Rainbow Restaurant is a breakfast restaurant in Campus West, Fort Collins.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Signature dishes: Veggie benedicts, Buttermilk pancakes
Must order: A veggie benedict with a short stack on the side
Tip: Daily to 14:00 only; the vegetarian and gluten-free menus are full menus rather than afterthoughts, rare for a diner.
Address: 212 West Laurel Street, Fort Collins, CO 80521
Cafe de Bangkok cooks khao soi, drunken noodles and Massaman curry on West Elizabeth Street in Fort Collins, with a deep vegetarian and vegan list.
Signature: Khao soi, Drunken noodles
Order: Khao soi, medium heat, with a Thai iced tea
Tip: Closed Tuesdays and the kitchen breaks between lunch and dinner; parking sits right out front in the Campus West strip.
Union Bar and Soda Fountain crosses a mid-century soda counter with craft cocktails on Jefferson Street in Fort Collins: burgers, floats and boozy shakes.
Signature: Boozy milkshakes, Smash burgers
Order: A burger with a boozy shake or a housemade soda
Tip: Housemade sodas and boozy milkshakes are the point; vegan and gluten-free menus are marked. Happy hour weekdays 15:00-18:00.
Austin's American Grill roasts and grills over an open flame on Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins, bison plates and cast-iron cornbread with honey butter.
Signature: Rotisserie chicken, Cast-iron cornbread
Order: Open-flame rotisserie chicken with the skillet cornbread
Tip: The cast-iron skillet cornbread with honey butter is the non-negotiable side; a second branch sits out on Harmony Road.
The Moot House has run its Tudor-style English pub room at Drake and College in Fort Collins since 1972, with prime rib on Fridays and Saturdays only.
Signature: Prime rib, Pub burgers
Order: Friday or Saturday prime rib, medium rare
Tip: Prime rib carves Friday and Saturday nights until it runs out; the scratch kitchen means slow-food patience at peak times.
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.
Signature: Nashville hot chicken, Chicken and waffles
Order: Half chicken at Nashville Hot with white bread and pickles
Tip: Vegans get crispy fried tempeh in any heat level; weekend brunch adds chicken and waffles plus a Monte Cristo.
Young's Cafe has long been Fort Collins' Vietnamese standard-bearer on South College Avenue, from crab cheese wontons to the house fried rice.
Signature: House fried rice, Crab cheese wontons
Order: House fried rice and the crab cheese wontons
Tip: Portions run generous and lunch is the value window; the dining room fills with regulars who have come for years.
Cafe de Bangkok cooks khao soi, drunken noodles and Massaman curry on West Elizabeth Street in Fort Collins, with a deep vegetarian and vegan list.
Signature: Khao soi, Drunken noodles
Order: Khao soi, medium heat, with a Thai iced tea
Tip: Closed Tuesdays and the kitchen breaks between lunch and dinner; parking sits right out front in the Campus West strip.
