Best Anniversary Restaurants in Fort Collins 2026
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The anniversary pick in Fort Collins for 2026 is RARE Italian, the Old Town steakhouse that dry-ages its own beef. Runners-up: Bistro Nautile, Sonny Lubick, The Farmhouse, Jax Fish House.
Twenty-six Fort Collins restaurants sit in our directory. Six earn an anniversary. The list runs from an Old Town steakhouse that ages its own beef to a 1900s farmhouse with a coop out back — no chain on it.
Six Fort Collins Tables for an Anniversary
The most ambitious room in Old Town, and it earns the claim. RARE Italian has dry-aged its own beef in house for at least 21 days since opening at 101 South College Avenue in 2014, plating it beside hand-made pasta and a lobster risotto. The kitchen has run a seasonal central-Italian menu around that beef since its executive chef took over in 2021. Book it for the anniversary that wants a steak and a celebration in one room.
The quiet one, and the most accomplished. Chef-owner Ryan Damasky and two partners opened Bistro Nautile at 150 West Oak Street with one idea: source seafood as seriously as you cook it. The Friday bouillabaisse has become a Fort Collins legend. No theatre, no celebrity-chef marketing. Book it for an anniversary that cares about the plate, not the show.
The old-guard anniversary table, in a brick cellar below 115 South College Avenue. Named for the CSU football coach and opened in 2008 by the former Nico's Catacombs chef, it runs a house-spiced prime rib — $37 for an 8oz cut, $55 for 12oz, $67 for 16oz — carved to order under executive chef T.R. Shuttleworth, who has cooked here since 2014. Book it for a milestone that wants warm brick and red wine.
The prettiest setting on the list. The Farmhouse cooks a seasonal, scratch-made menu inside a restored early-1900s farmhouse at 1957 Jessup Drive, with eggs from its own coop and herbs from the garden out back. Chef Michael Gillam's brined buttermilk fried chicken is the signature. Book it for a daytime-into-dusk anniversary that wants light and a garden, not a basement.
The landlocked oyster bar that has worked since 1994. Jax Fish House has brought sustainable seafood to Colorado for three decades from 123 North College Avenue, with executive chef Sheila Lucero overseeing the kitchens and an award-winning wine list behind the bar. Part of Dave Query's Big Red F group. Book it for an anniversary that opens with a dozen oysters and a bottle.
The wine pick, established in 2006. Café Vino pours from a 150-bottle walk-in cellar at 1200 South College Avenue, with a signature wagyu burger and braised Colorado short ribs in blackberry barbecue to anchor the small-plate menu. Book it for an anniversary built around choosing a bottle together rather than a tasting menu's pace.
How to Book
RARE Italian and Bistro Nautile want one to two weeks for a weekend table; the Friday bouillabaisse at Nautile sells out, so call ahead. Sonny Lubick, The Farmhouse, Jax Fish House and Café Vino will usually seat two within a few days.
7pm. Ask RARE Italian for a table away from the bar, The Farmhouse for a garden-side seat at dusk, and Jax for two stools at the raw bar if you want the oysters first.
Frequently Asked Questions
The editorial pick for 2026 is RARE Italian, the Old Town steakhouse that dry-ages its own beef and pairs it with house pasta and lobster risotto. For a quieter anniversary, chef-owner Ryan Damasky's Bistro Nautile and its Friday bouillabaisse, and the garden setting of The Farmhouse at Jessup Farm, are the strongest runners-up.
The Farmhouse at Jessup Farm is the most romantic anniversary setting in Fort Collins: a restored early-1900s farmhouse with garden seating, a coop out back and chef Michael Gillam's scratch cooking. Bistro Nautile, a low-key French bistro on West Oak Street, runs a close second for couples who want the plate to be the event.
An anniversary dinner in Fort Collins runs about $60 to $90 a head at RARE Italian and Sonny Lubick, where the prime rib is sold by the cut at $37 to $67. Bistro Nautile, The Farmhouse, Jax Fish House and Café Vino land closer to $45 to $75 a person with wine, depending on whether you open with oysters.
Book RARE Italian and Bistro Nautile one to two weeks ahead for a weekend table; Nautile's Friday bouillabaisse is a standing sell-out, so reserve early. Sonny Lubick, The Farmhouse at Jessup Farm, Jax Fish House and Café Vino will usually seat a couple within a few days, and weeknights are easier across Old Town.
RARE Italian and Sonny Lubick Steakhouse are the two anniversary steak rooms in Fort Collins. RARE dry-ages its beef in house for at least 21 days at 101 South College Avenue, while Sonny Lubick carves a house-spiced prime rib to order in a brick cellar at 115 South College, with executive chef T.R. Shuttleworth in the kitchen since 2014.