Fast-casual no longer means low-quality, and Dio Mio played a big part in changing that definition in Denver. Since debuting in 2016, the RiNo spot where you order at the counter has consistently served some of the more creative dishes in town, centered on fresh pasta. Its cacio e pepe with ruffle-edged mafalde noodles and […]
Italian in Denver
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This Italian bakery in Wheat Ridge turns out Sicilian cookies, biscotti and cannoli, plus savory dishes like calzones and pizza, to name just a few. While Sicilian-style pizza has steadily fallen by the wayside, shunned by aficionados of its nemesis – the thin-crusted Neapolitan pizza that seems to generate all the accolades – Dolce Sicilia […]
The pizzas are the reason to visit this eatery owned by two Denver Italian families since the 1970s. The service is friendly and efficient, and while the red-sauce dishes can be serviceable but not particularly inventive, they satisfy if you’re in the mood for classic Italian-American comfort food. The pizzas, though, benefit from a sweeter […]
Farro is a classic strip-mall Italian eatery with a twist — veteran chef-owner Matt Franklin is behind the grill, bringing a fine-dining sensibility to all those plates of strozapretti, roasted salmon and Tuscan meatloaf. Traditional pizzas and pastas are well represented, but there are a few surprises, like the seafood farro spiked with jalapenos. The […]
Most of the red-sauce joints that once proliferated in northwest Denver have dried up, but Gaetano’s is now more than seventy years old. Of course, it’s gone through some changes over the decades after being founded by the Smaldone mob family, who installed bulletproof glass in the front door and ran illegal poker games in […]
This Englewood eatery may not be decades old, but despite debuting less than five years ago, it has all the markings of a classic. The family behind Gallo is from Sicily, and splits the space between a bakery counter and a sit-down dining area complete with a full bar. Like many red-sauce joints in town, […]
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This classic Italian red-sauce joint and neighborhood bar for over sixty years finally got a menu makeover in mid-2024 after a months-long closure. The kitchen still turns out a trio of Italian dishes (pizza, lasagna and spaghetti), but it now also serves bar food like wings, loaded nachos, fish and chips and a burger. Old […]
Grammy’s started out as little more than a booth selling homemade cookies at Lakewood’s annual Festival Italiano, but expanded to a counter-service restaurant and bakery in 2015. Somehow, though, it feels like it’s been around a lot longer. Go here for pizza, towering slices of lasagna, and savory sausage cannoli (spelled here with a double […]
Chef/restaurateur Lon Symensma is best known as the person behind one of the city’s most beloved dishes, ChoLon’s French onion soup dumplings. But in March 2024, he proved he still has plenty of culinary curiosity with the introduction of Gusto, his first Italian eatery. This sleek spot near Sloan’s Lake has a smartly concise menu […]
Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1972 as a baking school, Il Fornaio is a national chain offering upscale Italian cuisine and an extensive dessert menu. The Colorado location, in the Denver Tech Center, has a roster that features wood-fired pizzas, fresh pastas made in-house daily, rotisserie meats and, of course, plenty of baked treats. Il […]
Jovanina’s long, narrow dining room is lively even on weekdays, thanks to its standout execution of Italian classics. If you can, try to snag a seat at the chef’s counter, either to take advantage of the occasional chef’s tasting menus or simply to watch plates of mouth-watering pasta and perfectly topped wood-oven pizzas being delivered […]
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They don’t make them like they used to – but Lechuga’s marches on anyway, an old-school Italian joint where you can order pasta by the bucket, square pizzas, and Denver-style cannoli, with your choice of a meatball, sausage or sausage-and-jalapeño combo wrapped in dough with a little bit of cheese in the mix, baked and […]
They don’t make them like they used to – but Lechuga’s marches on anyway, an old-school Italian joint where you can order pasta by the bucket and square pizzas (with green-chile strips, like a true Denverite!). This second, (much) newer outpost is located in Lakewood, though the original Lechuga’s is one of the last red-sauce […]
The Golden Triangle space that houses Lo Stella Ristorante has seen a number of Italian joints come and go. But Lo Stella has history on its side: It’s an offshoot of Lo Stella in Portofino, Italy, which has been turning out family recipes and regional specialties for 165 years. This outpost is owned by Alessandro […]
Locanda del Borgo has an open kitchen. A wide-open kitchen, laid out like a gastro-porn centerfold. The menu is wide-open, too, refusing to specialize or economize, with dishes ranging from fritto misto (a fisherman’s platter of squid, scallops, shrimp, artichokes and zucchini, all fried) to straccetti (a Roman stir-fry of beef “tatters” and arugula, topped […]
Frank Bonanno doesn’t cook anything that’s not memorable. What’s more, he’s fearless. And Luca’s menu is designed for gluttonous abandon, arranged for wild flights of pairing and sharing, set up in an attempt to make people eat the way the Italians do – with several courses of small plates leading up to the entrees. The […]
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Kris Ferreri grew up in Buffalo and came to Denver with a plan to introduce the Rocky Mountain West to the true, two-note cuisine of his hometown: the Buffalo chicken wing and thick-and-sweet, Buffalo-style pizza. While the menu also includes sandwiches, salads and boasts several derivations of the pizza-and-wings combo (including BBQ and jerk wings, […]
The menu at Luigi’s Bent Noodle issues a challenge: “If this isn’t the best minestrone recipe you’ve ever tasted, we want your recipe.” We doubt anyone this side of Italy has anything to beat this minestrone; the bewitching brew has an appropriately rough-edged flavor and is available by the cup, the bowl and the really […]
The Littleton location of the Luigi’s brotherhood (the other restaurant is in Aurora) features photos of celebs such as Marlon Brando with fake testimonials (“Your lasagne is to die for,” Don Corleone wrote), and shelves on the painted exposed-brick walls that overflow with old clocks, plastic flowers and Chianti baskets. During the day, this Luigi’s […]
This branch of Brinker International, which also owns Chili’s, is fancier than its corporate sibling — and it’s definitely several steps above Olive Garden in the Italian chain-food world, with items priced accordingly. The extensive lunch and dinner menus offer traditional and specialty pastas, chef’s favorite plates, and various preparations of shrimp, chicken, beef, pork […]