We discovered another reason to love Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco Denver: Panzano, its award-winning contemporary Northern Italian cuisine restaurant.
Walk through the doors at 17th & Champa, a few blocks from the tre fashionable Larimer Square, and you enter old world Tuscany. Let your sensations be bombarded with the smells of freshly baked breads, the sights of a brick pizza oven and inviting colors, plus the authentic atmosphere of an Italian eatery. We had trouble deciding from a long list of tempting weekend brunch choices by Executive Chef Elise Wiggins: from coffees, juices and speciality drinks like Bellinis and Stoli Screwdrivers, to hot from the oven scones, croissants, muffins and more.
The Denver Post said, “This Northern Italian restaurant offers ambitious starters, as well as first-rate pizzas and pastas.” Now we know why. We chose a Parfait Del Giorno with house made granola, yogurt and fresh berries, then followed it with one of the brunch specialities — the perfectly prepared Frittata of ham, red onion, spinach, tomato and house made mozzarella. It was so delicious and moist, it melted in our mouths.
Had we had the appetite for more, we could have sampled the Chicken Hash, a Downtown Denver Omelet, Panzano Eggs Benedict, or any of the other specials, including House Made Italian Sausage Ravioli or Gamberi Carbonara.
For lunch and dinner daily, Panzano features homemade pastas, traditional meats and game, fresh seafood, and salads. All are inspired by a commitment to freshness, integrity, and seasonality of ingredients. For private parties, the restaurant also offers dining in its wine cellar on the lower level of up to 50 guests, as well as Cooking Classes, Wine Dinners, and Chef’s Table events.
Want more reasons to visit? How about:
• Winner of the “2004 Greatest Caesar Salad in Denver” competition;
• Named one of Denver’s top five restaurants by The Rocky Mountain News;
• Awarded four stars by 5280 Magazine;
• “Best Italian” by CitySearch; and
• “To die for” in the Gabby Gourmet Restaurant GuiPanzano.
W: Panzano.
A: 909 Seventeenth Street, Denver, CO 80202.
T: 303-296-3525.