Downtown Lakewood's Best Restaurants

For many metro area residents, the idea of downtown Lakewood being home to good eats seems like an oxymoron. After all, a drive down Wadsworth between 1st and Mississippi means staring in disbelief at the crowded parking lots at the local Olive Garden, Chili’s, Wing Stop and Red Lobster. 

Sadly, people still eat at these Lakewood chains (with the exception of Red Lobster, which closed in 2024). But downtown Lakewood has more interesting options, and not all of them are in the Belmar development.

With all this in mind, here (and in no particular order) is my current list of downtown Lakewood’s top eateries:

T-Street

When it comes to restaurants, I’m looking for three things: tasty food, atmosphere, and good service. T-Street (445 S. Teller St.) has all three, but it’s the restaurant’s urban atmosphere that makes it a shoo-in for my best eats list. Located on the Belmar Plaza, it has sophisticated decor and large windows that are great for people watching. 

The food is good too, with my preference being to snack off the appetizer menu, with items like sweet caramelized Brussels sprouts with goat cheese or the steamed mussels in a white wine garlic sauce. If I’m hungrier, I’ll order the excellent short rib enchiladas. 

Little India

The Belmar outpost of Little India (425 S. Teller St.) also has a lovely location on the Belmar Plaza, with plentiful outdoor seating for sipping tamarind margaritas. The restaurant’s true calling, however, is providing fast and delicious take-out.  If you live in Belmar, you can order online and then walk right over to pick up your order while it's hot.

Try the lamb vindaloo (order it either medium or spicy, but please, never mild), tandoori wings, and saag paneer. Oh, and while you’re at it, do yourself a favor and order the puri, a whole wheat fry bread that’s tastier than naan. 

Panaderia Rodriguez

The secret to understanding the appeal of Panaderia Rodriguez (6201 W. Alameda Ave.) is to not think of this hole-in-the-wall establishment as a bakery. Yes, they make perfectly adequate conchas and bolillos, but it’s their lunch menu that’s so amazing. 

Get the chorizo tacos (served open-faced with lime and salsa) or the torta milanesa (a fried chicken sandwich). Atmosphere-wise, walking into the Panaderia Rodriguez is like traveling through a dimensional portal to a random loncheria in northern Mexico. I lived in Zacatecas state for a year, and wow, this place brings back the memories. As an added bonus, Panaderia Rodriguez is a great place to practice your rusty Spanish.

Lady Nomada

Lady Nomada (7167 W. Alaska Dr.) has the best open air patio in Lakewood, with garage-style doors that welcome passers-by to wander in. On a warm fall evening, the lights and bustle at Lady Nomada are magical. (Honestly, I wish other Belmar-area restaurateurs would learn this lesson. Don't put up solid walls between your dining room and the street--I'm looking at you, Great Divide!) In the winter months, Lady Nomad's interior Baja vibes will keep you feeling summery.

Food-wise, there are hits and misses. To avoid a miss, I recommend the excellent birria--whether in the form of tacos or loaded fries. If you're there with a group, the paloma party pitcher is a delicious deal.

Monogogo 

Monogogo (450 S. Teller St.) has never gotten the love it deserved. The restaurant's Blake St. location recently closed, and owner J.W. Lee says tariffs, lower consumer spending and high labor costs are having a negative impact on his businesses.

It's a shame, because Monogogo's chicken wings are the best in town. Try the soy garlic or hot spicy wings while you can, because I have a bad feeling Monogogo isn't long for this world. 

Mason’s Dumplings

You might think I'm crazy, but I much prefer the dumplings at Mason's Dumplings (6981 W. Alaska Dr.) to the any of the ones on offer at Star Kitchen or Super Star Asian Cuisine, Denver's long-time dim-sum rivals. The atmosphere at Mason's is sunny, modern and casual, although I could do without the QR, web-based ordering system. 

Mason's also serves noodles and bao, but stick to the dumplings--pan fried beef, pork, and chive. Their soup dumplings are also worth a sample, along with their steamed bbq pork buns and Chinese "pancakes."

Pizza Lui

I'm almost reluctant to write about Pizza Lui (5380 W. Mississippi), not because it's located on fringe of what could decently be considered downtown Lakewood, but because it's already so popular that I'm not sure I want word of this unbelievably good pizza joint to get out any further than it's already gotten. 

Located in a charmingly industrial mid-century commercial building, Pizza Lui is all business, from the flat-folded pizza boxes stacked high on the counter to the commercial-sized cans of Italian tomatoes on the back shelves of the open kitchen. My favorite is the Mexican street taco pizza with homemade chorizo, mozzarella, red onion, cotija cheese and Olathe sweet corn, but they do a brisk business in all their pizzas from the moment they open until they run out of dough. Grab a bench (if one's available) and drink a glass of wine while you wait for your take-out pizza to appear at the register. 

What's missing from my list?

I've eaten at least once at every place in Belmar (with the exception of Onto Coffee), so if you see a place that's missing, it's probably because I think it's only okay. The French Press (7323 W. Alaska Dr.) is a good example of this. It's popular. The food is good. I just don't care much for the atmosphere (dated chairs and tables; the ubiquitous ketchup bottles on every table). It also doesn't help that I'm not much of a breakfast person. If you love the French Press, I understand. It's obviously me, not you.

There's also the outstanding Share Tea (424 S. Teller St.), but it's a boba spot, not a restaurant.

One place I've yet to try (but very much want to) is Gabys German Eatery (245 S. Harlan St.). I've heard great things about this tiny hold-in-the-wall that requires reservations. 

Are there other places between roughly Garrison and Harlan and Mississippi and 1st Ave. that I should try? Let me know...

Miniso Comes to Belmar

Asian pop-up stores are, well, popping up everywhere, and one of the biggest retailers is Miniso, with some 7,000 stores world wide. Just last summer, my family dragged me into the Miniso on the Champs-Èlysées in Paris on our way back from the Arc de Triomphe.

Now Lakewood's own Champs-Èlysées (that's W. Alaska Drive, in case you were wondering) has a Miniso, and it's just as weird and wonderful as the one in Paris.

For starters, it's a literal beacon. Walk by anytime--day or night--and you'll find yourself drawn to the brightly-lit rows of blind boxes, plushies, backpacks and other assorted plastic knick-knacks, all neatly stacked under the store's take-no-prisoners interior lighting. Really, I dare you to try and walk by and ignore the place.

Inside, Miniso carries absolutely nothing that appeals to me (except for maybe the bags of shrimp-flavored corn puffs, which remind me of the two years I spent teaching in South Korea, drinking in seedy bars where a basket of these shrimp puffs were served with every round). Otherwise it's all manga blind-boxes, Hello Kitty plushies, and hair ties.

However, I'm not Miniso's target demographic. What I do see is lots of people walking around Belmar with their bright red Miniso bags, grinning with excitement, which is great to see. Will the novelty wear off, though? Miniso is expanding at a break-neck pace, with at least four stores in the Denver metro area already. 

One thing you won't find at Miniso are Lububu, which are sold exclusively at rival retailer Pop Mart, which does not yet have any locations in Colorado.

Onto Coffee Brings in the Crowds

 

Onto Coffee has opened in Belmar in the space at 7150 W Alaska Dr. that has been home to several coffee shops over the last twenty years.

With an Asian-inspired menu (think matcha, ube, and hojicha lattes and egg salad spam "sandos"), Onto Coffee appears to be a hit, with a line of people waiting to order every time I've wandered by.

I haven't tried anything off their menu, and their interior decor is a little spartan for my taste (I prefer coffee shops that encourage a little lounging, something Onto Coffee, with its straight backed chairs and shared counter tops, clearly isn't going for). A business that brings in the crowds, however, is a definite win for downtown Lakewood and the Belmar shopping district.