Chef Liu's Authentic Chinese Cuisine, Best of Denver Winner, Closes in Aurora

A Cafe Society reader delivered the sad news, which we confirmed this past weekend: Chef Liu's Authentic Chinese Cuisine in Aurora has closed. Chef Liu's was one of only a handful of Chinese restaurants serving traditional Szechuan dishes, but it did more than that: The food coming out of the...

By Mark Antonation

October 6, 2014

Audio By Carbonatix

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A Cafe Society reader delivered the sad news, which we confirmed this past weekend: Chef Liu's Authentic Chinese Cuisine in Aurora has closed. Chef Liu's was one of only a handful of Chinese restaurants serving traditional Szechuan dishes, but it did more than that: The food coming out of the kitchen earnd Chef Liu our Best Chinese Restaurant award in the Best of Denver 2014.

When Laura Shunk reviewed the restaurant in 2011, she experienced the addictive quality of Liu's cooking: "Heat spread across the back of my palate, a pleasant, adrenaline-inducing burn that came with what felt almost like an extremely mild shot of Novocaine. A light tingling spread across my entire mouth as the numbing sensation finally took hold." It won a Best of Denver award that year, too.

A second outpost of Pho 777 in Castle Rock will take over the former Chef Liu's space and open in the next ten days or so, according to an employee at the Castle Rock location.

While we welcome good Vietnamese noodle soup shops, there are far too few top-quality regional Chinese restaurants in the metro area. This is a real loss to the diversity of the Denver dining scene.

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Mark Antonation is the former Westword Food & Drink Editor. In 2018, he was named Outstanding Media Professional by the Colorado Restaurant Association; he's now with the Colorado Restaurant Foundation.

Contact: Mark Antonation

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