420 Friendly Cannabis Restaurants in Denver

Friday December 04, 2020
420 friendly denver cannabis restaurant

You probably don’t need us to tell you that the cannabis culture in Denver is enormous. Colorado is the marijuana capital of the United States. In addition to being the first state to legalize cannabis at the recreational level all the way back in 2012, they have also just been very quick to embrace cannabis at a cultural level.

For people that like to experience 420 friendly activities in a unique and exciting way, Denver has long been understood as a place where opportunities abound. From 420 hotels to classes and food, Denver has a version of most activities that just happens to involve a little bit of cannabis.

In this guide, we specifically look at Denver and how they provide cannabis-infused food. Read on for a 420 friendly restaurant guide in Denver.

Denver Cannabis Restaurants

Cannabis cuisine has existed since the weed brownie, but with legalization in effect, more sophisticated opportunities have arisen. Culinary cannabis with a flair for the gourmet appeals to imbibers that have come a long way since their days of getting baked in their parent’s basement after school.

In this section, we look at how the cannabis experience fits into the weed restaurant Denver scene.

Denver’s Stance on Cannabis Restaurants

Unfortunately, Colorado’s official stance on having cannabis restaurant Denver based dining opportunities is a little bit dicey. For legislative reasons, there are no restaurants in the entire state of Colorado that are legally serving up cannabis-infused food.

Disappointing, right? But while the situation looks bleak from a legal perspective, none of this is to say that the situation is entirely lost. As one might expect from the cannabis capital of the country, there are some creative ways around the situation as it currently stands.

The Situation:

Currently, Colorado marijuana laws prohibit cannabis from being consumed on the premises of an establishment that serves food. So you can see the position Colorado restaurants are in, and it doesn’t leave a whole lot of wiggle room.

In fact, there is even a little bit of precedent in the sad story of Ganja Gourmet. In 2009, back before recreational marijuana was even officially legal in the state of Colorado, Ganja Gourmet opened as a restaurant.

The concept was novel, but also not permissible under law. The restaurant was quickly shut down because it failed to comply with current legislation. It now runs as a dispensary bearing the same name.

Of course, a lot has happened in the world of cannabis since 2009, both in Colorado and in our nation as a whole.

Precedent

Fortunately for foodies that like cannabis, we aren’t without precedent here. In Amsterdam, establishments serving food and cannabis are a very common aspect of the culture. Cannabis lovers have likely heard of Amsterdam based coffee shops that serve up marijuana alongside their java.

Amsterdam Cannabis Coffeeshop

Of course, Amsterdam is quite far ahead of us when it comes to cannabis law. For a more local example, one needs only to look towards California. While Colorado preceded California in terms of recreational legalization, California has since taken a very forward-thinking approach to how they license weed-related activities.

As a result, there are actually places you can go to that serve food or coffee where it is legally permissible to ingest cannabis.

For example, there is a café in the West Hollywood Lowell Farms region that looks a lot like a winery. It’s called The Original Cannabis Cafe. Patrons are able to ingest cannabis with their food on a lush, scenic patio that has all the atmosphere of any other high end eating establishment.

Businesses like this prove that there is a clear path towards cannabis-infused eating establishments, even if that path is complicated by lots of political red tape.

Right now, even where cannabis restaurants are permissible, licensing is key. Such is the case with all things cannabis-related in the United States. If you want to be a stateside business that sells cannabis legally, you are going to have to jump through a lot of hoops to do it. Nevertheless, the increasingly accepting attitude that most Americans have taken towards cannabis show that a brighter future is not just possible, but probable.

What Denver Offers Now

So, as mentioned, cannabis restaurants are not going to be a part of your life in Denver Colorado for the time being. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways you can get around the law as it currently stands. In the sections that follow, we will take a look at places where food and cannabis do intersect in Denver, Colorado. There may not be 420 friendly restaurant Denver options available yet, but we will show how to indulge your habit all the same.

Cannabis Chefs and Private 420 Parties in Colorado

Ok, so you love food, you love marijuana, and you want to combine the two. We already know that there are no cannabis restaurants in Denver, so what does that leave us with? The good news is that there are still options available to you in the form of cannabis parties.

Colorado Cannabis Tours is one of the only world-renowned businesses that can connect cannabis-loving patrons with some gourmet grade, cannabis-infused foods.

Cannabis chefs and cannacatering is a great way to spice up an otherwise bland get-together.

Cannabis Chefs in Denver

Culinary cannabis is made available in Denver by gourmet grade chefs that are willing to come to your house to prepare food in a safe, legal environment. Let’s take Chef Jarod Farina and Chef Roilty as an example. Jarod is an award-winning chef who specializes in the concept of micro-dosing. As you might already know, micro-dosing is the art of ingesting only a very small quantity of cannabis.

Infusion Chef Roilty from Colorado Cannabis Tours

When done right, the result is a pleasant sensation that still leaves you feeling lucid and competent. Jarod is great at providing a really relaxed, high-quality dining experience that is made special not just by cannabis but also by the food itself. The great thing about bringing in a private chef for your cannabis-infused food needs is that, at the end of the day, the food itself is their priority.

Consequently, you get a great meal that just happens to involve marijuana.

Ways to Experience Cannabis-Infused Foods

As we hinted in the last heading, cannabis cuisine can currently only be experienced in a few different ways. In addition to having a chef come directly to you, you can also go to them at a controlled Cannabis Colorado Tours location.

The nice thing about this arrangement is that it is actually quite similar to a restaurant dining experience, with the only difference being that there is a lot more privacy. Instead of being surrounded by noisy patrons, it will just be you, the chef, and your friends or family.

In House Chef Cooking

As already mentioned, there is also the option to have in house cooking. With this, you can luxuriate in the pleasures of having a professionally trained chef whipping up delicious cannabis-infused food all from the comfort of your home.

Needless to say, this indulgence will certainly make for a very memorable dinner party!

Bravo’s Southern Charm TV show came again visited Colorado Cannabis Tours, and one of our cannabis chefs took them through the full cannabis infused-food experience. Take a sneak peak below.

420-Friendly Food Events

It’s possible to have 420-friendly onsite events. For example, if you would like to spice up your wedding menu, you can do this by having one of our CCT chefs come onsite to have the food served up for the ultimate cannabis dinner party.

While none of these options are exactly like going to a restaurant, those that can arrange for the experience will probably find it to be a little more luxurious and intimate than your standard dining experience.

420 Cannabis-Infused Food and Cooking Classes

Make a person food, they eat for a day. Teach them how to make the food, and they eat for a lifetime. There is one other way to ingest cannabis cuisine legally in Colorado. That’s by taking a cannabis cooking class.

Introductory Cooking with Cannabis Class

We all have to start somewhere, right? Colorado Cannabis Tours has an introductory cannabis cooking class which is a three-hour experience overviewing the basics of cooking with cannabis. The class prepares you to do basic prep work, like preparing hash (a key ingredient in the cannabis cooking process).

cooking-with-cannabis-class

During the class, you get to sample several appetizer-sized food items that change on a weekly basis. For example, said samples could be anything from chicken to steak. And, because micro-dosing is the method of choice with this class, the food itself does not taste like marijuana.

Our introductory cannabis cooking class is only $89 and we follow all COVID-19 protocols to make it safe for you and other attendees. Be sure to check it out here.

The idea is that by the end of the class you will be able to bring the lessons you learned back home with you.

Private Cannabis Cooking Class

If you can’t make the regularly scheduled classes, or if you just prefer a more individualized experience, you can also schedule a private cooking course. These classes are available at a range of different skill levels, and they give you a great opportunity to learn the art of cannabis cooking in an intimate setting. Learn more about our private classes here.

cooking-with-cannabis

Future of 420 Friendly Restaurants in Denver and Colorado

It looks like there is a path forward for cannabis dining in Denver. In addition to an abundance of precedence from California, there is also a concrete legislative path towards cannabis dining in Colorado.

January 1st, 2020. Colorado passed a “Hospitality Bill” effectively making it much easier to allow for the public consumption of cannabis. Because this was one of the biggest hurdles for restaurants that want to introduce cannabis to their menu, it looks like diners that love cannabis will be in for a treat in the not so distant future.

Until then though, there are lots of really great ways to mix a little bit of weed in with your food. Whether you are hoping to take a class, host a party, or even spice up a large scale gathering, there is a way to add some cannabis into the equation.

Austa Anderson

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