Mugs Coffee Lounge is a café budget eat in Old Town, Fort Collins.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: Open at 06:00, the earliest sit-down coffee downtown; the second Mugs on West Laurel Street serves the campus side.
Address: 261 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80524
Big Al's Burgers and Dogs grinds its 60/40 bacon burger on Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins, with Chicago dogs, truffle fries and hand-scooped shakes.
Try: 60/40 bacon burger
Tip: Happy hour 14:00-17:00 daily puts burgers, Chicago dogs and milkshakes at 5 dollars each; the art on the walls rotates.
Vatos Tacos + Tequila grills street tacos from a shipping container at The Exchange in Fort Collins, open from 07:00 with margaritas on the plaza.
Try: Street tacos
Tip: It opens at 07:00 for breakfast service, unusual for a taqueria; gluten-free items are flagged on the menu board.
La Piadina griddles Emilia-Romagna flatbread sandwiches from a container kitchen at The Exchange in Fort Collins, with Italian wine and local beer.
Try: Piadina flatbread sandwiches
Tip: A piadina crisped to order plus a glass of Italian wine on the plaza is one of the city's best cheap dates.
Big Al's Burgers and Dogs grinds its 60/40 bacon burger on Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins, with Chicago dogs, truffle fries and hand-scooped shakes.
Try: 60/40 bacon burger
Tip: Happy hour 14:00-17:00 daily puts burgers, Chicago dogs and milkshakes at 5 dollars each; the art on the walls rotates.
Music City Hot Chicken fries Nashville-style birds on Prospect Road in Fort Collins across a ladder of heat levels, from Southern to the Flammable Solid dare.
Tip: Vegans get crispy fried tempeh in any heat level; weekend brunch adds chicken and waffles plus a Monte Cristo.
Vatos Tacos + Tequila grills street tacos from a shipping container at The Exchange in Fort Collins, open from 07:00 with margaritas on the plaza.
Try: Street tacos
Tip: It opens at 07:00 for breakfast service, unusual for a taqueria; gluten-free items are flagged on the menu board.
La Piadina griddles Emilia-Romagna flatbread sandwiches from a container kitchen at The Exchange in Fort Collins, with Italian wine and local beer.
Try: Piadina flatbread sandwiches
Tip: A piadina crisped to order plus a glass of Italian wine on the plaza is one of the city's best cheap dates.
Rainbow Restaurant has cooked breakfast and lunch across from CSU in Fort Collins since 1976, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free boards.
Tip: Daily to 14:00 only; the vegetarian and gluten-free menus are full menus rather than afterthoughts, rare for a diner.
Star of India, a six-time NoCo Style best-Indian winner, has been cooking North Indian and Punjabi curries on Harvard Street in Fort Collins.
Tip: Closed Tuesdays. The lunch window is the value play; dinner service starts at 17:00 sharp.
