Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we will offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more.
Full disclosure: Even I didn’t expect this to happen. But I recently discovered Denver’s best Sunday brunch menu at a date-night bar at which you’re more likely to have stayed out late on a Saturday.
And yet it’s right there in the name. With its records spinning and food and service all dialed in, Sunday Vinyl’s once-weekly brunch is the indulgent daytime affair that I find myself craving all winter.
Every other day of the week, you’ll find this Union Station-side restaurant open during happy hour and dinner. But on Sundays, it also opens at 10 a.m. for brunch, followed by a four-hour afternoon snack session and an early-to-bed supper.
It’s like the perfect day of eating, plus some vinyl records over a sound system that’s better than your home setup.
At a recent morning meal with out-of-town guests, we ordered foods we hadn’t previously considered at the brunch hour, like cacio e pepe crullers ($4), potato roll pork burgers ($18) and dry-aged beef fat fries with truffle ($15).
We ordered multiple deviled eggs, as if it were Easter, and we almost tacked on a slice of chocolate cake, as if it were everyone’s birthday. (It wasn’t but, holy moly, was this brunch like the most celebratory non-holiday ever.)
The best part about brunch at one of Denver’s top restaurants: You don’t have to leave with a bill the size of dinner with drinks, depending on how you do it. I love to try a great dinner spot’s brunch menu, replacing wine and cocktails with coffee, or appetizers and dessert with a single pastry.
And then — maybe don’t follow my example on this one — throw caution to the wind and ask for the $30 grilled short rib with eggs over-easy and crispy French fries. (I’ll pause here for some readers to balk at how millennials spend their food allowance.)
In all seriousness, when selecting the place and inviting visitors to a brunch out in Denver, I’m factoring in food, service and ambiance. And in the case of Sunday Vinyl, at any time of day, I always get what I pay for.
If you go for brunch: Head to 1803 16th St. (just off the Union Station train platform) between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sundays. Be sure to make a reservation on Tock, and call 720-738-1803 with questions.
