5 Affordable Denver Restaurants Locals Swear By, According To Reddit

Denver, Colorado — aka the Mile High City – is a fun-filled destination. The city has more than 200 parks and averages over 300 days of sunshine a year. You can check out Confluence Park, where you can kayak and surf downtown, hit the pedestrian-friendly 16th Street Mall, or head outside the city for some invigorating outdoor activities. You can visit viral Denver social media destinations that look better in real life than in photos, or catch a game featuring one of the city's pro sports teams. Whatever you choose, you're bound to get hungry after a day of sightseeing. If you don't want to drop a lot of cash, though, Reddit has suggestions. We looked at multiple Reddit threads in r/denverfood and r/Denver to find inexpensive restaurants locals say are worth a visit. The top choices are Steuben's, Gyroz, Blackjack Pizza & Salads, Butcher Block Cafe, and Atomic Cowboy. 

Denver International Airport is roughly 27 miles from downtown. If you don't have a car, you can take the A Line train for about $10 one way to Union Station; trains run roughly every 15 to 30 minutes. Denver also has a light rail and bus system, and downtown is relatively walkable, with colleges, museums, hotels, stadiums, a theme park, and an aquarium within close proximity. If you're walking, however, you'll need fuel, so read on.

One restaurant mentioned repeatedly in Denver Reddit threads is Steuben's on East 17th Avenue. The restaurant was named after a Boston establishment opened by the owner's great uncles in 1945. In an r/denverfood thread about the best cheap eats in Denver, one user highlighted the happy hour deal on a burger, fries, and a beer (PBR) or fountain soda, with several others echoing the praise. In another thread discussing downtown Denver spots that are inexpensive but feel fancy, Steuben's was recommended for both its happy hour and its family-friendly booths. Westword has noted the value of its happy hour offerings, too.

There are some wonderful happy hour deals at Steuben's, and they're for far more than an hour. The deals run daily from 2 p.m. through 6 p.m., and again from 9 p.m. until close, which is pretty convenient for a later lunch, early dinner, or late-night munchies. The "Happier Meal" includes a burger, fries, and a PBR or fountain soda for $13, with add-ons such as cheese or bacon available for an additional charge (between $1 and $3). Other deals include macaroni and cheese with a PBR for $13, grilled cheese with fries and a PBR for $12, meatballs and bolognese for $11, honey butter biscuit bites made from scratch for $8, donut holes for $8, and cookies for $3. Drink specials include $2 Miller High Life Pony bottles, $3 PBRs, $8 house wine, and select cocktails for $8 a pop. Steuben's also operates a food truck in the Denver area.

Another affordable favorite among Denver Redditors is Gyroz on East Colfax Avenue. In an r/Denver thread about budget-friendly non-chain fast food spots, one commenter wrote that "the people that work there are insanely nice and they have a drive through," while another praised the reasonably priced gyro and fries. Another raved, "Can confirm, this place slaps." Locals also praise the French fries. In the r/denverfood thread on cheap eats, one poster wrote, "Gyroz ... is my jam so good and cheap too."

You can order combo meals with beef, chicken, falafel, or gyro for $14 to $16, with Baklava or Baklava ice cream for $7. You can also add items like feta, kalamata olives, pepperoncini, pita, and tzatziki, and there are chicken tendies and a kids' gyro on the menu. There are a number of salad options, though those are on the higher end. Still, its sandwiches (beef, chicken, falafel, and gyro) are all priced at $12 or less. A 1/2-pound gyro is under $11, and a 1/4-pound is just over $5, though you can get a full pound for under $22, which should make for more than one meal.

Pizza is one of the most utterly craveable foods out there, and one pizza joint that is mentioned multiple times as a great and inexpensive place to eat is Blackjack Pizza & Salads. The chain has numerous Colorado locations, along with others in Florida, Wyoming, and Arizona. In one r/denverfood thread about meals on a budget, multiple users recommended Blackjack. One wrote, "Blackjack rules," while another singled out the Santa Fe pizza for its green chile sauce. In a comparison thread between Blackjack and Domino's, Blackjack was praised by not only regular posters, but also a former employee. There were a few naysayers, but most of the comments noted the same sentiment: "Blackjack is da bomb." 

Blackjack Pizza has a local-specific coupon page on its website, so make sure to check those out. At the Chambers Road location in Denver, custom pizzas start at $8 as of this writing. The Santa Fe pizza — topped with green chile sauce, grilled chicken, green chiles, black olives, onions, tomatoes, mozzarella, and cheddar on thin crust — starts at $16.

If you're looking for inexpensive but delicious food, a diner is a great choice. One diner that is recommended over and over on Reddit is Butcher Block Cafe. There are two locations in Denver and one in Commerce City, and it's been family-owned for over four decades. 

On the r/denverfood thread about the best cheap eats in town, one poster declared, "Butcher Block Cafe always keeps it real." It's also recommended in another local cheap eats thread and praised by a poster in r/denverfood in a best meals on budget post, who called Butcher Block Cafe "really cheap and good." They mentioned a burger-and-fries special and complimented the cinnamon rolls, a sentiment echoed by another user. A third even called it their "long-time go-to." It's also name-dropped in a post about iconic and inexpensive Denver joints, and in one about the diner scene in Denver, it was described as a joint that "never disappoints." The cinnamon rolls have been specifically praised, too.

The menu at the time of this writing has breakfast options like a Polish sausage, chorizo, or hamburger patty with two eggs, hash browns, and toast for $11.25, and omelets with three eggs, hash browns, and toast for between $11 and $13. Three pancakes are $8.50. You can get a French dip for under $11, sandwiches mostly under $10, and a bowl of thick, Western-style chili for $3.75. The homemade cinnamon rolls are priced at $4.

For our final pick, we have Atomic Cowboy. This restaurant has several locations and shares space with Denver Biscuit Co. and Fat Sully's Pizza. Reddit users frequently mention it in discussions about affordable local food. In one r/Denver thread about cheaper local food spots, a commenter claimed the burger there is "reeeel good," while another highlighted a late-night slice-and-beer deal. In r/denverfood discussions about iconic yet inexpensive spots, someone raved, "Atomic Cowboy has fantastic cheeseburgers for a great price. Voted best in Denver. Nice beer selection as well. And shares a kitchen with Fat Sully's pizza." They're also mentioned in a post specifically about the restaurant, where users praised the burgers, and in another dedicated post, someone wrote, "Their burger is the best in town, IMO." Others praise the large pizza slices and the great deals.

Atomic Cowboy has a page featuring its weekly deals, which include, at the time of this writing, a signature biscuit sandwich, hash brown, and a drink for $13, Monday through Friday. During the week, you can also get a $10 grab-and-go biscuit sandwich and coffee, and there is a 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. happy hour with $8 burgers, $8 cocktails, $8 Sully's fries, $6 drafts, and $3 PBR. Mondays have $8 burgers all day. Happy hour is all day on Tuesdays, and on Wednesdays, you can get $1 wings. On Thursdays, you can grab 1/2 off beer pitchers. From Sunday through Thursday after 9 p.m, you can get a slice of pizza and a beer for $7. Finally, if your hunger just can't be satisfied, here are five Denver restaurants that have food challenges with enormous portions.

To identify affordable Denver restaurants that locals swear by, we dug deep into Denver's Reddit threads. We looked at an r/denverfood thread about the best cheap eats, a thread about downtown spots that feel fancy but aren't expensive, a thread about local cheap and quick spots, a thread about the best meals on a budget, and one about an iconic, but not expensive, place to eat in the state. We also looked at an r/Denver thread about the best affordable non-chain fast-food spot and another about cheaper local food spots. We then cross-checked current menus and pricing on each restaurant's official website. Prices were accurate at the time of writing but may vary by location or change over time.