New restaurant downtown wants their “regulars” to feel at home in this hidden speakeasy

Dining at The Regular, a modern fine-dining restaurant that opened last week downtown, is like taking a seat at owners Sydney Younggreen and Brian De Souza’s own dinner table.

Every detail throughout the 44-seat restaurant, located at 1432 Market St., has been carefully thought out: from the old school rock-n-roll music playing on the speakers to the quirky yet cozy furniture in the lounge; from the central fireplace that’s a nod to the one in their own home to the green touches in honor of Younggreen’s favorite color. They even built the bar with no name-brand spirits in order to push you outside of your comfort zone.

“Every little thing that you see around – every fork, knife, every plate has been hand selected,” De Souza said. “It’s music that we listen to, not just what’s on the radio. Everything is thought through, and I don’t see any other way to work, in my opinion. To have your personality shine through is the most important thing, and it’s just natural.”

De Souza and Younggreen want their “regulars” to feel at home for good reason. The restaurant was inspired by a dinner series called The Guest that the two hosted in their home for a few years in Boulder. Younggreen, who graduated from CU Boulder in 2018, met De Souza in New York City and the two have worked for Michelin-star spots like Blue Hill and Le Bernardin.

The Guest evolved out of the dinner parties they would hold at their Manhattan apartment. They started it in August 2020 after moving to Boulder (Youngreen’s hometown). A reservation-only series with a rotating multi-course menu, The Guest had a waitlist of 700 people.

But De Souza and Younggreen didn’t just want guests, they wanted regulars, so they found a permanent fixture (and got their home back in order) to show off their skills.

At the Regular, De Souza has assembled a fierce team of culinary soldiers to put together his small but mighty menu with four entrees, four appetizers and four tapas. There’s broccoli carbonara for the pasta lover, branzino or salmon for those pescatarians, or two cuts of beef from Evergreen-based Lazy Acre Ranch for the carnivores.

“If you came here and loved the grilled broccoli carbonara, for example, which is one of my favorite dishes to do, I want you to come back and get the same dish if you want that,” De Souza said. “That’s what The Regular is all about. It’s in the name. Become a regular, enjoy the dishes that you’ve already tasted before without things changing so often.”

But there will always be specials for the adventurous. De Souza and his team try to use every scrap of food to avoid being wasteful. They buy whole salmon, using it in the salmon tiradito, the salmon entree and even creating a salmon head special. “It’s just about paying respect to the ingredients you have and where they come from, even if it’s an ant, you know, it doesn’t matter what it is. You have to find interesting ways to create something out of it.”