Colorado's Edgy Neighborhood Near Downtown Denver Brims With Trendy Restaurants, Bars, And Architecture

Denver is one of the ultimate destinations for any Colorado visitor, but with over 3 million people in the larger Denver metro, the city's diverse neighborhoods and suburbs can be a tad overwhelming, especially for first-time visitors. So we're here to take away some of the confusion! If you're looking for a walkable neighborhood with fun architecture and design, along with chic and delicious restaurants and bars, make sure your Denver itinerary includes the Lower Highland (LoHi) neighborhood.

This trendy neighborhood is in north Denver, across the South Platte River and Interstate 25 from downtown. It's a part of the larger "Highlands" neighborhood, which also includes the West Highlands, and the border between the two neighborhoods is Federal Boulevard. It's not to be confused with Highlands Ranch, a southern Denver suburb, nor with Highlands Square. It was actually that latter confusion that helped inspire the neighborhood's name. Paul Tamburello was turning the Olinger Mortuaries buildings into a restaurant in the early 2000s, and people didn't know where he meant when he said Highland. So he came up with the nickname "LoHi Marketplace" for the development, and it caught on as a nickname for the entire neighborhood, according to Westword.

You can walk from downtown to LoHi via the iconic Highland Bridge. As one Yelp reviewer put it: "crossing the Highland Bridge in Denver feels like walking a ribbon of modern design stretched high above the rush of the city." And that's not the only impressive piece of architectural design in the neighborhood. LoHi dates back to the late 1800s, and you can still see some Victorian-style homes around the neighborhood. On the flip side, there are also sleek, modern buildings, so visiting LoHi lets you see a fun mashup of new and old Denver.

Denver's LoHi neighborhood is known for its great food, with local publication Westword naming it the city's best neighborhood for restaurants multiple times. It would be impossible to include every good restaurant here, but here are some local favorites. Eat at the place that started it all; Linger is the restaurant in the former mortuary that helped give Denver's LoHi its name. It's got food from around the world and a lovely rooftop patio space where you can see the city.

Next door is Little Man Ice Cream, which serves fresh, homemade ice cream. You can't miss it, it's inside a 28-foot-tall milk can. For more sweet treats, Wooden Spoon Cafe & Bakery is a small, family-owned spot that serves fresh pastries and sandwiches. It's a really popular spot, and they do sell out, so do your best to plan ahead; you can preorder your pastries the day before. And as one person noted on Yelp: "The pecan sticky bun is only available on Saturdays and Sundays so either get there early or pro tip, preorder the night before and it'll be waiting for you!"

If you can't quite decide on what type of cuisine you're in the mood for, stop by Avanti F&B. It's a lively food hall style destination inside modified cargo containers, and it has multiple restaurants, like Biker Jim's where you can get loaded hot dogs, Quiero Aperas which specializes in Venezuelan style arepas, and Berliner Haus serving German street food. You're sure to find something that whets the appetite. Plus, it's also got a rooftop area with great views.

It's not just good food in LoHi. This vibrant neighborhood has a bar for everyone, no matter what you like to drink. Williams & Graham is a speakeasy bar, and you enter via a bookcase into a darkened room with a tin ceiling and warm wood-and-leather styling. It has an impressive list of cocktails along with beer and wine, and if you can't decide what you want, the bartender can make something just for you. Reservations are highly recommended, and if you can't get enough, they also have an outpost at the Denver International Airport.

The Family Jones is a distillery in Loveland, making vodka, rye, bourbon, and gin. They use Colorado farmers to source all of their grains, and you can enjoy the fruits of their labor via a craft cocktail at The Family Jones Spirit House in LoHi. It's a sophisticated and comfortable spot for a drink with velvet furniture, plants along the wall, and a large copper still above the bar.

Denver is America's craft beer capital, and you can try some local brews at Recess Beer Garden. It has more than two dozen beers on tap and expansive indoor and outdoor spaces. Prost Brewing Company has a LoHi beer garden where you can sample their German-style beers along with snacks like pretzels and a sausage board. And Zuni Street Brewing is known for its creative, small-batch beers and hosts popular events, like live music every Wednesday and Saturday, and trivia night most Tuesdays.