Overview Surf is a one-night seafood competition in downtown Denver where 17 restaurants competed on food and 12 entries on cocktails in 2026, every restaurant cooking with seafood from the same supplier, Buckhead Meat and Seafood, and every guest eating as much as they like and casting a vote. A judges' panel and the crowd each hand out awards, for food and for cocktails. DiningOut Events, the sister company of DiningOut Magazine, launched it at McGregor Square in 2025 and moved it to Sculpture Park for 2026. It is 21 and over. DiningOut's 2025 calendar also ran Top Taco, RARE steak and Chicken Fight festivals across Denver, Houston and Dallas. On site First Taste and VIP ticket holders come in at 6 p.m. and general admission at 7. Restaurants plate at their own stations; in 2026 that meant smoked trout sashimi, octopus a la Grecque and oysters Rockefeller, while Hesher BBQ ran a seafood boil to one side and Ultreia cooked giant pans of paella. Live music runs through the night and the bars pour cocktails, whiskey, beer and seltzer. The VIP Beach Club has cabanas and a private bar, and in 2026 Sushi by SYC served a sit-down omakase inside it, the first seated experience DiningOut Events had run. Talent and Influencers The cooks are Denver restaurants. Across the first two years the field included Ocean Prime, Elway's Downtown at The Ritz-Carlton, Mizuna, Call Me Pearl, Blue Island Oyster Bar, Kumoya, Stout Street Social, Timberline Grill at Ameristar Black Hawk and Garden and Grain at Gaylord of the Rockies. Track record The 2025 debut had 15 restaurants: the judges picked Penn Street Kitchen's shrimp with smoked-miso risotto and Palisade peach relish, and the crowd picked Salt Water Social's shrimp corn dog. In 2026 Spanky's Roadhouse won the judges with a walleye fish and chips, and Salt Water Social took the People's Choice again, with a shrimp and truffle gnocchi. The 2026 edition benefited CHOW, a Denver food charity. Brand presence Buckhead presented both editions and supplied the seafood; in 2025 it built a tuna and oyster display on the floor. Pacifico, Pepsi and Bonnie Brae Liquor also backed the 2026 edition. Sponsors take a booth from 10 by 10 feet up to 20 by 20, or a custom lounge, and DiningOut supplies tables, linen, ice and power and will pair a brand with a participating restaurant. A spirits brand can enter the cocktail competition three ways: through a competing restaurant, through one of its own accounts pouring from the brand's tent, or on its own. A footprint can be a branded trailer, a bar, a DJ booth or a step and repeat.