RESTAURANT NEWS | BOULDER
Casa Juani Brings the Spanish Coast to Boulder
Former Frasca chefs Eduardo Valle Lobo and Kelly Jeun turn family recipes, pristine seafood, and a formidable restaurant résumé into one of America’s best new restaurants.
CASA JUANI | MAP | INSTAGRAM
By Mei Chen
6:25 a.m. MT, Sept. 7, 2026
AUTHOR BIO: Mei Chen has worked for nearly a dozen start-ups in as many years, taking her to several West Coast cities. While she’s sure her current day job is permanent, she also has her eye on Carmel.
The Rocky Mountains sit roughly 900 miles from the nearest ocean. Casa Juani closes some of that distance with a menu drawing from the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Cantabrian coasts—and from the Madrid kitchen where Eduardo Valle Lobo learned to cook beside his mother.
Her name is Juanita, though everyone calls her Juani. Now 98, she supplied the restaurant with its name, its emotional center, and recipes that Valle Lobo has spent years translating for a dining room in Boulder.
Viggiano, Valle Lobo, and Jeun
The husband-and-wife chefs arrived prepared for the job. They previously served as co-executive chefs at Frasca Food and Wine, the Boulder institution that later earned a Michelin star. Valle Lobo, a native of Spain, eventually became culinary director of the Frasca Hospitality Group. Kelly Jeun’s résumé also includes Eleven Madison Park, Del Posto, and time cooking in northern Italy.
Casa Juani is their first independent restaurant together. A marisquería anchors the 100-seat space, putting the preparation of raw seafood on display. The kitchen works with razor clams, sea urchin, Spanish octopus, and whole fish cooked on a grill imported from Spain. One plate stacks rice, Ibérico pork, and langoustine into a playful Spanish answer to nigiri.
The rest of the menu moves between familiar tapas and deeper cuts from Valle Lobo’s childhood. Jamón Ibérico is carved tableside. Croquetas carry goat milk, chopped Ibérico ham, and scallions. Arroz con setas comes from a dish his mother made, while braised Ibérico pork cheeks head into heartier territory. Even the marinated olives trace back to Juani, seasoned with paprika, orange, thyme, and rosemary.
Bottles from Spain lead the wine list, joined by Basque cider, vermouth, and cocktails such as the sherry-based rebujito. A black-walnut chef’s table gives the couple room for a more detailed tasting menu.
The opening arrived with substantial expectations: Bon Appétit named Casa Juani one of its most anticipated restaurants before it served dinner. Six months later, the magazine placed it among the 19 best new restaurants in America, the only Colorado restaurant on the list. For Valle Lobo and Jeun, national recognition began with a much smaller ambition: cooking Juani’s food well enough to put her name above the door.
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