For beloved chef Johnny Curiel, Mar Bella Boqueria didn’t start in Denver. It began on the Basque coast, where meals are built around small plates, strong pours, and conversation that keeps the lights on past closing. In Cherry Creek, he brings that spirit home, filtered through his own story and the city he cooks in.
The result is a space that feels less like a restaurant and more like a mood. A sexy one. Light glows low against marble tables and banquettes big enough to disappear into, the bar fills quickly, and the jamoneria counter stays in motion as blades move through ribbons of Ibérico. There’s the scent of salt-cured meat, something savory and slow-roasted, and the faint funk of aging and fermentation. It feels like Spain in the summer—crowded, a little loud, a little indulgent—where the night builds slowly and no one is in a rush to leave. “If we can represent the aesthetics and smells before they even sit down, we can create an experience that feels authentic to Spain,” Johnny explains.
But Mar Bella is not about replication. It’s about interpretation. “We’re focused on sharing the culture and cuisine of a place we love and honoring the region’s ingredients and traditions, while also bringing in pieces of ourselves and our own experiences,” he adds. That perspective is deeply personal when it comes to a chef raised in a family of them in Guadalajara, Mexico. “What many people may not realize is that Spanish colonization had a profound impact on Mexican cuisine,” he says. “So in a lot of ways, this menu feels like exploring a side of my cooking that’s been there all along.” The menu moves fluidly between familiarity and discovery, rooted in tradition but shaped by lived experience.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the piquillo rellenos, a dish Johnny describes as having “a lot of soul.” Coffee-braised oxtail is tucked into piquillo peppers, layered with tomato frito and salsa verde. The preparation is slow and deliberate, allowing the richness of the meat to deepen while the peppers bring brightness and balance. For Johnny, it’s also a direct line back to Spain. “Every time I think of this dish, I’m brought back to a pintxos bar in San Sebastián,” he says, recalling a version that first sparked the idea. Reimagining it here meant blending that memory with his own instincts, using a familiar ingredient to translate a new set of flavors.
Around it all, the experience unfolds the way it does in Spain—unstructured and meant to be shared. Plates arrive in waves, gathering at the center of the table, while the wine list encourages the same sense of exploration. Pours are intentionally smaller, inviting guests to move across regions and styles over the course of a meal. Because at Mar Bella, dinner isn’t just about what’s on the table. It’s about where it takes you, and who you’re there with.
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