Your initial experience at chef Kelly Whitaker’s new Denver restaurant, the Wolf’s Tailor, which officially opened on September 1, may be a bit disorienting. Rather than adhering to one specific genre, its cuisine, executed by chefs Kodi Simkins and Sean May, is a technical blend of Japanese, Chinese, and Italian fare. The menu is peppered with words that may be unfamiliar: Cassarici. Nukazuke. Donabe. Chawanmushi. You’ll enter the Sunnyside space not at the front door, but through the backyard garden gate. Dinner service isn’t available in that outdoor garden area; rather, diners are encouraged to order snacks at the walk-up kitchen window and sip a Japanese whiskey highball near the fire pit before heading inside the restaurant for supper.

While there is much to explain about the Wolf’s Tailor, there is also much to love. For a primer on Whitaker’s “story-based food,” scroll through the pictures below. Then, read more on the zero-waste philosophy and inspiration for the Wolf’s Tailor here.

Callie Sumlin
Callie Sumlin
Callie Sumlin is a writer living in Westminster, and has been covering food and sustainability in the Centennial State for more than five years.