Updated Review March 2015!
Now that I’m finally living in a very vegan-friendly city (for the first time since being vegan) I thought maybe I’d start reviewing some of my favorite spots for vegan grub. There are just so many great places to eat here, and I want to share in case any of you are planning a trip to the Mile High City!
First up is Sputnik, a “hipster dive bar” on Broadway. It’s just a few minutes south of downtown which makes it perfect for me to meet a friend for lunch on a weekday. Well, they’re perfect for a meal anytime because they have a full bar AND they serve brunch till 3:00 with vegan options!
Reia and I have had lunch there a couple times, and have always been very pleased with the food. Their menu makes me sooo happy! Although they’re not an all-vegan restaurant (they serve meat), all but 2 items on their menu are either vegan or vegan optional. For example, you can order a Cubano and get it with jackfruit while your omni friend can order his with pork. They also have a ton of special sauces for the fries, most of which are vegan.
My absolute favorite menu item is the Falafel Wrap: Israeli Style.
It’s warm crispy falafel, hummus, cucumber salad, pickles and french fries all wrapped up in a thick tortilla and then crisped on some kind of press. The way they make it is perfect, because everything stays inside the wrap, where you want it. And those fries!? If you go, get half n’ half sweet and regular, and definitely get the habanero jam for dipping. Trust me, you wont regret it.
My second favorite thing to order would have to be the Hush Puppies.
These little corn fritters are automatically vegan and come with a roasted jalapeno sauce that complements them perfectly. They’re so crispy on the outside and mealy on the inside you’ll want to eat them all, but you wont be able to. Share.
Also yummy? The aforementioned Cubano made with spicy jackfruit, mustard and pickles. You have to order this one vegan otherwise you’ll get cheese on it. This one is actually a bit spicy for me, so I only like to order it when I’m also having beer…
Oh, and how about a vegan Hand-dipped Corn Dog!? That’s right- that’s smoked tofu in there! I didn’t try it, but Reia assured me it was great.
So that’s the food. As I mentioned, it is a hipster dive bar and as with all hipster dive bars (in my experience at least), the bathroom is just gross. Update: As of July 2013, the bathrooms are remodeled and perfectly nice! Yay! And the tabletops are always sticky. But the food is really good, so just pee before you go and bring some purell or something 🙂
Updated March ’15:
My mama was out visiting this past weekend and we had Sunday brunch at Sputnik!
I had the Stacks of Vegan Power, which are quinoa cakes, potatoes, tons of veggies and greens, and perfectly ripe avocado:
Mom had the Breakfast Sliders (which can come vegan or non-vegan, so order carefully) which don’t look super pretty but I loved them- tofu scramble, soy ham and spinach pesto, with plenty of crispy potatoes on the side.
Want more Denver-area restaurant reviews? Check out my Mile High Vegan Eats page!
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This place looks incredible! I’m ready to buy a plane ticket just on the fact that they put french fries in their wraps. Um, yes, thank you! It all looks so indulgent, and I can’t believe they have corn dogs with smoked tofu inside. Very creative! I’ve never seen that before.
I never realized that french fries belong IN the sandwich before! 🙂
Hi Barb,
Thanks for doing this post. We live in Colorado Springs, and love hearing about a place not too far away that has many great vegan offerings! We’ll definitely look for Sputnik the next time we’re in the area!
You’re very welcome! I plan on reviewing a whole bunch of places around Denver, I hope you’ll find them helpful!
Oh man everything looks so amazing- if I had a place like this around me it would be hard not to go everyday!
I could easily eat here once a week, that’s true!
Dang! Wish that place had been there when I living in Boulder! Then again, I wasn’t vegan back then… ;-).
That’s how I feel about LA…
I haven’t checked out Sputnik since I went vegan. I will have to go back there soon! Looks so yummy 🙂
They have sooo many options!
I love you’re going to review places! I’m getting to Denver at least once a month for my Nooch supplies (and Net Market shopping) so now i’ll have a restaurant guide. Yay!
Plus it gives me an excuse to eat out more often 😉
I recently discovered this as a wonderful vegan hot spot, too! Their brunch items make me oh, oh so happy. I haven’t ventured much I to their full menu, but I have to now. I always say their wait staff are all juuuuuuuust enough jerks where they don’t care enough to bug you and kiss up, but are always polite. Have you tried City o City?! It’s my #1 in Denver!!!
I love COC! It’s actually mere steps from my office so I eat there more often than I probably should. I’m a sucker for their BBQ tofu and don’t even get me started on their onion rings 🙂
I am totally addicted to the City O burger!!
I’m not as in love with their burgers since they re-modeled… I don’t like the buns they use now 🙁
I ate at Sputnik a few days ago (I’ve lived here for four years, no idea why it took so long) and was so disappointed. I think I’m going to have to give them another try.. maybe they were having an off day.
PS – Watercourse, City O’, Root Down, Linger, Mercury Cafe, True Food, Crepes ‘N Crepes, Little India, Phonatic – all good. So good.
I’ve eaten at pretty much all of those, except Crepes, all very good! Although, I liked Phonatic more when they still used veggie broth and I had more options there 🙁
I love hanging out on South Broadway, and have been in Sputnik a couple times, but have never actually eaten there. (The overall appearance made me a bit skeptical – as you said, it’s definitely a dive bar!) But, your photos of the food do look really good! I may just have to try it out.
Side note – crepes n crepes has vegan options!? I think my life just changed.
I don’t blame you for your skepticism… If I hadn’t gone there the first time on a recommendation, I might not have eaten there either. Now though, I totally think it’s worth it!
Great to hear that you’re new city is vegan-friendly. As a foodie, I can’t imagine having limited dine-out options. I often forget how lucky I am (as a vegan) to be living where I do. Maybe even taking it for granted… Now on to the important stuff. Those hush puppies look fantastic! I want! *drool*
I went for sooo long without hush puppies after going vegan, so I was really happy when they recently added these to the menu!
I definitely want to go there for brunch sometime. And I will say that the somked tofu corn dog is amazing! There are corn kernels in the batter and the sweetness matches perfectly with the smoky tofu. I just wish it were bigger… Barb didn’t mention the wierd-but-kinda-delicious banana ketchup dipping sauce with our fries, but I think that it should be tried by everyone, at least once.
Yes, the banana ketchup! How could I have forgotten that stuff!??
I’m so excited about this series! I’ve lived in Denver for almost 2 years now (vegan for the last 8 months) and sometimes I get frustrated not knowing where to eat.
I just want to thank you for putting this post up! When I visited my husband in March, we went to Sputnik for a little taste. We aren’t vegan, but I do know good food when I see it! Tried the hush puppies and the mac n cheese (not vegan) and YUM! Next time I go out to see him, we’ll go with empty bellies and not just for a snack! Love your blog – makes it easier to get the hubs to eat something that isn’t covered, smothered or wrapped in real bacon!
I love omnivores who are happy to eat vegan as a healthy alternative!
I hope you’ve been to City o City and Watercourse already! 😀