It’s the way most people like to eat—trying a little bit of this and a little of that. And yet, considering our growing food city cred over the past decade, Denver is short on great tapas spots. So, when 2020 thundered in and closed his mini empire of Punch Bowl Socials, Robert Thompson started daydreaming about going out to eat again and what he wanted that to look, feel and taste like.
He hoped for a bright, dreamy space where patrons would share plates of food—and he wanted it to taste like the Mediterranean: fresh, tangy and sometimes briny or creamy. He also wanted a good, stiff drink to wash it all down.
Three Saints Revival, located at the base of Hotel Indigo, is the product of Thompson’s pent-up creative and culinary energies. The design-forward space is vibrant and otherworldly, filled with swirling colors, floating clouds and a plethora of patterns and textures. “We were really pushing the envelope with this one and hoping it would come together in real life,” Thompson says. “And it did.”
Food at Three Saints Revival touches every corner of the gastro-fab region, from Spain to Italy to Turkey to Greece. While the menu does include a trio of large plates, it’s really all about the tapas. And it’s all helmed by chef John Broening, who has long delighted Denver diners at restaurants like Duo, Olivea, Argyll and, where he first worked with Thompson, Brasserie Rouge.
The menu changes often, but certain dishes will stay, like the shrimp and smoky chorizo in garlic sherry butter that’s been flying out of the kitchen. My favorites were the tender lamb meatballs atop parmesan polenta, coated in a rich and delicious soffritto, the crostini with sweet fig jam, crunchy hazelnuts, and tangy pickled peppers and goat cheese—and the warm artichoke and shiitake salad, which is a brilliant combination of earthy mushrooms brightened by artichokes and capers. Six-time James Beard nominee Yasmin Lozada-Hissom is the consulting pastry chef, so most definitely save room for dessert.
This is how we love to eat. We want our shrimp and chorizo, but we want our crostini and meatballs too. And maybe hummus and crudo and olive oil cake and, well, just bring us the whole menu please.
