Dumplings and Rabbit Kiev for a Denver Weekend
Gather friends over reworked Asian street food and Eastern European cooking in contrasting settings. ChoLon pairs booths with a long bar, while Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails serves house horilka cocktails amid cuckoo clocks.
LoDo and East Colfax
LoDo Before Dinner
ChoLon serves modern Asian cooking on Blake Street under chef Lon Symensma. French soup dumplings anchor a menu of inventive small plates, with cocktails alongside. Friends can plan an afternoon meal around daily happy hour from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Saturday service starts at 11:30 AM and ends at 9:00 PM. Sunday opens later, at 3:00 PM, and closes at 8:00 PM. The dining room has booths and a long bar.
Dinner Among the Dolls
Cuckoo clocks line the room at Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails on East Colfax Avenue. Chef Bo Porytko serves Eastern European dishes, including rabbit kiev and adjika pelmeni. House horilka cocktails accompany the food. The restaurant has 30 seats, with tight seating across the dining area and small bar. A tiny crew handles the whole room. Saturday service runs from 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM. Sunday hours are 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Two Approaches to Reinvention
ChoLon and Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails share an interest in reworking familiar dishes, but their reference points differ. The LoDo kitchen interprets Asian street food through small plates and French soup dumplings. On East Colfax Avenue, Eastern European cooking takes playful forms in rabbit kiev and adjika pelmeni, with house horilka cocktails alongside. For a weekend gathering, the clearest contrast is culinary direction, while the compact, 30-seat Colfax room makes seating space another consideration.
