Cimera is the kind of restaurant that keeps stealing your attention. Look left, and the Rockies frame Denver’s skyline in one of the city’s best rooftop views. Look right, and the room settles into a warm, sun-dappled glow, where woven textures, layered patterns, and a sweeping mural create a space that feels transportive rather than staged. It’s a place that encourages distraction, until the food arrives and reclaims the spotlight.
Behind those show-stopping dishes is chef Geoff Cox, a Denver native approaching this Pan-Latin menu with equal parts precision and curiosity. Most recently, Geoff helmed the kitchen at Hop Alley, where he and his team earned some of the highest distinctions in cooking, including a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a James Beard nomination. “Hop Alley was a formative chapter,” he says. “But, as cooks, we move through cuisines over time. The techniques stay in your hands, and the pantry shifts around you. Now, instead of reaching for wonton skins, I’ve got tortillas. Dumplings become empanadas.”
That evolution deepened after a pivotal trip to Lima with Diego Muñoz, the globally acclaimed Peruvian chef who helped Geoff shape Cimera’s menu. “Lima hit me hard—in the best way,” Geoff says. “You taste the Pacific in one dish, the Andes in the next, and suddenly the Amazon shows up with fruit you’ve never even seen before.”
The experience broadened his sense of what Latin cooking could be, including the unexpected elegance of chifa, the country’s signature Chinese-Peruvian fusion that blends Cantonese flavors into Latin dishes, now subtly threaded throughout Cimera’s menu.
His dishes—a 20-ingredient guacamole, street-cart-inspired skewers with a Nikkei glaze, or the juicy herb-roasted pollo a la brasa—aim to be as attention-grabbing as the scenery, especially when paired with Cimera’s lineup of strong mezcal and tequila-focused cocktails and South American-sourced wines. “The Peruvian ceviche is deceptively simple, which is why every detail matters,” he says. “It starts with the freshest white fish, a hit of fresh-squeezed lime, and leche de tigre—this electric, citrusy marinade that wakes up your palate. Then it’s all about contrast: brûléed sweet potato, bright salsa criolla, two kinds of Peruvian corn for texture, and a kiss of habanero to remind you you’re alive. If it’s your first real Peruvian ceviche, prepare to fall hard.”
In a restaurant built to distract you, it’s the food that really stays with you—because Geoff’s dishes don’t just feed you; they fuel a delicious sense of discovery.
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