Spuntino is really amazing. Â It reminds me of a place in the West Village in NYC with its wonderful farm to table food (minus any attitude) and delightful ambience. Â The service is friendly and great too. Â Every member of the team was friendly and knowledgable. Â We came during the dinner rush with a reservation but right after the favorable write-up in 5280. Â They were mobbed but they still were able to take great care of us. Â They gave us a glass of wine since we had to wait and we felt very welcome and special. Â I feel that the owners' attitude permeates the place and that the whole staff has the same lovely attitude. Â Some of the other restaurants in Denver could take note with great benefit especially with regard to the service part of the equation. Â We had the tasting menu with the arugula salad, cavatelli with sausage and greens and that fantastic chocolate tart. Â I love this place.
Review Source:*sigh* Â I just can't stop eating at Spuntino. Â Where do I start? Â I haven't found sandwiches like these in Denver until now... the ingredients, the taste, the quality. Â For lunch, I've had the rich and delicious Porchetta - so much flavor in that sandwich, and also the Muffaletta - those house-pickled peppers? Â Just right to cut the richness of the meat.
Dinner is WELL worth the trip. Â I've brought and sent friends here, as well, and am not afraid to do so. Â Unlike other restaurants that have let me down and embarrassed me with their inconsistency, Spuntino never fails to satisfy. Â The sampler of Bruschette is a favorite, because each one is so yummy, I don't want to choose just one. Â The duck liver mousse? Â You'll be so glad you ordered it - savory and creamy, with caramelized (?) figs and house-pickled onions to offset the richness of the duck. Â Despite being miles and miles from the ocean, try anything with seafood, one of Chef John Broening's favorite things to cook. Â You'll often find a crisp-skinned sea bass with a root vegetable puree.
And, don't get me started on dessert. Â If you haven't had one of Yasmin Lozada-Hissom's desserts, then you are missing out. Â Nominated four years in a row for the James Beard Foundation's award for Outstanding Pastry Chef, this woman is a magician. Â As a confirmed chocoholic, my absolute favorite is the Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Tart.
Great. Â Now I'm hungry. Â Guess I know where I'm having dinner tonight.
Why did it take us so long to try Spuntino?! We had lunch today and it was delish. The decor is charming and feels like a simple Italian eatery. Authentic and cozy. We ordered the muffaletta and the sweet potato/goat cheese/carmelized onion sandwiches. Both were excellent. We ordered a white tap wine to share. It was a little warm, which I mentioned to the server when she asked how I liked it. She took it off the bill without asking. Nice! We will be back soon. Thanks.
Review Source:Nestled in the hot neighborhood of Highlands Spuntino is one restaurant worth visiting. They have their own private parking lot which in this neighborhood is a definite plus! The interior is comfortable and the ambiance is quite warm and welcoming. The staff gives personal and professional attention to all of their guests. The seating is comfortable and the decor reminded me of an upscale Italian Cafe'.
We dined at Spuntino as a private party tonight and I was blown away by the menu selections! I am a vegan and was the only one in my party and they prepared a special dish just for moi! They created a divine salad that had a sophisticated palatability. Each dish was definitely created with exquisite care and presentation. I look forward to my next trip to Spuntino!
As a large group of eight longtime friends, we were looking for a quiet , comfortable room, with great food, always a prerequisite for this gathering. Â We found it at Spuntino. Â The bruschetta selection was a wonderful start, we got tastes of all four, plenty to go around, Â The pasta entrees were divine - perfectly done, nice size portions, wonderful sauces. Â The crowning achievement were Jasmine's fabulous pastries, we were lucky to have her prepare a lovely selection. Â The service was A-Plus. Â We can't wait to return.
Review Source:The decor is minimal but nice. The only alcohol drink is wine but it's great. The food is exceptional, prepared perfectly . We have an 11 and 4 year old and they let us make up meals for them with our choice of noodle, meat, veggie. Our bill was $140 for the 5 of us including a $38 bottle of wine.
The gelato selection and flavors are amazing.
If I had to name both the best kept secret in Denver and the restaurant that serves the best food right now, it would be Spuntino. This small and casual neighborhood spot is not flashy or pompous, but rather simple and straightforward, serving thoughtful food paired with great service. Spuntino is not always busy, which is why I call it the best kept secret, but the service there is always top notch, friendly and comfortable, perceptive of each guest's needs. The food is spectacular in every way - flavors burst in each dish and there is a balance of textures that is irresistible. I love the grain salad, a hearty dish that combines farro, cannellini beans, quinoa, cherry tomatoes and avocado. There is so much going on it this salad that I cannot tire of it. The cavatelli are always a great option and so are the meatballs with polenta. There is no better dessert in Denver - anywhere- period. If you want to come for one thing, it is dessert. The lemon copetta is a masterpiece and the seasonal tart always a great bet. Gelato and popsicles are a nice addition to the items served here. Spuntino is quaint, reminiscent of a laid-back European restaurant where the most important thing is serving the highest quality food made with a lot of heart and the best of ingredients.
Review Source:We went here this morning with a group of over 15. The waitresses were just phenomonal. A+ service.
The pastries were excellent, the coffee was just okay, and the portion sizes were small for the prices. I found the flavor of the food very interesting, and saw several things on their menu that sounded delicious enough to come back for.
I Loved this place - Great service, Great food, Great experience. Â Couldn't ask for a better place to spend my hard earned money. Â Our waitress was funny and engaging, explained all the dishes and gave many recommendations. Â The wine in a can was actually good...I have since raved about this place to many friends. Â The only negative I can say is that the place is a little pricey, but hey you get what you pay for...
Review Source:I've had a great experience every time I've visited this place. Â The small plates and entrees are always fresh, creative, and delicious. Â And the desserts are ridiculously good. Â Lavender honey gelato? Â Yes please! Â It's as good as it sounds. Â The experience has always been pleasant--service has always been prompt and friendly, and they have a few parking spaces to boot. Â My wife and I have never had a salad we didn't like, though the portions are a bit small. Â The one dish we didn't love was a flank steak dish in which the flank steak was served in a way that it seemed even tougher than it already was. Â One other tip: I ordered food to go once, and I think the portions were smaller than they would have been if we'd eaten in. Â They may have just SEEMED smaller because of the way they were packaged, but they weren't quite filling enough to make a full meal.
Review Source:Soooooo good! My friend mentioned that I should give Spuntino a go so I did and I was blown away. The sabroso sandwich was spectacular! It is a perfect dose savory and filling on their housemade focaccia. My friend had the grain salad which she said, and I quote, "made me feel better about life."
We were told all the gelatos and pastry's were made in house so we tried out the pear almond tart with torrone gelato on the side... seriously amazing. Also, they have coffee from boxcar (roasted in Boulder) which was super tasty as well.
Definitely highly recommend this place and I will be back!
The good points: Â The gelato is amazingly good and the waiters we've had have all been really friendly and add to the charm of the place.
The bad points: Â I feel their menu options are way overpriced for what you get. Â Sometimes we go in and it's dead, we are the only ones dining in the whole restaurant (awkward). Â Sometimes we go in and it's packed so full, just getting gelato feels uncomfortable - it seems like gatecrashing.
We will go back, but I don't know if anything will ever change the way I feel on the fence about this place.
I really REALLY wanted to like this place. It's down the street from work, it's really quaint and the food sounded amazing. I even went there twice in an effort to try to like it.
The first time I went, I ordered a salad and added chicken to it. It was on the pricier side as far as salads go ($10 plus a couple bucks for tip), so I was expecting an amazing salad. I ordered it to go and they boxed it up in a really big box. I got back to work and was ready to enjoy a hearty salad. Boy was I wrong. This thing was TINY. IT looked like it was portioned for a five year old. It was good, but honestly I was hungry for the rest of the day. Definitely not a $12 salad. Not even close.
The second time, I met a friend for lunch there. I learned my lesson- no salads. So I ordered a muffuletta sandwich. My friend also ordered a sandwich. I had about 45 minutes for lunch, PLENTY of time to grab a sandwich and dine in. WRONG AGAIN. The restaurant wasn't busy, only a couple of tables were occupied. But they took 25 minutes to make our sandwiches and serve us. My sandwich was very mediocre. I wasn't impressed, as I could have made a better sandwich myself. Our waitress was taking her time picking up our bill from the table, so we got up and walked over to the register to try and speed things along. You would think she would have taken the hint. Instead, she watched us wait as another employee was busy offering samples to some people in front of us that had to try every flavor of gelato in their freezer. The register was free and she could have rang us up. Instead, after the people had sampled around a dozen flavors and paid, she walked up to us and said, "Oh, are you guys ready to pay?" I almost felt like she did it out of spite for not paying on her terms or something...
Needless to say, I won't be going here again. I really did try to like you, Spuntino...
Spuntino has great sandwiches and simple but original fresh dishes.
We have been here several times and food has always been good.
The homemade Popsicles are super good! There is a taste for everyone.
I was gladly introduced to the Infinite Monkey wine by the waiter. By the way, service is always impeccable and knowledgable.
I love the place and the neighborhood but since i have been there only during day hours, or once on a Tuesday evening, I should say the atmosphere of the place has been a bit dull. I always like a place with a good vibe. I really hope people who live in the Highlands recognize what a great place they have to be enjoyed throughout the week.
I will come back on a weekend evening a hopefully my review will be upgraded to
5 stars.
Why has it taken me so long to get into Spuntino? I'm so glad I finally went for lunch, and I have to say I am eager to return.
Today I had one of the best sandwiches I've had in a while. The bread was perfect, the greens were lightly dressed and the steak in my sandwich was oh-so rare (actually, it might have been too rare for anyone who doesn't like their steak close to raw, but it was perfect for me).
Service was nice and the menu made me want to order everything on it.
This isn't quite a place where you'd like to sit and linger, as the atmosphere is definitely more grab and go then enjoy a relaxing meal but it was perfect for a week-day lunch.
One complaint: I do appreciate that you want to keep your gelato case free of little fingerprints and smudges, but please don't spray a ton of Windex on your case right when I'm about to dig into my steak sandwich. Â The chemical-y smell of Windex doesn't to much for the appetite right when I'm about to dig in to my meal.
Also, I've had their popsicles in the past and I think they are hit or miss. Â However, I love that they are always experimenting with flavors, and I'd rather they keep playing with new combinations and I'm happy to drop a few dollars on a honeydew melon/pepper popsicle just for the sheer novelty - even if the flavor wasn't a keeper.
Another great addition to the neighborhood. In true Colorado style, they use fresh, local ingredients wherever possible.
We recently stopped in for brunch. I had the chorizo scramble and my wife had the veggie scramble - both incredibly good! Even better was the delicious strawberry/ orange blossom jam that had been made fresh that morning.
We will definitely be back to try lunch, dinner, and dessert.
In town to see some old friends and we ended up at Spuntino. What a pleasant surprise! Delightfully non-chain with unique takes on normal fare (wonderfully moist chicken) and a few quirks to keep you interested (wine in a can ?!?). Of course you can't ignore the gelato; with the giant display window, you just can't leave without some and you won't regret it. Â They even have a drive up window if you can't stop to enjoy and outdoor seating if you'd like to dine and watch the world go by.
Very relaxed. Very yummy. Very glad we went.
I dined at Spuntino's recently with a group of friends. My experience could not have been better! From the cozy and quaint atmosphere to the wine, to the amazing meal (I recommend the arugula salad and seared chicken) capped off by some delicious gelato (the sea salted caramel with chocolate is to die for!), I could not have asked for a better dining experience. Not to mention the friendly staff and excellent service. I can't wait to go back and try some of the other dishes! Perfect date night spot!
Review Source:I went to Spuntino recently during a visit to my hometown of Denver, Colorado. Â I have to say that it's one of the better gastro pubs I've visited in the last few years. Â The location is easy to find and located in a nice area surrounded by other cute shops and eateries. Â
The place is small yet has a very warm environment. Â The bottle of wine was good, and the food I had there was absolutely insane. Â I sampled several salads, one of which had roasted baby golden beets, field greens, and goat cheese, and another made from watercress with a delightfully light and savory tarragon vinaigrette. Â For a main dish there was well-browned but still moist roast chickens and a very well-made pesto rotini (al dente, not overcooked!) Â I have no idea the name of the dessert I had, but it involved chocolate ice cream and what looked like an oblong marshmallow on top, although it was no marshmallow. Â All the food there was constructed with care and knowledge and used very fresh ingredients.
The staff there was wonderful. Â I chatted a bit with both the pastry chef, who was a very charming lady, and a few of the servers and bus boys, all of whom were friendly, professional, CLEAN, and in good humor. Â That's a rare find to come across all those characteristics in one place. Â
I've already recommended this spot to several family and friends in Denver, and plan on going back next time I am in the city.
I always thought this place was just an icecream and treats shop. I was happily surprised that they serve lunch and now dinner. I had a delightful client lunch here last week. I tried the sweet potato sandwich and chilled pea soup and my friend had a spring salad. Both were flavorful, fresh and delicious. To counter all the healthiness we had to try their gelato. My friend had their french toast Popsicle, holy god was that amazing and I had the orange nutella gelato, which was perfect. I cant wait to go back here for dinner. I really liked how everything is Colorado based. The service was a bit slow and alcohol has to be charged on a separate tab, but other than that it was a spectacular experience. Just another gem in the highlands hood :)
Review Source:We have been to this cute little gem several times and wanted to finally yelp about it. Â Our last visit was on Mother's Day and we had a great time, yet again.
I went with my hubby+kids, my siblings and my mom. Â The food was great and the service was even better. Â I love the owner, she is always so welcoming and I love the updates they have done.
We will be back again, especially since we seem to gravitate to this neighborhood.
Friendly & Delicious (win-win!!)
I have had coffee, a latte, a salad, a sandwich, and some gelato here (don't worry, not all in one sitting). Â And all of it was amazing.
The coffee is pour-over and the latte is great. The salad and sandwich were filling and every bite was so tasty. Â Our server noticed us staring down the gelato and offered us samples to try, and we had quite a few before deciding which to order. Â The gelato was soo yummy!
I would definitely recommend this place for any type of occasion, a special dinner, a quick meet-up lunch with a friend, or to just grab a latte (&/or scoop of gelato!) when you're on the go.
Definitely one of my favorite spots in the Highlands!!
Top-end meal and dessert bar!
Situated in a really charming up-the-hill neighborhood a short distance from some other really nice restaurants and shops, Spuntino is a great stopover for a light, healthy meal, or some scrumptious gelato dessert. Â Most of the gelato's are hand-made using authentic ingredients -- meaning "coffee" gelato actually uses coffee as the flavoring, and not some cheap knock-off flavor designed to save the manufacturer some money. Â Nope, this is the real thing!
The only downer about Spuntino is that it's not open on Sunday - kind of a turn-off for folks who seek some gelato on a warm Sunday afternoon. Â I suggest the owners think this equation over: Â Summer + Sunday = Good Gelato Business. Â Hmmmm? Â Let me know if you decide to be open on Sundays - I'll be there! Â
Otherwise...
Spuntino - the real thing!
Definite A for a dessert and an americano!
My friends and I descended upon Spuntino rather randomly last night, standing across the street in the cold and wanting not-cold dessert. Â They were warmly accommodating as a rather large group of us came in not too long before closing; we received genuine service and beautiful sweets.
Being a group of 7, we ordered a handful of desserts to share which ended up being an abundant amount:
+Orange olive oil cake with pistachio gelato: Â The gelato flavor was subtle, or perhaps just in comparison to the cake. Â I really enjoyed the texture of the cake, which had a nice crisp but soft/moist/spongy inside.
+Tart of the day (something & pear) paired with the nectarine cream gelato. Â Not too sweet, and the crust was crisp and semi-flaky, nice taste.
+Macaroons: Amazing. They felt light, and has kind of ruined other macaroons for me.
+Meringue (I apologize, I don't remember all the details of this one): Nicely tart, if you enjoy tart. Â It had a nice light airiness, but needed a while to thaw before becoming easily devoured.
+A cup of gelato (nectarine, mango, and tiramisu): Â Nectarine was smooth and sweet, mango really popped with flavor, tiramisu was lacking definition.
AND there were drinks.
Americanos were superb, nice and rich. Â Exciting wine selection (well, the fact that they have Infinite Monkey Theorem's wine in a can is exciting for me).
Please go here fellow yelpers & foodies and give this place a try. You won't regret it.
In the former location of Red Trolley in Lo-Hi, they brightened up the paint and left all the beautiful wood work alone. Lots of small tables throughout making it feel cozy.
My friend Lori S. and I shared 3 dishes- the endive wrapped prosciutto salad, a version of a grilled cheese with tomato soup for dipping and their special of the day risotto. No complaints at all.
After eating all this we still found room to get gelato. The chef came over to share his recommendations and after trying several I went with their chocolate caramel and salt and it was fabulous. Their version of a small is other people's medium.
Dishes ranged from $8-11 and the smell will get you excited upon walking in.
This place kicks butt. Â Originally went for their homemade gelato, which is to-die-for. Â They have a selection of traditional favorites, but also a range of creative flavors oozing with deliciousness. Â Among my favorites have been Fig, English Trifle, Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate, and Butternut Squash Pecan. Â I'm torn between Spuntino and Sweet Action for the best ice cream in town.
To my delight, Spuntino's savory selections have turned out to be equally satisfying! Â They have an assortment of flatbreads, panini, bruschetta, and the like. Â The lamb meatball panini is awesome and so are all of the flatbreads I've had. Â The bread they use for the flatbread creations is sort of like melt-in-your-mouth naan. Â This evening they had a special sweet potato ravioli in amaretto cream sauce with cranberries and arugula and it was so good I wondered why I've never had the good fortune before to eat pasta with almond-flavored sauce. Â
If anything could be improved here, it would be the ambiance, which is pretty nice overall, but verges a wee bit on cafeteria-style.
The gelato here may be divine, but I'll never know because I absolutely cannot tear myself away from the homemade popsicles. And with flavors like strawberry sage, French toast, lemon blueberry basil and nutella (yeah I said nutella) can you really blame me?
I think they sell for around $3.50 a pop so it may be pricey to some, but my mouth thanked me with every sweet lick of that frozen concoction on a stick.
Oh yeah, they also have a drive though window. However, I'll warn you eating popsicles in the car can be a dangerous endeavor...
This is for their homemade gelato, only.
Excellent stuff. Over the last few weeks I've tried their caramel with sea salt, their pistachio, and their chocolate. All rocked. A little over-priced for what you get, so they don't get 5 stars, but if you're truly jonesin' for an intense mouthful of creamy chill flavor, get your Spuntino on.
We were headed to the Highlands to grab a coffee and dessert. Â Drove past Spuntino along the way and thought it was charming. Â Got to Highlands nothing really interested me, so we drove back up 32nd and stopped at Spintino. Â
We had a number of delicious treats to choose from. Â All of the gelato looked tasty, and I haven't come across gourmet Popsicles before. Â We ended up with the tiramisu and iced mocha. Â They were both fantastic. Â I'm very picky with mochas because they often get ruined with too much chocolate syrup. Â This was not the case here! Â I saw that they even had tiramisu tea, now that sounds devine. Â On top of the treats and drinks they also have a number of sandwiches on the menu. Â Made me wish we stopped here for lunch as well.
Spuntino is a charming cafe with friendly service. Â The Italian music was a nice touch. Â I enjoy the little details in restaurants. Â It shows they are thinking about the customer. Â I defiantly felt that here. Â
I only wish I lived close to Spuntino, so I could frequent the Italian cafe, a true gem.
I decided to check this place out when my beloved Red Trolley closed.
The good: I love Parisi so there's some natural goodwill here. I like the design of the new place, very light and welcoming and free wifi. The endive salad is the only food I've gotten here and it was very good. Staff/owners are always very friendly.
The questionable: What happened to the gelato? Something with the recipe changed with the switch over. The texture is lighter and more airy now, and overall less flavorful. All the flavors have some waxy/crisco-like flavor & texture going on. I still eat it (obviously), but we miss the richness of the old amazing chocolate covered sea salt gelato!
CHILLED CARROT SOUP WITH A DASH OF FRESH BASIL OIL! That should be all I need to say, but BRUSCHETTA!
Someone in the kitchen is obviously in love with food, knows how to keep preparations simple and create flavor combinations that dance in the mouth.
Unfortunately, I experienced the often not-so-fresh desserts. A selection of items that don't depend on flaky pastry would be wise. The cookies are okay, except they arrive cold from the refrigerated case. (Suggestion: look into CAKE Bakery on Tennyson, and get a few fresh things every day)
After this business took the place of my beloved Red Trolley (Why?!? Oh, why did you leave me Red Trolley? Was my love not enough for you?) we decided to give the gelato here a try. It tastes ok, but the consistency is weird - It's kinda 'fluffy' and doesn't seem to have much substance. I can't figure out how to describe it.
Anyway, not a fan.
Boring and pretentious.
My wife and I fell in love with gourmet popsicles last year in St. Augustine, FL. After reading the article about Spuntino's in 5280 we were really excited to give the place a shot.
We pulled up to the drive through and were sort of greeted by an unenthusiastic guy that seemed to cool to ever really work a day in his life. He informed us that he "couldn't really tell us what flavors they had"...?...
OK... so I parked the car and hung with my dog while my wife went in.
She came out with two popsicles and said "We are never coming back here" Apparently the too cool for life attitude persisted when she went inside and she was made to feel like an interruption in the day of the staff.
I had a pistachio chocolate pop and she had a berry pop of some sort. Mine was really gooey -gelatinous- on the outside and hard in the middle. The flavor was good enough but not anything like we expected. Her berry pop was more refreshing and the consistency was more of what you expected from a popsicle.
I was really looking forward to what they had to offer and was really excited about telling them what I had tried in other parts of the country. You can do really great things with popsicles! They are not doing great things.
I really hope someone moves in and fills this niche.
BTW, we went on June 4th at around 5:00. If I were the owner I would think about having a meeting with the staff who were on duty to train them on basic customer service.
I'm not going to compare this place to Red Trolley simply because it is not the same place.
Spuntino has a bright, clean atmosphere with a classy cafe feel. The gelato case is hard to avoid getting drawn in by - so many beautiful looking flavors to chose from!
I stopped in with my husband one evening after dinner and we both went the gelato route. I got blueberry (yes!) and the hubs got mocha. Both were delicious and had incredible texture. Rich and dense, yet almost whip cream like at the same time. Yum! I'm excited to try out more flavors (and perhaps some food) next time!
I think I just have to stop thinking of this as a gelato place.
My dad and I have dinner every Monday night, switching between his DU neighbourhood and my Highlands one. We always have ice cream (or gelato) after dinner.
Unfortunately, we're opting for Cold Stone these days up north because the gelato at Spuntino just wasn't very good. I had the coconut the night we went in to try it and it tasted like Dairy Queen vanilla soft serve with bits of shredded coconut in it. Very disappointing.
I went in another time to indulge and got a dessert that was billed as passion fruit mousse and chocolate mousse on a coconut chocolate cookie covered in ganache. It had a sort of freezer burn lack of freshness and there was almost no passion fruit, which was really the draw for me. Overall, there wasn't a lot of flavour to it. It was mostly just sweet and kinda greasy (I think the chocolate icing piping around the bottom was Crisco and food colouring, a frequent decorating thing).
The savory menu looks good and I'll give it one more try for the lunch and dinner menu.
The service has been unerringly good and friendly, though I think the decision to tell people to "just ask Groupon for your money back - I don't know if we're going to honour the Red Trolley Groupon" was a poor one. I won't hold that against the nice people who work the counter - it was a management decision.
I'll update once I've tried the savory menu.
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