Perhaps no other chef dominated the Denver scene this year quite like Johnny Curiel, the transplant from Guadalajara who received a new Michelin star, a James Beard Award nomination and a place on the New York Times’ list of the best American restaurants.

Curiel began the year by opening his fourth restaurant , Alteño, inside the Clayton Hotel and Members Club in Cherry Creek. He’ll end it with news of a fifth, the Spanish-themed Mar Bella Boqueria, next door, at 249 Clayton St.

A departure from his Mexican restaurants — Alteño, Alma Fonda Fina, Mezcaleria Alma and Boulder’s Cozobi Fonda Fina — Mar Bella Boqueria will instead set its sights on the cuisines of Spain’s Basque country and its culture of pinxtos, which are a version of tapas.

The idea originated from Curiel’s travels in t

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