Why a confirmed Monday list matters in Vail
Vail's dining calendar splits in two. In ski season the village runs at full tilt every night; in the green season the pace drops, the slow shoulders in late spring and autumn empty the streets, and several rooms trim their week or close to renovate. The on-mountain restaurants reached by gondola, the marquee winter rooms, largely sleep until the lifts spin again. That makes a Monday in summer the night most worth checking before you walk out, because a closed door in a small pedestrian village is a long way to backtrack. The good news is that Vail's anchor rooms, the ones that built the village's reputation, hold a full summer week. The list below leads with the Gore Creek Drive pair that defines modern Vail dining, then the Japanese and French rooms a short walk away, the village steakhouse, and the Austrian institution at the base of Bridge Street. Every Monday time is checked against the restaurant's published summer schedule. Each name links to its full review. For the rest of the week, start with the Vail dining guide.
The Monday list
New American · Vail Village / Gore Creek · $90–160 pp
Monday hours: Monday, 15:00–21:00 (summer)
Sweet Basil has held the corner of 193 Gore Creek Drive since 1977 and is the room that taught Vail to take its dining seriously, a low-lit, creekside space the MICHELIN Guide lists among its Colorado recommendations. The kitchen cooks a precise New American menu that turns over with the seasons, the kind of cooking that earns the village its only real claim to a fine-dining bench. In summer it opens Monday from three, an early start that suits a long afternoon off the trails. Plan on $90 to $160 a head. It is the strongest Monday booking in Vail for a meal that is about the food rather than the après scene, and the wine list runs deep. Reserve a window over Gore Creek.
Wood-fired New American · Creekside · $70–130 pp
Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–22:00 (summer)
Sweet Basil's livelier sibling sits a few steps down the same Creekside courtyard at 193 Gore Creek Drive, built around an open wood-fired hearth that drives the whole menu. The cooking is rustic where Sweet Basil is refined: whole roasted fish, hearth-charred vegetables and a daily butcher's cut, with a raw bar at the front. Of the village's serious rooms it keeps the longest Monday hours, open from 11:30am straight through dinner, which makes it the rare Monday lunch as well. A meal runs $70 to $130 a head. It is the Monday pick for a relaxed group that wants the fire-cooking without the white-tablecloth formality. Sit at the hearth counter to watch the grill.
Japanese · Vail Village / Meadow Drive · $110–220 pp
Monday hours: Monday, from 17:00
Nobu Matsuhisa's mountain outpost at 141 East Meadow Drive brings the chef's Japanese-Peruvian repertoire to Vail, the black cod miso, the yellowtail jalapeño and the rock-shrimp tempura that made his name carried into a warm slope-side room. It opens nightly from five, seven days a week outside major holidays, which makes it among the most dependable Monday tables in the village. A full dinner runs $110 to $220 a head. Walk-in and waitlist seats open in person from 4:45pm, so the sushi counter is a strong Monday option for a solo diner who would rather not commit weeks ahead. Book the counter for the omakase.
French · Vail Village / Meadow Drive · $90–170 pp
Monday hours: Monday, 17:00–21:30
Chef-owner Paul Ferzacca has run La Tour at 122 East Meadow Drive for more than two decades, a classic French room that carries a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence for a cellar that runs well past a thousand labels. The cooking is the seasonal, technique-led French that holds up against any mountain dining room: Dover sole, duck breast, a tasting menu when the kitchen is in the mood. It serves Monday dinner across the summer, from five. Expect $90 to $170 a head. It is the Monday booking for a proper French dinner with a sommelier worth talking to, and the corner banquettes are the seats for two. Ask for the wine pairing.
Steakhouse · Vail Village / Gore Creek · $100–200 pp
Monday hours: Monday, 17:00–21:00
John Elway's Vail steakhouse occupies 174 East Gore Creek Drive in the village core, a clubby room of leather and dark wood built for prime beef and a deep bourbon list. The cuts are USDA prime and wagyu, with a seafood tower and a few Colorado touches such as elk on the seasonal menu. It serves Monday dinner from five through the summer. A steak dinner runs $100 to $200 a head once you add the sides and a bottle. It is the Monday pick for a group that wants a familiar, generous steakhouse rather than a chef's menu, and the bar is one of the better Monday spots in the village for a drink. Reserve a booth for larger tables.
Austrian / Continental · Hotel Gasthof Gramshammer · $80–150 pp
Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–15:00 and 17:30–21:00
Pepi's anchors the base of Bridge Street at the Hotel Gasthof Gramshammer, 231 East Gore Creek Drive, the Tyrolean inn the Gramshammer family opened in 1964 that is as close to a founding institution as Vail has. The kitchen cooks Austrian and Continental classics, Wiener schnitzel, fondue and game in winter, with a lighter summer menu of salads and grills. It serves Monday lunch and dinner through the summer. A meal runs $80 to $150 a head. It is the Monday booking for old-Vail atmosphere and a flower-filled terrace at the foot of the mountain, the antidote to a polished steakhouse. Sit on the terrace for the people-watching on Bridge Street.
How to book a Monday table in Vail
Monday is an easy booking in summer Vail once you know which doors are open. Almost all of these rooms take reservations on OpenTable, and the green-season Monday is one of the quieter nights, so even Sweet Basil is reachable inside a few days for a creekside table. For a Monday that is about the cooking, La Tour and Sweet Basil are the calls; for a livelier group, the hearth at Mountain Standard is the move. Eating alone, the sushi counter at Matsuhisa takes walk-ins from 4:45pm and is the best solo-dining seat in the village. The whole list sits inside the pedestrian core, so a Monday plan can move from a drink at Elway's bar to dinner on foot. Tipping follows the US norm of 18 to 20 percent on the pre-tax total.
Frequently asked questions
Which upscale restaurants are open on Monday in Vail?
In summer 2026 the confirmed Monday picks at the top of Vail Village are Sweet Basil and its sister wood-fire room Mountain Standard, both on Gore Creek Drive, Matsuhisa on Meadow Drive, the French room La Tour, the steakhouse Elway's Vail, and the Austrian institution Pepi's at the Hotel Gasthof Gramshammer. All six are confirmed open Monday for dinner. Vail runs a quieter week in the green season than in ski season, so a confirmed list matters here.
Are restaurants in Vail open in summer 2026?
Yes, though fewer than in winter. Vail's calendar splits hard between the ski season and the green season, with a slow shoulder in late spring and again in autumn when several rooms close to rest or renovate. By June the village is open for the summer. The reliable year-round names such as Sweet Basil, Matsuhisa, La Tour and Pepi's keep Monday service through the summer, while a few seasonal and on-mountain rooms stay dark until the snow returns.
Does Vail have a Michelin-starred restaurant?
Not a starred one. The MICHELIN Guide added Colorado in 2023 and lists Sweet Basil in Vail among its recommended restaurants, but the Colorado stars sit in Denver, Boulder and Aspen rather than Vail itself. Sweet Basil, a Gore Creek room open since 1977, is the closest the village comes and is the strongest Monday booking for a serious meal. For a starred mountain dinner, Aspen and Boulder are the nearer options.
Is Matsuhisa Vail open on Monday?
Yes. Matsuhisa Vail, the Nobu Matsuhisa Japanese room at 141 East Meadow Drive, opens nightly from 5pm and serves Monday dinner through the summer. It is one of the most reliable Monday tables in the village, since it runs seven days a week outside major holidays. Walk-in and waitlist seats open in person from 4:45pm, which makes the sushi counter a strong Monday option for a solo diner.
Where can I eat well on a Monday night in Vail Village?
Vail Village itself holds almost all the Monday options. Sweet Basil and Mountain Standard sit together on Gore Creek Drive, La Tour and Matsuhisa are a short walk away on Meadow Drive, Elway's is on East Gore Creek Drive, and Pepi's anchors the base of Bridge Street at the Gramshammer. The whole list is walkable within the pedestrian core, so a Monday night plan can move from a drink at one room to dinner at another on foot.
Summer hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule as of June 2026; mountain-town hours shift between ski and green seasons, so confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.