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Magna Kainan, Denver, CO

Magna Kainan

4.6
4.6
29 Reviews
$31 to $50
Filipino

Make a reservation

2 people
8:00 PM
Booked 30 times today
  • Lively
  • Good for special occasions
  • Great for creative cocktails
Magna Kainan is the passion project of Chef Carlo Lamagna, Food & Wine’s 2021 Best New Chef and 2022 James Beard finalist and Chef Max Mackissock (Michelin recommended A5 Steakhouse and Michelin Bib Gourmand awarded Ash’Kara). Kainan, which means “eatery” in Tagalog, will be a refined, woodfired approach to Filipino comfort food..
At Magna Kainan, just like our sister restaurant in Portland, Oregon, Magna Kusina, our mission is to share the vibrant flavors and rich traditions of Filipino cuisine and culture through a contemporary lens. Whether you’re new to our culinary heritage or a longtime fan, we aim to create an experience that resonates deeply and sparks joy and connection.
We believe in the power of food to bring people together. Our doors are open to everyone, and we look forward to creating a space where great meals, creative cocktails and a warm, welcoming ambiance unite us all. As we say in our family, “Mangan tayon!”—Let’s Eat!

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Filipino, Asian
  • Hours of operation
    Mon, Wed, Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–11:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (720) 524-8684
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Executive chef
    Carlo Lamagna
  • Neighborhood
    River North (Denver)
  • Cross street
    1350 40th Street. 40th and Walnut<br />Suite 120
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 29 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6
4.6 based on recent ratings
  • 4.6Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.8Ambience
  • 4.3Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Magna Kainan brings a refreshing take on Filipino cuisine to Denver, offering "authentic flavors with a modern twist." Guests rave about the "incredible hospitality" and "fantastic service," with standout dishes like crispy pork belly, lechon, and Biko dessert. The ambiance is beautifully designed, enhancing the overall dining experience.

29 Reviews
  1. Allexis

    Denver

    1 review

    vip
    2.0

    1 review

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    For the price they are charging and the food they are serving, it’s not worth it. I recommend going to Paborito if you’re craving some Filipino food. Our sisig was not crispy and had some sauce after mixing it, it was not even close to being good. The lumpia filling was falling out the wrapper. The bagoong rice does not even taste like bagoong. The pork skewer was good but 1 skewer for $9? You can live without it. The chicken inasal was not even inasal, it was just regular grilled chicken. We had their drinks, that’s probably the only thing I liked about the place. We ordered 2 drinks, 5 dishes and our total came up to $149. They were charging automatic 20% your tab, but the food was not worth it at all.

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  2. Meghan

    Milwaukee

    7 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food was delicious and the staff were knowledgeable and guided us through our dining experience

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  3. Kevin

    New York City

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    What I heard and then experienced: Robust, rich flavors in every dish. Cocktails on point. Properly lit bar. Expeditiously delivered plates. Dishes from skewers to desert that are just flat out not happening elsewhere in town. What I didn’t expect but sealed the deal for me: the families and children laughing and sharing meals together, Johnny*, the bar lead, sharing a family recipe with the folks to my right amidst a busy Saturday rush, and Carmella* singing to a mid-2000’s banger playing overhead while scanning seats and reservations. This is what matters to me: the humble and joyful humanity experienced amidst a truly outstanding series of courses. Go here. I know I will be back soon enough! *sorry for possibly misspelled names

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  4. Vivian

    Denver

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on November 26, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I went with few of my friends and my husband. We enjoyed the food, the ambiance and service. We will definitely come back.
    Magna KainanResponded 5 days ago
    Thanks for the review, Vivian! We're thrilled to hear that you and your friends had a great time at Magna Kainan. It's wonderful to know that our food, ambiance, and service met your expectations. We're looking forward to your next visit with more of the FACC Community! Thanks again for choosing us!

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  5. Adam

    Denver

    12 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    12 reviews

    Dined on November 24, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Beautiful restaurant with great food! The crispy pork belly main dish was awesome. Loved the pancit noodles and skewers as well.

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  6. Kate

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on November 24, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Best kare kare ever! The service was wonderful and the food was great. It’s more elevated than your typical Filipino restaurant around but the flavors are on point and the food is so good!
    Magna KainanResponded 5 days ago
    Hello Kate, We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed our kare kare and found it to be the best you've ever had! We're glad that you appreciated the elevated flavors and found the food to be great representation of Filipino cuisine. Thank you for your kind words and high ratings. We look forward to serving you again soon!

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  7. Sherry

    Denver

    6 reviews

    3.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on November 23, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great atmosphere and service is great. The food is fusion filipino food. It is not your mom’s cooking but the twist of the food was well done. The staff stated that it is family style but the portions were not big enough for family style. I suggest ordering your own “ulam”.
    Magna KainanResponded 5 days ago
    Thank you so much for dining with us and for taking the time to share your feedback! We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the atmosphere and our service. We pride ourselves in representing Filipino cuisine. We use traditional flavors and recipes while elevating them with high-quality ingredients and modern techniques. It’s our way of honoring Filipino cuisine while offering a fresh perspective. We also appreciate your feedback on the portion sizes and family-style concept. Your suggestion to order individual Ulam is a great tip, and we’ll take your comments into consideration as we continue to refine our offerings. Thank you again for your thoughtful review. We look forward to having you come back as we grow. Justin Del Rosario Assistant General Manager

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  8. Julian

    Denver

    61 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    61 reviews

    Dined on November 22, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This is such a great new restaurant! The food was excellent, service was top notch, the ambiance and decor were well designed, and the location is improving. Parking was not easy but with the construction in the area, I’m sure it will improve.
    Magna KainanResponded 5 days ago
    Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the food, service, and ambiance here at Magna Kainan. It’s great to know that our design resonated with you, and we appreciate your kind words about our team’s efforts. We understand that parking can be a bit challenging right now, and are working to have something more accessible in the near future. Your support means the world to us, and we look forward to welcoming you back for another fantastic experience! Justin Del Rosario Assistant General Manager

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  9. john

    Denver

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 19, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great place with awesome staff. Food was very authentic. Excited to have such an awesome Filipino restaurant!!
    Magna KainanResponded 5 days ago
    Thank you for your wonderful review! We're so glad you enjoyed the authenticity of our food and had a great experience with our awesome team. It means so much to us to bring Filipino cuisine to the community, and we’re thrilled to have your support. We can’t wait to welcome you back to enjoy more of what we have to offer! Justin Del Rosario Assistant General Manager

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  10. Anthony

    New York City

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 18, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 5
    Really wanted to love and support this restaurant, but our experience was poor especially the waiter who tried to gaslight and blame us. We got the fried rice with shrimp paste, which as a Vietnamese person I love anything with shrimp paste. The dish was a salt bomb and inedible. The self proclaimed “white midwestern boy”waiter gaslit us (Asians) trying to blame our “inexperience” with Asian cuisine instead of just apologizing for the dish. It is not our “inexperience” with shrimp paste. It is our issue with it being so salty we had to spit it out. Luckily, a female staff member and handled it graciously. However, my wife and I were dumbfounded by this guy. We canceled our future reservations at the restaurant and will be sure to let our friends know of our experience. Other dishes that fell flat: the eggplant skewer, citrus salad. Their crab noodles were good though. Ube sticky rice was ok.
    Magna KainanResponded on November 21, 2024
    Anthony, As a new restaurant just five days into opening, we’re still refining our service and our food. I genuinely appreciated you alerting me to the issue at the time and once we chatted and I took it off the bill, I believed we had resolved things positively, which makes this review all the more disheartening. Regarding your concerns about our server, we never want a guest to feel anything but positive from their interactions from our service team. Your concerns are genuinely heard and will only help us improve. Thank you for your valuable feedback, and we are committed to learning and improving. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly if you'd like to discuss this further. Christina Stone General Manager

    1 person found this helpful

FAQs

Magna Kainan offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (720) 524-8684.

Magna Kainan is rated 4.6 stars by 29 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
8:00 PM
Booked 30 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Magna Kainan

1350 40th St, Denver, CO 80205-3315

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross street
    1350 40th Street. 40th and Walnut<br />Suite 120
  • Neighborhood
    River North (Denver)
  • Hours of operation
    Mon, Wed, Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–11:00 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Filipino, Asian
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Carlo Lamagna
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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  • Terms of Use
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