Exit the Vail Brewing Co tasting room in Eagle-Vail and sip a pint while waiting in line at Barley + Salt, a mobile craft kitchen producing made-to-order Neapolitan-style pizza just off the brewpub’s outdoor deck. The blistered crust is perfect, and the toppings are fresh, plus don’t miss the fried pickles and the fried ravioli with a side of marinara. 

In early April, the Westin announced that it was reconcepting the hotel’s signature restaurant, Richard Sandoval’s Stoke & Rye. Opening this summer: Colletta, the Colorado incarnation of trattorias that Indigo Road Hospitality Group operates under the same moniker (the name translates as “Collection”) in Georgia and North Carolina. The focus: a from-scratch kitchen producing seasonal pasta and wood-fired specialties, served family-style. 

What began as a dream for Paris native Shana Azerad has evolved from a stand at the Minturn and Vail farmers markets into a tiny-home rendition of a brick-and-mortar café. The Crepe Girl operates out of Almresi’s former takeout window on Bridge Street, and Azerad, who jumped into this venture with her boyfriend, Samuel Urunuela, uses her grandmother’s crepe recipe. There are classic combos, of course, but we recommend the one with raclette, potatoes, ham, and cream.  

At press time, Big Bear Bistro was searching for a new Vail Village or Lionshead space after losing its longtime lease at the soon-to-be-renovated Red Lion Building. Presciently over the winter, owners Mike and Vidette Gehl debuted a satellite location, Little Bear Café, in Eagle-Vail’s Alpinist workspace building, where the menu includes all the favorites that made Big Bear locally famous for breakfast and lunch. Must try: the Italian-style Gondola Grinder with applewood smoked ham, prosciutto, capicola, genoa salami, provolone, banana peppers, honey basalmic-glazed arugula, mixed greens, tomatoes, onions, and cracked pepper aioli. 

Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it shouldn’t take much convincing to make a date at the Milk Breakfast. Eagle’s new morning spot is already finding purchase with both sweet and savory breakfasters. There are pancakes and French toast, avocado toast and skillets, chilaquiles, and huevos rancheros. There’s lunch too, but we’re so hung up on the morning offerings that we haven’t tested those waters yet. 

Also at press time, the Sixty Two Society, Brad Kaemmer’s Vail Village social club and restaurant off Seibert Circle at the top of Bridge Street was anticipating a summertime debut. Although dues-paying members will have dibs on the restaurant’s reservation list and exclusive access to members-only spaces and events, the luxe dining room will be open to the public, helmed by a Michelin-quality chef as well as a decorated bartender to run the Society’s beverage service, and Doug Frost (one of only four people in the world to hold the titles of both master of wine and master sommelier) to curate the club’s wine program. 

The West Vail location of Vaqueros Mexican Restaurant & Cantina is its fourth in Colorado. But rather than brushing off the restaurant as a local-ish chain, think of it this way: The family-run spot knows what works here. Dishes like birria tacos, enchilada de mole, and sopa de albóndigas sit alongside favorites like fajitas, tostadas, tamales, and chimichangas. The menu is enormous, and there’s truly something for everyone.   

When Zuma opens in the Sebastian this summer, the Japanese izakaya will bring some serious cachet. Chef Rainer Becker launched the original Zuma in London in the early aughts. In the time since, the restaurant has followed with more than two dozen satellites in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and in the US, where Zuma Vail is the first in an American mountain town. The Vail location is a stunner with a cozy, high-alpine feel, and the open-kitchen format with a sushi bar and robata counter, plus a DJ, means the vibes are always high.