Perhaps because the most famous “meal” in Colorado’s resort towns is après-ski, proper restaurants don’t get the press they deserve. Dining in these places is a pleasure in any season, but I do love summertime, when the mountains become a backdrop for leisurely lunches and alfresco dinners, and restaurants take full advantage of the local bounty, including game, trout and a variety of fine produce. And with ever-larger numbers of discerning visitors, the range and quality of choices keep improving. Here are nine noteworthy restaurants in our three favorite mountain towns: Telluride, Aspen and Vail.

TELLURIDE

Dunton Kitchen

» Hearty Alpine dishes in a Mountain Village hideaway

Herbaceous Alpine Negronis were the perfect prelude to dinner at Dunton Kitchen, the Tyrolean restaurant in the Lumière hotel. Seated amid faux-fur-backed sofas (and by a sadly unlit fireplace), we started with a creamy vichyssoise topped with walnuts and pesto as well as a nourishing salad of asparagus spears laden with duck-egg gribiche and crunchy speck. Our flawless crispy-skinned Alpine salmon came with a heaping portion of nutty farro, and duck à l’orange was ringed with blistered vegetables and paired with a creamy cauliflower purée. After a long day on the mountain, this rustic European comfort food was just the thing.

Dunton Kitchen 
118 Lost Creek Lane, Mountain Village. Tel. (970) 369-0400

La Marmotte

» Classic French fare in a historic setting

Located in a former icehouse just steps from Bear Creek Trail, beloved La Marmotte has the best happy hour in town but a narrow window in which to enjoy it: from just 5 to 6 p.m. After a trail walk with our dog, we settled onto the charming patio for $10 glasses of Willamette Valley Rosé d’Or and briny half-priced oysters. Upcoming dinner reservations kept us from ordering the two-for-one entrées. Those who prefer to dine later can take advantage of the three-course prix fixe menu, featuring classics like mussels with curry, lyonnaise salad or beef bourguignon, served in cozy surrounds.

La Marmotte
150 West San Juan Avenue, Downtown. Tel. (970) 728-6232

The National

» Mediterranean meets mountain town cuisine

After making his culinary mark in Chicago, chef Chris Thompson returned to his hometown of Telluride to open this popular Mediterranean restaurant with his wife, Kate. The warm focaccia with ricotta and truffle honey was a comforting start, followed by a contrastingly delicate hamachi crudo accented with pickled Fresno chiles, grapefruit supremes and an earthy basil-chile oil. Main courses went big. A hearty black-pepper rigatoni with wild boar sugo, topped with shards of pecorino Romano, ruined all other versions for me, and a North African Jewish chraime delivered unapologetic heat, its crispy-skinned cod bathed in a spicy tomato-tahini broth. Reservations are essential.

The National
100 East Colorado Avenue, Downtown. Tel. (970) 239-6151

Van Atta

» New speakeasy behind a custom hat shop

Telluride’s newest, buzziest bar is hidden in the back of the Crossbow western apparel store behind a door that says “Employees only.” Though it wasn’t dark and moody when we had lunch, the 1886 building had all the speakeasy trappings: old-fashioned pressed-tin ceilings, cast-iron barstools and taxidermy (in this case, a goat’s head). We took advantage of the 10 a.m.-to-5 p.m. happy hour by ordering Aperol spritzes (numerous creative cocktails are also available) and souped-up wagyu sliders with luscious foie gras mushroom butter and triple-berry mostarda. Serving brunch, lunch and dinner, Van Atta recently earned a James Beard Award nomination for Best New Bar.

Van Atta
101 West Colorado Avenue, Downtown. Tel. (970) 729-9058

ASPEN

Lola 41

» High-energy hotel restaurant with a global menu

As we checked into the White Elephant hotel, the glitzy crowd at Lola 41, its international restaurant, was spilling into the lobby, as was thumping music. On its expansive patio, the scene felt more clubhouse than club. Every table was full, and many diners had pets at their feet. The menu draws inspiration from destinations on the 41st parallel (Japan, France, the U.S.), a contrivance that justifies serving sushi and steak frites alongside burgers and mac n’ cheese. Cocktails were outstanding, but our $56 crab-and-shrimp fried rice failed to deliver flavor or much seafood, and our forgetful waiter sometimes failed to deliver at all.

Lola 41
110 West Main Street, West End. Tel. (970) 922-3532

Parc Aspen

» Sophisticated cuisine and a serious wine program

Tucked below street level across from the Aspen Art Museum, Parc Aspen is softly lit and discreetly sophisticated. Serving farm-to-table cuisine since 2022, the restaurant has become a local favorite. Craft cocktails — like a mezcal margarita infused with oregano — tempted us, but the wine program is the focus, with over 1,300 labels. Our sommelier suggested a Grenache-dominant 2019 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape, whose jammy fruit paired well with smoked elk loin in a huckleberry sauce. An equal success was a François Labet Burgundy with the organic king salmon. The only misstep: a chocolate soufflé marred by the gritty texture of undissolved sugar.

Parc Aspen
620 East Hyman Avenue, Downtown. Tel. (970) 710-7448

VAIL

La Nonna

» Unassuming Italian dining with mountain views

La Nonna offers unpretentious, family-style Italian food in the heart of Vail Village. Guided through the lively dining room to the deck, we were seated with a fine view of town and Vail Mountain. Handmade pasta is the house specialty, and portions are generous — exactly what a grandmother might serve while insisting they’re “light.” My gemelli with vodka sauce and crisp, vodka-flambéed prosciutto was one such dish. I had no complaints; it was excellent. The Caesar salad was equally generous, with large white anchovies and ample shavings of Parmesan. In a town known for slick fine dining, La Nonna was a refreshingly down-to-earth alternative.

La Nonna 
100 East Meadow Drive, Vail Village. Tel. (970) 393-5959

Left Bank

» Traditional French with a modern twist

Left Bank has been serving French cuisine at the Sitzmark hotel since 1970. Expecting an old-fashioned bistro, I found instead interiors by the designer of Miami’s former Versace Mansion — more gauche than Rive Gauche. Past a refrigerator case of baked Alaskas, the dining room revealed dated chandeliers dangling from drop ceilings and tufted glam furnishings. Yet I can recommend the place wholeheartedly. A well-balanced gin martini chilled my initial skepticism, which was further quashed by the garlicky frog legs in a parsley-flecked bourguignon and an outstanding steak au poivre dressed in a creamy cognac sauce. Platings may not have been artful, but the food and service were on point.

Left Bank
183 Gore Creek Drive, Vail Village. Tel. (970) 476-3696

Zuma

» Izakaya with a party atmosphere

After sampling two Vail mainstays, we tried something new: an izakaya that had opened a month earlier. Part of a chain with outposts in hot spots like Miami, Mykonos and St. Barths, this branch in the Sebastian hotel is on-brand: loud DJ, three open kitchens and smartly dressed patrons as eager to be seen as to eat well. It’s a fine place to do both. Our edamame starter — stir-fried with chile and brightened with lemon zest — was addictive, and crab salad over arugula topped with a generous dollop of tobiko won us over. I’d skip the lackluster tempura rock shrimp next time, but hot-off-the-robata beef skewers, smoked in chile soy, hit the mark.

Zuma
16 Vail Road, Vail Village. Tel. (970) 445-4500