For a quintessential Colorado brewpub experience, there’s no better spot in Durango than Steamworks Brewing Company. 🍻
This employee-owned Durango restaurant and microbrewery has been a high-energy local meeting place since 1996.
While they are famous for their award-winning craft beers, they have also built a legendary “gastropub” culinary program that goes far beyond standard bar food, serving up bold, locally inspired comfort food that keeps the dining room constantly buzzing.
How Steamworks won Durango’s hearts
Steamworks Brewing Company won the hearts of the community by treating its food with the exact same passion and creativity as its beer.
As a true community hub and employee-owned operation, the brewpub radiates welcoming energy, attracting mountain bikers, families, and craft beer enthusiasts alike.
Instead of settling for frozen fry-cook food, their massive menu spans everything from fresh, sustainable seafood and hand-pressed Angus beef burgers to spicy Southwestern comfort dishes and healthy salads.
Locals rave about their massive Cajun seafood boil, creative pasta dishes made with regional Gosar Ranch sausage, and over-the-top loaded fries smothered in house-made sauces.
With a lively atmosphere, an outdoor deck, and a scratch kitchen that uses fresh ingredients to craft deeply satisfying meals, Steamworks became the undisputed heavyweight of the Durango CO dining scene.
Food Highlights
- Dirty Fries: An insanely popular loaded appetizer featuring beer-battered fries smothered in slow-roasted pork shoulder, crispy bacon, tomatoes, banana peppers, demi-glace, and their signature dirty sauce. 🍟
- Cajun Cavatappi Pasta: A rich, spicy, and heavily ordered favorite featuring cavatappi noodles, all-natural chicken breast, Gosar Ranch andouille sausage, poblano peppers, onions, and a creamy Cajun sauce.
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Rico Burger: A half-pound Black Angus beef burger piled high with ale-braised onions, pungent blue cheese, house-made buffalo sauce, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. 🍔
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Southwestern Burger: A savory burger packed with Southwestern kick, perfectly paired with a side of their famous Cajun fries.
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Fish & Chips: A true brewpub classic featuring flaky cod crusted in panko and battered with their own beer, served with buttermilk tartar sauce, spicy Cajun coleslaw, and beer-battered fries. 🐟
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Cold Smoked Ribeye Steak: A premium 10 oz ribeye finished with an herb compound butter and served alongside white cheddar mashed potatoes and sautéed asparagus. 🥩
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Pork Barbacoa Chimichanga: A Southwestern comfort dish stuffed with tender pork barbacoa, cheddar cheese, and black bean succotash, topped with smoked avocado crema and green chile sauce.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere at Steamworks is famously high-energy, boisterous, and completely welcoming to all.
With its sprawling layout, outdoor deck, and constantly packed dining room, it feels like the true social center of downtown Durango.
It’s the kind of bustling, family-friendly Colorado microbrewery where you can roll in straight off a mountain biking trail for a cold pint, or settle in for a fantastic dinner with a big group of friends. 🍻
Bottom Line
Steamworks Brewing Company is a premier Durango, CO, brewpub that seamlessly blends a world-class craft brewery with an exceptional, diverse scratch kitchen.
From the incredibly popular Cajun Cavatappi Pasta to the legendary Dirty Fries, every dish proves why this employee-owned spot has thrived since 1996.
If you want the ultimate Durango experience of great food, cold beer, and buzzing energy, you absolutely have to stop here.
Address:
📌 801 E 2nd Ave, Durango, CO 81301
📞 (970) 259-9200
🕔 Open Sun–Wed 11:00 AM–10:00 PM; Thu–Sat 11:00 AM–11:00 PM