Located on Pecos Street in the Lower Highlands, the hipster food court (that’s not its real description but that’s what we are calling it) Avanti Food & Beverage makes certain to continue LoHi’s domination of the Denver food scene. Avanti serves as a showcase for Denver’s restaurant business and a space for innovation, acting as an incubator for restaurant ideas and area chefs. To account for this, the restaurant leases are short term, allowing for turnaround and giving up-and-coming chefs and restaurateurs an option to try out ideas before making the jump to a full restaurant.
You’ve never been anywhere quite like Avanti. In fact, the original opening date was delayed due to the city’s regulatory and licensing boards difficulty in figuring out exactly what the space was. In simple terms, imagine seven separate food trucks—without the actual truck portion—contained in a beautiful two-level industrial space, with a large outdoor patio and two diversely optioned bars. The interior features abstract art, neon signs and a theater marquee-esque sign containing the restaurant names. The place breathes practical yet aesthetically pleasing design. Outside, under glistening string lights, the furniture is made of pallet wood and reminds one instantly of a beachfront. The inside expanse has sharp and minimalist Scandinavian designed chairs and tables, that work well to fit large amounts of people without crowding the space too much (for instance, the chairs on the bottom level have no backs and slide conveniently under the tables). From the minute you enter the space, everything is up to your discretion, you seat yourself wherever and you can pick and choose which restaurant you’d like to eat from. Don’t be worried about unpleased people, there’s more than enough variety in the food offered that everybody and anybody can be happy with the choice to dine here. This makes Avanti the perfect answer to the age old question: “Where do you want to go for dinner?”
The seven mini restaurants all offer delicious and mostly affordable food (usually around $11 for a meal). On the base level you have Mijo: an Asian make-your-own noodle and rice bowl shop; Brava, a wood-fired pizza place; Poco Torteria, which specializes in mexican Torta sandwiches; Farmer Girl, featuring organic and local foods and Quiero Arepas which cooks up Venezuelan style arepas. On the upper level there’s Souk Shawarma, serving Levant-area food (flatbreads and bowls) and Bixo, modernized mediterranean bites with Mexican flair. Both levels have full service bars with ten different Doghead Beers on tap. The top patio bar has the nicest view in the space. This Grinder had a Pollo Chimichurri sandwich ($10.95) from Poco Torteria. The sandwich is a delicious mix of pepper jack cheese, lemon lime roasted chicken, chimichurri sauce and avocado. It is also served with well-seasoned fries. The sandwich is beyond delectable, and well worth the price.
While the food is absolutely delicious, it is the setting that truly shines at Avanti. The large building rests on the corner of Pecos Street and offers an unobstructed view of the city skyline. Relaxing on the patio with a scrumptious meal and some good friends is a pretty nice way to spend an evening.
If taking public transportation, Avanti can be accessed via a 20 minute or so walk from the Union Station light rail stop, or a shorter walk if you take the H line to 16th and California and take the 32 bus on 15th to the 32nd and Tejon stop; you’ll still have to walk a couple blocks, but it is a lovely part of the city. If you are more likely to drive, the food hall offers complimentary valet parking.
Avanti Food & Beverage is located at 3200 Pecos St. In the LoHi neighborhood of Denver. Its operating hours are 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 11 a.m. – 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
