osteria marco

amazing pizza and dessert. we are new to reviewing and trying new places. but as of late we've made the decision whenever we go out to at least try one new restaurant a week. we recently escaped away to denver and decided to eat out every meal and not even think twice about calories, fats, or carbs. another thing that's new to us. a good authentic pizza place was on our list and after reviewing both the reviews as well as all the pics, we were sold on this place.

osteria marco is located in the best part of denver - right on larimer street. with romantic strung lights down the street it really adds something to the experience.

the restaurant itself looked small, but once in you are escorted downstairs to a much larger area. the walls were lined with rows and rows of wines (which my dad would have definitely appreciated).

greg had the carne pizza which had sausage, meatball, pepperoni,
and house ricotta for $15.

i had the fig pizza which had fig, goat cheese, fontina, speck, and arugula.

the pizzas are huge, and we thought no way we'd be able to finish them off. surprisingly we did. the crust was paper thin which really helped, but the ingredients on top were super fresh and tasty. so good!

though we were tempted by the nutella cake, we both had a serving of the butterscotch pudding which was probably our favorite part of the meal. it was really rich, moist, and practically melted in our mouths. we only wished the serving sizes were bigger.

it was a wonderful meal!!

fantastic service, great food and reasonable price.. if you are looking for an italian restaurant in denver,this is the place!
the service was just amazing, with managers always checking on the service and giving recommendations. you can't miss the pizza with fig, prosciutto and goat cheese. i also suggest the mussels.
best of all, the price is more than fair.
every time i come back to denver, this will be in my dining list.

if you have ever had a conversation with me about food or read a few posts from blog, you undoubtedly know about my admiration of frank bonanno. with that said, i have only been to five out of the eight restaurants that he owns. so when my friend and i were debating a place for dinner and osteria marco came up on the docket, i was on that like white on rice. at 8:30 when we arrived, the restaurant was bustling with the friday night crowd filling up all the tables and nearly every seat at the bar. we had a bit of time to kill before our reservations so we headed downstairs to the main dining room and saddled up in a stool at the end of the bar. within a few seconds, i was greeted by a friendly face from the green russell - adam hodak - who heads up the beverage program for frank bonanno's restaurants. the boys over at the russell have come to know "my drink", so he smiled, nodded, and got to mixing when i shut the menu and said, "the usual." a spin on corpse reviver #2...delicious as al

have always had impeccable service, and you can't beat the fresh mozzerella!

the slow roasted pig served once a week is to die for! scallops were cooked perfectly and the chicken was one of the best i have ever enjoyed. good wine selection.

it is a joy to eat the pizzas here!. i love italian food. i figure i have eaten about 1,000 pizzas in my lifetime. and i liked, even loved, most of them. but i simply cannot recall ever having eaten pizzas as good as the ones turned out lovingly from the kitchen of osteria marco. simply put, osteria marco is to pizza what leonardo davinci was to art.
the pizza crust is feather light, and ultra thin, but still capable of holding the toppings without turning soggy. and the toppings exude flavor without being greasy. it is a joy to eat the pizza here.
but pizza is only part of the menu. we found everything else we sampled to be outrageously good. the meat and cheese plate was delicious, and could easily have served four people. and the $4 marinated olive appetizer had about 40 olives, of every shape, color, and size. we couldn't come close to finishing them.
service was prompt and friendly. the restaurant is located down a lengthy flight of stairs, and has a bright and friendly atmosphere, with several floor to ceiling displays of wine adding further texture to the dining rooms. about the only fault i could find with our dining experience was an all too common one...a wobbly table.
food: a+
service: a
atmosphere: a
menu sophistication: a-
value: a

excellent bar food. had some of the best bar food i've had in a while. very inexpensive for the high quality level of fare; we had an appetizer, a pizza and desert with two beers for under $40. great atmosphere & the service was prompt and knowledgeable. very kid-friendly for a bar type location. a must if you're in denver.

osteria marco offered some very, very tasty italian staples at surprisingly low prices. we're looking forward to heading back for more antipasti and pizza, as well as the desserts we missed during this trip. frank bonanno certainly redeemed himself in our eyes with this visit to osteria marco.

one of the best dining experiences i've had in a long time. get the butternut squash pizza. apple cobbler. amazing and great service.

delicious pizza. so my friend came to visit and she wanted to try this place before they left. so before their send off we came here for dinner. the atmosphere was nice, it is not on the street level but down below. the lighting was dim and it felt laid back and relaxed. one thing that is great is that they have house crafted meats and cheeses! we were all craving pizza but it was hard to choose from. two pizzas caught my eye the fig and crispy prosciutto pizza which had fig puree, goat cheese, fontina and truffle oil. the other was the lamb conserva which had castelvetrano olives, fontina and goat cheese. we both decided to order and share. we were very pleased. and even though i prefer salty over sweet for pizza the fig and prosciutto was very good. i kept coming back to that pizza because of the thin crispy pieces of prosciutto. yum!. overall great food, great service and relaxed atmosphere. i would reccommend osteria marco for your next pizza experience!

didn't live up to the hype. cool place with a really nice vibe to it on a saturday night, but the food was disapointing. started with the ovin sardo - really nice and very similar to what we used to get in sardinia - which was the highlight of the meal. the octopus salad was consumed by the chiles - way too hot, the only flavor in the whole dish was "fire". third course was the fig and prosciutto pizza - crust was nice, but the prosciutto was way to crispy and flavorless - tasted like burnt paper. maybe it was the octopus salad that ruined the pizza. i'll go somewhere else next time.

great food, service and price. i have been to osteria marco many times and love the food here. i especially love their house cured meats and homemade cheeses. i have never had a back service experience here and recommend this place to everyone!

the pizza from osteria marco however, was anything but common place. as soon as the wait staff approached the table carrying the pizza my nose was tantalized by the faintest aroma of truffle oil; rich and earthy with distinctive appeal. the crust was ever so lightly charred (i would have preferred a blacker crust, but c'est la vie), and prepared in the neapolitan manner. on the crust the chef(s) spread a thin layer of chunky fig preserves, followed by a thin layer of homemade mozzarella, which they then dotted generously with tangy chèvre, crumbled pancetta followed the chèvre, and finally the lightest drizzle of truffle oil brought the flavors together.

loved this place!!!! you must try.. we ordered pizza-fig and crispy prosciutto was amazing but the lamb sausage won the evening for me. we had fresh ricotta over bread and that was delicous. the calamari was good. ohh and the cucumber lavendar ricky was a perfect touch.
waiter was friendly and helpful. i loved the ambiance of this place. it's like walking down into your own secret dining spot!

wow... that is all that needs to be said concerning their selection of unique, boutique-style pizzas. made from scratch cheeses, yes i mean cheeses, pizzas, paninis, and great appetizers! you must try the fritters and the fig with white truffle oil pizza! magnifico!