Hop Alley Denver is a modern Chinese restaurant in the RiNo neighborhood serving bold, shareable dishes in a laid-back setting.
It was one of the Denver restaurants I was most excited to try, and there is a reason it gets so much attention. Hop Alley has earned multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand recognitions, was a 2025 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Wine & Beverage, and received a 2025 Michelin Exceptional Cocktails Award.
If you are planning to eat at Hop Alley Denver, the two biggest things to know are that reservations can be tough and the menu is meant for sharing. We tried several dishes across the menu, including one vegetable dish that completely blew my mind.
If you are spending more time in the neighborhood before or after dinner, my One Day in RiNo Denver: Where to Eat, Shop, and Explore has more ideas for planning the rest of your day.
Hop Alley reservations can be tough, so I would not wait around on this one.
Reservations open one month in advance, and I booked ours as soon as they became available.
If Hop Alley is high on your Denver restaurant list, set yourself a reminder and grab a reservation when the window opens.
The Hop Alley menu is divided into small, medium, and large dishes, and everything is designed for sharing.
For two people, I think ordering a couple of small dishes, a medium, and a large is a good starting point. You can always add more if you are still hungry.
We ordered:
If food is going to be a major part of your Denver trip, my DIY Denver Food Tour: Best Places to Eat in Denver Colorado has more of the restaurants and food stops I would work into an itinerary.
The dragon whisker pea tendrils came with garlic and preserved mustard greens, and they were easily the biggest surprise of the meal.
I was not expecting vegetables to be one of my favorite things on the table, but somehow Hop Alley got an insane amount of flavor into them.
They were salty, savory, sweet, tangy—basically everything at once.
I LOVED them.
If you are the person who normally sees “vegetables” on a menu and skips right past them, do not do that here.
The beef and celery dumplings came with chili crisp, apple, and cashew and were another really solid order.
You get richness from the beef, some texture from the cashew, and just enough brightness from the apple to balance everything out.
This is exactly what I want from a dish at a restaurant like this—familiar enough to be easy to order, but still interesting.
The chili-garlic fried rice came with egg, scallion, white pepper, and duck confit.
I liked the fried rice itself, but personally, I would order it without the duck next time. The duck was a little too gamey for me.
That is very much a personal preference, though. If you like duck, you may completely disagree.
The rice had plenty of flavor on its own, so I do not think I would miss it.
Save this for later on Pinterest so you don’t forget it.
The wood-grilled sweet and sour beef came with pineapple, shishito, and onion.
This was another dish I would order again. The wood-grilled part definitely came through because it had a very smoky flavor.
It also had that recognizable sweet-and-sour flavor, but done in a much more elevated way than the version most of us grew up eating.
We did not order anything especially spicy.
Hop Alley definitely has dishes where chile and Sichuan flavors show up, but you do not have to order a meal that leaves you sweating across the table.
If you are sensitive to spice, I would still ask your server because the menu changes and several dishes include chile, chili crisp, or Sichuan pepper.
If I were taking someone to Hop Alley for the first time, I would order:
I also kept hearing that the char siu pork ribs are excellent, so that would probably be the next thing I would add.
If you are deciding between several RiNo restaurants, you can also read my Corsica Denver Review: What to Order at This RiNo Restaurant for another dinner option in the neighborhood.
Hop Alley has a laid-back, industrial feel that fits RiNo really well. It does not feel super fancy but still feels elevated. The quality of the food and service make dinner feel special.
I think it works well for a date night, dinner with friends, or anyone who wants a really good meal without the whole white-tablecloth situation.
If you want to stay near RiNo or make this part of a Denver weekend, you can compare Denver hotels on Booking.com.
The service was excellent.
Our server was very helpful, which matters at a restaurant where you are ordering several plates and trying to figure out how much food you actually need. Having someone who can help guide the order makes the sharing-style menu much easier to navigate, especially on a first visit.
I thought the prices matched the quality. Hop Alley is not inexpensive, but it did not feel overpriced for what we were getting.
Between the quality of the food, the strong service, and the fact that the dishes are designed to be shared, the meal felt appropriately priced for the experience.
Yes. I would absolutely go back to Hop Alley.
The pea tendrils alone gave me one of those “how did they make vegetables taste like this?” moments, and that is exactly the kind of thing I remember after a trip.
I would order almost the exact same meal again—skip the duck in my fried rice, keep everything else, and probably add those char siu pork ribs next time.
If you want to keep the night going after dinner, my Best Cocktail and Mocktail Bars in Denver Colorado has more options around the city.
If you end up booking anything for your trip, using my affiliate links helps support my blog at no extra cost to you. I spend a lot of time researching and writing these guides, so I really appreciate the support.
For a first trip to the city, start with my A Weekend in Denver Colorado: The Perfect First-Time Itinerary.
You can compare flights to Denver with Skyscanner.
If you plan to explore beyond downtown Denver, compare rental car prices through Discover Cars.
Read my The Maven Hotel Denver Review: What to Expect if you are considering staying in the Dairy Block area.
You can also compare Denver hotel rates on Booking.com.
Browse Denver tours and activities through Viator.
For more ideas beyond restaurants, see my Top Things to Do in Denver Colorado.
If you are planning more nicer dinners during your trip, read my Best Dinner Restaurants for a Special Occasion in Denver.
One of my favorite travel seasons is almost here, and I have zero chill about it. 🍁✈️
There’s just something about fall trips cooler air, apple orchards, that first flannel of the season, food that actually makes sense with the weather again. I’m already mentally packing for it before September even starts.
If fall is your favorite time to travel too, tell me where you’re headed... I’m taking notes for the list.
Pack your bags... ✈️🧳My hiking and road trip gear shop just got a refresh, and this is everything that actually earns a spot in my bag. The dry bag pulls double duty for beach days and trail days, the Osprey backpack is the one I grab for anything motorcycle or day-hike related, and the GoPro comes with me literally everywhere at this point.
Nothing on this list is filler it’s all stuff I’ve used, packed, and repacked more times than I can count. Full shop linked in my bio if you want to build out your own kit before your next trip.
Filing this one under “go now before it gets cold.” Bonneville Hot Springs is one of those trips where fall access is honestly the sweet spot the campground road is open, the hike in is short, and you skip the snow-and-gate situation we dealt with when we went in March.
September and early fall mean clearer trails, easier parking, and pools that are just as good without the extra mile of hiking to earn them. Fewer than 10 people out there when we visited, a rustic changing booth, zero amenities, and pools that range from “relax” to “actually scalding” until you move some rocks around and mix in river water. Small waterfalls feeding in, mountains in every direction, not polished, and that’s exactly the point.
Full breakdown on parking, what to pack, and timing it right is linked in my bio.
Summer’s not even over and I already have the itch. Fall hiking season is calling and I am answering.
Save this if you feel the itch too.🍁
Columbus hotel roundup because “just find something downtown” isn’t a strategy✈️
I stayed across the price spectrum on this one so I could actually compare notes. Hotel LeVeque is the splurge Art Deco lobby, marble bathrooms, and a restaurant (The Keep) worth visiting even if you don’t book a room. If you want to walk everywhere, Le Méridien puts you right in the Short North with murals and shops outside your door. And if budget’s the priority, Aloft gets you clean and modern near Ohio State without the markup.
Want a full escape from the city instead? Hocking Hills lodges and Gervasi Vineyard are both an easy drive out and worth the detour.
Not every hotel on this list is for every trip... that’s kind of the point. Full breakdown by neighborhood and budget, link in bio 🍂
Follow @travelwithwendyplummer for Beautiful Beach Destinations, City Guides, Foodie Spots, and Luxury Hotel Recommendations.
