The best tiny restaurant in Denver is closing its doors after eight years

Since 2014, To The Wind Bistro has stood in its own curious little category among Denver restaurants.

Despite its snug size — with just 15 seats — the dining room has become a go-to celebration spot along East Colfax Avenue. The menu is punchy and upscale, featuring items such as beet terrine or bone marrow with harissa and zucchini shreds. But soon, the tiny dining room will go dark.

Diners usually make reservations to get in for dinner before a show at the Bluebird Theater, just two doors down. And the restaurant, like its patrons, gets to walk the line between being a little renegade and a little refined.

When we last checked in with chef and owner Royce Oliveira last August, he was experimenting with a vaccinated-guests-only night, which had been a controversial move in an otherwise unmandated Denver restaurant scene.

But it had also proved a boon for business during the mid-week slump.

“People are pretty thankful,” Oliveira said then of the response from his customers who came back.