Boulder restaurants
that we recommend

Boulder has many good restaurants and these Boulder restaurants are a sampling of the ones we've liked. Although we don't live in Boulder anymore, we do sometimes go hiking there and if we have the time, try out another restaurant.

Anyway, here's what I have so far:

1) Ruby's Diner: this is a new restaurant that's located in the Twenty Ninth Street Mall, just up the stairs from the Century Movie Theater. There's a covered parking garage there which is very convenient to the restaurant.

As you probably already guessed, this new Boulder restaurant serves American food. Some of what you'll find on the menu includes: salads, large selection of burgers, sandwiches, tacos, and even a small selection of seafood dishes. Of course, burgers are their specialty, as are their milkshakes.

Ruby's Diner is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and their hours go this way: Sunday through Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Address: 1750 29th Street, Suite #1064, Boulder, Co. 80301
Phone: (303) 442-7829
Pricing: moderate

2) Sunflower Restaurant: this restaurant opened in 1999 and is located just two blocks east of Boulder's Pearl Street Mall. (At the corner of Pearl Street and 17th Street.) Parking can be tricky here since you have to park on the street and some of it is metered parking. But it's close to a residential area so you should be able to find free parking there.

This is one of those Boulder restaurants that serves healthy/organic food, and we thought it was pretty good. One comment I could make here though is that I thought the portions could be a little bigger, considering the prices. Some of the menu items include sandwiches, salads, chicken, seafood, and pasta, among other things.

The Sunflower Restaurant has hours that look like this: lunch on Tuesday-Friday: 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Organic salad buffet on Tuesday-Sunday: until 4:00 p.m. Dinner on Tuesday-Sunday: 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Sunday until 9:00 p.m.) Weekend brunch on Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. And one last note here is that they are closed Mondays.

Address: 1701 Pearl Street, Boulder, Co. 80302
Phone: (303) 440-0220
Pricing: expensive

3) Islands Restaurant: this Boulder restaurant is another one that's located in the Twenty Ninth Street Mall, so parking is easy. They have a great spot in the mall since they have big windows that look out onto the Boulder Flatirons and surrounding foothills.

Burgers are the order of the day here, (and they're big), but you can also have soup, salad, soft tacos, and sandwiches, among other things. The strange thing about this restaurant is that if you want fries with your burger, you have to order them separately. The atmosphere in the restaurant is tropical and they also have TVs that show people enjoying various water sports and even mountain biking and skiing.

Islands Restaurant is open for lunch and dinner during these hours: Sunday-Thursday: 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday: 11:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Address: 1855 29th Street, Suite 1152, Boulder, Co. 80301
Phone: (303) 449-0333
Pricing: moderate

4) Turley's Restaurant: this Boulder restaurant has been popular since 1977 and is located in the shopping center at the corner of Pearl Street and 28th Street. Parking is onsite which makes things easy and convenient.

They serve healthy dishes such as vegetarian Turley's scramble, cashew chicken salad, mediterranean natural turkey burger, and wild salmon fillet, among other things. I had something called applewood-smoked salmon hash which I thought was excellent and I was full when I was finished. So the portions are generous here and the plates came hot, which I always consider to be a good sign.

Turley's Restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and their hours are: Monday-Thursday: 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday-Saturday: 6:30 a.m to 10:00 p.m., Sunday: 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Address: 2805 Pearl Street, Boulder, Co. 80302
Phone: (303) 442-2800
Pricing: moderate

5) The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse: this is a very unique Boulder restaurant. It was given to the city of Boulder as a gift from Dushanbe, which is their sister city. Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan which is a small country in Central Asia. The restaurant is located at the corner of 13th Street and Canyon Blvd. near the Boulder bus station. Street parking can be a challenge here but there is a parking garage close by at the corner of 14th St. and Walnut.

The food here is exotic compared to what we're used to eating but it's very good. Some of what you'll see on the menu includes: Persian vegetarian kooftah balls, Indonesian peanut noodles, Tajik Plov, and Asian BBQ pizza. I had Tajik lamb shish kabob which was very tasty. I thought the portions could have been a little bigger but the plates came hot and the service was good, so it was a great over all experience.

Also, do not forget to have tea if you go. There is a whole separate menu just for the tea. The tea arrives at your table in a little teapot and you get a sand timer that you turn over so you know when your tea is ready. Also, if you look inside your teapot, you'll find the actual ingredients of the tea, not regular tea bags. I haven't seen that anywhere else!

This Boulder restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week. Their hours are 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day, and they also serve a brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

Address: 1770 13th Street, Boulder, Co. 80302
Phone: (303) 442-4993
Pricing: moderate

Well, these are a few of the Boulder restaurants that we've been to more recently. I plan on adding more from time to time, but in the meantime, if there are other restaurants that you think should be on this page, do let me know through my contact form. Thanks and happy eating!

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