One of my favorite foods to order when we go out to breakfast or brunch in Denver is a breakfast burrito — a tortilla filled with some combination of eggs, potatoes, cheese and sausage, rolled and usually smothered in green chile.
It turns out that I am not the only Denverite to appreciate this morning meal. In 2017, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock declared the second Saturday of every October to be Breakfast Burrito Day in Denver.
The 5 Best Breakfast Burritos in Downtown Denver
The Denver breakfast burrito is generally served “wet” — covered with green chili — which makes it hearty and filling, but not generally attractive in a photo. After living in Denver almost a year, I have learned two important lessons regarding breakfast burritos: eat only half and be concerned with taste over appearance. These are my five favorites, not in any particular order.
The smothered breakfast burrito at Steubens Uptown is aptly named. The burrito is stuffed with scrambled eggs and crispy smashed potatoes, then it is topped with cheddar and mozzarella cheese, green onions, and salsa roja before being smothered with pork green chile and crowned with tomatoes and sour cream. It looks like a heart attack waiting to happen, but all that cheesy glory makes it hard to stop eating this burrito at the halfway point.
The menu suggests adding chorizo for $2 extra but to me that is just overkill. No matter what time you are craving a breakfast burrito, you can get one at Steubens. The smothered breakfast burrito is on the lunch and dinner menu as well as the brunch menu.
Steuben’s Uptown is located at 523 East 17th Ave in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood. Steuben’s Arvada remains temporarily closed.
The breakfast burrito on the brunch menu at Humboldt Kitchen + Bar is described as: local sausage, scrambled eggs, Monterey jack, crispy potatoes, caramelized onion, and house green chili — so I was surprised that the chili looked red. It tasted fantastic, however, and our waiter confirmed this was the “green chili” — made with some ingredients that made it red in color. This is an extra hearty burrito, but the half that I took home re-heated perfectly the next day.
Humboldt Kitchen + Bar is located at 1700 Humboldt Street in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood. The happy hour 3 – 6 pm Monday to Friday looks like a winner for wine drinkers.
While the Snooze A.M. Eatery now has 43 locations in six states, we were excited to learn that it is an easy walk to the original Snooze Ballpark location in downtown Denver.
The Snooze breakfast burrito starts with a flour tortilla filled with cage-free scrambled eggs, hash browns, house black beans, and cheddar & jack cheese. It is topped with more cheese, pico de gallo and your choice of green chile or ranchero sauce. I vote for green chile all the way.
The Snooze A.M. Eatery is open 7 days a week, 7:00 am – 2 pm Weekdays and 6:30 am to 2:30 pm on weekends. The original Snooze Ballpark location in Denver is at 2262 Larimer Street. There is always a wait, but you can join the waitlist online here.
You won’t find this breakfast burrito on the regular menu at West of Surrender — a relatively new restaurant on Denver’s 16th Street Mall that is focused on “food and drink from the American West made modern.”
When West of Surrender restaurant re-opened — after the March-to-May COVID-19 pandemic shut down in Denver — we noticed a sign board offering brunch specials as we were walking by on the 16th Street Mall one weekend.
One of the brunch specials is a breakfast burrito, filled with eggs, potatoes, and sausage, and then smothered in the pork green chili (which is on the regular menu.)
Hatch chiles, diced pork, and jalapenos give the green chili a spicy kick.
West of Surrender is a new restaurant (opened late in 2019) located at 501 16th Street in Denver — on the 16th Street Mall at Glenarm.
You must read down to the last section of the Syrup breakfast menu — past many delightful sounding pancakes, waffles, hand-crafted syrups, benedicts, and omelets before you finally reach the breakfast burrito in the Classics section.
The Syrup breakfast burrito is scrambled egg, chorizo, cheddar, and green onion wrapped in a flour tortilla, then smothered in pork green chili. It is served with sides of homemade tomatillo salsa and sour cream. While many items on the Syrup menu are terrific, the breakfast burrito is the perfect non-sweet, hearty fare that will replace your breakfast and lunch.
Syrup Downtown is located on the first floor in the Denver Place office complex at 999 18th St. in downtown Denver.
There are currently two other Syrup locations in Denver:
- Syrup City Park at 1875 York Street
- Syrup Cherry Creek in Third Avenue Plaza at 300 Josephine St #20
What about the breakfast burrito in the first photo? It is another favorite, from the brunch menu at Pony Up — but since the COVID-19 pandemic, Pony Up is not currently open for brunch. Do visit Pony Up now Wednesday through Sunday after 4 pm for cocktails and incredible French dips.
Do you like breakfast burritos? What restaurant serves your favorite?
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