The 10th
Mountain$$$$
Order: Elk chili
Table service at the top of Gondola One.
Best for: a ski-day lunch · Reserve: book
Mid-Vail, Vail
North America · United States
Where to eat in Vail
An Alpine village built for skiing: green chile at the top of the Back Bowls, warm cookies at 3pm in Beaver Creek, nachos at the Red Lion, and five Michelin-recommended dining rooms in the valley.
Vail at a glance
- What to eat
- Pork green chile; Elk chili; Truffle fries; Nachos; Warm chocolate chip cookies.
- When to go
- Best: January–March and December. Also good: June–September. Hardest: April–May and October–November.
- Top tables
- This guide lists 5 award-winning restaurants, starting with Sweet Basil, Osaki's, Mirabelle and Splendido at the Chateau.
- Where locals eat
- Local favorites off the prestige lists include The 10th, Two Elk Lodge, Bistro 14 and Spruce Saddle Lodge.
- Markets
- Vail Farmers Market & Art Show.
A ski town
On the mountain, and après
Lunch is the hard part on a big Vail day: book The 10th at Mid-Vail, or ski the Back Bowls to Two Elk for a bowl of pork green chile. At Beaver Creek, the cookies come out at 3pm, and the sleigh-ride cabins are dinner.
- Vail Mountain · The 10th at Mid-Vail, Two Elk at the top of the Back Bowls
- Beaver Creek · 20 minutes west: Spruce Saddle, 3pm cookies, sleigh-ride dinners
On the mountain
On-mountain restaurant
The 10th
Order: Elk chili, truffle fries
Table service at 10,350 feet; book lunch, change into the slippers they hand you.
On-mountain lodge
Two Elk Lodge
Order: Pork green chile with cornbread
At the top of Sourdough Express with the Back Bowls below; the green chile is the signature.
On-mountain bistro
Bistro 14
Order: Lunch on the deck
A sit-down lunch at the top of the Lionshead gondola.
Seen in Vail.com, best lunch spots
2 more on the mountain
On-mountain lodge
Spruce Saddle Lodge
Order: A rotisserie lunch
Beaver Creek's mid-mountain lodge.
Sleigh-ride dinner
Beano's Cabin
Order: The dinner menu after the sleigh ride
A cabin on the mountain you reach by sleigh, one of three at Beaver Creek with Allie's and Zach's.
Après
Après bar
Red Lion
Order: Nachos and a beer
The village bar with live music since the 1960s.
Après bar
Garfinkel's
Order: Wings on the deck
The Lionshead deck by the gondola.
Seen in Discover Vail, après spots
Austrian restaurant and bar
Pepi's
Order: Wiener schnitzel and a beer on the deck
Pepi Gramshammer's Austrian corner, a Vail original.
1 more for après
Wood-fired grill
Mountain Standard
Order: Anything off the fire
Sweet Basil's casual sibling by the creek.
The dish to eat here
Pork green chile
Roasted green chiles stewed with pork, potatoes and cumin, served with cornbread or tortillas.
The best three: Two Elk Lodge, Los Amigos, The Turntable.
21places in Vail, ready to save to your trip
9Eat tonightChef's picks, the well-known and the discoveries6Dishes to tryWhere to eat each one, and how to cook it at home
What is in the 21
5 award-winning12 local favorites1 markets9 chef's picks3 breakfast spots7 dish spots
What to eat in Vail, and where
Each dish comes with the places that do it best. Tap Add to my trip on the ones you want, or find them on the map above.
Pork green chile
Colorado's own stew of roasted chiles and pork, a ski-lodge staple
The 3 best places to eat it in Vail
- 1Two Elk Lodge
Order: Pork green chili with cornbread
The signature at the top of the Back Bowls.
- 2
- 3The Turntable
Order: Green chili
People drive out from Vail for it.
Elk chili
The 10th's bowl at Mid-Vail
The best place to eat it in Vail
- 1
Truffle fries
With a view of the Gore Range
The best place to eat it in Vail
- 1
Nachos
The Red Lion's plate, after the last run
The best place to eat it in Vail
- 1Red Lion
Order: Nachos
After the last run.
Warm chocolate chip cookies
Handed out at 3pm at the Beaver Creek base
The best place to eat it in Vail
- 1Beaver Creek village
Order: The 3pm cookies
Handed out free at the base at 3pm.
Wiener schnitzel
At the Austrian-run Pepi's
The best place to eat it in Vail
- 1Pepi's
Order: Wiener schnitzel
Gasthof Gramshammer's Austrian kitchen.
The most celebrated tables
The top 5 restaurants in Vail, per 2026.
More award winners
Sweet Basil
Michelin Recommended (2026)
Vail Village's dining room since 1977.
Osaki's
Michelin Recommended (2026)
A small omakase counter in the village.
Mirabelle
Michelin Recommended (2026)
French cooking in an old farmhouse at the Beaver Creek gate.
Splendido at the Chateau
Michelin Recommended (2026)
Piano and a long menu on the hill above Beaver Creek village.
Wyld
Michelin Recommended (2026)
The Ritz-Carlton's dining room at Bachelor Gulch.
When to go and what is in season
Vail food calendar: month by month → What is in season, what to eat and the food festivals each month.
JFMAMJJASOND
Peak Jan–Mar, DecShoulder Jun–SepHard Apr–May, Oct–Nov
Why these months
Vail opens in mid-November and closes in mid-April; the Sunday farmers market runs June to early October.
In season
- Pork green chile Jan–Apr, Nov–Dec Two Elk and Los Amigos.
- Colorado produce Jun–Oct The Sunday Vail Farmers Market.
Food events
- Vail Farmers Market & Art Show Jun Sundays June 14 to October 4, 2026, Meadow Drive.
Closures to plan around
- Mud season: many kitchens close or cut hours from mid-April to late May and from mid-October to Thanksgiving; check before you go.
- Book The 10th for lunch; the sleigh-ride cabins at Beaver Creek book out at the holidays.
From published guides and tourism boards. Months are our mapping of how guides describe the seasons; 2027 event dates are expected, not confirmed. Prices come from single sources of varying age, so treat them as a rough guide. Compare cities by month
Secret discoveries
Locally loved places that are not on the big prestige lists.
Breakfast café
Westside Cafe
Order: A skillet and a Bloody Mary
The local breakfast before the lifts.
Seen in Lonely Planet, Vail restaurants · worth confirming hours before you go
Mexican
Los Amigos
Order: Pork green chile
A slopeside Mexican room with fall-apart pork in its green chile.
Seen in Vail Magazine, Los Amigos · worth confirming hours before you go
Diner
The Turntable
Order: Green chili
A railroad-town diner people drive out of Vail for.
Seen in Denver Green Chili, après-ski green chili · worth confirming hours before you go
Food markets in Vail
Plan a food trip to Vail All 131 food citiesExplore the 250 food marketsMore in North America
Awards come from the guides named on each listing (2026). Researched November 7, 2026. Restaurants change; confirm hours, reservations and current stars before you go. Some addresses, phone numbers and websites come from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), so call ahead to confirm. Local favorites are editorial picks, not rankings.
Chef Amazing’s lists for Vail: where locals eat, new openings, romantic dinners, ice cream, cooking classes and more, each place with what to order. Cooking classes in Vail: who teaches, what you cook, how long and how to book.
Every place in this guide, A to Z (21)
- Beano's Cabin Beaver Creek
- Beaver Creek village Beaver Creek base
- Big Bear Bistro Vail Village
- Bistro 14 Top of Eagle Bahn Gondola
- Garfinkel's Lionshead
- Little Diner Lionshead
- Los Amigos Vail Village
- Mirabelle Beaver Creek
- Mountain Standard Vail Village
- Osaki's Vail Village
- Pepi's Gasthof Gramshammer, Vail Village
- Red Lion Vail Village
- Splendido at the Chateau Beaver Creek
- Spruce Saddle Lodge Beaver Creek, top of Centennial
- Sweet Basil Vail Village
- The 10th Mid-Vail, top of Gondola One
- The Turntable Minturn
- Two Elk Lodge Top of the Back Bowls
- Vail Farmers Market & Art Show
- Westside Cafe West Vail
- Wyld Avon (The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch)
Chef Amazing · Will Travel for Food · Food cities · 250 food markets · The Best 100