Simultaneously a French bakery, a frontier-style neighborhood grocer and a down-home eatery, The Market in Larimer Square at 1445 Larimer Street is an experience for those searching for an affordable night on the town or for those seeking a quiet and intimate haunt.
The quaint storefront is nestled between high-end bars and overpriced restaurants where one might need to sell those 24-karat-rimmed Ray-Bans to buy a meal and cocktails for two. A brief walk from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the 16th Street Mall and Union Station, its location makes The Market an ideal and affordable location for a night out on the town. It’s also easily accessible by lightrail.
The food at The Market is served like an adult cafeteria. One takes a walk or two around the upper level of the store and picks out homestyle servings by weight. A half-pound of basil and tomato gnocchi? Check. Medium cup of (vegetarian, of course) minestrone? Check. A brew by a local brewer, like Great Divide Brewing Company or O’Dell? Check and check again. Other options include hearty sausage dishes, deli meat sandwiches, ice cream, local honey, a salad bar and numerous pasta and potato salads.
The Market’s prices enable plentiful noshing and bountiful sampling of a variety of dishes. Meals consisting of various à la carte items will routinely run under $10 and contain a diversity of dishes.
The Market bills itself as a deli—but when considering that they also sell items like “Irish Oatmeal” and coffee and tea by the wholesale bulk package, it’s clearly more like an Old West frontier grocer, reminiscent of Denver as it once was. The Market is a place to meet up, have a meal, eat a pastry and also pick up some essentials to take home—like chocolate and coffee. Add a bowl of pipe tobacco and that vintage copy of “Siddhartha,” (seriously, read it) and you’re set.
The European cakes and pastries are delectable; after all, how often can one afford to travel to Nantes to nosh on a Napoleon? Of course, you still brag to your friends about that time you did go to Nantes, omitting the part about it being in 2004 and only for four days.
Additionally, all of the signs and placards at the market are written in a painstakingly elaborate script; the place must have hired a calligrapher of note back in the day. Didn’t your friend Agamemnon, the one who tries to ride a Penny Farthing, apply for that job last year?
The interior decor of the restaurant is simple and utilitarian. The entire operation consists of metal and wood, definitely a throwback to the 19th century. Burlap sacks and bulk bags of products sit on wooden shelves beside metal shelves. The chairs in the dining area are packed in tightly, and make of a twisted wire design, polished by the many rumps that have adorned them since the eatery opened in 1983.
The front of the restaurant is devoted to a small European coffee shop; the off-white and blue tiles lend a quaint air to the aromas of coffees, teas and pastries. The espresso bar seems like the perfect place to relax and unwind after a night out on the town, since The Market is open until 10 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Stop off at The Market for a delectable and affordable dinner in a rustic environment, replete with local brews, old-fashioned pastries and culture and nightlife within walking distance.
