A new fine-dining spot with a late-night streak has taken over one of Old Town Fort Collins' most storied restaurant addresses. Oso Underground opened Thursday at 135 W. Oak St., the former home of Jay's Bistro, bringing a menu built around global cuisine and molecular mixology to a space that had sat waiting for its next act.
A Concept Built on Food, Music and Late Nights
The restaurant is locally owned by Mike Goveia and Audrey Bolton, according to The Coloradoan, which first reported on the opening. The pair describe their vision in blunt terms on the restaurant's own site: “Oso is our take on fine dining without the pretense; a place where serious food and cocktails can exist alongside music, a packed bar, and late nights,” according to Oso Underground. That ethos shows up on the menu, where the concept brings together global cuisine and molecular mixology rather than sticking to one culinary lane, per the same Coloradoan report.
One dish the outlet highlighted ahead of the opening features roasted beets, whipped goat cheese, fennel, herbs and mint oil — a plate meant to showcase the kitchen's farm-forward leanings. The kitchen team works with local producers including Well Fed Farmstead and Folks Farm, the report notes, tying the menu directly to Northern Colorado growers rather than distant suppliers.
Cocktails Held Back Until Opening Night
Despite all the advance attention on the food, Oso Underground kept one signature element under wraps until doors opened. The restaurant's house cocktail menu was not set to debut until the grand opening, according to Bolton, as relayed in the station's report — meaning even the molecular mixology half of the concept stayed a surprise for curious regulars peeking in during construction.
Running the kitchen is Head Chef Elijah Thielk, who previously worked at Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar and most recently served as head chef at The Regional before joining Oso Underground, the same account states. That resume suggests a chef steeped in both seafood-forward technique and the kind of composed, ingredient-driven plates the new menu is built around.
New Hours for an Old Town Landmark
Following the opening, Oso Underground was scheduled to operate on a late-leaning schedule: open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays and Mondays, and from 4 p.m. to midnight Thursdays through Saturdays, with the restaurant closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, per the report. Those hours lean into the late-night identity the owners have promised, giving Old Town another option for post-dinner drinks and small plates well past the usual dinner rush.
The timeline getting here wasn't exactly straightforward. Back in July, a separate Coloradoan report said Oso Underground was nearing completion with a grand opening expected in late August or early September — an estimate that ultimately shifted by more than two months before the restaurant actually welcomed its first guests this week. Oso Underground lists its address as 135 West Oak Street, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524, according to its own site, placing it squarely in the heart of the city's historic dining corridor.
