Barolo Grill   

Their sampling menu for Valentine's is absolutely exquisite. It's pricey, but worth the cost for the terrific memories!

$262 for 2 to have the Menu di Stagione with wine 1. Prosciutto e Melone good melon & prosciutto. Wine was corked. Complained. waitress, Rachel, acted indignant, implying we did not know wines. 2. Granchio com Pesche. Flavorless, insipid. Wine: Fallergo, nice acidity & fruit 3. Agnolotti Ripieni, best dish with drinkable Spigel 4. Tagliata di manzo, cold filet on arugula, filet had no flavor. Arugula was argula. Wow! Otre had harsh tannins, slight fruit on nose. 5. Panno Cota, thin, unremarkable, but the 4 raspberries were nice. Moscato was nice. The search goes on for a good Italian restaurant in Denver. Luca is similar in food and service, but decor is more "early Warehouse," dark, gloomy, smelly. A tasting menu is normally a showcase for the chef. This was an afterthought of the chef. Seems it is a "how can I do this cheap and easy and charge a premium?" Interior decor reminds one of a Greek wedding scene. Loud with rushed service, plates banging, glasses empty. Tall bald waiter is obtuse, loud, and unrefined. Threw plates at us. Perhaps Denver has the restaurants it deserves. few discriminating diners, no discriminating restaurants. Best restaurants I have found so far after a 2-year search? India's Clay Oven, New Saigon, Sandra's, Duo, Something Else.

I'm not into Northern Italian cuisine. Somehow I was expecting the typical southern cuisine that you would get at the average Italian restaurant. Food was ok but not for me. The service was ok. I wouldn't complain about the restaurant. It just wasn't really my kind of food.

Has lived off of its stellar reputation of the mid-1990s and is now sunk in boorish mediocrity.