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A photo of the grilled romaine, oyster mushrooms and a funghetto pasta with bolognese at Somebody People.

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A New Vegan Spot Called Somebody People Brings a Tropical Vibe to South Broadway

There’s vegan pastas on the menu and juice-based cocktails at the bar

Some of the offerings from Somebody People include grilled romaine, oyster mushrooms and a funghetto pasta with bolognese
| Jonathan Phillips/Eater

An unassuming corner unit in one of the many modern-but-downright-dull residential buildings that keep springing up near Broadway and Interstate 25 might seem a surprising location for one of the most colorful restaurants in Denver.

The red brick and tiled exterior of Somebody People, which is located inside a ground-level unit of an apartment building on South Broadway
The exterior of Somebody People
Jonathan Phillips/Eater

But that’s just what diners will find at Somebody People, which opened its doors late last month inside the old Denver Tea Room & Coffee Salon space, at 1165 South Broadway. Upon entering the doors, diners will immediately leave the bland concrete tedium of the busy boulevard outside behind and enter a space filled with brightly colored walls, large unusual-looking plants, and American realist paintings of beach and pool scenes.

Owner Sam Maher, who describes the atmosphere as “Palm Springs meets Miami in the 1980s,” says the restaurant’s tropical feel is no accident.

A photo of a lounge area next to the bar at Somebody People featuring white tables and stools with plants on top of them.
A small lounge just outside of the main dining room and next to the bar at Somebody People
Jonathan Phillips/Eater

“Being from Sydney, Australia, where most things are pretty light and airy we just noticed a lot of Denver restaurants seemed to be kind of dark,” Maher says. “So we just wanted to liven things up and provide a place that’s fun.”

That setting also reflects the restaurant’s menu of vegan fare, which Maher says is also “super light” and “not taking itself too seriously.”

A blue bar and stools with shelves with drinks visible behind it at Somebody People
The bar at Somebody People
Jonathan Phillips/Eater

“It’s well-crafted, rustic Mediterranean food that you can consume every day,” Maher says. “We are not doing fake meats or anything like that. Just really polished veggies cooked like veggies.”

The menu consists of nine dishes (though Maher hopes to expand that number to 14) that Maher says are meant for sharing tapas-style.

A photo of a large mural of David Bowie that is reflected in the mirror of the bathroom at Somebody People
Large murals of David Bowie cover the bathroom walls at Somebody People
Jonathan Phillips/Eater

The current options include such dishes as grilled romaine lettuce topped with a caesar tahini dressing and crumbled almonds, and grilled and smoked king oyster mushrooms topped with chimichurri sauce. There are also two pastas, a funghetto pasta topped a carrot-based bolognese sauce, and a rigatoni topped with almond trapanese sauce.

The bar program, meanwhile, is focused on unique cocktails that consist of fresh-squeezed juices mixed with fruits and spirits, including what Maher describes as a “riff on a tequila sunrise.” There is also coffee from local roaster Commonwealth Coffee Roasters.

“It’s supposed to be super approachable and healthy,” Maher says. “It’s not like where you go in and you have one cocktail and you feel drunk.”

A close up shot of the house-made funghetto pasta with garlic cloves and carrot bolognese at Somebody People
House-made funghetto pasta with garlic cloves and a carrot bolognese at Somebody People
Jonathan Phillips/Eater

Just don’t expect to get your coffee in a Somebody People-provided to-go cup. Instead, customers are encouraged to bring their own to-go containers for food and coffee, though reusable tiffins are being sold by Somebody People as an alternative.

So far, customers seem to appreciate that approach, Maher said.

“We try to communicate it as best as possible and people have understood,” Maher said. “But if someone ever doesn’t we will probably just give them a tiffin and say hopefully this big silver thing reminds them of us and they come back.”

Somebody People

1165 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80210
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