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Denver has 7 restaurants where cardholders can use their Chase Sapphire Reserve® dining credit. "Nearby" cities, Boulder and Colorado Springs, have 2 and 1 eligible restaurants respectively. The benefit is split into two $150 semiannual credits that vanish if unused, so knowing which restaurants to visit is the first step in maximizing the credits.
In this article, we've included the full list of eligible restaurants in Denver, with descriptions, so you can make an informed decision on which restaurants to visit. You can also use nextcard's MealMaxxer tool if you'd like a map view of all eligible Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables restaurants in Colorado. MealMaxxer is completely free and easier to use than OpenTable’s site, which limits users to a grid view without map or pricing details.
TL;DR:
The dining credit that comes with your Reserve gives you up to $300 annually when you dine at eligible restaurants. You can earn up to $150 from January 1st through June 30th, then another $150 from July 1st through December 31st.
Credits typically post to your account within 3 business days after you pay with your Chase Sapphire Reserve® at eligible restaurants (can take up to 4 weeks). You don't need to activate the benefit or make reservations on OpenTable to trigger the credit. Just pay with your card at any participating restaurant.
Denver has 7 participating restaurants in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program. The lineup includes steakhouses and omakase restaurants, with cuisines ranging from Mediterranean to contemporary American. The limited number of eligible locations means you'll want to plan strategically to dine at a restaurant you'll actually like when using your CSR dining credit.
A5 Steakhouse in LoHi sources lesser-known cuts from regional ranches through in-house seam butchery. The menu features steak, kimchi fried rice, macaroni and cheese croquettes, and Japanese milk bread rolls. Expect $150-$200+ per person before service charges, which makes hitting your semiannual $150 credit threshold straightforward.
KUMOYA brings Japanese culinary techniques from chef Corey Baker with over 20 years of experience. Chef Corey partnered with Max Mackissock to create a restaurant centered on seasonal ingredients and precise Japanese preparations. Kumoya is one of the fifteen sushi restaurants in Denver that chef Corey owns.
The menu includes dry-aged fish, a rarity even at upscale sushi restaurants.
Ash'Kara comes from Juan Padró's Culinary Creative portfolio, the same restaurant group behind A5 Steakhouse. The restaurant focuses on seasonal ingredients and contemporary cooking techniques that shift throughout the year. The emphasis on quality and execution puts most meals in the $100-$150+ per person range, making it a solid choice for your semiannual credit if you want to use the credit in one visit.
Alma Fonda Fina is Chef Johnny Curiel's solo restaurant debut in LoHi. This restaurant is dedicated to sharing the authentic flavors and stories of Mexican cuisine. Most dinners land in the $80-$120+ per person range, putting you within reach of your semiannual credit limit.
Rioja has been a part of Denver's dining scene for years with Mediterranean-inspired cuisine built around seasonal ingredients. The restaurant's reputation stems from expert-crafted dishes and an extensive wine program that complement the upscale environment. Most dinners run $100-$150+ per person as of March 2026.
The menu at Tavernetta features refined Italian cuisine inspired by the flavors of northern Italy, featuring handmade pastas, seasonal specialties, and an extensive wine program. Tavernetta is led by chefs Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Bobby Stuckey, the team behind the acclaimed Frasca Food and Wine.
Tavernetta has received national recognition, including a James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant, and is widely regarded as one of Denver’s top dining destinations.
BRUTØ brings a brutalist culinary philosophy to Denver, building menus around minimal waste and sustainable cooking. The kitchen operates a vast fermentation program and sources ingredients through direct partnerships with local Colorado farmers and ranchers.
The intimate chef's counter faces the open kitchen, where you can watch the team execute the Chef's Tasting Menu Tuesday through Sunday evenings. The multi-course structure makes hitting your $150 semiannual credit threshold straightforward in a single visit.
When you make a dining purchase with your CSR, the charge will show up on your Chase account as normal. The dining credit will appear as a statement credit within a few business days (but can take up to a few weeks).
Don't forget that direct payment matters to receive the statement credit. Transactions must be processed through the restaurant directly to qualify. Third-party delivery apps like DoorDash or Uber Eats won't trigger the credit because they process as payments to the delivery service, not the restaurant.
Splitting the bill between multiple eligible Sapphire Reserve cards works fine. Each card receives its own proportional credit based on the transaction amount charged by the restaurant.
The Reserve is the only card eligible for the OpenTable Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables benefit. Other premium cards like the American Express Platinum Card® and American Express® Gold Card offer dining credits through Resy, which has an extensive restaurant network with over 10,000 restaurants. The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card card does not offer a dining credit, but allows cardholders to make reservations at select restaurants through Capital One Dining.
| Card | Annual Dining Credit | Structure | Enrollment Required | Partner Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Up to $300 | Up to $150; 2x a year (semiannual) | No | OpenTable Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables |
| American Express Platinum Card® | Up to $400 | Up to $100; 4x a year (quarterly) | Yes | Resy |
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | None | N/A | N/A | Capital One Dining |
nextcard's MealMaxxer displays Denver's eligible restaurants on an interactive map with pricing info, cuisine filtering, and Google Maps ratings. You can also filter by specific rewards programs to see which spots accept additional rewards programs. These features make restaurant discovery with the MealMaxxer quick and informative.
For example, Blackbird is a dining rewards program included in MealMaxxer. It’s still relatively new and only available in a handful of U.S. cities, including Denver. That makes Denver one of the rare places where you can stack your CSR dining credit with Blackbird. To put this into perspective, Ash’Kara is one of just three restaurants nationwide that participates in both programs.
Restaurant options to use the CSR dining credit in Denver are limited compared to cities like Boston or San Francisco. If Denver cardholders are willing to make the drive, there are additional restaurant options available in Boulder or Colorado Springs.
Using the MealMaxxer in a city like Denver can be advantageous for maximizing credits, since the city has a plethora of restaurants that qualify for multiple dining rewards programs.
Yes. You don't need to book a reservation through OpenTable to be eligible for the dining credit: just pay with your card at any participating Denver restaurant and the credits will post automatically to your Chase account.
The Reserve offer up to $300 annually in dining credits, split into two semiannual periods, with no activation required. The American Express Platinum Card® offers up to $400 annually in Resy credits, split into four up to $100 quarterly credits. The key difference between the two cards' dining credits is that activation is required for the Resy dining credit.
Yes. MealMaxxer displays eligible Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables restaurants and lets you overlay other programs like Resy and inKind. Denver is one of the few cities nationwide that has participating Blackbird locations, which can be useful for users without credit card dining benefits.
Yes. Each Chase Sapphire Reserve® card receives credit for its portion when charged directly by the restaurant.
Unused credits expire without rolling over, so don't forget to use your benefits by June 30 or December 31.
