Park, Colorado 80482
970-726-4430
www.tabernashtavern.com

Overlooking downtown from the top floor of Cooper Creek Square, this high-end restaurant is a great bet for good food. Although it’s one of the newer restaurants on this list, opening at the end of 2009, Alberto’s has years of experience behind it. Chef/co-owner Alberto Sapien was once executive chef of the renowned Ranch House at Devil’s Thumb Ranch and is currently chef/co-owner of the nearby Tabernash Tavern. Alberto’s “contemporary international” menu includes such dishes as lobster mac and cheese, tuna tempura, Cajun chimichangas and 17 gourmet pizzas.

10 Of The Best Winter Park Restaurants 1
Fontenot’s brings out Bourbon Street for the Winter Park crowd.

Fontenot’s Fresh Seafood and Grill
78336 US Hwy. 40
Winter Park, Colorado 80482
970-726-4021
www.fontenotswp.com

Step out of the snow and onto Bourbon Street at Fontenot’s Fresh Seafood and Grill. Since 1990, New Orleans has found a home in Winter Park with this pleasant restaurant’s Big Easy ambiance and Cajun-inspired menu. Warm up with a cup of gumbo, or chow down on some seafood bouillabaisse, crawfish etouffee or shrimp po’boys. Non-Cajun options include Kobe beef burgers, teriyaki mahi salad and eggplant parmesan. In summer, you can enjoy eating outdoors on Fontenot’s sunny deck.

Gasthaus Eichler
78786 US Hwy. 40
Winter Park, Colorado
80482
970-726-5133
www.gasthauseichler.com

 

Located in a boutique hotel by the same name, Gasthaus Eichler has been serving German cuisine in Winter Park for more than two decades. The quaint dining room is adorned with antler chandeliers, decorative beer mugs and framed pictures of German landscapes. Menu best-sellers are wiener schnitzel with spaetzle noodles, pork medallions with rosemary and elk medallions in a red currant reduction. Other choices include paprika goulash, red trout, cheese fondue and duck breast in red wine sauce. Be sure to check out the creekside patio for fair-weather dining.

10 Of The Best Winter Park Restaurants 2
Star of India adds Indian cuisine to the list of delicious eateries at Cooper Creek Square.

Ethnic Eateries

Star of India
47 Cooper Creek Square
Winter Park, Colorado 80482
http://starofindiawinterpark.com/
970-726-5991

Serious Indian food in a mountain ski town? You bet. When Star of India opened in 2009, it added something truly different to the Winter Park dining scene. Located on the second floor of the restaurant-packed Cooper Creek Square, Star of India offers an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet, as well as a traditional dinner service. Feast on mainstays like chicken tikka masala and shrimp curry or go a little wild with more unique specialties such as lamb mango and lobster tail tandoori.

The Sushi Bar
78707 US Hwy. 40
Winter Park, Colorado 80482
970-726-0447
www.ineedsushi.com

Although the backdrop is the Rocky Mountains rather than Mount Fuji, the menu at the Sushi Bar is all Japanese (and maybe a little fusion). Among the most popular of their sushi rolls — which are two for one during Happy Hour — are the “Screaming O” with salmon, cream cheese and avocado, and the “Baja” with tuna, pineapple and jalapenos. In the entrée round, look for the top-billed Asian-inspired steak dishes. And don’t forget to peek at the drink menu, which offers several kinds of Champagne, nearly two dozen wines and 12 different martinis ranging from the saketini to the acai-blueberry cosmo.

Azteca Family Mexican Restaurant
78336 US Hwy. 40
Winter Park, Colorado 80442
970-726-2451
www.restaurantazteca.com

 

With one location in Winter Park and another in nearby Fraser, you don’t need to go far to find an Azteca restaurant. Azteca always starts diners off right with warm chips and hot (spicy, that is) salsa. The rest of the extensive menu offers just about everything you could want at a Mexican restaurant. The carne asada, arroz con pollo and chicken tostadas all get rave reviews. Seafood lovers and vegetarians will also have plenty to tempt them at Azteca, including fish tacos, shrimp quesadillas, mushroom chimichangas and veggie fajitas.

Pub & Grub

Hernando’s Pizza & Pasta Pub
78199US Hwy. 40
Winter Park, Colorado 80482
970-726-5409
www.hernandospizzapub.com

Hernando’s has been a Winter Park tradition since 1967. Though the outside is generic Bavarian, the inside is all Hernando’s. The welcoming, family-friendly restaurant boasts a homey dark-wood atmosphere — and plenty of dollar bills. Over the years customers have colorfully decorated dollar bills, which now cover Hernando’s dining room.

The menu at Hernando’s requires little explanation. It’s a simple but full offering of Italian favorites: more than a dozen pastas (from cheese raviolis to linguini in clam sauce), pizzas with more than 30 available toppings (from pepperoni and mushrooms to shrimp and green chiles), plus a few extras (like antipasto salad, Stromboli and minestrone soup).

10 Of The Best Winter Park Restaurants 3
Smokin’ Moe’s lives up to the barbecue standard.

Smokin’ Moe’s Ribhouse & Saloon
78930 US Hwy. 40
Winter Park, Colorado 80482
970-726-4600
www.smokinmoes.com

A sign on the wall sums up the ambiance at this barbecue joint: “If you have a reservation, you’re in the wrong place.” At Smokin’ Moe’s, located on the first floor of Cooper Creek Square, unpretentious is a way of life. Steak knives stand in tabletop canisters and spools of paper towels take the place of napkins. Choose from barbecue standards like baby back ribs, spicy hot links and beef brisket. Or sample the more varied offerings, including smoked turkey, fried catfish nuggets and smoky elk meatloaf. Moe’s also has a full bar, plus live music about once a month.

Randi’s Irish Grill & Pub
78521 US Hwy. 40
Winter Park, Colorado 80482

 

970-726-1172
www.randiswinterpark.com

With 10 beers on tap and signs pointing the way to Cork, it’s clear at Randi’s that you’ve landed in an Irish pub. The restaurant is home to an extensive menu of steaks, burgers and sandwiches, as well as a host of Irish standbys like shepherd’s pie and fish and chips. The menu also has a few twists, such as wild salmon with cranberry-chipotle glaze and grilled vegetables served over red pepper coulis. Eat your meal in the main dining room or while watching a game on one of the bar’s seven big-screen TVs. Or just grab a drink and warm up at a booth or table near Randi’s cozy fireplace.

Deno’s Mountain Bistro
78911 US Hwy. 40
Winter Park, Colorado 80482
970-726-5332
www.denosmountainbistro.com

In a town of restaurants that come and go, Deno’s Mountain Bistro just stays. The restaurant and sports pub is housed in a century-old building, which has been under its current ownership since 1976. The comfy dark-wood setting, nine TVs, nearly 30 beer options and an award-winning list of more than 300 wines make Deno’s a favorite for happy hour, après-ski and game time.

Oh, and there’s also the food. A gigantic American/Mediterranean menu includes seafood, pasta, chops and steaks, salads, pizzas and a smorgasbord of pub munchies ranging from Jamaican jerk hot wings to falafel with tzatziki. Customers can sit in the bar area toward the front of the restaurant, or move into the dining area for a more refined atmosphere.

winter park restaurants

 


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