Venice Restaurant @ Denver

When I walked into the restaurant, I knew I will have two problems later – I will not be taking good pictures of the food I order; and I will be ordering too much.

Founded in 2002 with three locations (one of which was very near my office), Venice Ristorante has brought a five-star Venetian dining experience right to Denver, Colorado. Family owned and operated, Chef/Owner Alessandro Carollo and Executive Chef Christian Delle Fave work constantly to enrich our menus and cuisine to provide guests with exquisite and creative culinary masterpieces.

Walking into the dining room, it was like any trattoria in the 80s/90s – frescos scenes of Italy (in this case Chianti and Venice), tight space between tables, and high energy like a dimsum restaurant.

Much of Venice’s chaotic menu is forgettable. But if you’re patient enough to sift through the chaos and order the right stuff, you can have surprisingly good food here.

Veal Meat Balls

With garlic, eggs, gorgonzola, parmesan cheese, Arrabiata sauce, pancetta and grilled garlic bread

You have seen them in many mafia movies, the whole gang sitting around eating Nonna’s meatballs. This appetiser was just that, Italian-style meatballs made from veal with Arrabiata sauce. After a long day in the office, these meatballs hit the spot.

Burrata e Pomdoro

Creamy burrata, heirloom tomatoes, wild arugula, olives, Modena Balsamic reduction sauce

Fresh burrata cheese made in-house with local source heirloom tomatoes topped with arugula, olives and drizzled with balsamic vinegar reduction. The tomatoes were one of the best I have eaten, with packed locules (the jelly like chambers holding the seeds to prevent germination) which contained all the nutrients.

Scaloppine Piccata

Veal scaloppine with capers & roasted garlic, finished in a lemon chardonnay wine sauce

Scaloppine is one of their signature and consists of thinly sliced meat, most often beef, veal, or chicken, that is dredged in wheat flour and sautéed in one of a variety of reduction sauces, in this case, Piccata sauce made with garlic, capers and lemon in a chardonnay reduction. Like eating sweet and sour pork but more intense.

Paccheri alla Busara

Large tube pasta tossed with shrimp and cherry tomatoes in a brandy pink sauce

Never leave the place without tasting one of their pasta dishes. Spaghetti alla busara is a traditional Italian dish originating from Venice and the surrounding area. It is believed that fresh langoustines from the nearby Croatian port city of Rijeka arrived to Venice daily and that the busara (buzara) sauce inspired Venetian cooks because there is a Croatian dish called scampi buzara that’s the same as this one, but without the addition of spaghetti.

My fellow diner picked these pasta and shared some with me. The sauce was so creamy and decadent I could finish the whole plate by myself.

The photos for this blogpost are a bit off as the lighting of this place was horrible. Luckily the food was not as bad as the lighting. This is no Olive Gardens, the authenticity of the Venetian fare on the menu attests to that. Will return to try the other pastas.

Venice Ristorante & Wine Bar
5946 S Holly St, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, United States
Tel : +1 (720) 482 9191

Visited Apr 2024