Food was incredibly good

Baller lamb burger when they cook it right.

We started out with house salads. They were perfect and reminded us of just how much we have to learn about how to prepare salads 😉!

Then on to the artichoke tortelloni! This is really all about the white truffle brodo, which is heady and big and words fail. If you've never had a truffle dish, you'll know what we mean!

The main course was black truffle and red wine braised beef short ribs. The steak knife wasn't needed for this. Falling apart tender and beefy and rich and did I mention beefy? The pomegranate pearls and pomegranate mollassa fitted together perfectly with the short ribs. This was perched atop pommel aligot and surrounded by crispy brussels sprouts. The aligot was amazing! Almost as much a cheese dish as a potato dish, it was silky smooth and showed off the cantal cheese very nicely. The brussels sprouts were really darkly crisped and crunchy. This treatment removed all the bitterness and left them slightly sweet.

All in all, a wonder time was had!

Yummy. The meals were good dessert was amazing

Great setting. Amazing food. The tortellini and braised short rib were truly amazing. Fig and goat cheese beignets were an amazing ending. Will be back next time we’re in Denver.

Loved everything!

Delicious food and ambiance.

Our server, Barley, was awesome and gave us great recommendations.

The meal started out well until the food came out. Food was subpar at best. Disappointing for a former James Beard winner. It seems like they are resting on food that tasted good nearly 10 years ago but isn’t anything special in 2021. The bacon appetizer lacked flavor. Short rib wasn’t better than a cafeteria pot roast. I wanted to like it but I’ve just had these items substantially better for much less.

Food is great. Menu is limited but we found some great things to eat. Would be perfect if they just had some special additions to to the menu.

Everything was amazing, the short ribs were down right pornographic.

I cant say enough about the service here! It was my twins' 13th birthday and due to covid having a party just wasn't an option. So we decided to do a fine dinning experience and my son found Rioja and decided that's where we wanted to go. Our only option for a reservation online wasn't until 930 so I called to see if there was anything we could do to get seated earlier. Cause you, hangry teenagers are never pleasant. I spoke with Dimetri who went above and beyond to make sure my boys were getting the full experience for their birthday. He got us an inside table at a much more reasonable time and even came over to check on us while we were seated. Love love love Dimetri!!!!! We had 4 teenage boys having their first fine dinning experience and the staff was very patient and helpful. The food was exotic and new and absolutely delicious! Our water glasses were never empty and we were able to try new dishes that kept us always looking forward to the next dish. 10/10 would definitely recommend. Thank you Rioja for making my biys' birthday so special and memorable.

Amazing! Best food I’ve had in Denver. Delicious!!

excellent as always. definitely a special place to dine.

Second time. Hands down one of my favorite restaurants in Denver!

Food was delicious! By far one of our favorite restaurants in Denver. Short ribs were amazing and the homemade artichoke pasta was to die for.

Great healthy food in a very inviting setting. Severs were friendly and helpful.

Love Rioja! The atmosphere is comfortable and cozy yet not cramped. The service is spectacular as well.

My bf and I had our anniversary dinner here on Monday. This was our first visit and everything was absolutely amazing! Pricey but amazing. We ordered the pork belly, rabbit 2 ways and artichoke tortelloni for appetizers. The portions were small which is expected at a fancy place like this. My favorite out of the appetizers is the tortelloni , the truffle flavor is out of this world. We then had the lamb and beef short ribs as entrees, the portions were just right. The lamb was tender and the beef melted in my mouth. Even though we were stuffed, we still ended up getting the beignets and Napoleon for dessert. Overall the food was amazing, the service was great and if I could afford it, i would be here every single week!

Excellent dining every time we have been to Rioja. Professional staff and excellent food!

Very nice Sunday brunch, delicious food and drinks.

Amazing as always !!! Staff súper increíble like always !!

Great service, and delicious food. Their meals of the day were tempting, but we ended up going with the rioja benedict and the lamb urger. I highly recommend both!

Fabulous experience....as always! Took friends to dinner for evening and Rioja lived up to our hype! Thank you for making us look “smart”. Cant wait for our next dinner at Rioja!

Went the day before Valentine's but they had the special menu items on offer for that day, but were out of a number of meals by 7:00 p.m. Food and service were very average. Kind of dull, overall.

We went to Rioja for our Valentine’s Day dinner and were extremely happy with everything they had to offer! The food was amazing (loved that we could try the pasta as an appetizer!) and the service was helpful and very friendly!

Rioja was a pleasant surprise of Aioli's and Proteins, ranging from wagyu to octopus, nothing fell short of breath taking.

Rioja is one of my favorite Denver Restaurants. I can always rely on great food and great service. If you need to impress a date or business associate, this is the place to go.

Absolutely abysmal and disappointing. The lamb and beef short rib entrees were inedible. So heavily sauced up and drowned in a thick sugary syrup that couldn’t be called a sauce. It was impossible to taste the meat. Both entrees had the same sugar-bomb sauce too - that’s almost sinful for a Janes Beard winning restaurant. The salmon crisp aaa an insult to eat - just so sweet and hardly any salmon on it - it was just sad on my palate. The gnocchi was okayish- far from the best I’ve had. The only thing that was edible and cooked respectfully was the octopus and the bresaola. The awful service of our server Robyn didn’t help either. She was simply rude. The other wait staff were fabulous - made sure our water was topped off.
Never going back again!

Absolutely floored by the quality of food and service! Service staff and kitchen made our Valentine’s Day one to remember.

Absolutely wonderful. Everything we tried was outstanding. Very eclectic, interesting food combinations that were all cooked perfectly. Portion sizes were right on. (As we all know, fancy restaurants like to give less food for some reason!) Excellent service. We will definitely go back.

Food and service were INCREDIBLE. Traveling from out of state, we were having a hard time deciding on a restaurant, and I am SO glad we decided to go with Rioja— everything we ordered was made to perfection and our waitress helped us to create our own “tasting menu” since we couldn’t decide what to order and they did not rush us whatsoever. I wish I lived here so I could come again!!

This place is AMAZING! We loved the short rib

We went for a Valentine’s Day dinner. We haven’t been to Rioja in about a year but had LOVED it in the past. The ambiance and service were very goos but the food was not.
We ordered a salad and it was over dressed, the appetizer was really not good. It was the salmón crudo with Panna cotta. Heavy on the Panna Cotta with little sprinkles of salmon in top. Not good.
The main was pretty good. I had the vegetarian sampler plate. Dessert was not good. We had the special chocolate with strawberry dessert. Wasn’t good at all.
Not sure if we will revisit. Service was great but food overall disappointing.

Food was delicious, service was great, loved the ambiance and location.

Fantastic food every time. Angie our server was was in tune with our pace and anticipated our needs as well. I inquired about an off dry white wine and Angie suggested a perfect rosé! Please make a reservation and enjoy this experience!

We LOVED our experience at Rioja. From the complimentary tartare bites to the main courses of salmon, lamb and short rib, we were not disappointed. Service was excellent, we felt not only welcomed, but like very important guests. Would recommend Rioja for your most special occasions and when you want to feel special in between!

Food was delcious. Had the ricotta gnocchi and tortelloni for appetizer - delicate, perfectly cooked pasta. Short rib with black truffle sauce was melt in your mouth delectable. Had a lovely bottle of wine from Rioja. Lovely ambiance. Meeting Chef Jen was a thrill. We'll be back.

Rioja never disappoints. Ever. A jewel in our city.

This is our favorite restaurant. We took an overnight layover in Denver just to eat here and we were not disappointed. Trust your waiter’s suggestions and try everything. They have the best, most unique combinations of flavors in their dishes. We had the Rabbit Two Ways, the Fresh Bacon, the Umami soup, the Tortelloni (a long time favorite and great homemade pasta in broth), the Short Ribs, the Lamb T-Bones plus the Napoleon and a lemon cheesecake for dessert. The menu changes seasonally, but the fresh bacon and tortelloni are always available. We loved everything we ate and will be counting the days to get back to dinner here.

Rioja is a beautiful restaurant with a contemporary atmosphere, wonderful wines, tasty food, and amazing service. They do add some fees to your total bill to help pay their employees- seems a little ridiculous for a restaurant with such high prices, you’d think they could afford to pay their employees. Overall still a nice experience I just think they should pay their employees a fair wage instead of tacking it on to their customers bill

Does not disappoint. One of the best dinners we have ever enjoyed