# Dave Loves Denver

> A hyperlocal guide to Denver's best neighborhoods, restaurants, hotels, bars, coffee shops, and things to do — written by Dave Chung, a local Denver content creator and YouTuber.

Dave Loves Denver surfaces the best places in each Denver neighborhood using real Google review data, ranked by a quality algorithm (rating² × log10(review_count)) that favors proven local institutions over chains with inflated review counts.

## Author

Dave Chung is a Denver-based content creator and YouTube host (youtube.com/@davechung) covering Denver neighborhoods, restaurants, and local life from a first-person perspective.

## Site Structure

- / — Homepage with featured video, latest guides, and neighborhood overview
- /denver — Best of Denver: top restaurants, hotels, bars, coffee, and things to do citywide, organized by neighborhood
- /denver/hidden-gems — Under-the-radar restaurants, coffee shops, and local favorites rated 4.5+ with under 500 reviews, organized by neighborhood

### Neighborhood Guides

Each neighborhood page at /denver/[neighborhood] includes:
- Top restaurants, hotels, bars, coffee shops, and things to do
- Interactive map of restaurant locations
- Upcoming local events
- Related YouTube videos
- Links to hidden gems in that neighborhood

Denver neighborhoods covered:
- RiNo (River North Art District) — /denver/rino
- LoHi (Lower Highlands) — /denver/lohi
- Capitol Hill — /denver/capitol-hill
- Cherry Creek — /denver/cherry-creek
- LoDo (Lower Downtown) — /denver/lodo
- Five Points — /denver/five-points
- Washington Park — /denver/washington-park
- Golden Triangle — /denver/golden-triangle
- Highlands — /denver/highlands
- Berkeley — /denver/berkeley
- Sloan Lake — /denver/sloan-lake
- Jefferson Park — /denver/jefferson-park
- Cole — /denver/cole
- Uptown — /denver/uptown
- Baker — /denver/baker
- Curtis Park — /denver/curtis-park
- Platt Park — /denver/platt-park
- DEN Airport Area — /denver/airport
- Denver Suburbs — /denver/denver-suburbs

### Category Pages

For each neighborhood, category guides at /denver/[neighborhood]/[category]:
- /restaurants — Top-rated restaurants ranked by quality score
- /hotels — Top hotels with direct Expedia booking links
- /bars — Bars, cocktail bars, breweries, and nightlife
- /things-to-do — Attractions, museums, parks, and activities
- /coffee — Coffee shops, cafes, and roasteries

### Individual Place Pages

Each business has a dedicated page at /denver/[neighborhood]/[category]/[place-slug] with:
- Google rating and review count
- Address, phone, hours, and website
- Photo gallery
- AI-generated review summary and tagline
- Nearby restaurants, hotels, and things to do
- Related YouTube videos

## Data Methodology

Places are sourced from the Google Places API and ranked using a quality score:
  qualityScore = rating² × log10(min(reviewCount, 3000) + 10)

This formula amplifies the gap between a 4.5★ and 4.9★ rating while capping the review count benefit at 3,000 so that beloved local institutions with 2,000 reviews rank competitively against chains with 50,000 reviews.

Hidden gems are defined as places with a rating ≥ 4.5 and fewer than 500 reviews — high quality that hasn't gone viral yet.

Data is refreshed every 24 hours via Incremental Static Regeneration.

## Contact

Site: https://davelovesdenver.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@davechung
About: https://davelovesdenver.com/about