Located inside the stylish Hotel Teatro and across from the Denver Center for Performing Arts, this 70-seat restaurant brings French style to downtown Denver. Vaulted ceilings are offset with Versailles mirrors and alabaster chandeliers. Chairs are covered in green-and-yellow-striped silk fabric, and tables are topped with yellow Frette linens, Bernadaud china and Christofle silver. Chef Kevin Taylor earns applause for his unpretentious contemporary cuisine. Start with seared Grade A French foie gras, and then try one of the signature dishes such as butter-poached Atlantic salmon, pancetta-roasted pork loin, and Colorado lamb sirloin. Top it off with a killer dessert like caramelized pineapple Napoleon. The restaurant features seasonal menus that change every two months, four- and five-course tasting menus and a prix fixe pre-theatre menu. There are also 900 vintages here—ask for a private table in the wine cellar.

Restaurant Kevin Taylor Information:

• Contemporary American, French menu. Dinner. Closed Sunday. Bar. Business casual attire. Reservations recommended. Valet parking. Credit cards accepted.