I was recently invited to a preview breakfast of the cool, hip restaurant Toms Urban 24 in Larimer Square, Denver’s coolest urban shopping and dining district. I forwarded the invitation to my husband Jamie. His response: “YESYESYESYSYEYSEYSEYSEYSEYSEYES.”
But then I realized the time conflicted with dropping off my daughter for school so the event coordinator instead invited us for lunch from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Hadley gets out of school at 1:30 p.m. on Fridays.
That girl is wreaking havoc on my foodie fixes.
We made it work and I’m so glad we went because we got a sampling of what is assuredly to become one of Denver’s hippest restaurants, which offers modern comfort food with an urban twist. What really sets it apart from other great eateries is that Tom’s Urban 24 is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night. It even has Tom’s Side Door from 6-11 a.m. daily which offers delicious grab ‘n go items.
Move over Denny’s–you’ve got some stiff, gourmand competition.
Founder Tom Ryan was one of Gourmet.com’s Top 25 America Food Entrepreneurs and Tom himself was on-hand touting his expansive menu. He loves to “feed people what they love in cool and creative ways” and this affordable menu delivers with everything from LoDo burritos (the red chile sauce is a must-try) to late-night truffle parmesan popcorn with rosemary, to farm-fresh salads, to gluten-free and vegetarian options. Tom’s even offers homemade doughnuts for breakfast with the usual flavors like chocolate in addition to unique twists like Captain Crunch or maple bacon. Add ice cream and you have dessert à la mode for dinner.
OH.MY.GOSH.
Jamie and I started with the Tom’s Urban PHỎ (gluten-free) scratch-made light and flavorful broth with rice noodles, cilantro, green onions and an array of other fresh garnishes you can create yourself. It was my first PHỎ experience and upon adding a squirt of lime, I ascertained it would not be my last. 
I asked Tom what he recommended and his choice was the Mushroom Truffle Arugla pizza with seasoned, roasted crimini mushrooms, sour cream, mozzarella cheese, topped with arugula, truffle oil and Parmesan cheese.
That was good enough for me and was my favorite thing on the menu.
Jamie’s choice was the Urban Slopper, a chargrilled certified Angus beef butter burger served Pueblo-style – smothered with green chile sauce, grated cheddar and pepper jack cheese, queso fresco, cilantro, pico de gallo on a brioche bun. 
Jamie disputed my claims that my dish was the favorite (though his came a close second).
Whenever I go to a new restaurant, I always survey the landscape to see if it’s kid-friendly. Though Tom’s Urban 24 isn’t specifically geared toward kids (they do not have a kid menu), they have plenty of child-friendly, affordable items including the mix ‘n match tacos, baked mac ‘n cheese, sandwiches and burritos. I’m dying to take my kids back for breakfast to try the pumpkin spice pancakes and one of their signature items: homemade pop tarts. 
The apple pop tart will make you swear you’ve biting into Mama’s apple pie but the fig and goat cheese is intriguing.
Translation: I’ll be back.
Tom’s Urban 24 is located at 1460 Larimer Street and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The starting price for an entree breakfast is $6.50, lunch ranges from $8-12 and dinner is between $10-24.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 