Entry No. 113 — the Denver file — filed under: food
Urban Burma
Tucked in a corner of the Mango House — a shared food hall built for resettled refugees on East Colfax — Urban Burma is Colorado's first and essentially only Burmese restaurant. Brothers Siri and Martin Tan opened it in 2019 to cook for Aurora's large, mostly invisible Burmese community, and the menu hits dishes you literally can't get elsewhere in the metro: tea-leaf salad with fermented leaves, fried peanuts and lentils; nan gyi dok noodles; beef curry; and, when it's on, mohinga, the catfish-noodle soup that's Myanmar's national dish. It's not Thai-adjacent and it's not Indian — it's its own thing, and most of Denver has never tasted it.
The story
Most people driving down East Colfax past 10180 miss Mango House entirely, mistaking the building for just another nondescript commercial property. In reality, this former J.C. Penney department store in Aurora operates as a multi-service refugee center and international food court. In 2019, brothers Siri and Martin Tan opened Urban Burma tucked into a back corner of the hall, establishing Colorado's very first Burmese restaurant. Siri—who previously worked at refugee non-profits and had a short seven-month stint cooking at a local Thai restaurant—opened the counter to serve Aurora's substantial, largely invisible Burmese community the home-style regional cooking they couldn't find anywhere else in the state.
Burmese food often gets lazily labeled as Thai-adjacent or Indian-lite, but Myanmar's culinary traditions occupy their own distinct crossroads. The menu at Urban Burma delivers regional staples virtually non-existent across the rest of the metro area: laphet thoke made with fermented tea leaves imported directly from Myanmar and tossed with fried peanuts and lentils, thick rice-noodle nan gyi dok, and yellow curry served alongside flaky paratha flatbread. On occasion, they simmer batches of mohinga—a fish-and-lemongrass soup with rice noodles that serves as Myanmar's national dish.
What it's like
If you try to enter through the East Colfax front doors, you'll find them locked tight. Drive around to the south side off Galena Street, park in the free lot, and follow the 'Enter South Side Only' signs to get inside. The hall functions as a casual, open-seating space where you order directly at the counter and take a tray to communal tables. The move here is grazing: order a fermented tea-leaf salad and chickpea tofu from Urban Burma, then walk the floor to pick up shawarma, falafel, or coffee from the neighboring Ethiopian, Syrian, or Sudanese stalls in the same room.
The move: Go hungry, split the tea-leaf salad and a curry plus noodles, and wander the rest of the Mango House food hall afterward — a cheap, genuinely novel food adventure where you're both trying a cuisine for the first time.
📍 Before you go The big catch is the door: the Colfax-facing front entrance is locked, so head around to the south/back side off Galena Street, where there's also free parking — signs literally read "Enter South Side Only." Once inside, Mango House works like a communal potluck: order at the Urban Burma counter and your food arrives at shared tables you grab anywhere in the hall. That setup makes pairing easy — the same room holds Ethiopian, Syrian, Nepali and Sudanese refugee-run stalls, so split a tea-leaf salad here and graze elsewhere. Best as a weekday lunch or early dinner; hours shift, and mohinga is an occasional special, so ask ahead.
- 📍 Aurora (East Colfax corridor)
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: Inside Mango House food hall, 10180 E Colfax Ave, Aurora, CO 80010 — tucked in a corner of the hall
Hours: Roughly Mon-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 11am-6pm per listings; mohinga is an occasional special, not always on the menu. Confirm hours and ask about mohinga before going.
Pair it with
- Park Hill Treasures — Follow up your lunch by heading two miles west on Colfax to browse antique stalls and local crafts packed inside a converted bank vault.
- Botanica Ochun — Keep the hyper-local international trail going with a short drive south to this fully stocked Santeria botanica hidden in an Aurora strip mall.
- Candlelight Concert at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum — Pair an early Burmese dinner with an evening string quartet concert set inside a nearby Lowry aircraft hangar.
- Cranmer Park Sundial Terrace — Drive west into Hilltop after eating to walk off curry around a giant 1930s quartzite sundial set against mountain views.
Good to know
How do I access the building?
The Colfax-facing front entrance is locked. You must enter through the south entrance on the back side of the building off Galena Street, where there is also a free parking lot.
What dishes should a first-timer order at Urban Burma?
Start with the tea-leaf salad for its signature crunchy and fermented flavor profile, paired with either the nan gyi dok noodles or the yellow curry with paratha.
Is mohinga available every day?
No. Mohinga—the catfish rice-noodle soup—is offered as an occasional special rather than a standard daily item, so check ahead if you want to try it.
Can I eat food from multiple vendors at the same table?
Yes. Mango House operates with open communal seating, so you can order dishes from Urban Burma and any of the neighboring refugee-run stalls and eat them together.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: 303magazine.com · Axios · Official site · Yelp · boulderweekly.com · Westword
last checked: 2026-06-07