Hands-Down, Denver's Best Sushi Bar Is A Sleek Michelin-Starred Omakase Experience In Colorado

With more than 70 breweries and a reputation as the craft beer capital of America, Denver is well known for its watering holes. This has spilled over (no pun intended) into the city's dining scene, with much of the restaurant chatter in Denver centering on American or brewpub fare. While Denver may not be known as the top place in the country for sushi (that honor would likely go to Honolulu, Los Angeles, or perhaps surprisingly, Reno, which might be America's unexpected capital of all-you-can-eat sushi), Denver has a number of top Japanese restaurants. Several of these are owned by the same man: Chef Toshi Kizaki. And Kizaki's new, eponymous restaurant, is hands down the best in the whole city. 

Chef Toshi Kizaki is the owner of five Japanese restaurants in Denver, four of which are located within walking distance from one another on South Pear Street. These include Sushi Den, Izakaya Den, Ototo, and Kizaki. Sushi Den was the first restaurant he started in 1984, but his latest restaurant, Kizaki, which opened in 2025, is getting a lot of recent buzz.

"Exceptional ingredient quality is a given from start to finish, spanning a treasure trove of oceanic delicacies," reports The Michelin Guide, "...from buttery, lightly seared black-throat sea perch to silvery, vinegar-accented gizzard shad." "Kizaki brings to Denver a new way to eat and enjoy sushi," says DiningOut, highlighting the restaurant's beverage program, which "radiates." Plus Kizaki offers a wide selection of sake, wine, whiskies, and cocktails, all from or inspired by Japan.

As of the 2025 Michelin guide, Colorado has nine restaurants with Michelin stars, but Kizaki stands out as the only Japanese and sushi restaurant to make the list. It also landed on Esquire's 2025 list of the best new restaurants in America. But official accolades aside, Kizaki has received numerous positive reviews by diners on Yelp, Reddit, OpenTable, and elsewhere. "Kizaki on S Pearl Street is one of the best openings in Denver in 2025," reports one reviewer on Yelp. "The chefs, ambiance, and quality of fish reminded me of Japan! The hand roll with caviar and the otoro were my favorites," writes another.

The restaurant's secret to success, besides quality ingredients and exquisitely prepared food, appears to be its personalized touches. Reviewers report that they appreciate the individualized nametags, autographed menus, and the explanations provided about where the food came from and why it was selected for that evening's menu. As one reviewer on Reddit explains, during the course of the meal, they learned that the fresh vegetables they were served came from a Pearl Street farmers market and that the fall foliage decorating the table were hand-picked from Wash park by Chef Toshi himself. "We even received a complimentary dish not on the menu of mushrooms foraged by Toshi from Boulder," they wrote. 

Kizaki features a menu that follows a tradition known as "omakase," which is a Japanese term that means "I leave it up to you." With an omakase dining experience, you're entrusting the chef to decide what to serve you, based on their experience and what ingredients are in season at the time. At Kizaki, the "200-year-old Tokyo-style sushi" tradition involves approximately 20 courses which focus on fresh and authentic Japanese ingredients, such as rice sourced from the Niigata Prefecture and fresh fish imported directly from the Nagahama Fish Market in Kyushu. 

But this attention to quality means that dining at Kizaki can be expensive (for more budget-friendly options, check out these 5 affordable Denver restaurants locals swear by, according to Reddit). The cost for the approximately two and a half hour dining experience at Kizaki is $225 per person. 

Kizaki evokes a speakeasy vibe, as it's hidden down a hallway in the same building as another Michelin-starred restaurant, Margot. Kizaki even seats just 40 people per night, four days per week. "If you can, book a seat at the sushi bar," advises a reviewer on Yelp. "The sushi bar is where the action is at."