Madeline Opens in May

One of Denver’s most beloved dining rooms is getting a next act. Madeline, the debut brick-and-mortar restaurant from Chef Quincy Cherrett, opens May 7 in the former Fruition space, bringing a deeply personal, family-run concept to one of the city’s most storied culinary addresses. Named for Cherrett’s newborn niece, the restaurant is built around the idea of fine dining technique without the fine dining stiffness, a neighborhood spot where the cooking is precise, the service is warm and the menu has just enough surprise to keep things interesting.

Cherrett, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, has spent time in the kitchens of Colt & Gray, Death & Co. and Izakaya Den, with earlier chapters in Jackson Hole helping shape his appreciation for Japanese and Thai flavors. At Madeline, those influences show up in a menu that starts with familiar comforts and then takes a well-timed left turn: oysters with radish and green apple mignonette, beet carpaccio with Thai red curry peanut sauce and lemon goat cheese, crab cake with red miso shrimp bisque and lamb agnolotti with spring pea, mint and morels. Entrées continue the theme, including scallops with white miso celery root purée and jasmine tea-pickled pears, and a halibut dish with green curry and black forbidden rice that Cherrett has reportedly been perfecting for years.

The beverage program follows the same spirit, balancing comfort with discovery. The wine list will build on the cellar inherited from Fruition, while batch cocktails bring a more playful edge, including the Sumu Punch, made with tequila, rum, lime, orgeat, coconut milk, yuzu, nutmeg and cherry, and the Beck & Call, a savory Manhattan with Sazerac Rye, Montenegro, honey syrup and a touch of soy. The space itself, led by Kevin Nguyen of REGULAR Architecture, will preserve some of Fruition’s cottage-like charm while introducing a fresh identity, with natural materials, custom murals by Lena Dechamps and a cheeky hotel-key installation nodding to Cherrett’s family background in hospitality. In other words, Madeline is not trying to erase what came before. It is simply setting the table for what comes next.

+ MORE VIA // restaurantmadeline.com