There’s never been a year when it was more pleasurable or more meaningful to dine at a restaurant than 2021. And for the organizers and participating restaurants of First Bite: Boulder Restaurant Week, there’s never been a more important year to invite diners to get to know new restaurants and re-connect with their old favorites. Here’s everything you need to know to plan a fun and fulfilling (and filling!) 16th Annual Restaurant Week in Boulder. Bonus: watch for our upcoming podcast conversation with First Bite organizer, Jessica Benjamin and Dakota Soifer, Chef-Owner of Cafe Aion. Subscribe to In Good Taste Denver or to our podcast wherever you like to listen so you don’t miss it.
Everything You Need to Know Before You Go to First Bite: Boulder Restaurant Week
What is Boulder Restaurant Week?
It’s a chance to enjoy meals at three fixed price levels from Boulder restaurants, from those you may have heard lots of buzz about to undiscovered gems you might not have known about and everyone in-between. It’s your chance to try something new from a restaurant you frequent or discover some new places you’ll want to check out going forward.
When is it?
October 8-17, 2021 with brunch and dinner offerings.
Where is it?
At numerous restaurants throughout Boulder County.
Which restaurants are participating?
There are 30 to choose from and they represent a wide variety of cuisine, vibe, and menu offerings. Here’s the full list to check out but, just to tease you a bit, there’s Ash’Kara, Bohemian Biergarten, and The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, all of whom are new to Boulder Restaurant Week. And there’ll be restaurants that have participated before like Cafe Aion, OAK at Fourteenth, and Japango.
How does First Bite: Boulder Restaurant Week work?
There are several ways to participate.
Even before the October 8-17 restaurant week, you can attend First Bite Preview Tours with partner Local Table Tours. On September 25th and October 2nd, small groups of diners will taste their way through select participating restaurants in Boulder, to get a sneak peek of what will be seen on plates during restaurant week. Tickets for the tour are $95 and are available online on the Local Table Tours calendar.
Then, from October 8-17, at the restaurants, enjoy brunch and dinner offerings at $29, $39, and $49 per person. Each restaurant owner has been given the freedom to determine what they’ll offer within those price points. It could be a multi-course meal, it could include drinks, or, it could be something unique like what urban taqueria T/aco is doing, offering as many tacos one can eat in 90 minutes, plus margaritas. Click here to see what each restaurant is offering and to make reservations. The fixed price does not include gratuity.
In addition to the fixed price meals, there’s also a Dessert Competition featuring Table Mountain Farms, a family-run Longmont goat farm that produces a line of gourmet caramel sauces that are goat-milk based. Participating chefs will create a dessert using these specialty caramels in their First Bite menus.
Reservations will be required for each restaurant and can be made easily from on the First Bite website. You can dine in or do takeout of the majority of the available menus through Nosh Boulder (more on them, below).
Insider tip: We strongly suggest you make the most of First Bite: Boulder Restaurant Week by planning to visit multiple restaurants over the course of the week. With the fixed price format and easy-to-use website, it makes planning for a very special week of feasting easy. Because of the fixed prices, this is the chance to try something new from a restaurant you already love, get a great deal at one that’s been on your “special occasion” restaurant list, and discover a place you’ve been curious about but just haven’t made it there yet.
What’s the giving back element of First Bite?
First Bite has partnered with Nosh Boulder for the Dine Out to Give Back part of Boulder Restaurant Week. Nosh is a food delivery service owned and operated by local, independent restaurants. This is First Bite’s way to continue to strengthen the Boulder community as well as the restaurant scene. Between October 8-17th, 10% of all orders placed through Nosh Boulder will go directly to The Emergency Family Assistance Association, a Boulder County non-profit working to support families in the community by offering emergency assistance through their food bank, programs, advocacy, and services. With 10% going to EFAA all week, doing takeout means you’re also supporting a vital organization in the Boulder community that is fighting food insecurity.
What else is In Good Taste? Learn more about Table Mountain Farm’s Caramel Sauces.
Who’s behind First Bite?
First Bite is celebrating its 16th year in 2021. In 2019, Jessica Benjamin became Executive Producer of the organization after more than 20 years of being personally and professionally passionate about connecting community to local food. Jessica helped bring 30% more diners than ever before, which translates to 11,300+ people who enjoyed and supported Boulder restaurants. Since that time, this has resulted in more than half a million dollars in economic impact to Boulder County.
Anything else we should know before we go?
Yes! There’s a cookbook too! A Bite of Boulder has more than 40 recipes from some of Boulder’s favorite restaurants plus stories of the dishes and people behind them. Long after you’ve enjoyed your last bite from Boulder Restaurant Week, the book will keep you connected to Boulder’s restaurant scene. Even better, at least 50% of the proceeds from the book go back to participating restaurants! You can buy the book on the First Bite Boulder website, right here.
Please note: In Good Taste Denver is proud to be in excellent company as a Community Partner for First Bite: Boulder Restaurant Week. Partnering is part of a sponsored partnership created with First Bite. Learn more about partnering with In Good Taste Denver, here.
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